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Constance Berman, professor of history, is a leading social historian of the Middle Ages. She joined the UI faculty in 1988 and teaches a full range of courses on medieval history, including the first course in the highly enrolled western civilization sequence. Linda Kerber, May Brodbeck Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences and chair of the history department, wrote in nominating her, “Connie Berman is a caring and concerned teacher, who sets a standard and role model for us in the department.” As the history department’s director of undergraduate studies (1999–2001), she revamped departmental advising for majors, and she also developed a teaching proseminar for teaching assistants. Furthermore, her contributions as a graduate teacher now have impact on the practices of historians nationally through her service on the American Historical Association’s Committee on Graduate Education (2000–2003), which produced the highly influential report The Education of Historians for the Twenty-first Century. Berman has authored two books on the Cistercian order and edited two more on medieval women and religion, and her work is widely known as stimulating, provocative, and compelling. Her research has received the support of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Guggenheim Foundation. Her extensive service activities on campus include elected terms on the Graduate Council and the Faculty Senate. |
