History alumnus Barton Myers ’03 teaches American military history in the classroom and on screen

During an overnight visit to The College of Wooster, Barton Myers ’03, then a prospective high school student, sat in on a military history course taught by John Gates, emeritus professor of history at Wooster. Gates and Myers stayed for an hour after the class ended, talking about Wooster’s history department and Myers’ hopes for college. He said it was the moment he knew “that Wooster was the right college for me.” 

After committing to Wooster in 1999 Myers lived in Douglass Hall, which then held the Sciences and Humanities housing program. The program offered living space and community to students interested in the value of the humanities, creative expression, and open dialogue about everything from individual passions to global issues. “It was a great place to live,” he recalled. “I absolutely loved it there and made many lifelong friends.”  

During Myers’ Independent Study project, Jeff Roche, professor of history, served as an advisor and mentor on the project. Myers explained that his I.S. experience greatly strengthened his self-reliance and perseverance, skills invaluable in the self-designed and long-term projects he has taken on throughout his career in higher academia. “I think at some point in their working career everyone has to develop a large project from scratch,” said Myers. “Wooster gives students a chance to do that in the safety of a mentored, guided experience before having to do it in the working world.” 

Roche also offered encouragement and guidance as Myers began his graduate studies. After Wooster, Myers completed his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia, and underscores Wooster’s continued support throughout his undergraduate education and his current career in higher academia.  

Myers is now a professor of history at Washington and Lee University, where he has been teaching for the last decade. Although he enjoys the lecturing and seminar discussions, he said Wooster has prepared him best of all to mentor students one-on-one in their own research projects. He credits much of his success to his experience at Wooster. Affirming the value of the Wooster educational experience, Myers said that he believes “the most important element is learning to think across many different disciplines,” noting its critical role in developing versatility and adaptability. He also stresses the importance of the support, personally and professionally, that he found at Wooster. “Attending Wooster was one of the two or three most important decisions I’ve made in my entire life,” Myers maintained. 

In addition to his classroom lectures and mentorship, Myers has been teaching American history and Civil War history to national audiences through partnerships with the HISTORY Channel, PBS, and the national news media. Most recently, Myers appeared as a guest expert on the HISTORY channel in a series entitled “DARK MARVELS,” which aired in August 2023 and investigates differing diabolical inventions throughout world history. He was also featured in the HISTORY Channel’s documentary miniseries “Abraham Lincoln” (2022) and “GRANT” (2020). 

Posted in Alumni on February 14, 2024.