David Vail

David Vail is a Professor of History at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), specializing in environmental and agricultural history, the history of science/medicine, and public history. His research focuses on pesticide use, aerial spraying, and Cold War-era agricultural-environmental relationships in North America's grasslands. He holds a Ph.D. from Kansas State University (2012), an M.A. from Utah State University (2006), and a B.A. from Southern Oregon University (2004), making him a first-generation faculty member at UNK. He is actively involved in public history initiatives, including co-authoring/co-editing books like Interpreting Environment at Museums and Historic Sites (2019) and Interpreting Science at Museums and Historic Sites (2023).

Dr. Vail teaches courses on environmental history, agricultural history, and the history of public health. His recent research projects include Vulnerable Harvests: Emergency Conservation in the Cold War Great Plains (under contract), which examines agricultural vulnerability and risk perception during the Cold War. He serves on the Board of Directors for Humanities Nebraska and collaborates with the Center for Great Plains Studies at UNL. His pedagogical interests include innovative teaching methods, particularly during the pandemic's shift to online learning, as detailed in Going Remote: Faculty Educational Initiatives (2020).

Dr. Vail mentors students in thesis projects addressing environmental and historical topics such as tree planting in Nebraska, weather modification on the Great Plains, and World War I’s impact on rural communities. He advocates for first-generation students through UNK’s First-Gen Leadership Team and actively bridges academic history with public engagement through mountain biking and community outreach.