Stur Named Recipient of USM鈥檚 Prestigious Moorman Professorship
Tue, 08/17/2021 - 11:34am | By: David Tisdale
Dr. Heather Stur, a professor in The University of 51逗奶 Mississippi (USM) School of Humanities and an internationally recognized expert on the Vietnam War, is the recipient of the Charles W. Moorman Distinguished Alumni Professor of the Humanities for 2021-2鈥�3, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon a member of the University鈥檚 faculty.
The Moorman Professorship honors Dr. Charles W. Moorman, a longtime USM professor of English and Vice President for Academic Affairs in the 1970s. It is made possible by the USM Foundation through a matching grant from the Phil Hardin Foundation and is awarded biennially for a two-year term to a senior professor in English, history, foreign languages, or philosophy.
Dr. Stur will receive support through the Moorman Professorship for research on her book about Gen. Buford 鈥淏uff鈥� Blount and the U.S. Army Third Infantry Division鈥檚 2003 invasion of Iraq. The book, 鈥媤hich is under contract with Osprey Publishing, will be released in 2023 to mark the 20th anniversary of the operation, which culminated in the taking of Baghdad and dismantling of Saddam Hussein鈥檚 regime. She will also present a public lecture at the end of her term as the Moorman Professor.
鈥淩eceiving the Moorman Professorship is one of the greatest honors of my career so far,鈥� Dr. Stur said. 鈥淭he designation puts me in the company of some of my most accomplished colleagues in the School of Humanities, including my friend and mentor, Andrew Wiest.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to the Moorman award committee and external reviewers for believing in the value of my project. For the committee to select me from a competitive field of applicants is wonderful validation of my work.鈥�
A 1971 USM graduate, Blount enjoyed a distinguished career in the U.S. military, earning the rank of major general before retiring in 2005. The Bassfield, Miss. native lead the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division into Baghdad in 2003, toppling the regime of Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein in the second Gulf War. The University鈥檚 Dale Center for the Study of War & Society honored Gen. Blount with the establishment of the Gen. Buford 鈥淏uff鈥� Blount Professorship in Military History, which Dr. Stur earned in 2017.
鈥淲ith Gen. Blount being a native Mississippian and USM alumnus, there鈥檚 a fascinating connection between our university, our state, and one of the most important military interventions of the early 21st century,鈥� Dr. Stur continued.
As part of her research for the book, Dr. Stur traveled with Gen. Blount to Fort Stewart, Georgia, where the Third Infantry Division is stationed. She got to ride in a tank, observe a battle simulation, and talk to armor crews to get a sense of what their jobs were like in Iraq and Kuwait, the staging area for the invasion.
鈥淥ver the past few years, I鈥檝e had the good fortune to get to know Gen. Blount and talk with him at length about his storied military career,鈥� Dr. Stur said. 鈥淎s commander of the Third Infantry Division, his decisions shaped the course of U.S. military history in Iraq. To have access to someone who made history like that is amazing.
鈥淚鈥檝e spent most of my career immersed in the history of the Vietnam War, so it鈥檚 been invigorating to shift my focus to a new time period and a new conflict. I鈥檝e learned a ton during the past few years of doing research on it, and I鈥檓 excited to write the book.鈥�
Dr. Stur earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and joined the USM History faculty in 2008. An internationally recognized expert on the Vietnam war, she was chosen for a Fulbright scholar award in 2013 to study and teach in Vietnam at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. Her research expertise includes gender and war, U.S. foreign relations and post-1945 America. She is author 鈥媘ost recently of Saigon at War: South Vietnam and the Global Sixties, 鈥媋nd The U.S. Military and Civil Rights Since World War II, which w鈥媏re supported by the Blount Professorship; and Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era, among other books and academic journal articles. She was one of four USM faculty members and two USM alums who contributed to a 2017 New York Times series titled 鈥淰ietnam 鈥�67鈥� which captured the political and cultural turbulence roiling America in 1967, with the Vietnam War as the centerpiece.
A 鈥媍o-director USM's Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, Dr. Stur was a former co-director of the University鈥檚 Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage; she currently serves as director of graduate studies for the USM History program. Among many other honors. Dr. Stur is also 鈥媡he 鈥媔naugural recipient of USM鈥檚 Nina Bell Suggs Professorship and its College of Arts and Letters Junior Faculty Research Award.
鈥淒r. Stur鈥檚 selection as our incoming Moorman Distinguished Professor recognizes the quality, impact, and relevance of her work in military history at national and international levels,鈥� said Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the USM College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淗er scholarship builds upon and extends the outstanding work of the Dale Center, and captures important lessons learned in Iraq that will inform not only students and scholars of history, but future civilian and military leaders as they consider their options in international affairs.
鈥淗er work is also particularly compelling, given our commitment as an institution to our veterans and the engagement of former military leaders in the USM and Hattiesburg communities.鈥�
For information about the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society, visit 鈥�/dale-center-war-society/.For information about the School of Humanities, which is housed in the USM College of Arts and Sciences, visit /arts-sciences/index.php.