Heather Bailey, a professor of history at the University of Illinois Springfield, has been named University Scholar for 2024. This prestigious award, the highest faculty honor from the University of Illinois System, recognizes outstanding teaching and scholarship. Only one faculty member receives the award annually at UIS.

 “I’m honored and delighted by this recognition and the opportunity it provides to further my research. I’ve benefitted so much from being in a strong and supportive department at UIS,” Bailey said, adding that she is the fifth historian at UIS to receive the award.

Bailey’s research focuses on intellectual and cultural connections between France and Russia. She is especially interested in the different worldviews behind sometimes tumultuous relations between Russia and the West. Bailey is the author of two books, including her recent study (2020) of Russian attempts to challenge negative attitudes about Russia and the Eastern Orthodox Church in nineteenth-century France. She has published research in leading journals in her field and her book chapter, “Eastern Orthodox Christianity,” will soon appear in the Handbook of Religious Culture in Nineteenth Century Europe.

Reviewers praised Bailey for her rigorous, interdisciplinary research and her ability to weave together complex ideas. Her use of French, Russian and Polish-language sources contribute substantially to the depth and nuance of her conclusions.   

“Bailey is drawn with a passionate interest to fascinating and important stories that have been marginalized or neglected in history,” said one reviewer. “In her current research, she seeks to tell a story that, beyond her interest in certain figures of history, illuminates how neglected national and political ideologies, attitudes about monarchy, Marxism, anarchism, religion and political violence factor into socio-cultural historical change.”

Bailey has taught 22 different courses at UIS, including European and Russian history and Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) courses. She has also been a longtime contributor to UIS’ Capital Scholars Honors program, teaching two of the program’s core courses on ethics and power. Bailey has also worked with many master’s students in history and political science as a thesis adviser, reader or committee member.

“Bailey’s dedication, interest, and energy in her academic scholarship was, and is, expressed expertly in the classroom,” a reviewer said.

As University Scholar, Bailey will receive $15,000 annually for three years to support her research and other scholarly activities. Faculty members are nominated by their peers, and a committee of senior faculty makes the final selection.