KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 19, 2025

A Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences assistant professor of history is receiving national recognition by being chosen for the Organization of American Historians (OAH) Distinguished Lectureship Program. 

Lauren MacIvor Thompson, Ph.D., joint-appointed assistant professor in the Radow College Departments of History and Interdisciplinary Studies, is one of only 17 historians nationwide who were recently named OAH Distinguished Lecturers. The program’s roster of speakers includes historians from Ivy League Schools such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, and other top schools in the nation. Appointees serve a minimum of three years, and they join a network that allows organizations to request subject matter experts to speak at colleges, universities, museums, state and local historical societies, hospitals, libraries, and many other venues.  

“It was designed so that historians who had established themselves in their career could essentially convey their research and their specialty in their field to the general public,” MacIvor Thompson said. “It is an honor to be chosen because it is not something that you apply for. It is an honor.”  

Being named to that list was so far outside of MacIvor Thompson’s perceived realm of possibility that she initially thought it was a mistake when she found out about her nomination several months before the formal announcement. The catalyst for the accidental discovery was reaching out to an OAH representative to fix an email issue brought on by what she thought was “an overzealous spam filter.”  

“I logged back in, and at that point... there was a menu tab that said distinguished lecturer. I emailed her back and said, ‘okay, well, now everything’s really screwed up because it thinks that I’m somebody else and my email is not working and what do I do,’” MacIvor Thompson said. “She said ‘oh, well, you’re not supposed to know about this yet... Don't worry, your account is correct, but don’t tell anyone. Also, we’ll fix your email.’” 

MacIvor Thompson, a historian of law, medicine, and women’s rights, said she “was really shocked to get the news” because she is an early-career assistant professor. She started full-time at Kennesaw State University in the fall of 2021 and said that she will not go up for tenure until the summer of 2026. However, her work speaks for itself. She was highlighted in the Radow College 2024-2025 Scholarly Work publication for her contributions to her field, which include various articles, book chapters, media interviews, and authoring and signing of amici curia briefs.  

“I think I caught their attention because I’ve done so much public facing work in terms of publishing op-eds and doing talks for the more general public, and I think that maybe that contributed to them deciding that I was worthy to include... on the list,” MacIvor Thompson said. 

MacIvor Thompson hopes that her expertise will appeal to groups including physicians, lawyers, and women’s rights groups. Her forthcoming book, which is under contract with Rutgers University Press, is called “Women’s Bodies, Doctor’s Rights: The Medical Politics of the American Birth Control Movement.” She has already posted several talks that draw on different angles from the book, and she looks forward to helping the public understand her research.  

“It's great that people... are so interested in history and want to hear from historians, because history obviously informs our present. I think more than ever... it's important to hear from people who are experts in the field and can give the real story... based on evidence and primary sources,” MacIvor Thompson said.  

She believes in the value of showing students that they are being taught by experts in their field who are actively publishing and being asked to speak, and she is proud to bring this honor home to Radow College. 

“My departments are full of really accomplished scholars and obviously very accomplished students, so it’s felt really good to be able to say that I get to contribute to that, too.” MacIvor Thompson said.  

 

-Story by Noelle Lashley