Todd Shallat, Ph.D.

Center for Idaho History and Politics
Boise State University, MS 1925
(208) 426-3701; Fax (208) 426-4058
E-mail: tshalla@boisestate.edu

Professional experience

Education

Academic honors

Books

Structures in the Stream: Water, Science, and the Rise of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994). Winner of the American Public Works Association's ABEL WOLMAN AWARD for best scholarly book; winner of the Society for the History in the Federal Government's HENRY ADAMS PRIZE for best history of the federal government and its activities.

Snake: The Plain and Its People, editor and coauthor (Boise, ID: Boise State Hemingway Western Studies Series, 1994). Idaho Library Association’s 1995 HONORABLE MENTION book award.   "A classic without peer. It will be regarded as extremely important reference well beyond our lifetimes," Idaho Geological Survey, 1995

Secrets of the Magic Valley and Hagerman’s Remarkable Horse, editor and coauthor (Boise: Black Canyon Communications, 2002).  Winner of the Idaho Library Association’s 2002 IDAHO BOOK AWARD. Winner of Independent Publishing Award (an "IPPY") in history category.  “Simply put, Secrets of the Magic Valley is better edited and more handsomely designed than any other regional overview yet published in Idaho." Idaho Commission for the Arts, 2002

Water and the Rise of Public Ownership on the Fresno Plain, 1850 to 1978 (Fresno, CA: City of Fresno, 1978, 1980, 1985). Revised and reprinted in part as "Fresno's Water Rivalry: City and Farm, 1887-1906," Essays in Public Works History (Chicago: Public Works Historical Society, 1979). "A landmark in the fields of 'public' and 'applied' history. It is perhaps the best case study ever written on a western regional water system," Public Works History in the United States (Nashville: American Association of State and Local History, 1982), p. 101.

Prospects: Land Use in the Snake River Birds of Prey Area, editor and coauthor, national winner of the Secretary of Interior's "outstanding" service award for the conservation and management of America's natural resources (Boise, ID: Boise State University and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 1987).

Harrison Boulevard: Preserving the Past in Boise's North End, editor and coauthor (Boise: School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, Boise State University, 1989). "The essence of Americana," The Idaho Statesman. "A model for local history . . . as well-written and interesting a narrative of neighborhood development as one could want," Idaho Yesterdays.

Hope for the Dammed: An Historical Assessment of The Corps of Engineers Environmental Work on the Mississippi River, contract history for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Mississippi River Valley Division (Vicksburg: U.S. Mississippi River Commission, 2004).  Published online and forthcoming in hard copy.

Ethnic Landmarks: Ten Historic Places That Define the City of Trees (Boise, Idaho: City of Boise, Office of the City Historian, 2007). “Indispensable,” David H. Bieter, Mayor of Boise. “A fun and fascinating guide to historic downtown Boise. Lyrically written. Beautifully designed,” Charles Hummel, architect and founder of Idaho Smart Growth

Mobile Home Living in Boise: Its Uncertain Future and Alarming Decline (Boise: Center for Idaho History and Politics, 2007). “An outstanding example of the role that a metropolitan research university of distinction can play in clarifying complex policy issues of widespread concern.” President Robert Kustra, Boise State University

Ida Visits the Capitol, with First Lady Lori Otter. Boise: Idaho State Office of the Governor, 2008.

The Idaho Adventure, with Nancy Tacke. Layton, UT: Gibbs-Smith Publishing, 2009.

Peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters

“Holding Louisiana,” Technology and Culture: The International Quarterly of the Society for the History of Technology, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 46 (January 2006):102-117.

“American Gilbraltars: the Quest for Scientific Defense of the Nation, 1815-1861,” Army History 66 (Winter 2008), pp. 4-19.

“Colossus Above St. Louis: Remaking the Mississippi at Melvin Price Locks and Dam,” Illinois Heritage, published by the Illinois Historical Society, 8 (July-August 2005), pp. 10-15.

"Building Waterways: Science and the Army in Early Public Works, 1802-1861," Technology and Culture: The International Quarterly of the Society for the History of Technology, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 31 (January 1990), pp. 19-50.

"Science and the Grand Design," Construction History, published by the University of London, 10 (1994):17-28.

"Engineering Policy: The U.S. Corps of Engineers and the Historical Foundation of Power," The Public Historian, published by the University of California (Berkeley) Press, 11 (Summer 1989), pp. 7-27.

"Water and Bureaucracy: Origins of the Federal Responsibility for Water Resources," in Using History in Water Resource Development, a special issue of the University of New Mexico's Natural Resources Journal (Summer 1991).

"Shaping Water Policy Through Administrative Power" in Steven C. Harris, ed., Water Resources Planning and Management (New York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1989), pp. 528-535.

"A Program for the Coastline, 1820-1860," The U.S. Army Corps: A Bicentennial History (Washington, D.C.: forthcoming from G.P.O, 2004).

"Urban Problems, Rural Values: History as Community Outreach in the Mountain West," in J.D. Britton, ed., History Outreach: Programs for Museums, Historical Organizations, and Academic History Departments (Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Publishing, 1994).

