Recent USM History Graduate Takes Post with Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Texas
Fri, 07/14/2023 - 11:34am | By: David Tisdale
Dr. Hayley Hasik, a spring 2023 University of Southern Mississippi graduate who earned her Ph.D. in history at the university, is now an educator/interpreter with the [Dwight David] Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison, Texas (Submitted photo).
A 2023 graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) History program uses the lessons and experiences she gained at the school in her work informing the public about the nation’s 34th president and famed leader of allied forces in Europe during World War II.
Dr. Hayley Hasik, who earned her Ph.D. from USM in May, is now an educator/interpreter in her home state with the [Dwight David] Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site in Denison, Texas, says the opportunities studying and working in public history at the university during her graduate studies are invaluable in the position.
As with most Ph.D. candidates or recent graduates on the job market, Dr. Hasik said she applied “far and wide” for a variety of positions ranging from tenure track teaching positions to government work to museums and historic sites. When she saw the vacant position at the Eisenhower Site, she jumped at the opportunity to return home to actively work in the history profession.
According to its website, the Eisenhower birthplace venue “showcases the home where the 34th U.S. President Dwight David 'Ike' Eisenhower was born in 1890. Antique furnishings fill the modest frame house, illustrating the working-class life of the Eisenhowers.” Its visitors center “celebrates Ike with memorabilia and exhibits featuring his many accomplishments as president and war hero.”
Dr. Hasik’s work at the site is multi-faceted, helping develop public programing aimed
at adults; conducting research into the site, collections, and community; and helping
with tours and daily operations.
“I’ve been involved in public history for a decade and welcomed the opportunity to
expand my experience working at historic sites,” she said of her decision to take
the job.
Dr. Hasik started her doctoral program at USM in fall 2017. Her research emphasis is U.S. history, war & society, and cultural history. Her dissertation, The Helicopter War: Unraveling the Myth and Memory of a Vietnam War Icon, looks at the promotional culture of Army aviation and the helicopter industry to explore how the military-industrial complex used culture to shape and influence the iconography, along with public perception, of helicopters from the 1950s through the Vietnam War. The project spurred from questions regarding the origins of the term “helicopter war,” regularly associated with the Vietnam War.
President Eisenhower factored into some of Dr. Hasik’s dissertation research, particularly his involvement in the expansion of the military-industrial complex throughout the 1950s - and his warning about that expansion in his farewell address.
“Our site has a complex history, as most historic sites do,” Dr. Hasik explained. “Not only do we commemorate the birthplace of the 34th president of the United States, but we also cover railroad history, World War II commemoration, and the role of communities and individual citizens in the preservation of historic spaces.
“These intertwined histories sparked my interest, especially the role of local women in purchasing, preserving, and promoting the birthplace as a historic site since 1946.”
According to Dr. Hasik, President Eisenhower visited Denison three times between 1946 and 1965, and those visits contribute to the preservation history of the birthplace. “We have a lot of ties to the community as well as national events, which patrons find interesting and gives us a lot of content to work with when creating programs,” she further noted.
The house sits on the original location in the neighborhood where Eisenhower was born, and the home and site campus highlight Eisenhower’s humble beginnings, Dr. Hasik said, as she further explained the role of women in the community in the early preservation of the venue.
“The local chapter of the Gold Star Mothers solicited donations to furnish the home and provided the first public guided tours,” she said. “The site has a history with many connections that appeal to a variety of visitors. If you’re ever near Denison, Texas, stop by for a visit.”
Leading up to her new job at the Eisenhower Birthplace have been a variety of public history projects that she has been involved with since her time as an undergraduate at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where she helped found the East Texas War & Memory Project. She then earned a master’s degree in public history from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.
“Public history has always been a key component of my education, training, and teaching philosophy,” Dr. Hasik said. “At USM, I had the opportunity to see and work with a variety of public history projects and programs which gave me a broad view of what public history is and how it fits into the community. Specifically, working as the Pat & Jean Welsh Graduate Fellow (in USM’s Dale Center for the Study of War & Society) provided multiple opportunities to coordinate and attend public history events, and allowed me access to understand the hard work that goes into building public programming and fostering community relations.”
At USM, she worked on events like the Dale Distinguished Lecture, the McCarthy Lecture Series, the Hattiesburg Public Library roundtables, and the National Guard oral history project with the USM Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. “Each opportunity at USM enhanced my public history experience and gave me the skills to confidently interact with various public groups,” she recounted. “I really appreciate the faculty for providing these experiences to me as a graduate student.”
Her dissertation advisor, Dr. Heather Stur, said Dr. Hasik’s accomplishments as a student in the program’s graduate studies made her the “gold standard” for others to emulate, and is proud to see her go on to be an ambassador for Southern Miss History.
“Hayley has always been drawn to public history, and so the job at the Eisenhower Birthplace Site is a perfect fit for her to put her knowledge of 20th century U.S. history to use in ways that will reach a broad public audience,” Dr. Stur said.
“Americans love history -- we hear this all the time. In hiring Hayley, the people at the Eisenhower site have ensured that the historical knowledge visitors to the house crave will come from a true expert in the field.”
Visit USM History graduate program website to learn more. Learn more about the Eisenhower State Historic Site.