Director

Steven Mintz comes to Columbia University from the University of Houston where he is the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History and Director of the American Cultures Program. In 2006-07 he was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California.

Dr. Mintz previously served as Senior Associate Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (2000-2001) and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, College of Humanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences (1998-2000), both at the University of Houston.

An authority on the history of the family and of children, he is the author and editor of thirteen books, including Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood (Harvard University Press, 2004), Moralists & Modernizers: America’s Pre-Civil War Reformers (Johns Hopkins, 1995), and Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life (Free Press, 1988). He has received the Organization of American Historians’ 2005 Merle Curti Award for the best book in American social history and the Association of American Publisher’s 2005 R.R. Hawkins Award for the best scholarly book.

Dr. Mintz is President-elect of the Society for the History of Childhood and Youth, National Co-Chair of the Council on Contemporary Families, and Past President of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. He chairs the Organization of American Historians Teaching Committee, is a member of the American Historical Association's Nominating Committee, and serves on the Advisory Boards of Film & History, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the Organzation of American Historians Magazine of History, Slavery & Abolition, and the History Teacher.

A pioneer the integration of new technologies into teaching and research. He created the Digital History web site (http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu) used by more than 20,000 teachers and students each day. He has received many teaching awards and has worked tirelessly to promote the professional development of K-12 teachers, primarily through five U.S Department of Education "Teaching American History" grants. He has also received grants from National Endowment for the Humanities. His funded projects total over eight million dollars.

Dr. Mintz received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1979 and his B.A. from Oberlin College in 1973.

Steve’s office is in 302 Philosophy Hall. You may contact him at 212.854.1066 or by e-mail sm3031@columbia.edu.