David Rich Lewis likes to keep undergraduates guessing about his background, but rumor has it that he grew up in a large, squarish state in the West where he attended a land-grant university with an outstanding history faculty. Following college, he went on to receive a master's degree at the University of Toronto. Then he switched his area of specialization from medieval European history to the study of American Indian, rural, and environmental history, Utah and the West. He earned a second master's degree as well as a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Since joining the faculty at USU in 1988, Dr. Lewis has earned a reputation as a popular teacher and a productive scholar. The author of one book and the coeditor of two others, he has published numerous articles and essays as well as over fifty book reviews. In 1997 he was honored as the Researcher of the Year for the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences; the preceding year he was named an honors professor for the University Honors Program. Dr. Lewis holds the rank of full professor and serves as Editor of The Western Historical Quarterly.