Dr. Kimberly S. Hanger was an enthusiastic historian, who served on the faculty of the Department of History at The University of Tulsa from 1993 to 1999. Dr. Hanger’s research centered on slavery in New Orleans, and she wrote two books on the subject, including Bounded Lives, Bounded Places: Free Black Society in Colonial New Orleans, 1769-1803, which studied the rise of a privileged class of free persons of color in Spanish colonial New Orleans. She also authored A Medley of Cultures: Louisiana History at the Cabildo.
At TU, Dr. Hanger specialized in teaching Latin American history and was popular among students, serving as the faculty advisor for Phi Alpha Theta (the history honor society) and the History Club. She was a member of Phi Alpha Theta as an undergraduate student, and as the faculty advisor at TU, she organized trips for her students to attend conferences to present papers. Dr. Hanger also was a member of the African-American Studies Committee Advisory Board.
Dr. Hanger earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at the University of Utah, and she earned her doctorate in history at the University of Florida. She was an avid runner and biker, according to her fellow faculty members at TU.
Her husband, Greg Hanger; her father, Victor Stuckenschneider; and students, family and friends of Dr. Hanger made gifts to support the Kimberly S. Hanger Memorial Award in History endowment fund to honor her memory. Dr. Hanger died of leukemia in 1999 at age 37. A tree is planted on the east side of McFarlin Library as a tribute to her life and legacy.
Recipients of the Kimberly S. Hanger Memorial Award in History are selected by faculty members in the Department of History each year based on the quality of papers submitted in history courses. It is fitting that this award recognizes excellence in papers since Dr. Hanger was influential in arranging for students to present their papers at conferences, recognizing that this was an important part of their educational experiences.
The Latin American and Caribbean Section of the Southern Historical Association also has named an award for Dr. Hanger, known as the Kimberly S. Hanger Article Prize.
