Allegheny College to Host National History Day Competition

National History DayAllegheny College will host the northwestern Pennsylvania National History Day academic competition on Saturday, Feb. 24, with middle- and high-school students presenting projects related to the theme of “Conflict and Compromise in History.”

More than 20 students from schools in Erie, Crawford, McKean and Warren Counties are set to participate in the regional event. Students work closely with their teachers and present the products of their independent research in the form of multimedia documentaries and exhibits, and as websites and essays.

“The Allegheny College History Department is very excited to host the National History Day competition for the first time,” said Judson Herrman, Frank T. McClure professor of Greek and Latin and chair of the History Department. “We look forward to welcoming students and teachers from around the region to our campus and seeing the creativity and hard work that students have invested in their projects. Allegheny has a long tradition of pride in student research, and we are excited to connect with local students who are dedicated to independent scholarship.”

Faculty and students from the Allegheny History Department, along with other area university and high school faculty, will serve as judges at the competition.

Awardees from the regional National History Day competitions in Pennsylvania will advance to the statewide competition in Carlisle in May. From there, students will have an opportunity to advance to the national competition in June at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Established in 1974, National History Day is a nonprofit education organization that offers year-long academic programs that engage over half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. National History Day also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators.