Robert C. McMath

Bob McMath is Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the University of Arkansas. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas and received his Ph.D. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Between 1972 and 2005 McMath taught History at Georgia Tech and served in administrative posts ranging from chair of the History Department to Vice Provost. In 1996 he was a Fulbright Lecturer in Italy. He received Georgia Tech’s highest teaching awards and in 2004 was named an honorary alumnus.

McMath served as founding dean of the University of Arkansas’ Honors College beginning in 2005. As dean he worked closely with faculty members across the campus to launch Honors initiatives, including new cross-disciplinary courses and research experiences. In the History Department he has taught Honors Colloquia, the general U.S. History course, and graduate seminars. He also directs graduate and undergraduate research.

McMath is the author or co-author of numerous articles and seven books on American history. He is best known among historians for his work on protest movements and politics in the U.S. and Canada. One book, American Populism, provides the script for a forthcoming PBS program produced by Bill Moyers for which he serves as consultant and commentator. McMath was the lead author on Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech, 1885-1985, which is still regarded as a model study of technological universities.

Bob’s wife Linda was for many years a teacher of mathematics and a public school administrator in Georgia. She is involved in community affairs in Fayetteville and enjoys tennis, gardening, and painting. Bob and Linda have co-authored a historical travel guide to the eastern shore of Virginia and Maryland. Their two grown children, David and Angela, live with their families in California.

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