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Drew Digby

Education
Ph.D. in progress. Dissertation: “Engaging the City: Religion and Civic Life in Antebellum Chicago.” University of Chicago.

M.A. Social Sciences (History) 1993. Master’s Thesis: “Separatists No More: Sex and Gender in the Making of Evangelical Identity.” University of Chicago.

B.A. Religious Studies, 1985. University of California at Berkeley.

Academic Employment
University of Minnesota Duluth, Instructor of Journalism, History, and Advocacy and Political Leadership, fall 2000-present.

College of St. Scholastica, Instructor of History, summer 2000.

DePaul University, Instructor of History, spring 1999.
University of Chicago, Lecturer in History, autumn 1996 and autumn 1998. Lecturer in the Graham School for General Studies (Adult Education), 1996-1999.

Journalism Experience
Freelance Writing and Photography. 1989-Present.
Assisted The New York Times in their coverage of the Paul Wellstone plane crash. Opinion articles published in the Duluth News Tribune and the Ripsaw. For The New York Times and Reuters News Agency, covered the federal fraud trial of Jim Bakker and helped with coverage of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Contributing Writer on American History for The Real Guide to Grad School: What You Better Know Before You Choose: Humanities and Social Sciences, Robert E. Clark and John Palattella, eds. (New York: Lingua Franca books, 1997). Photographs have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Los Angeles Times among other publications.

The Denver Post. Staff Writer, February 1988-July 1989.
Covered the Denver City Council and various city departments, including the Public Works and Parks departments. Covered health care issues and wrote political campaign stories. Uncovered the misuse of pension and non-profit agency funds which led to changes in the way those operations were run.

The Lynchburg News & Daily Advance. Staff Writer, August 1986-January 1988.
Reported on the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Virginia delegation in Congress and the area’s contingent in the state Legislature. Series on Falwell was picked up by the Associated Press, United Press International and the New York Times News Service. Contributed stories and research on Jim Bakker and the PTL scandal to The New York Times and Newsweek [with my editors’ permission].

The Schlein News Bureau. Reporter, June 1986-August 1986.
Reported on Congress for five small daily newspapers, including the Pueblo Chieftain, the Brownsville Herald, and the Shreveport Journal.

Los Angeles Times. Stringer, Intern, May 1983-June 1985.
As an intern, worked both on the Olympics Metro Desk and in the San Francisco bureau. Stories included the closing of gay bathhouses in San Francisco, academic issues involving the University of California and anti-apartheid protests in Berkeley.

The Daily Californian. Managing Editor, Reporter, Night Editor, Typesetting Foreman, January 1981-June 1985. As managing editor, handled the day-to-day operations of this 22,000-circulation college/community newspaper and managed a department that included over 80 full- and part-time employees. As a reporter, covered the University of California regents and the Legislature in Sacramento.

The Malibu Surfside News. Staff Writer, Photographer, Graphic Production, June 1978-August 1980. Worked on every aspect of the writing and production of this weekly newspaper, including covering the police, fire, and school board beats.

Other Employment
Senior Researcher, Northeast Minnesota History Center, Underrepresented Populations Project, spring 2000-autumn 2001.

Administrative Research Assistant to the Chair of the History Department, University of Chicago, autumn 1997-spring 1999.

Undergraduate Program Assistant, History Department, University of Chicago, autumn 1994-spring 1997.

Public History, Public Journalism and Civic Projects
Duluth Vote Counting Project, 2002-2005.
Paired students with local media to go to every precinct in Duluth on election night to get voter data that is delayed by the official reporting systems. Teamed with The Duluth News Tribune, KDLH-TV, and WDIO-TV at different times for the project, which allowed the newspaper to published highly detailed maps the morning after the vote. In the most recent election, WDIO-TV was able to post 97% of the local returns within 40 minutes of the polls close; the station was the only news organization to post election results by midnight.

