Professional Service
- International Federation for Public History.
Role: Member.
Program Committee for the 7th World Conference of the IFPH, Luxembourg 2024.
08/01/2023 - 09/07/2024
- American Society for Environmental History.
Role: Member.
Environmental History Week Steering Committee.
02/2023 - 05/2023
- National Council on Public History.
Role: Chair.
Local Arrangements Committee for the 2024 Meeting, Salt Lake City.
01/01/2023 - 04/15/2024
- University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Department of History.
Role: External Evaluator.
PhD Program Review.
10/01/2022 - 11/01/2022
- National Council on Public History.
Role: Member.
Development Committee.
06/2022 - 05/2025
- National Council on Public History.
Immediate Past President.
05/2022 - 05/2024
- National Council on Public History.
Role: Member.
Nomination Committee.
05/2022 - 05/2024
- National Council on Public History.
President.
04/2020 - 05/2022
- Western History Association.
Role: Member.
Committee on Public History.
11/2018 - present
- National Council on Public History.
Role: Member.
Executive Committee.
05/01/2018 - 05/01/2024
- National Council on Public History.
Vice President/President-Elect.
04/2018 - 04/2020
- Western History Assocation.
Role: Member.
Council (Executive Board of the WHA).
10/2017 - 10/2018
- Western History Association.
Role: Member.
Program Committee for 2018 Meeting.
04/2017 - 10/2018
- Western History Association.
Program Committee for 2016 Meeting.
04/2015 - 10/2016
- National Council on Public History.
Role: Chair.
Program Committee for 2016 Annual Meeting.
09/2014 - 04/2016
- National Council on Public History.
Nominating Committee.
05/2014 - 04/2017
- Western History Association.
Role: Chair.
Committee on Public History.
06/01/2012 - 10/21/2018
- Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University.
Role: Member of Editorial Advisory Board.
Rural West Initiative.
07/2011 - 07/2014
- Organization of American Historians.
Role: Chair.
Committee on Committees - Responsibility for filling vacancies on all regular and prize committees of the OAH.
05/2011 - 05/2013
- Western Historical Quarterly.
Board of Editors.
01/01/2011 - 12/31/2013
- Western History Association.
Program Committee for 2011 Meeting.
04/2010 - 10/2011
- National Council on Public History.
Program Committee for the 2011 Meeting.
03/2010 - 04/2011
- Western History Association.
Role: Committee Chair 2011.
American Indian Students' Scholarship Committee.
11/2008 - 10/2011
- Working Group on Evaluating Public History Scholarship.
Role: Committee Member and Co-Author of Report.
I served as a member of this joint committee of the National Council on Public History, Organization of American Historians, and the American Historical Association charged with investigating the issue of tenure for public historians working in academic history departments and report a series of best practices for evaluating public history scholarship. The working group's final report - "Tenure, Promotion, and the Publicly Engaged Academic Historian" - was adopted by all three organizations in 2010.
04/2007 - 11/2010
- Western History Association.
Local Arrangements Committee.
04/2007 - 10/2008
- National Council on Public History.
Board of Directors.
2007 - 2010
- Organization of American Historians.
Role: Committee Chair 2008-2009.
Public History Committee.
2006 - 2010
Internal Service
- Ad-Hoc Tenured Faculty Review Committee .
08/2022 - 12/2022.
Department service.
- College RPT Advisory Committee.
Member,
08/16/2021 - 05/15/2023.
College service.
- Distinguished Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Mentor Award Committee.
02/2021 - 06/01/2021.
University service.
- Native American Land Acknowledgement Committee.
Member,
08/23/2019 - 10/2020.
University service.
- Nineteenth Century United States History Search Committee.
Chair,
08/19/2019 - 03/15/2020.
Department service.
- Graduate Studies Committee.
Member,
08/16/2018 - 05/15/2020.
Department service.
- Executive Committee.
Member,
08/16/2017 - 05/15/2018.
Department service.
- Ad-Hoc Bylaws Committee.
Member,
05/16/2017 - 12/31/2017.
Department service.
- American Indian Resource Center Advisory Council.
11/2014 - 05/2020.
University service.
- University of Utah Press Faculty Advisory Committee.
