Benjamin Leavitt

Advisor

Dr. Andrea Turpin

Education

M.A. in History, Baylor University, 2018

B.A. in History, Grove City College, 2016

Research Interests

My current research focuses on the intersections of religious history and the history of higher education in the United States and especially the institutional identities of Christian liberal arts colleges. I study how these schools have understood their place in the bigger picture of American religion and higher education, particularly in relation to the rise of public and secular universities. I have also written and presented studies of college chapel services, college architecture, ecumenical groups working in higher education, and the impact of rurality and region on Christian higher education.

I currently serve as the Director of Academic Services at Warner Pacific University in Portland, Oregon.

Exam Fields: U.S. History since 1877 (major field); American Religious History (dissertation field); Global Colonialism and Cold War (minor teaching field)

Selected Publications

Review of Degrees of Equality: Abolitionist Colleges and the Politics of Race, by John Frederick Bell. History of Education Quarterly 63, no. 2 (May 2023): 298–300. https://doi.org/10.1017/heq.2023.9.

Review of Mother of Modern Evangelicalism: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Mears, by Arlin C. Migliazzo. Journal of Presbyterian History 100, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2022): 48–49. (link)

“Fruits of the Ivy Vine.” Christian History 139 (May 2021): 39–41.

“College Chapel and COVID-19.” Anxious Bench: The Relevance of Religious History for Today, October 14, 2020.

Review of The Resilience of Religion in American Higher Education, by John Schmalzbauer and Kathleen A. Mahoney. Reading Religion: A Publication of the American Academy of Religion, May 13, 2019. (link)

Selected Activities

Awards

• Second Miler Award, Warner Pacific University, 2026
• Unsung Hero Award, Warner Pacific University, 2024
• Nominee, Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, Baylor University, 2022
• Elinor M. Caruthers Award, Grove City College, 2016
• Phi Alpha Theta History Award, Grove City College, 2016
• David E. McKillop Scholarship, Grove City College, 2015
• ODK Paper of the Year for the Social Sciences, Grove City College, 2014 & 2013
• Permelia Baldwin Shoemaker Award, Grove City College, 2014
• Presidential Scholarship, Grove City College, 2012

Grants

• Exploratory Research Grant, Hagley Museum and Library, 2021 (unused due to lack of consent from collection donor)
• Lynn E. May, Jr. Study Grant, Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, 2021 (declined)
• Thesis Research Travel Funding to Yale Divinity School Library, Baylor University, 2017

Fellowships

• Presidential Fellowship, Baylor University Graduate School, 2018-2023
• Special Collections Teaching Fellowship, Institute for Oral History, Baylor University, 2021
• Fundamentals of Data Research Fellowship, University Libraries, Baylor University, 2019
• Finalist, 2019-2022 Cohort, Lilly Graduate Fellows Program, 2018
• Guittard Fellowship, Department of History, Baylor University, 2016-2017

Recent Presentations

“Real Men Cry: Collegiate Funeral Orations in Early National New England.” History of Education Society (HES) Annual Conference (Providence, RI), November 6, 2025.