Steven Lechner

Steven Lechner is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Director of the History Honors Program in the Department of History at North Carolina State University. He specializes in public history, immigration history, and American cultural heritage. His teaching portfolio includes courses on modern American history, nonprofits, philanthropy, and cultural heritage. He also designed a sports history summer course.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Public History (NC State University, 2020)
  • J.D. from University of Maine School of Law (1999)
  • M.A. in Communications (Drake University, 1997)
  • B.S. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (University of Missouri, 1993)

His research focuses on collective memory, ethnic identity in diasporic communities, and late 19th/early 20th-century immigration, particularly the history of Yorkville in Manhattan. He also examines North Carolina’s Reconstruction era, Black Liberation Movement narratives, and the Catskill region’s history.

Steve has mentored numerous students exploring legal careers and holds affiliations with NC State’s Migration and Immigration, Legal, and Public History groups.

Previously, he practiced law, taught high school social studies, coached football, and worked with the Los Angeles Raiders. He resides in Garner, NC, with his family.