Dr. Barney J. Rickman Portrait

Dr. Barney J. Rickman

Department Head

  • Ph.D. in History
    University of Connecticut (1990)
  • M.A. in History
    University of Connecticut (1985)
  • B.A. with a major in History
    Rollins College (1983)

Teaching Fields: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1921; History of the Vietnam War.

A historian of U.S.‑Japanese diplomatic relations, Dr. Rickman has published in the Southeast Review of Asian Studies, the Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations, and the American National Biography.  In 1993, he was awarded a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research in U.S.‑Japanese relations (1922‑1952).  In the mid‑1990s, Dr. Rickman also explored the influence of information technology on teaching history; on this topic, he has published articles in the History Computer Review and the Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians.  Promoted to a full professor in 1999, Dr. Rickman has actively served his department, his college, and the university; for example, he was elected Executive Secretary of the VSU Faculty Senate from 2008-2010.  In 2006, Dr. Rickman was awarded Valdosta State’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2010, he was VSU’s Nominee for the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Teaching Excellence Award.  In 2013, Dr. Rickman was awarded Valdosta State’s Excellence in Advising Award becoming the first faculty member to win two university-level excellence awards.  history/documents/rickman-cv.pdf