Lauck to lead Center for Western Studies

The news broke yesterday in The Dakota Scout that Jon Lauck, a historian, attorney, and longtime advisor to U.S. Senator John Thune, has been named as the next director of the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University.

Lauck has made his mark in South Dakota politics, serving as a senior advisor to Thune throughout Thune’s tenure in the U.S. Senate.

During that time, he also made a major mark in historical circles; he is a prolific author and editor.

Lauck almost single-handedly revived the field of Midwestern History, writing books such as The Oxford Handbook of Midwestern History, The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900, The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History, and From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism, 1920-1965.

In addition, Lauck has encouraged other historians to write about Midwestern history, editing numerous collections of historical essays on the topic.

Lauck has also made major contributions to South Dakota history. Prairie Republic: The Political Culture of Dakota Territory, 1879–1889 is the definitive work on this era of South Dakota history; Daschle v. Thune: Anatomy of a High Plains Senate Race draws on his position as a Thune advisor in that historic campaign. Lauck has been the driving force behind numerous collections of essays on South Dakota history as well: Heartland River: A Cultural and Environmental History of the Big Sioux River Valley, City of Hustle: A Sioux Falls Anthology, Old Trails and New Roads in South Dakota History, The Missouri, America’s Longest River: A Cultural and Environmental History. He also organized and four volumes of The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture (Volume I II III IV); he was kind enough to include offerings from this blogger in two of them.

Augustana University deserves plaudits for putting Jon Lauck in a position where he can continue to contribute to South Dakota History and Midwestern History for years to come, and this blogger congratulates Lauck and the Center for Western Studies for this appointment!