History Faculty

Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon, Ph.D., is an associate professor of history and ancient world studies at Wilson College. She received her doctorate in ancient history from The Ohio State University in 2018. As a dedicated educator and scholar of the ancient Mediterranean, she participated in archaeological projects in Athens, the Corinthia, and Kythera, Greece, and has traveled extensively throughout Greece and Rome.

At Wilson College, Rock-McCutcheon channels her passion for the ancient and medieval worlds into the classroom, where she teaches a diverse range of courses in history, ancient world studies, and Latin. She is committed to creating immersive learning experiences, often experimenting with innovative pedagogical techniques such as Reacting to the Past simulations, graphic novels, and virtual reality applications to help students engage with the past in dynamic ways.

In addition to her teaching, Rock-McCutcheon is an active scholar. Her research explores the intersections of religion, power, and identity in the Greek Archaic Period, as well as innovative teaching methodologies. In January 2024, she presented on the use of Reacting to the Past in a panel discussion held during the American Historical Association’s annual meeting, titled “The Introductory History Survey: Seeing it the Way it Could Be.” Her recent publications include an article in Classical Outlook titled “Talking Back to Homer: Facilitating Student Connections with Ancient Texts,” which details her use of graphic novels in the classroom.

Her current research focuses on religious dedications on the sacred island of Delos during the Greek Archaic Period, examining them as expressions of social identity, spectacle, and power.

Ela Rossmiller, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science and global studies at Wilson College, specializes in international relations and global education. Her scholarship has appeared in a range of academic journals, including Canadian Slavonic Papers, East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures, Review of European and Russian Affairs, Global Studies Literature Review, Journal of Studies in International Education, Political Science Educator, Stan Rzeczy (State of Affairs), and Pol-Int. A former Title XIII Research Fellow funded by the U.S. Department of State, she has also conducted research for various think tanks.

Prior to earning her doctorate in international relations from American University’s School of International Service, Rossmiller worked in the field of international higher education, managing programs in over 30 global cities. During that time, she also earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and briefly served in the Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.

Trilingual, Rossmiller has published translations in international journals and continues to explore global issues through both teaching and research.

Maxine Wagenhoffer, Ph.D., director of the Hankey Center for the History of Women's Education and assistant professor of history at Wilson College, teaches U.S. history courses and is particularly focused on writing and exhibiting women’s history.

Wagenhoffer earned a doctorate in modern U.S. history from The Ohio State University in August 2023, following a master’s degree in history from Ohio State in 2018 and a bachelor’s degree in history from Rutgers University in 2016. Her dissertation focused on the intersections of celebrity, politics, and gender through the lens of Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

She is a 2025 recipient of a Kathy Chamberlain Research Award from the Women Writing Women’s Lives seminar group and has presented her research at several academic conferences, including the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, the Institute for Political History’s Policy History Conference, and the conference of the Ohio Academy of History.

When she is not teaching, writing, or researching, you can find her at the Wilson College Fitness Center pumping iron. For more information regarding her approach to history and her teaching philosophy, see the Wilson Magazine Fall 2023 article “Call Me Max.”