Committee Member,
09/2012 - present.
University service.
- Teaching Committee.
Committee Member,
08/2012 - 05/2013.
Department service.
- Veterans Day Commemoration Committee.
Member,
08/01/2012 - 12/31/2018.
University service.
- Academic Senate.
08/2011 - 05/2014.
University service.
- Wilson Lecture Committee.
Member,
08/2011 - 05/2012.
Department service.
- Graduate Studies Committee.
Member,
08/2011 - 05/2012.
Department service.
- Environmental Humanities Faculty Steering Committee.
09/2010 - present.
College service.
Community Partnership
- Utah Division of State History – Scholarly Consulting Group for the Museum of Utah (2023). As a member of this group, I am reviewing plans and content for the new state history museum slated to open in 2026.
12/15/2022 - 07/01/2023
- Utah Humanities "Crossroads" Project - I serve as State Consulting Scholar and I am assisting Utah Humanities in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a statewide tour of the Smithsonian Institution exhibit focused on rural America. My work entails developing locally focused programming, including an accompanying publication, to accompany the national exhibit.
06/01/2022 - present
- Utah Humanities "Think Water Utah" Project - I serve as State Scholar and I am assisting Utah Humanities in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a statewide project featuring two traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibits, "Water Ways" and "H2O Today." My work entails developing locally focused programming, including an accompanying publication, to accompany these national exhibits.
08/2019 - 10/15/2022
- Ute Tribe of Utah – The American West Center is providing technical assistance and I am serving as a consultant on the “Ute Tube” project. Conceived and directed by Larry Cesspooch, “Ute Tube” is an online digital archive of the photos and home movies of Ute tribal members.
07/01/2017 - 09/30/2018
- Utah State Capitol – I provided a lecture and training session for capitol docents concerning artistic representations of Native peoples on display at the Utah State Capitol.
05/30/2017 - 05/30/2017
- Sorenson Unity Center – The "West Side Storytelling Project," is an effort to collect and preserve the oral histories of the residents of Salt Lake City’s diverse and often forgotten west side neighborhoods.
08/2015 - 08/2016
- Utah Center for Architecture - "Utah Architects Project." A multi-year project to expand and enhance the UCFA's online biographical database of Utah Architects 1849-2000.
11/01/2014 - 06/30/2018
- Utah Humanities Council - I served as State Scholar and assisting the UHC in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a statewide project featuring the traveling "Museum on Main Street" exhibit "Journey Stories," co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution's Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES). I continue to partner with the UHC on projects including the annual book festival and veterans projects.
12/11/2013 - 12/31/2015
- Utah Division of State History - The American West Center and State History collaborate on a regular basis to develop programs and projects.
07/01/2013 - present
Outreach
- Sorenson Unity Center – The "West Side Storytelling Project," is an effort to collect and preserve the oral histories of the residents of Salt Lake City’s diverse and often forgotten west side neighborhoods.
08/2015 - 08/2016
- Utah Humanities Council - "Journey Stories" Tour of Utah 2014-2015. I am serving as State Scholar and assisting the UHC in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a statewide project featuring the traveling "Museum on Main Street" exhibit "Journey Stories," co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution's Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES).
12/11/2013 - 03/18/2015
- Tribal Archives Initiative - As part of UAIDA Phase IV I have worked directly with the tribal council of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation to include tribally held documents in the online archive providing both greater access for tribal members and long term preservation of the records. This initiative will be expanded to other Utah tribes in 2013.
09/2012 - 12/2013
Honors & Awards
- Award of Excellence (Utah Humanities “Think Water Utah” Project).
American Association for State and Local History,
09/2023
- Distinguished Faculty Service Award in the Humanities.
University of Utah, College of Humanities,
09/2023
- Outstanding Achievement Award (Think Water Utah Partners) State Board of History and Utah Division of State History, 2022.
Utah Division of State History/State Board of History,
10/26/2022
- Distinguished Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Mentor.
University of Utah, Graduate School,
04/2020
- Outstanding Contribution to State History (The American West Center).
