IOWA
Dorothy Schwieder, Ph.D. Retired Professor of History at Iowa State University, Ames, IA, and author of "A Peculiar People: Iowa's Old Order Amish" (1975), "Patterns and Perspectives in Iowa History" (1973), "Iowa Past to Present: The People and the Prairie" (1989), and "Iowa: The Middle Land" (1996);
Franklin Lee Yoder, Ph.D. Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at the University of Iowa where he teaches American and Iowa history. He has also taught courses on the history and culture of the Amish. His presentations have included: "The Significance of the Amish," and "Finding Meaning in the Legacy of One-Room Schools";
Robert Nemeyer, Ph.D. Employed at the Grout Museum in Waterloo, IA as a historian. He has taught Iowa history at both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. He researched and wrote the script for "Engine of the Heartland," a permanent exhibit at the Grout Museum, and is currently working on a video history of Bennington #4, a country school in Black Hawk County, Iowa;
Mark Dewalt, Ph.D. Professor of Educational Research and Director of Graduate Studies, College of Education at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, North Carolina. Dewalt is the author of "Amish Education in the United States and Canada" (2006) and "A Day in the Life of a One Room School" (Journal-1999);
Lisa L. Ossian, Ph.D. Instructor at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), Ankeny and Des Moines, where she teaches history. She is also Co-Director of the Iowa Studies Center at DMACC. She is the author of "Too Young for a Uniform: Children's War Work on the Iowa Farm Front" (2002) and presented "Schools for War: American Children and the Second World War" (2006);
William Sherman, M.A. Compiled and edited "Iowa Country Schools: Landmarks of Learning" (book-1998) and has presented papers related to country schooling at history conferences, associations, and forums. He currently serves on the board of the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance and organizes an annual conference for country school preservation;
Edgar V. Epperly, Ed.D. Retired Professor of Education at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with a particular interest and expertise in the history and theory of education. He is the author of "Nineteenth Century Schools in Contemporary America" and "The Rural Family, The Rural Community, and Economic Restructuring" (both 1991).
KANSAS
Bill Samuelson, Ph.D. Retired professor at the Teachers College at Emporia State University in Kansas, and the author of "One Room Country Schools of Kansas" (2000);
Vera Ellerman Reodecap Hurst, MA Author of "The Country Schoolteacher: A Kansas Legacy" (1993). Also was a student and a teacher in a Kansas country school;
Paul Adams, Ph.D. Professor of education, Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas; and Plymouth Schoolhouse and schoolhouse program manager.
