History professor serves as national, global expert on first ladies
For the past two years, Katherine Jellison, a professor in and chair of Ohio University’s Department of History, has earned the title of OHIO’s top faculty newsmaker, having been quoted on the topic of the nation’s first ladies and prominent women in politics by thousands of media outlets around the world. Photo by Emma Howells, BSVC ’18
In her 25 years of service to Ohio University, Professor Katherine Jellison has amassed several noteworthy titles and accolades, and, over the course of the past 10 years, the chair of OHIO’s Department of History also has made a little history of her own.
Jellison’s expertise, combined with a remarkable period in U.S. political history, have carried both her and Ohio University’s name far beyond the bricks of Athens, Ohio.
“It was just wild,” Jellison said of her unexpected path toward becoming one of the nation’s leading authorities and a trusted media source about one of Washington, D.C.’s most influential but unelected residents: The First Lady.
A scholar of women in history, Jellison has devoted her research to issues of gender and consumer culture, focusing primarily on the 20th century. She is the author of two books, both of which include what Jellison describes as “guest-starring appearances” by U.S. first ladies. Jellison’s second book, “It’s Our Day: America’s Love Affair with the White Wedding, 1945-2005,” includes a chapter on celebrity weddings and highlights some White House weddings—a mention that would serve as a springboard that launched her onto the national and international media stage.
The book’s 2008 release coincided with a minor national uproar over then-First Daughter Jenna Bush’s decision not to get married at the White House. Seeing an opportunity to promote Jellison, her book and the University, Ohio University Communications and Marketing began pitching Jellison and the book to media outlets around the country.
“I started getting all of these calls and emails about commenting on the Jenna Bush wedding,” Jellison recalled. “And it just snowballed. The New York Times. The Washington Post. It was crazy.”
That summer, Barack Obama was selected as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, and for the first time in American history, there was a real possibility of an African-American family occupying the White House.
“Because I had already gotten this publicity as someone who knows something about first families, I started getting calls and email requests, not just from the U.S. media but from around the globe,” Jellison said. “Everyone was wanting to know what kind of first lady Michelle Obama was going to be.”
Jellison continued to be a go-to source for journalists seeking insights on the first lady throughout the Obama administration, but the demand for her expertise hit new heights in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
“You had a former first lady running for the presidency. You still had Michelle Obama out there being a spokeswoman for the Democratic ticket … And then you had this mystery woman, Melania Trump, out there,” Jellison said. “Before you know it, it wasn’t just print and online media. I was getting radio interviews and television interviews.”
Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis presents a Keystroke Catalyst Award to Professor Katherine Jellison, for having the highest number of media placements in 2017 amongst all OHIO faculty, at this year’s Faculty Newsmakers Gala. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02
In 2016 and 2017 alone, Jellison was featured in more than 2,000 print and online news publications and countless radio and television programs, earning her top honors at OHIO’s 2017 and 2018 Faculty Newsmakers Gala.
The demand for her expertise hit an all-time high in July 2016 after Melania Trump’s speech on opening night of the Republican National Convention. The first time most Americans had heard this potential first lady talk at any great length, the speech was controversial as journalists and political operatives observed its striking similarity to Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention address.
“That was probably the busiest day,” Jellison said, noting her interviews with NPR, Canadian TV and others as well as her appearance on CNN. “It was one right after another.”
Balancing her teaching and research with unexpected calls from the media is no easy task, but Jellison sees her interactions with journalists as service to Ohio University and the greater community.
“I do a lot of this not because I really want to, but I think I should do it because it’s good publicity for the University and for the history department,” Jellison said. “And I do think that as an historian, especially someone who does contemporary history, that we do have an obligation to the news cycle and to the community when it’s appropriate to bring that historical knowledge to the public and comment on current events.”
Her willingness to be interviewed by journalists around the world also has yielded opportunities for both Jellison and her students.
When Katherine A. S. Sibley, a professor of history at Saint Joseph University, was compiling Wiley-Blackwell’s “A Companion to First Ladies,” she reached out to Jellison. Having seen Jellison’s quotes in some of the country’s most-notable newspapers, Sibley asked her if she would write an essay for the publication. Jellison, writing about First Lady Jackie Kennedy, was one of nearly 40 scholars who contributed to the book that was released in 2016.
When Scott Kaufman, MA ’94, PhD ’98, was editing Wiley-Blackwell’s “A Companion to Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter,” he, too, reached out to Jellison to see if the professor, for whom he had served as a teaching assistant, would contribute an essay to that publication. A demanding workload led Jellison to decline the offer, instead recommending one her current PhD students, Eryn Kane, MA ’13. It was a recommendation that Kane said changed her life.
Kane’s essay, titled “Mrs. President?,” was published in 2015. Shortly thereafter, the National Park Service contacted Kane, inviting her to Plains, Georgia, to join other historians in advising the agency on renovations to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.
“Dr. Jellison had recommended me for this based on my work on Rosalynn Carter, and, of course, I leaped at the opportunity,” Kane said. “For any historian, it’s quite an honor to work for the Park Service and to be trusted to work for them.”
Kane spent three days in Georgia during which she met both President and First Lady Carter, interviewed Rosalynn Carter, and found her next professional endeavor—to tell Rosalynn Carter’s story. Her dissertation, only a slice of Rosalynn Carter’s story, explores the partnership that First Ladies Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford forged after leaving the White House, working tirelessly to pass legislation mandating health insurance coverage for both mental health and issues related to alcohol and drug dependency.
“I credit so much of my professional success to Dr. Jellison. Without her, none of this would have ever happened for me. She truly, in so many ways, has changed my life,” Kane said. “She has been someone that I’ve looked up to and a great example of not only an incredible historian but someone who continues to evolve in her career. … I love opening up The New York Times, and there’s my advisor, or seeing her quoted in a news article, or seeing her on television. She really has become one of the leading experts on first ladies’ history.”