Title: Historian, Professor Emeritus
Company: Nebraska Wesleyan University
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Ronald Clinton Naugle, PhD, Historian, Professor Emeritus of Nebraska Wesleyan University, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in American History.
Originally intending to go into the field of engineering, it was during his time as an undergraduate at Purdue University that Dr. Ronald Naugle found his true calling in history. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in American government and politics, history, and philosophy in 1964 and continued at Purdue University to receive a Master of Arts in American history in 1966. Demonstrating his love and passion for the subject, he began teaching as an instructor in American History at Nebraska Wesleyan University that year and later earned a PhD in American studies from the University of Kansas in 1976.
Dr. Naugle spent more than four decades as an educator and remained at Nebraska Wesleyan University throughout his career. He worked his way through the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor before achieving the role of Hūge-Kinne Endowed Chair of History in 1980. He later became the chairman of the history department, director of the historical studies graduate program designed for high school history and social studies teachers, and director of the Wesleyan Honors Academy for advanced high school students, which provided high school students the opportunity to gain college credit while still in high school. Dr. Naugle retired in 2004, achieving the honorable professor emeritus title after his years of dedicated service to Nebraska 
Wesleyan University.
While teaching at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Dr. Naugle also offered his time to a variety of programs in Nebraska. He served as the Nebraska State Coordinator for the National History Day Program from 1985 to 2005 and as the representative for the Mountain-Plains State’s programs on the Executive Council of State Coordinators for 10 years, where he represented the coordinators and programs of the Mountain Plains states. In addition, he directed the two-week Nebraska Summer Institute for High School History and Social Studies Teachers from 1991 to 2006, which was funded in part by a National Teaching American History grant administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Naugle was also co-coordinator of the “We the People” program for High School Government and History students. Furthermore, Dr. Naugle was also a member of the Honors Academy’s accrediting organization, known as the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), where he served as representative for four-year private colleges and universities. He was awarded emeritus status by the board of the NACEP upon the completion of his term in office in 2006.
Dr. Naugle is a celebrated author, co-author, and editor. He won the Frost Award for the best work in the folk arts as co-author for “Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers” from the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in 1993 and an award as senior author of “History of Nebraska, 4th ed.” from the Nebraska Center for the book for the best reference work in Nebraska history in 2015. In 2018, he published “A Brief History of Nebraska” as a tourist guide to major historical sites in Nebraska. He has also contributed to historical documentary films as a consultant and editor, including an award from Women in Communication for the film “White Man’s Way,” in 1987, which focused on the history of the Genoa, Nebraska, Industrial Indian School. He also served as a consultant for a three hour documentary entitled, “Lost Nation: The Ioway” in 2013.
As a scholar and supporter of numerous historical organizations, Dr. Naugle has received many awards. In 2003, he received the Paul Beck Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award from the Nebraska State Council for the Social Studies as well as the 2003 Nebraska Sower Award from the Nebraska Humanities Council (now HumanitiesNebraska), and the 1998 Addison E. Sheldon award from the Nebraska State Historical Society (now HistoryNebraska). Dr. Naugle is also an active observer of politics in Nebraska and upon his retirement from teaching in 2004, he was appointed to the Nebraska State Hall of Fame Commission by the Governor of Nebraska and has served as chair since 2015. In 2017, Dr. Naugle was a recipient of the Marquis Who’s Who Humanitarian Award and from 2001 to 2017, he was selected for inclusion in five volumes of Who’s Who in America. Dr. Naugle is an associate fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies, a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, belongs to the International Quilt Studies Center, is a lifetime member of Phi Alpha Theta International History Honor Society, and served as president of the State Council for History Education from 2005 to 2008.
Dr. Naugle and his wife, Gretchen, an Episcopal priest and former librarian, are the proud parents of Meredith, who also has a PhD in the field of mechanical engineering. As for hobbies, Dr. Naugle also enjoys cooking and carpentry.
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