Matthew T. Downey

Professor of History

Matthew T. Downey, a Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado. Matt began his career teaching US history at Louisiana State University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of Colorado, Boulder. He spent an eleven-year interlude at the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education, where he taught graduate education courses, conducted history education research, and worked with inservice teachers. The arc of these institutions reflects the evolution of his career from historian to history educator. At Northern Colorado, Matt founded and directed the Hewit Institute for History and Social Science Education, which established school district and university partnerships to find better ways to involve K-16 students in historical thinking and inquiry. It resulted in a book, co-authored with Kelly Long, Teaching for Historical Literacy, Building Knowledge in the History Classroom (Routledge, 2016). He also directed elementary and secondary teacher education programs at Northern Colorado.