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Eberly College of Arts & Sciences Department of History
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Ronald L. Lewis

Professor Emeritus of History

Categorized As

Role: Faculty,

Upon receiving the PhD in 1974, I began my teaching career at the University of Delaware. With a joint appointment in the Black American Studies Program and the Department of History, I was promoted through the ranks to Professor while at the U of D. During my eleven years there, I taught African American history. My research focused on the uneasy intersection of race and labor in America. I also became interested in regional studies while at the U of D, and offered a graduate seminar on Appalachian history and culture. When I was hired at WVU in 1985 to teach West Virginia and Appalachian history, the pieces of my second career as a regional historian fell into place. WVU has been good to me and my family, and in retirement we continue to call Morgantown home. My professional activities have slowed considerably, but I still occupy myself with several research projects. 

Employment

  • Professor and Robbins Chair Emeritus, May 2008
  • Stuart and Joyce Robbins Chair in History, West Virginia University, 2001-2008
  • Interim Director, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, 2000-2001
  • Eberly Family Professor of History, West Virginia University, 1993-2001
  • Chairperson, Department of History, West Virginia University, 1989-1995
  • Professor of History, West Virginia University, 1985-2008
  • Assistant Professor to Professor, University of Delaware, 1974-1985
  • Teacher, Public Schools, Louisville, Ohio, 1968-1969
  • U.S. Navy, 1961-1965

Education

  • Ph.D. 1974 and M.A. 1971, University of Akron (American History)
  • B.A. (1966), Ohio University (Political Science and Economics)

Teaching and Research Fields

  • Appalachia/West Virginia
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Social History of Industrialization

Publications

Authored Books:

  • Iron Artisans: Welsh Immigrants and the American Age of Steel. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2023.
  • Walter F. White: The NAACP's Ambassador for Racial Equality.   With Robert L. Zangrando. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2018. https://wvupressonline.com/node/755
  • The Industrialist and the Mountaineer:  The Eastham-Thompson Feud and the Struggle for  West Virginia's Timber Frontier. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2017. http://wvupressonline.com/node/671
  • Aspiring to Greatness: West Virginia University Since World War II. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2013.
    http://wvupressonline.com/lewis_aspiring_to_greatness_9781938228421
  • Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields, 1840-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008.
  • Transforming the Appalachian Countryside: Railroads, Deforestation, and Social Change in West Virginia, 1880-1920. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. 
  • Coal, Iron, and Slaves: Industrial Slavery in Maryland and Virginia, 1715-1865. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Company, 1979.

Edited Books:

  • The Other Slaves: Mechanics, Artisans and Craftsmen. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1978. Coedited with James E. Newton. 245 pages.
  • The Black Worker: A Documentary History From Colonial Times to the Present. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978-84. Coedited with Philip S. Foner. 8 vols., 4,102 pages.
  • Black Workers: A Documentary History from Colonial Times to the Present. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. One volume abridged hardcover and papercover editions. Coedited with Philip S. Foner. 733 pages.
  • The Transformation of Life and Labor in Appalachia. Guest Editor, Journal of the Appalachian Studies Association, 2 (1989). 198 pages.
  • West Virginia History: Critical Essays on the Literature. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Pub. Co., for WV Humanities Council, 1991. Coedited with John C. Hennen, Jr. 247 pages.
  • West Virginia: Documents in the History of a Rural-Industrial State, 2nd. rev. ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., l996. Coedited with John C. Hennen, Jr. 371 pages.
  • Transnational West Virginia: Ethnic Communities and Economic Change, 1840-1940. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2002. Coedited with Ken Fones-Wolf. 350 pages.

Most Recent Articles:

  • “Reconstructing Welsh Identity in the American Coalfields,” North American Journal of Welsh Studies 6 (Winter 2011): 32-52.
  • “Gender and Transnationality Among Welsh Tinplate Workers in Pittsburgh: The Hattie Williams Affair, 1895,” Labor History, 48 (May 2007): 175-194, coauthored with Bill Jones.
  • “Letter from John A. Williams of Algoma Mine to Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas of Brynawel, Aberdare, Wales, 1895,” West Virginia History, New Series, 1 (Fall 2007): 69-89.

Selected Awards and Professional Service:

  • Choice, Magazine of the American Library Association, “Outstanding Academic Book,” for The Black Worker, 1979.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Study, 1980-81.
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Akron, 1987.
  • Outstanding Research Award, Arts and Sciences, WVU, 1988.
  • Claude Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award, WVU, 1991.
  • William Miernyk Award for Career Scholarly Achievement (once every 5 years), Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University, 1995.
  • Choice, Magazine of the American Library Association, “Outstanding Academic Book,” for Transforming the Appalachian Countryside, 1998.
  • Fulbright-Hayes Commission Award for Research and Lecturing, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, Fall semester 1999.
  • Governor’s Award for West Virginia History and Literature. Presented by Gov. Cecil Underwood, April 2000.
  • Cratis Williams/James Brown Service Award, Appalachian Studies Association, 2007.
  • Historian Laureate of West Virginia. Appointed by Gov. Joe Manchin III, Jan. 29, 2010.
  • Vice-President (1993-94), President (1994-95), the Appalachian Studies Association.
  • Founding Editor, Journal of Appalachian Studies (Appalachian Studies Association), 1995-97.
  • Mountain Honorary, WVU student and alumni service organization, 1996-present.
  • Vice President (1997-99), and President (2000-2002), North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History.
  • Series Co-Editor. West Virginia and Appalachia. West Virginia University Press (2000-present).
  • Editor/Assoc. Editor, West Virginia History: a Journal of Regional Studies (2006-2012).
  • "Order of Vandalia" (2016-present). Outstanding service to WVU.

Editorial/Advisory Boards:

Delaware History (1980-85); West Virginia History (1987-present); Encyclopedia of Appalachia (1996-2006); Journal of Appalachian Studies (1998-present); West Virginia University Press (1999-2007); North American Journal of Welsh Studies (2000-present); Journal of Southern History (2000-2004); West Virginia Humanities Council Board of Directors (2000-04); Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (2008-present); Llafur: Journal of the Welsh People’s History Society (2012-present).

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