Molly Rozum showcases her research focused on the Northern Midwest to a room of students and faculty.
Doane hosted former professor and current professional Historian Molly Rozum for a talk about her research. The research was about agricultural businessman George Will, and how his evolving relationship with the Native Americans of North Dakota helped him morph his view of the region he was living in.
Rozum received her bachelor’s from Notre Dame and later got her PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. After she got her PhD, she taught at Doane University until 2001, where she went and started work for the University of South Dakota.
Former colleagues were happy to hear that Rozum was coming to speak.
Professor Mark Orsag said that Rozum was “very respected and liked during her time” at Doane. He also said that she had “great successes as both teacher and scholar.”
Rozum gave a talk titled “The Old Woman Who Never Dies: Settler Colonialism and Sense of Place.” This put the story of George Will into a broader United States historical context, mentioning significant events like the Homestead Act of 1862, the splitting of the United States down the 98th Meridian, the idea of Manifest Destiny and how the people of the United States used to call the Midwest the Northwest.
The Dredla series was started during Rozum’s time at Doane, and back when the series started, she invited professors to come speak for this series. “I came back to see colleagues, friends [and] the campus. It’s a beautiful place. It’s an honor to be invited to the Dredla research series. I used to invite professors to speak, so getting invited is an honor,” Rozum said.
Rozum also has books published, dealing primarily in Northern Great Plains region history.