David Wrobel
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor of American History
An experienced administrator and renowned scholar of American history, David holds master’s and doctoral degrees in American Intellectual History from The Ohio University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in history/philosophy from the University of Kent, Canterbury, England. He is a historian of the American West and American thought and culture, and has been recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and service.
A strong proponent of student success and mentorship, David is known for his work with teachers around the country, participating in and directing many teacher institutes sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S. Department of Education, National Council for History Education and other organizations.
David’s most recent book is America’s West: A History, 1890-1950 (2017); he is also the author of Promised Lands: Promotion, Memory and the Creation of the American West and The End of American Exceptionalism: Frontier Anxiety from the Old West to the New Deal as well as numerous book monographs, co-edited collections and articles. His current book project is John Steinbeck’s Country: A Writer’s Defense of Democracy, 1930-1968.” David also co-edits The Modern American West book series and serves on the editorial board for the Steinbeck Review, and Montana:The Magazine of Western History.
Prior to joining SBU, David served as dean of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma (OU) where he was also the David L. Boren Professor and Merrick Chair of Western American History. As Dean, he worked with his team on several significant achievements, including securing the largest gift in OU history to name the college, as well as a $16 million gift to found a new quantum research center. He was also pivotal in creating scholarships and programs to enhance support for underserved undergraduates, attract top graduate students, and support faculty research and creative activity. David was the inaugural recipient of the David L. Boren Professorship, one of the most prestigious honors at OU, and also received the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences Holden Award for Teaching Excellence.
David’s other honors include the Western Heritage Award for his nonfiction book, Global West, American Frontier: Travel, Empire and Exceptionalism from Manifest Destiny to the Great Depression; and research fellowships from Yale University’s Beinecke Library, the Huntington Library, the Newberry Library, and the American Philosophical Society. He is past president of the Western History Association, the American Historical Association’s Pacific Coast Branch, and of Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society.