Seldom do students have the chance to meet an award-winning author on their college campus, but UCA has one in its own grasp.
David Welky has been a UCA Bear since 2002 and a published author and editor since 2008, writing material on specific topics about U.S. history.
The St. Louis native has traveled the United States to achieve his history degrees, with a bachelor’s in history from Northeast Missouri State University, now known as Truman State University, and a master’s and Ph.D. from Purdue University.
Initially pursuing a degree in accounting, Welky knew he needed to switch and pursue his love of history.
“I went as an accounting major. I was an accounting major for a semester, and I switched … and never looked back,” Welky said.
While earning his degree, Welky weighed his options, as he was eager to teach.
“I just kind of backed into everything. I thought for a while I was going to become a secondary school teacher, so I took some extra classes,” Welky said. “I graduated late from undergrad because I took some extra social studies classes to prepare for a master’s in education that I ended up not doing because I was in the education program as an undergrad, and got to the point where you observe in a local high school.”
He changed his mind after just two days.
“I realized that I hated high school the first time around, and I didn’t want to spend my career in high school. But I loved college,” he said.
Welky taught as an adjunct professor in 1996 during the summers at Purdue, then came to teach at UCA in 2002.
In the years following, he published his first two books in 2008, “Everything Was Better In America: Print Culture in the Great Depression” and “The Moguls and the Dictators: Hollywood and the Coming of World War II.”
Welky said being an author also comes with getting into the creative headspace and putting yourself in another world.
“At some level, you have to detach yourself from the rest of the world. You have to put aside the class tomorrow, this committee meeting and ‘I need to clean the litter box.’ You’ve got to be able to put all that stuff away.” Welky said.
“You have to sort of insert yourself into a different world, the world of 1934, 1901, 1880, or whatever time, whatever place you’re in. You’ve got to read these documents through their eyes and say, ‘Well, what does this moment mean to them?’ It requires a lot of imagination, but also a lot of prior knowledge because it’s not like dropping yourself in a time machine.”
He said with writing comes the ability to set aside morals and beliefs.
“It starts with the blinders; you have to put the blinders on. You have to shut out the other distractions, and say, ‘Right now I’m not a history teacher, I’m a historian.’ You have to detach yourself from this world and put yourself in a different world. You have to set aside your values, morals, and beliefs aside because that’s not what it’s about,” Welky said.
Alongside being a Booker Worthen Literary Prize winner, he also teaches classes for all levels of college students and describes the importance of giving his best in every class.
“I try to walk into every class with the idea that this year, y’all are my favorite people. This is my favorite day of this class, of the entire semester. Because if you don’t feel that way, why should my students feel that way?” Welky said.
While Welky teaches only history-related classes, he teaches critical skills that everyone needs to master to succeed not only in college but also in life.
“Always be willing to ask questions. Always be willing to explore something just because you find it interesting. I want my students to be able to find and recognize good sources,” Welky said.
He encourages future students to come to his class curious and ready to engage.
Although there are many sides to this author and professor, he’s a normal human like any other.
When he’s not teaching or writing, Welky has a love for single-player video games, old movies, and hanging out with his family.
