Concordia University mourns renowned history professor Allen

Concordia University of Austin, Texas is mourning the passing of history professor Debra Allen, who died surrounded by her family in Michigan Jan. 9.

Allen served the private Lutheran university from 1993 through the end of the Fall 2015 semester. As a professor, her specialty was in American diplomatic history, the American Civil War, and U.S.-Poland relations. Allen also filled a number of leadership roles at the university, including interim vice president of academic services, assistant to the academic VP, chair of the council of professors, and director of the history department.

During her academic career, Allen won two highly-coveted Fulbright grants. The first was for studies in Aachen, Germany, and the second funded her teaching in Poland at the University of Warsaw’s American Studies Center.

Allen also penned numerous works on history, including her latest – The Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from the Revolution to Secession.

A native of Michigan, Allen was born in 1957. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Tennessee Technological University in 1979. Allen earned her master’s at Michigan State University in 1982 and went on to receive a Ph.D from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1992.

Allen’s memorial service was held Wednesday at Hope Lutheran Church in Austin.