November 25, 2009

Re: The application of Michelle Mayhew for admission to the Masters/Ph.D.

program in
Russian/East European History of Kansas University

Dear Members of the Admission Committee:

I am pleased to recommend Michelle Mayhew for admission to the

Masters/Ph.D. program in Russian/East European History. Ms. Mayhew
graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2008 with majors in
History and International Studies. She then was awarded a Fulbright (English
Teaching Assistantship Grant) in Malaysia, from which she has recently
returned. I can quickly summarize my recommendation by noting that Ms.
Mayhew is without question among the top 1% of students I have ever
taught.

During her time at West Virginia Wesleyan, Shelly took seven of my classes:
History of the Modern Middle East--allowed to take a junior-level class as a
first-year honors student—(A- 3/19), Historical Methods (A 2/20), European
Diplomatic History (A 1/11), Era of Alexander II—one-credit Honors Seminar—
(A 1/6) , History Senior Seminar (A 2/14) and History Senior Comprehensive
(Oral) Examination (A—three A’s awarded out of fourteen students), and
Hitler—one-credit Honors Seminar (A—(2/8). As I recall, Shelly’s overall
grade point average is in excess of 3.9.

Members of the committee may be interested in Shelly’s performance in the

History Senior Seminar as well as her senior oral examination. The focal
point of the seminar is the research, writing and presentation of a senior
paper of 25-30 pages. Shelly’s paper was titled “Short term Rights: Why the
Reforms of the Soviet Era did not Translate into Equality after the Collapse,”
which addresses the status of women in Central Asia during and after the
Soviet period. The writing of the senior paper is done in stages, beginning
with an annotated bibliography (a work in progress), then a research plan,
and then the first version of the paper, which is the basis of an oral
presentation to the class. Students then receive written critiques of the
paper and presentation from two students and from the instructor. The
student then revises the paper to address the concerns and suggestions of
the readers. Shelly received an A rating for each stage in this process,
improving her first version of the paper from a low A to a high A not by
making simple corrections (there were few to be made), but by reconceiving
portions of her paper. This is what we are looking for in the revision process.
Another part of the Senior Seminar was historiographical, building on the
foundation established by the sophomore-level Historical Methods course.
As an aside, I would note that feedback from History graduates currently in
graduate programs suggests that their knowledge of the discipline
(documentation, research skills, historiography) compares favorably with
that of most of their colleagues in those programs.

The Senior Comprehensive Examination is designed to assess how our

seniors handle themselves as historians. Students are questioned for one
hour by a panel of historians on an assigned book (Cannadine’s
Ornamentalism for Shelly’s seminar), and on primary and secondary
historical fields chosen by the student with the approval of the instructor.
Shelly’s primary field was Mao’s Cultural Revolution and her secondary field
was the American Civil Rights Movement. As demonstrated in all of her
classes, Shelly’s verbal skills match the excellence of her writing. Both are
the products of a very good mind.

Also worthy of note is that Shelly has had an internship with the United
States Department of State in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.
She also travelled to Chiapas and Bolivia out of a desire to learn more about
the circumstances of ordinary rural peoples. And of course, her Fulbright
work in rural Malaysia connects in interesting ways to the topic of her senior
paper. On campus Shelly has engaged in college and community service of
various kinds, including the English tutoring of Japanese students. She was
instrumental in reviving our chapter of Phi Alpha Theta and served as its Vice
President.

Michelle Mayhew is a wonderful, well-educated person who will be successful

in whatever field of endeavor she may choose. She has my highest
recommendation for admission to the Masters/Ph.D. in Russian/East
European History.

Sincerely,

Richard Weeks, Ph.D.

Professor of History
weeks@wvwc.edu
304-473-8765
304-269-4475