April 8, 2019
The Walsh senior class honored Associate Professor of History Dr. Rachel Constance as the 2019 Joseph Ezzie Outstanding Educator of the Year during the University's Honors Convocation Ceremony on Sunday, April 7.
Dr. Rachel Constance joined the Walsh University community in 2012. As a historian, her research specialties include the global history of medicine, epidemics and medical knowledge networks in the British Empire. Other research interests include imperialism, political history and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Outside of the classroom, Dr. Constance is actively involved on campus and has served as a mentor to students across all disciplines. In 2014, she led a Rome Global Learning trip to Italy, and, between 2013 and 2018, she co-chaperoned the annual Washington, D.C., student trip. Her commitment to Walsh also includes serving as the 2017-18 Humanities Representative for Faculty Senate, and the Honors Committee since 2013. She has served as Conference Chaperone for Phi Alpha Theta Historical Honor Society and, in 2013-14, she was a participant in Walsh’s National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant Effort "Making Hunger History.
"I wanted to mentor any student that needed a mentor regardless of their major. I see much of myself in the students at Walsh," said Dr. Constance during her Convocation remarks. "The fear of failure, the perfectionism, the anxiety for a clear vision of the future...I saw those things in all of you. And I did what I could to send you the message that I knew would resonate with each of you individually."
During her senior class address. Dr. Constance spoke about her own personal experience and encouraged all students to overcome their fears to seize every opportunity.
"It's ok to be afraid of the unknown. Embrace the uncertainty. Lean into it. Be brave and walk into the future and trust that the path will show itself. And when you find it, walk it confidence. Don't be afraid to switch gears or change direction and become someone you never expected to be. Practice your skills, especially the ones that you hate, because you never know what opportunities will come your way. And finally, practice resilience. See the opportunity in failure. Empower yourself to grow in every moment."
Dr. Rachel Constance has presented at professional conferences across the country and has been a roundtable panelist for the National Collegiate Honors Council Annual Conference, Annual Meeting of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences and the Annual Midwest Conference on British Studies. She has shared her expertise in various publications, including a chapter in the book First World War: A Centennial Assessment.
She is currently serving her second term on the Board of Trustees for the North Canton Heritage Society, where she has been secretary for the past four years.
Dr. Constance earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University, her Master of Arts degree from the University of Toledo, and her Ph.D. and graduate certification in Women and Gender Studies from Northern Arizona University.
Dr. Constance is a resident of Wooster, where she lives with her family, including her daughter Zelda, and an ornery lab mix named Leela.