Utah Division of State History,
09/2014
Affiliations
-
American Society for Environmental History
(ASEH),
Member,
10/2010 - present
-
American Society for Ethnohistory
(ASE),
Member,
1990 - present
-
National Council on Public History
(NCPH),
Member,
2000 - present
-
Native American and Indigenous Studies Association
(NAISA),
Member,
06/2011 - present
-
Organization of American Historians
(OAH),
Member,
1987 - present
-
Western History Association
(WHA),
Member,
1985 - present
In the Media
- “Crossroads: Change in Rural America – A Thought Provoking Exhibition of Our History, Our Perseverance, and Future,” Salt Lake Tribune. 10/05/2023.
https://www.sltrib.com/sponsored/2023/10/05/crossr...
- “Gloryhunter: Kerry’s Indian Killer,” Radio Kerry, Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. 08/07/2023.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3CHhvZJSjOWwgwKq2...
- “Beyond the Monograph,” Inside Higher Ed, first published February 9, 2023. 02/09/2023.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/09/aha...
- “Coming to Terms with Agriculture in the West,” Radio West, KUER/NPR, Salt Lake City, first aired January 26, 2023. 01/26/2023.
https://radiowest.kuer.org/show/radiowest/2023-01-...
- “What Role can History Play in Saving Great Salt Lake, solving Utah’s water woes?” KSL.com, first published October 27, 2022. 10/27/2022.
https://www.ksl.com/article/50503435/what-role-can...
- “Greg Smoak on His Book “Western Lands, Western Voices: Essays on Public History in the American West,” Speak Your Piece Podcast, Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement, June 27, 2022. 06/27/2022.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/season-4-ep-...
- “It’s Not Too Late (Yet) For a New Water Policy,” Radio West, KUER/NPR, Salt Lake City, first aired June 10, 2022. 06/10/2022.
https://radiowest.kuer.org/show/radiowest/2022-06-...
- “History of Water in Utah: ‘The Most Complicated Plumbing System . . .,’” Speak Your Piece Podcast, Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. 04/19/2021.
https://community.utah.gov/history-of-water-in-uta...
- “Utah Leads the World in ‘Dark Sky’ Spots. Here’s Three New Ones,” Salt Lake Tribune. 01/27/2021.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2021/01/27/utah-leads-...
- “Is the Water Wet? Lake Powell Pipeline Part 1 with Greg Smoak,” In Site podcast, Zion Canyon Mesa Center for the Arts and Humanities, September 2, 2020. 09/02/2020.
http://www.themesaretreatcenter.com/podcast-archiv...
- “How much does the current pandemic resemble the pandemic of 1918? Quite a bit,” Deseret News. 08/09/2020.
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/8/9/21346229/how...
- “The regional toll of an earlier pandemic, and coronavirus’s outsized impact on the Navajo Nation,” In the Hive podcast, KCPW, Salt Lake City, first aired April 24, 2020. 04/24/2020.
http://kcpw.org/blog/in-the-hive/2020-04-23/earlie...
- “Atomic Artifacts,” Radiolab, WNYC, first aired April 24, 2020. 04/24/2020.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/arti...
- “The Lesser Told Tales of the Golden Spike: 150 Years Later,” KUER, first aired May 10, 2019.
05/10/2019.
https://www.kuer.org/post/lesser-told-stories-gold...
- “Salt Lake City’s Oldest Elementary School Looks Into Name Change,” KUTV, first aired 28 September 2017. 09/28/2017.
http://kutv.com/news/local/salt-lake-citys-oldest-...
- “Salt Lake Area School Seeks Distance from Its Controversial Namesake,” Deseret News, 27 September 2017.
09/27/2017.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865689818/Salt...
- “The Indian Claims Commission and the Western Shohone Land Claim,” C-SPAN Lectures in American History, taped 7 April 2015, first aired 3 October 2015.
10/03/2015.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?325045-1/lecture-indi...
- “Utah's transcontinental railroad end point questioned by some in Strasburg, Colorado,” KSL-TV, first aired 8 May 2015. 05/08/2015.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=34570120&nid=148
- Segment on the history of Great Salt Lake as part of C-SPAN Cities Tour visit to Salt Lake City. 06/2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls7t253DQ7o
- Coverage of the American West Center's project "Saline Stories: An Oral History of Great Salt Lake". 05/19/2014.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/579475...