Program in Advocacy and Political Leadership, 2004-present.
Member of planning committee, 2002-2004. One of three original faculty members. (Currently there are 12 faculty members, including the Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s senior advisor for communication and the former campaign manager for Sen. Paul Wellstone.) Program offers a master’s degree in advocacy and political leadership; currently 50 students are in the weekend cohort program.

Grassroots Civic Labs. Member of Community Leadership Team, 2003-present.
Purpose is to uncover social cleavages in the area and develop programs for building social capital. Partnership between the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation, the Duluth News Tribune, and WDSE-TV. Responsible for connecting the program to university resources. Received a “Building Social Capital” grant from Minnesota Campus Compact to set up a student research connections program at the University of Minnesota Duluth to provide stronger links between the university and community organizations.

“National Reporting, Local Reporting: Lessons For The New York Times from the West Side of Chicago.” Organizer, November 2003. Two-day program featured former New York Times national correspondent John Fountain and included a public lecture, multiple class presentations, work with student journalists, and a lunch with members of the Duluth chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Project received a Chancellor’s Diversity Grant for 2003-2004.

“Cross River History Consortium.” Participant, 2003-2005. Participant.
Program organized by historians at the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse puts academic historians together with elementary school and middle school teachers from Wisconsin and Minnesota for a full week each summer and shorter periods each fall and spring to teach each other about history and discuss ways to improve history teaching.

“Resources for Tough Times, A Conference for Heritage Organizations.” Organizer, April 2003. Conference brought together representatives from more than 20 regional heritage organizations, technical experts from the Minnesota Historical Society, and a variety of representatives from different programs at the University of Minnesota Duluth with the intention of creating more partnerships.

Religion and Media Workshop, American Academy of Religion, Participant, 2002-2003. Program brings together working journalists, academics and other media specialists to discuss the interaction of religion and media both today and in the past.

“Telling Uncomfortable History.” Organizer, September 2002. Incoming President of the Organization of American Historians, James Horton, met with a variety of community and academic groups at the University of Minnesota Duluth to talk about the difficulties involved in discussing history that some would rather forget.
Public lecture, “Presenting Slavery: Dealing with America’s Most Un-American History” as well as a community workshop and several class presentations,
Project received a Chancellor’s Diversity Grant for 2001-2002.

Underrepresented Populations Project at the Northeast Minnesota History Center. Senior Researcher, 1999-2001. An ongoing effort to identify and develop this regional history archives’ collections involving traditionally underrepresented populations. With only minimal funding, the center has found more than 130 manuscript collections in its archives in which substantial amounts of women’s history were hidden. Center has begun a concerted effort to collect manuscripts and other items related to the area’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities.

“Regional Sexualities.” Organizer, spring 2001.
Designed to heighten awareness of the history of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community in Northeastern Minnesota. Visiting scholar, Richard Phillips of the University of Salford, England, gave lecture on “Sex in the Country.”
Project received a Chancellor’s Diversity Grant for 2000-2001.

“Students as Citizens, Not Merely Residents.” Program coordinator, January 2001-summer 2002. Interdisciplinary pilot project (history, geography, journalism) to involve students in ongoing research and public policy initiatives involving Duluth.
Received a system-wide University of Minnesota Civic Engagement Grant.

Fellowships, Additional Grants, Awards
University of Minnesota Duluth, College of Liberal Arts Teaching Grant, spring 2003, to support preparation for teaching a new course in News Layout and Design.

University of Minnesota Duluth, Vice Chancellor’s Grant for Tech Camp, January 2003, to support development of web-based teaching materials to simulate newsroom copy flow and training in website design and development.

University of Minnesota Duluth, College of Liberal Arts Teaching Grant, 2001-2002 to develop materials on civic learning for college faculty, 2001-2002.

University of Chicago, Graduate Fellowship, 1992-1996.

Religion Newswriters Association, Cassels Memorial Award, 1988, second place for excellence in reporting news of religion for publications under 50,000 circulation.

Virginia Press Association, 1987. First Place award for general news reporting.

Virginia Press Association, 1987. First Place award for investigative reporting.