“In the Wake of Hurricane Betsy,” in Transforming New Orleans and Its Environs, Craig Colton, ed., (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), pp. 121-140.

“Ecology in Policymaking,” Water Policy: The Journal of the World Water Council 2 (1999-2000): 326-342.

“Losing Louisiana: Technology and Natural Disasters,” ICON: The Journal of the International Society for the History of Technology, 6 (2001):149-160.

“Before the Deluge: The Nature of the Mississippi on the Eve of the Millennial Flood,” contract history excerpted by the U.S. Mississippi River Commission for The Great Mississippi: Works in Progress (Vicksburg: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2001): http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/MRC-History-Center/essay/works/works.html

"Spheres of Influence: Bureaucracy and Policymaking," in Jerry Rodgers, et. al., Civil Engineering History (New York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1996), pp. 136-143.

“Success Through Failure: Army Science in Harbor Construction,” Water Resources Impacts, American Water Resources Association, 5 (winter 2003): 5-9.

“The Mississippi River Watershed,” The Atlas of U.S. and Canadian Environmental History, Char Miller, ed. (New York: Rutledge, 2003), pp. 182-184.

"Policy Perspectives: Engineering Water Policy Through Bureaucracy," Public Works History 51 (February 1989):1;

"Seesaw Prosperity, 1945 to 1955," in Old Town Santa Barbara, Public History Monograph No. 1, James C. William, ed. (Santa Barbara: University of California, 1977), pp. 222-265.

“Foreword,” Water for the Anasazi by Kenneth Wright. Essays in Public Works History, Number 22 (Kansas City: American Public Works Association, 2003), pp. iii-viii.

“Foreword,” Cities Take Flight: A Centennial History of the Municipal Airport by Janet Bedernek. Essays in Public Works History, Number 23 (Kansas City: American Public Works Association, 2004).

“Foreword,” As Scene by the Engineers: Remarkable Prints from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History by William E. Worthington, Jr. Essays in Public Works History, Number 24 (Kansas City: American Public Works Association, 2005).

"Idaho’s Middle Landscape," Trumpeter: A Journal of Ecosophy, University of Alberta, 15:1 (1998)
trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/issue/view/29

Journal editing

Public History News, founding editor, 1985—1987

Essays in Public Works History, general editor, 2002 -

Public Works History ( the triennial newsletter of the Public Works Historical Society), editor, 2002 -

Idaho Yesterdays: Rocky Mountain History and Culture, production editor, 2004 -

Idaho Issues Online (Boise State’s public affairs journal), executive editor -

Idaho Issues: Special Report on Higher Education, editor, Boise State University School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, 1 (Winter 1988).

An Interview With Senator Jennings Randolph, editor and writer for the retiring long-time chairman of the Senate committee on public works (Chicago: Public Works Historical Society, 1986).

Magazine writing and commentary

“Second Chinatown” Boise Journal, June/July 2007.

“Boise Basques and the Star Hotel,” Boise Journal, August/September 2007.

“True West,”Black Canyon Quarterly 1 (Summer 2002): 50-52.

“History’s Missing Pieces,” Focus Magazine, Fall 2002, pp.  12-15.  Gold medalist, Council for the Advancement of Higher Education (CASE).

"Minute Writing: A Sanctuary for Private Thought," Word Works 68 (April 1994).

"A Century of Statehood: Centennial Fever Grips the Northwest," Public History News (Fall 1990):1-2.

"People in Public Works” columnist and “feature editor” for The Reporter, the monthly magazine of the American Public Works Association, 1979-1985.

"Rethinking History in the Mountain West," Public History Network, University of California, Santa Barbara (Spring 1987):1-2.

“Never Defeated: The surprising truth about the first Idahoans who survived the Oregon Trail,” Idaho Issues Online, Fall 2004.

Encyclopedias

History of Science in the United States: An Encyclopedia (1995 ed.) s.v. "Long, Stephen Harriman.”

The Encyclopedia of Rural America (Garland 1995 ed.), s.v. river engineering, navigation, flood control

Encyclopedia of World Environmental History (2003 ed,), s.v. “U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

Encyclopedia of World Environmental History (2002 ed.), s.v. “Mississippi River.”

World Book Encyclopedia (1998 ed.), s.v. “Boise.”

Selected book reviews

Selected presentations

Dutch Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), the Hague, Netherlands, 2005. “National water policy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.”

“Nature by design: the Boise River,” American Association for the Advancement of Science, Boise, 2007.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, Illinois, 2004. “Remaking the Mississippi at Melvin Price Locks and Dam.”

Sun Valley, Idaho, April 2004. “Responsible Growth for Treasure Valley’s Future.” Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce 9th annual leadership conference.

University of Maryland, 2002. “Size Matters: Army Engineers and Monumental Design,” National Science Foundation’s “Distinguished Lecture” in Civil and Environmental Engineering History.

