Donor Asks Iowa State Faculty to Consider Facing History

Facing history is something that Debra Engel does on a daily basis.

Now she’s attempting to get others to do the same.

The 1973 Iowa State University psychology graduate has established a fund to bring the Facing History and Ourselves program to campus. This past summer three faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences attended Facing History seminars in New York City and Toronto through Debra’s support.

Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization that engages students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. Each year, Facing History reaches 1.8 million students through a network of 26,000 educators.

“By studying the historical development and lessons of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices we confront in our own lives,” said Debra, who lives in Sunnyvale, Calif.

“I’ve wanted to contribute to Iowa State for a number of years, but I couldn’t think of a project I was truly interested in.”

Then Debra became involved with Facing History. She serves on Facing History’s Board of Trustees.

“This was a way I could marry my two interests and get really excited about it,” she said.

Teresa Downing-Matibag, assistant professor of sociology, was one of the three Iowa State professors to attend a Facing History seminar. She says the experience encouraged her to consider how to engage students in history, empowering them to work for justice and positive social change.

“The experience reminded me that being an upstander involves making history and that my students have this wonderful potential,” she said. “The stories and enthusiasm of the teachers who attended this seminar revived my belief in the promise of education to make this world a better place.”

That’s exactly the impact that Debra is hoping for. An Ames native, she is the daughter of two Iowa State professors. She thought she was well equipped for the world from a moral and ethical standpoint.

“I always thought I was open minded,” she said. “But after going through a Facing History seminar, I was amazed at what my assumptions were and how they were holding me back from the kind of engagement our society so desperately needs.”

Debra’s support of the three faculty members’ seminar attendance was just the beginning. Iowa State has since sponsored an event on campus in February 2009 with nearly 30 participants. The luncheon and workshop introduced interested faculty to Facing History and some of its core resources, with a senior historian from Facing History presenting at the event.

In August 2009, Debra will sponsor a three-day Facing History seminar for all faculty.

“Every professor can be a Facing History teacher, and each and every individual can benefit from engaging in the discussion of how we, should we choose to be fully engaged in our society, can change the course of history for the better,” she said. “In Facing History terms we can choose to be bystanders or upstanders and that applies whether you are a teacher, an engineer, a business person, or in any walk of life you so choose.

“My interest is in planting seeds, and I will stay with this project as long as there is interest in moving forward. I think we’ve begun to do that at Iowa State, and if we can get enough faculty involved my hope is that it will take on a life of its own.”

If Richard Mansbach, professor of political science, is any indication, then Facing History may become more influential in university classrooms. Mansbach was one of the Iowa State faculty to attend last summer’s seminar.

“The seminar was a profoundly moving experience,” he said. “It brought to life some of the most powerful events in recent history and made them relevant to the world today.

“It was at once moving and instructive.”