Dr. Randall Gooden

A native of West Virginia, Randall S. Gooden's pursuit of history grew from early interests in family history and genealogy. His undergraduate and graduate education at West Virginia University combined primary work in both academic history and public history with minor work in political science. Eclectic part-time job experiences in teaching, historic preservation and site interpretation, oral history, and archives took him into full-time work as assistant curator at the West Virginia and regional History Collection at West Virginia University, and to a position as head of the archives/library at Ohio Historical Society's Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, and then as executive director of Geauga County (Ohio) Historical Society. He came to Clayton State in 2005, and worked concurrently for his first three years as circuit ride archivist for the Georgia Archives. His years at Clayton State have been highlighted by his six years on the faculty senate--including two years as senate chair--and his designation in 2016 as a University Professor.