San Diego, 2002. “Delta Voices: Isleños, Cajuns, African-Americans and the Building of the Mississippi River Levees, 1927-1975,” Oral History Association annual conference.

University of California, Los Angeles, 1998. "Military Engineering as a Gateway to the Nobility," Clark Memorial Library early modern history symposium on the science and war.

University of Lisbon, 1998. “Environmental protection in the wake of Hurricane Betsy,” technology and natural disasters forum, International Committee for the History of Technology annual conference.

Baltimore, Maryland, 1997. "The Corps of Engineers on the Lower Mississippi," American Society for Environmental History annual conference.

Washington, D.C., 1996. "Federal Engineers as Policymakers," American Society of Civil Engineers annual conference.

University of West Virginia, Morgantown, 1995. "Rivers, Culture, and Civil Engineering,” Institute for History of Technology “Distinguished Lecture”.

Dallas, Texas, 1995. "Culture and History in Hydraulic Design," luncheon address, American Public Works Congress.

National Science Museum, London 1993. "Science and the Grand Design: the Politics of Applied Science in 19th Century America,” University of London seminar on science and engineering.

Lowell National Historic Park, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1993, "Severing the Snake: River Development in the Idaho Desert," Society for the History of Technology.

Pittsburgh, 1993. "Rivers and the Early Republic," American Society of Environmental History annual conference.

Sacramento, 1989. "Making Policy Through Program Implementation," American Society of Civil Engineers Conference on Water Resources.

Toledo, Ohio, 1991. "Presenting History to a Community Audience," National Council on Public History annual conference.
 

Research grants

U.S. Department of Education, teaching local history ($30,000)
Mississippi River Commission environmental study ($250,000)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Boise River study ($20,000)
National Council on Public History editorship ($8,000)
American Public Works Association editorship ($15,000)
BSU and Idaho Humanities Council Snake plain study ($20,000)
U.S. Constitution Bicentennial and Madison Fellow programs ($9,000)
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Birds of Prey study ($10,000)
Idaho Water adjudication and jurisdictional research ($3,000)
Boise County historic road and boundary research ($$8,000)
Silver Valley EPA superfund research ($20,000)
Frank Church archive project ($4,000)
Naturalist Bob Limbert photo archive ($10,000)
Harrison Boulevard Historic District survey ($5,000)
BSU Foundation river ecology exhibition ($3,000)
Boise City Library centennial history ($17,000)
Hagerman National Monument trial and homestead studies ($10,000)
Boise’s Idanha’s “Trial of the Century” Exhibition ($4,000)
Craters of the Moon history and trail signage ($15,000)
Boise Depot “Mainline” railroading exhibit ($15,000)
Idaho Yesterdays revival ($15,000).
Boise City downtown mobility study ($3,000)
Magic Valley ecology history ($40,000).
Canyon County park history and trails ($8,000)
Boise downtown historical exhibits ($10,000)
Bicentennial of the Idaho Fur Trade (pending)
 

Community and university service

Public land and water agency work: Idaho Attorney General water rights consultant (2001-2002), Boise County Board of Supervisors road jurisdiction history (1998-2000), East End Neighborhood Association foothills litigation support (1998), U.S. Forest Service cultural resources studies (1992— ), U.S. National Park Service historical context studies (1994, 2003); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood management study (1988); U.S. Bureau of Land Management Birds of Prey report (1988); Idaho Department of Commerce and Tourism “Ride the Rift” educational pamphlets (1999); Canyon County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Waterways preservation report (2002—).

Editorial assignments: National Council on Public History editorship, 1985-87; Public Works Historical Society editorship (2002—); College of Social Science and Public Affairs newsletter (1992); history department newsletter editor (annually since 1986); Hemingway Western Studies Series editorial board, 1987-1992; Idaho Issues Online executive editor (2004—); Idaho Humanities evaluator for Idaho Yesterdays (2004).

Work for the City of Boise: "Boise Vision Project," water planning committee (1990-1991); Boise Depot interpretive exhibit (2000); Harrison Boulevard historic neighborhood survey (1989); historic neighborhood preservation guide (1998); North Eighth Street historic survey (1999); North End Neighborhood Association historic preservation committee (1992); pulbic library centennial history (1995); Idaho Smart Growth trolley history booklet (2002); Log Cabin Literary Society “Bookfest” committee (2002); Renaissance Institute instructor (2004—); Office of the City Historian (2004—), sponsoring the First Thursday Fettuccine Forum, exhibitions, white-paper reports, and historical publications.

Media commentator: The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, High Country News, Money Magazine, PBS American Experience (Master of the Mississippi), The History Channel Modern Marvels (The Corps of Engineers), Northwest Cable News, National Public Radio, The Idaho Statesman, and many local television stations.

Gateway to web presentations

Center for Idaho History and Politics
www.boisestate.edu/history/idaho

The Office of the City Historian
www.boisestate.edu/history/cityhistorian

Idaho Yesterdays
www.idahoyesterdays.com

Idaho Issues Online
www.idahoissues.com


 

This page last reviewed July 2008