Public Engagement Highlights
Recentering Jesse Ed Davis
Indigenous Rock Star
For years, Dr. Doug Miller researched the life and music of Jesse Ed Davis, the Native
American guitarist from Oklahoma who worked closely with the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and
more. The resulting book by Miller, Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Start Jesse Ed Davis, was complemented by a special exhibition at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, “Jesse
Ed Davis: Natural Anthem,” and a tribute concert in February 2025, “Red Dirt Boogie.”
A film is in the works.
Medieval Manuscripts
The Middle Ages, Illuminated
In 2018 Dr. Emily Graham began partnering with OSU’s Art History department and the
OSU Library to bring medieval manuscripts to Stillwater. In 2023, they finally arrived:
a temporary exhibition of nine manuscripts. Over 500 visitors filed by to see the
special exhibition. Two years later, the OSU Library announced that they had begun
collecting their own medieval manuscripts—the library’s newest special collection.
The Thunderbird Division in Italy, 1943-1945
Untold Stories of WWII
Dr. David D’Andrea, a historian of Italy, is reviving the story of the G.I.s of the
45th Infantry Division—the Thunderbirds—who fought their way north up the Italian peninsula
from 1943. An exhibition co-curated by D’Andrea at Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy
and Western Heritage Museum has expanded into commemoration work with the Oklahoma
National Guard Museum and even Italian towns—many of them retaining mementos left
by the Americans 80 years ago.