Community Service
President, Lake Superior Arrowhead Satellite Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, 2004-2006.

Member, Neighborhood Partnership Committee, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2003-present.

Participant, Campus Neighbors, 2002-spring 2004. Helped organize welcome parties between students and their neighbors, September 2003.

Member, Board of Governors, the St. Louis County Historical Society, February 2001-January 2004. Chair, Northeast Minnesota Historical Center Liaison Committee.

Community Member, Editorial Board, Duluth News Tribune, April-July 2002.

The Episcopal Church Council at the University of Chicago (acts as vestry for the Episcopal chaplaincy at the university), 1995-1999, co-chair, 1996-1999.

Executive Director, California Collegiate Press Association, 1984-85.

President, California Scholastic Press Association, 1979-1980.

University Service
Member, Civic Engagement Steering Committee, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2004-2006.

Member, College of Liberal Arts Budget Committee, 2003-2006 (chair, 2005-2006).

Member, Diversity Coalition, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003-2004.

Chair, Journalism Curriculum Committee, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003-present.

Member, Cultural Studies Advisory Board, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2002-2004.

Member, Board of Publications, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001-present.

Faculty Adviser, UMD Statesman student newspaper, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001-present.

Chair, Regional Research Working Group, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2001-2002.

Member, Civic Learning Subcommittee, Senate Committee on Educational Policy, University of Minnesota, 2001-2002.

Member, Vice Provost’s Civic Learning Work Group, University of Minnesota, summer 2001.

Member, Enrollment Committee, Department of History, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2000-2001.

Co-Coordinator, Social History Workshop, The University of Chicago, 1994-1996.

Founder and Coordinator, Teaching History Workshop, The University of Chicago, 1996-1998.

Partial List of Academic Papers and Presentations
“Religious Newspapers and the Idea of Chicago,” Northern Great Plains History Conference, Minneapolis, October 11, 2002.

“Abolitionism and the Decline of Civic Cooperation in Antebellum Chicago,” Social History Workshop, University of Chicago, October 18, 2001.

“Sacralizing the Landscape in Antebellum Chicago,” Missouri Valley History Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, March 9, 2001.

“Faith in the Antebellum Chicago Classroom,” Children in Urban America Conference, Marquette University, May 6, 2000.

“Religion in the Classroom: Cooperation and Sectarianism in Antebellum Chicago,” Joint Meeting of the American Society of Church History and the American Catholic Historical Association, Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 29, 2000.

“Engaging the City: Religion and Education in Antebellum Chicago,” Urban History Seminar, Chicago Historical Society, February 17, 2000.

“Separatists No More: Sex and Gender in the Making of Postwar Evangelical Identity,” Social History Workshop, University of Chicago, November 5, 1998.

“Neighborhoods, Religion and Collaboration in Antebellum Chicago Public Schools,” Workshop on Education and Social Policy, Friday, February 2, 1996 and the Economic History Workshop, May 13, 1994, both at the University of Chicago.

Partial List of Courses Taught
University of Minnesota Duluth

Jour 2001: Reporting and Writing I
Jour 2501: American Journalism History
Jour 3001: Reporting and Writing II
Jour 3101: News Editing
Jour 3300: News Photography
Jour 3400: Community Journalism
Jour 3555: Research for Reporters
Jour 4001: Specialized Reporting
Jour 4101: News Layout and Design
Jour 4500: Editorial and Opinion Writing
Jour 5102: Advanced Editing
Hist 1304: U.S. History I
Hist 1305: U.S. History II

Advocacy and Political Leadership 5302: Policy and the Media
Advocacy and Political Leadership 5395: Current Issues: God, Gender and Bicycles
Advocacy and Political Leadership 6003: Civic Engagement and Political Cultures

University of Chicago, Graham School for General Studies (Adult Education)
Eight courses of my own design, including:
Chicago and the American West
Chicago: History, People, Politics
Great Cities, Great Detectives: Detective Fiction of Chicago, Los Angeles and Tokyo