Dr. Irwin Marcus, emeritus professor of history at IUP, was recently part of the first class of inductees to the Northern Appalachian Folk Festival Walk of Fame in downtown Indiana.
Marcus was one of four people inducted September 9 at the Northern Appalachian Folk Festival. The Walk of Fame honors citizens from our region who have made significant contributions in the fields of education, the environment, human rights, and the arts and music.
Marcus taught at IUP for 37 years. He was the first in the department to teach labor history, African-American history, and social history, which complemented his primary teaching areas of modern American history, working-class history, and history of social movements.
He also developed courses that included history of Jews in America, history of the automobile, history of anarchism, and the history of organized crime. He was selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellow and organized conferences on various topics of history, ranging from industry and technology to the global economy.
Two of Marcus' former students, Rob Moore and Annemarie Draham, inducted him posthumously. Marcus' wife, Dr. Elizabeth Rickets-Marcus, was the recipient of the award.