Workshop Staff

Workshop Staff, Host Curators and Guest Scholars

Workshop Staff

Christian W. Øverland, Project Director is the Executive Vice President at The Henry Ford. As a public historian, his research and work has focused on design and social history of American traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. He has an M.A. in History and Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY, along with a B.A. in American Studies and Art History from The University of Minnesota. During the workshop, Christian will set the stage and wrap things up each day with the teachers, scholars and curators, bringing together the historical context and the resources of The Henry Ford to support understanding of the Industrial Revolution. As the new project director, Christian has been encouraging a reinvigoration of America’s Industrial Revolution at The Henry Ford.

Catherine Tuczek is the Curator of School and Public Learning at The Henry Ford. Before working full-time in museums, Catherine was a certified teacher at University Preparatory High School in Detroit. Catherine graduated from University of Michigan with a B.A. in Education and Eastern Illinois University with a M.A. in Historical Administration. During the workshop, Catherine will particularly support lesson planning. Prior to the workshop, Catherine spearheaded the grant-writing effort and planning details of the workshop.

Mary Jatkowski is the NEH Project Coordinator at The Henry Ford. Mary graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in History. During the workshop, Mary will provide logistical support. Prior to the workshop, Mary will be the contact point for teachers. She has also been planning details of the workshop over the past months.

Host Curators
Host curators provide examples of how The Henry Ford's collections relate to the social and technological history shared by the scholars.

Matt Anderson is the John and Horace Dodge Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford. Matt is responsible for the extensive collection of historic automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, railroad locomotives, horse-drawn vehicles and aircraft at The Henry Ford. He has a B.A. and M.A. in History, with a concentration in Public History, both from Western Michigan University. Matt will share his expertise on transportation during the Sunday museum tour, Wednesday focus on steam power, and Friday look at the assembly line.

Marc Greuther is the Senior Director of Historical Resources and Chief Curator of Industry and Design at The Henry Ford and will be responsible for advising on the workshop’s intellectual content and ensuring that site visits address appropriate themes with key artifacts. He has a B.A. from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London and over 15-years-experience working with industrial technology and historical machinery. Marc will share his expertise on industrial and technological history during the Sunday museum tour and Thursday look at industrial research and design.

Kristen Gallerneaux is Curator of Communications and Information Technology at The Henry Ford. She has an M.F.A. in Printmaking at Wayne State University and an M.A. in Folklore from the University of Oregon. She is currently completing a dissertation for a Ph.D. in Art Practice: Art History, Media Theory, and Criticism at the University of California at San Diego. Kristen will share her expertise on communications technological during the Thursday look at Thomas Edison.

Jeanine Head Miller is Curator of Domestic Life at The Henry Ford. She has over 40 years of experience in the museum field. Jeanine’s varied background blends perspectives from the fields of American history, art history, theater, and psychology into the creation of content-rich, historically accurate programs and publications. Jeanine will share her expertise on home and family life during the Monday focus on the move from home to factory production. She holds an M.A. in American History from Wayne State University.

Debra Reid is Curator of Agriculture and the Environment. She is the author of Interpreting Agriculture at History Museums and Historic Sites and has over thirty years of experience working in museums. She holds a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and M.A.s from Baylor University and State University of New York/Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies. Debra will share her expertise on farm technology and life during Tuesday’s focus on agriculture.

Guest Scholars
Each day, a guest scholar guides teachers through an overview of the social and technology history of a different aspect of the Industrial Revolution.

Robert H. Casey is an automotive historian and author of The Model T: A Centennial History, published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2008. As a world-renowned expert on transportation and automotive history, Casey is a much sought-after spokesperson by national and international media outlets and is a frequently quoted source in national publications such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Casey will join us on Friday to discuss Henry Ford’s use of the assembly line.

Daniel J. Clark is the Associate Professor of History at Oakland University where he teaches courses on American Labor History and Twentieth-Century U.S. Social History. In 1989, he received a Ph.D. from Duke University. Clark is the author of Like Night and Day: Unionization in a Southern Mill Town and is working on a manuscript tentatively titled “The Elusive Postwar Boom: Detroit Autoworkers in the 1950s.” On Friday, Clark will discuss unionization.

Nancy Gabin is a faculty member in the Department of History at Purdue University and teaches courses in American women’s history, labor history, U.S. history and the 1960s. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College (1977) and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (1984). Cornell University published her book Feminism in the Labor Movement: Women and the United Auto Workers, 1935-1975. Gabin will guide us through an overview of the move from home to factory production on Monday.

Martin Hershock is the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Graduate Programs and Professor of History at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he teaches courses on the 19th-century United States. In 1996, he received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Nineteenth-Century American History. His most recent book, Oh Lord Make Haste to Help Me: The Life and Times of Timothy M. Joy, Debtor, 1789-1813, was published by University of Michigan Press in 2011. On Wednesday, Hershock will provide an overview of the age of steam, emphasizing the impact on transportation.

R. Douglas Hurt received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University and is Head of the History Department at Purdue University. He is a past president of the Agricultural History Society and has served as the editor of the international journal for agricultural history entitled Agricultural History. Dr. Hurt is the author of eighteen books, the most recent being The Great Plains during World War II. Hurt will look at the impact of the Industrial Revolution on agriculture on Tuesday.

Paul B. Israel is director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. The Edison Papers provides leadership in publishing and developing the documentary legacy of America’s most prolific inventor and innovator. Dr. Israel is the author of Edison: A Life of Invention (Wiley, 1998), which was awarded the Dexter Prize by the Society for the History of Technology. On Thursday Israel will guide us through Edison’s story as well as that of other inventors and innovators of the era.