Photo courtesy e-atLAS

Robert V. Remini

Robert V. Remini is the University Historian and Professor Emeritus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He was one of the first faculty members hired to join Circle Campus in 1965.  In April 2005, he was also appointed the Historian of the United States House of Representatives.

Dr. Remini has written more than two dozen books, including the three-volume biography of Andrew Jackson, the third volume of which won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 1984. The New York Times has called him the "foremost Jacksonian scholar of our time." His other works include A Short History of the United States (2008), The House: The History of the House of Representatives (2006), and biographies of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, and Joseph Smith.  He co-authored The University of Illinois at Chicago: A Pictorial History (2000).

Fred W. Beuttler is a part-time Associate University Historian and a member of the UIC Campus Master Plan Core Planning Team. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Chicago, specializing in political history, history of Chicago, history of education, and intellectual history. His recent publications include: “Envisioning an Urban University: President David Henry and the Chicago Circle Campus of the University of Illinois, 1955-1975,” “For the Welfare of Every Child: A Brief History of the Institute for Juvenile Research, 1909-2004,” and “Failed Nerves and the Problem of Religion on the American Left, 1935-1962.”  He co-authored The University of Illinois at Chicago: A Pictorial History (2000).

For the UIC Historian's Office, Beuttler directs the University’s oral history project, and continues to research and speak on the history of UIC.

Tim Lacy is a full-time Visiting Assistant University Historian. He holds both an M.A. and Ph.D. in U.S. history from Loyola University Chicago. Lacy's professional topical specialties include the history of education, intellectual history, and cultural history. Chronologically he works on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Lacy's dissertation covered the history of the great books idea and the life of Mortimer J. Adler. Articles and reviews authored by Lacy have appeared in American Catholic Studies, Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, The Common Review, H-Ideas, AHA's Perspectives on History, Columbia Journal of American Studies, Encyclopedia of American Urban History, Encyclopedia of the Jazz Age, and Encyclopedia of the Culture Wars.

For the UIC Historian's Office, Lacy researches and writes on the history of the medical campus, twentieth century topics, Chicago history, and general higher education issues.

David Veenstra is a part-time Assistant University Historian. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Illinois at Chicago, specializing in political history, education history, religious history, and Chicago history. His dissertation covered America in the 1970s and the presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Veenstra contributes regularly to the UIC Alumni Magazine. He has also written articles and reviews for the Michigan Historical Review, Dictionary of American History, Encyclopedia of the Culture Wars, and is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Contemporary History.

Jason Marcus Waak is a full-time Assistant Director. He holds both a M.Ed. in higher education administration and B.A. in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a contributor to the UIC Alumni Magazine “Ask the Historian” and “End Notes” sections. His personal research interests include biographical work on Vice-Admiral Willis Augustus Lee and Rear-Admiral Gordon Pai’ea Chung-Hoon, and the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps. He has presented papers at conferences for Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Council on America’s Military Past, and the Henry Institute on Religion and Politics.

For the UIC Historian's Office, Waak researches and writes on the Student Governance, Asian American Movement, Student Life, Athletics, Administrative Structure, and as the Naval Training Schools at Navy Pier.

Selected Accomplishments and Ongoing Projects of the UIC Historian's Office

"Ask the Historian" and “End Notes” sections for UIC Alumni Magazine

Oral History Project – One of the largest active oral history projects in Illinois, with over 200 interviews conducted with various students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and public officials related to the University and its history.

Selected Articles and Publications by Office of the Historian staff:

• "The Comeback College: The UIC College of Pharmacy celebrates its 150th anniversary, a remarkable achievement given the setbacks it faced during its early years as the Chicago College of Pharmacy," UIC Alumni Magazine, Sep/Oct 2009
• "Lasting Impressions:Distinguished architect Walter Netsch created a university campus like no other," UIC Alumni Magazine, Sep/Oct 2008
• “When East Met West: Twenty five years ago, the University of Illinois Medical Center and University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Campus merged, creating the University of Illinois at Chicago,” UIC Alumni Magazine, Sep/Oct 2007
• “The Roots of Student Center West and Baseball,” UIC Student Centers Newsletter, December 2005
• “Daley’s Vision: His Efforts Made Circle Campus a Reality,” UIC Alumni Magazine, Jan/Feb 2005
• “LAS at UIC: 1965-2005,” ATLAS 2005
• For the Welfare of Every Child: A Brief History of the Institute for Juvenile Research, Institute for Juvenile Research, UIC, 2004
• “Envisioning an Urban University: President David Henry and the Chicago Circle Campus of the University of Illinois, 1955-1975,” History of Higher Education Annual 2003-2004
• "Illinois – multiple medical schools, one university," in Encyclopedia of the Midwest,  2004
• The University of Illinois at Chicago: A Pictorial History (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press, 2000) 

Additional Office Projects and Presentations