Heather Tanner, Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University at Mansfield, was recently honored with The Susan Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award.
This prestigious award is given annually to a faculty member, staff member or student within The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences who has demonstrated outstanding mentoring and leadership on behalf of women, or other historically underrepresented groups at the university.
“We are proud to be able to claim Heather as one of our own, and we are grateful for her contributions to inclusive excellence on our campus and beyond, Dean Norman Jones said. “The longstanding need for and importance of such work is now clearer than ever.”
Tanner specializes in medieval history, with a focus on power and gender. Her published work explores countesses, queenship, governance, women and the law, The Roman de Silence and emotion. Her teaching spans courses on ancient through early modern political and religious history. She has been teaching on the Ohio State Mansfield campus since 2001.
In addition to her scholarship and teaching in the Department of History, Tanner is actively involved in service to the campus and the community. She is particularly proud of her work on the Algebra Project Cohort program in Mansfield and the Young People’s Project (YPP), which led to the creation of the Math Literacy Initiative. The programs are aimed at low-income students and students of color to “ensure full citizenship in today’s technological society.” She is also proud of creating an Ecolab at the Mansfield campus, which has supported the development of the pollinator project and the micro urban farm project. These projects aid student learning, create internships and foster joint projects with the local community to improve food access and preservation of pollinators.
Tanner has also devoted her efforts to mentoring. In organizing national and international conference panels, she routinely seeks out graduate students and early career scholars as presenters. She helped found the Write Club, an informal writing group established to encourage junior colleagues and peers to keep active in publishing and research activities. She has nominated and encouraged female colleagues to serve as faculty president, fellows and deans, and she has encouraged them to participate in Ohio State’s leadership training. She has served as the chair of various committees, on the Executive Committee and once as faculty president. In recognition of her service, she received the Mansfield campus’ Excellence in Service Award in 2016.
For more information about The Susan Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award visit: https://artsandsciences.osu.edu/news-events/awards-recognition/susan-m-hartmann-mentoring-and-leadership-award-0.
Photo: OSUM
