From the stage to the classroom: Hansard excited to join DSU faculty this fall
After four years of serving as outreach coordinator for the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University (DSU), Dr. William J. Hansard will begin a new role at the university this fall teaching history and geography courses as a new faculty member.
While he will still have a role at the Theodore Roosevelt Center helping with research efforts and presentations, Hansard is excited for the new opportunity.
“I wasn’t ever completely sure teaching would be where I ended up, but I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “DSU has really enthusiastic students that really want to learn, so I’m excited to do my part in helping them.”
Hansard’s journey to DSU began at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He has a Ph.D. in Transatlantic History and many years of studying the Progressive Era and Gilded Age.
“As I was completing my degree and looking at what my career would be, I learned that the Theodore Roosevelt Center was hiring through a colleague, and I really wanted to be involved. I already had great interest in digital history and I could see the work being done here was already very impressive,” he said.
Hansard has previously been described to “effortlessly blend the charm of a seasoned historian with the humor of a vaudevillian jokester,” and his love of history stems all the way back to his childhood in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I’ve always enjoyed the storytelling aspect of it, which is why I do performances, as well,” he said. “When I was at university, I did an internship at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla., where I learned the history of the circus in the U.S. and Europe. The height of the American circus was in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, so that led me specialize in that time period. Since I’ve been studying Theodore Rosevelt, I’ve only further deepened my knowledge of those eras. They’re really fascinating times – when the U.S., as we recognize it, came to be.”
Hansard’s career path has also led to freelance work for Ripley's Believe It or Not!
“Whether it’s for their exhibits, panels or internal research – any kind of research project they need help for – they call me to help and it’s really exciting. One of the biggest projects I worked on for them was getting a complete collection of Olympic torches. It’s been on and off work for them for the past few years,” he said.
After growing up in Texas, Hansard is happy to call Dickinson “home.”
“I had never been to North Dakota – knew next to nothing about it and had no connections. However, I loved that I was easily able to find ‘my people’ – people with the same interests, like history and theatre. Everyone has been so welcoming and that’s been great,” he said.
This summer, Hansard had the opportunity to bring to life the man he had studied every day for more than four years, portraying Theodore Roosevelt as a member of the cast of Teddy & Alice from July 2-6.
“I originally had my eye on the role of William Howard Taft as it made sense for me as a comic actor and my personal physique resembled Taft a little more than anyone else,” he said in jest. “When our original Theodore Roosevelt dropped out, I was asked to step up to the plate.”
Hansard admits, he was a little “frightened” to play such a significant role in the production.
“I figured it was something Roosevelt would have done. When he was asked to do something, he did it,” Hansard said.
Not only did Hansard serve as a leading role in the production, but he also did research and provided presentations for the public, as well as the cast and crew, on the lives and times of all the characters in the show to help them understand the real underlying history behind it all.
“It was a lot of fun. I learned more about the auxiliary characters that I didn’t know, so it was a great experience, both as a historian and a performer,” he said.
When Hansard first arrived at DSU, it wasn’t about Theodore Roosevelt but more the work being done at the center, but the more time he’s spent learning about the man, the more he’s been drawn to him.
“He’s a person that’s interesting because he has a lot of confidence in himself, at least on the outside. He’s clear and strong in everything he wants to do and believes in. Yet, there’s a lot underneath – grief, pain, and fear – that he buries. He’s an interesting character to me, both in reality and on stage,” he said.
Whether on the stage or in person, Hansard’s passion for history is infectious to all of those around him, and for DSU students this fall, that passion can be felt inside the classroom.
