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William Virden |
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William Virden |
Office: Ross Hall 3290C
Greeley, CO 80639
Phone: 970-351-2120
Fax: 970-351-2199
Email: william.virden@unco.edu
Following five years of military service that interrupted his studies, Mr. Virden received his Master’s Degree from Colorado State University in 1977. During his graduate studies he worked as one of the Russian interpreters for the Germans from Russia in Colorado Study Project. As part of his responsibilities he published articles in the Journal of the Germans from Russia concerning the origin of the group and their motivations for migrating to the United States.
Teaching
Mr. Virden began teaching at the University of Northern Colorado in the Fall of 1988 and serves as Partner Faculty in the U.S. History survey, Western Civilization, and Colorado history courses. In 1991 and 1992 he was named Outstanding Teacher in the Directed Admissions Program and has been listed in the Who’s Who of American Teachers since 1996. He is the History Department member of the “Partner Team” that works with our Partner schools in northern Colorado to train student teachers. In addition, he also supervises student teachers in secondary schools for the department.
Writing
In 1995, he founded the Colorado Institute for Historical Study, a research organization that focuses on the study and promotion of local, state and regional history. The Institute has received substantial grants from the Colorado Endowment for the Humanities, the Center of the American West, the Women of the West Museum, the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, the Madigan Foundation, and the Gertrude Horn Memorial Fund. As the Executive Director of the Institute, Mr. Virden has traveled the state of Colorado presenting lectures and speeches on local and state history. He has recently completed a manuscript concerning the origins of county government and the evolution of county courthouse architecture entitled Cornerstones of Community: The County Seats and County Courthouses of Colorado. It is available through the Colorado Institute for Historical Study, 2601 S. Lemay, Suite 7-151, Fort Collins, CO 80525, phone: (970) 206-1140.
Mr. Virden, in collaboration with fellow UNC instructor Mary Borg, has also published a supplementary text for use in U.S. history classrooms. The books, Go to the Source and My Colorado both use Colorado documents to highlight and illuminate the major events and themes of the twentieth century in the state. My Colorado has been adopted by Poudre R-1 school district as a standard text and the book has recently been translated into Spanish for use in bilingual courses. Both these books are available through Cottonwood Press.
He has also written a chapter titled “The State of Colorado” which appears in the three-volume publication, The Uniting States, published by Greenwood Press in July 2004. The chapter chronicles Colorado’s history from finding gold on Dry Creek in 1858, through territorial status, and on to 1876-1877 with Colorado statehood and the critical role Colorado played in the “Compromise of 1877.”
Spring 2007 Office Hours: 12:30-1:45 TTh and by appointment
In Spring 2007 Prof. Virden is teaching:
For printable copies of Prof. Virden’s Spring 2007 syllabi and course handouts (in Microsoft Word format) click on the following links:
