Catherine Rymph

Catherine Rymph is Dean of the University of Missouri Honors College and Professor of History. She previously served as Chair of the Department of History (2018-2021) and Interim Chair of Religious Studies (2020-2021). Her research focuses on women and American politics, public policy, and child welfare history, with affiliations to the Women's and Gender Studies Program (WGST) and the Kinder Institute.

• Email: rymphc@missouri.edu
• Contact: 573-882-3893 | 210 Lowry Hall

Research Interests

• Women's political engagement in 20th-century U.S. conservative movements
• Development of foster care systems and child welfare policies
• Intersection of family values and ideological shifts (1920s-1980s)

Publications include analyses of Republican women's activism, eugenic sterilization, and foster care's role in shaping the American welfare state. Her work traces the evolution of conservatism through gendered political participation and institutional child-rearing.

Scientific Awards

• Gold Chalk Award for Graduate Teaching (2019)
• Fulbright Lecturer appointment (University of Greifswald, Germany)