On Thursday, Sept. 7, Jonathan A. Noyalas ’01, M.A., director of Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute, was honored by the Josephine School Community Museum and African-American Cultural Center in Berryville, Virginia, for his contributions to the study of African American history in the Shenandoah Valley. In addition to Noyalas, the Josephine Museum recognized historian Drew Gilpin Faust, Ph.D., former president of Harvard University, and Jeff Keller, a teacher at Handley High School and Virginia’s 2024 Teacher of the Year, for their contributions to the study of African American history.
Noyalas’ contributions to the study of African American history in the Shenandoah Valley include his recent book, “Slavery & Freedom in the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era” (University Press of Florida), mapping of long-forgotten slave cemeteries in the area, and the digital history project, “The Spirit of Freedom,” a project that is part of CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery Project and was realized with the help of numerous undergraduate students at SU.
Pictured, left to right: Keller, Noyalas & Faust
Photo Credit: James Imoh
