Jeffrey Helgeson

Jeffrey Helgeson is the Chair of the Department of History and an Associate Professor at Texas State University. He specializes in 20th-century U.S. history, focusing on urban politics, class, race, and gender. His research emphasizes African American political empowerment in Chicago and the intersection of corporate power with urban development. Helgeson holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has taught at institutions including Cornell University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

His major publications include Crucibles of Black Empowerment: Chicago’s Neighborhood Politics from the New Deal to Harold Washington (2014), which earned national recognition, and a forthcoming book on corporate power in Boston. He has received awards for teaching and service, including the College of Liberal Arts Golden Apple Award and multiple accolades for fostering campus dialogue through initiatives like the @JusticeTalkTXST series.

Helgeson is a prominent public historian, serving as a subject matter expert for the National Park Service’s Pullman National Monument Museum and contributing to the Illinois Freedom Project. He also co-created the Chicago Labor Trail interactive map and leads historical tours of Chicago’s labor history sites.