Dr. Brian Maxson wore his East Tennessee State University lapel pin to Boston College earlier this year. He wore it again to the University of Massachusetts. He'll wear it to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in June. And he’ll showcase it at the University of Oxford this fall. 

Everywhere he goes, ETSU goes with him. 

The professor in ETSU's Department of History, led by chair Dr. Steven Nash, has spent recent months presenting research at some of the world's most prestigious institutions: Boston College, the Frisone Center for Italian Cultural Studies, an upcoming conference in Spain, a June talk for England's Society for Renaissance Studies and an invitation to Oxford in the fall. 

For Maxson, a first-generation student from northern Michigan, these moments carry weight beyond academic recognition. 

"I absolutely love to push ETSU into institutions and conversations otherwise closed to all but the most elite universities and to have ETSU acknowledged for all the neat things that we do," Maxson said. "When I feel anxious or out of place at a school from a completely different world of resources, I take strength from the courage and talent of my ETSU students, who inspire me." 

Research that connects past to present 

Maxson's work explores questions that resonate far beyond the 1400s, which he studies. How do people decide what's true and what's false? Why do we perform rituals that no longer serve practical purposes? 

He examines how Americans came to talk about ideas like the Italian Renaissance and Western Civilization, concepts that only became central to American identity during the 20th century. 

"Before that, Americans viewed their history as another chapter in the history of England and looked down on most other people," Maxson said.  

His research challenges those narratives and reveals how societies construct meaning across time. 

Dr. Nick Hagemeier, left, and Dr. Brian Maxson.

Bringing it home 

But Maxson doesn't just take ETSU's name to elite institutions. He brings those experiences back to Johnson City. 

He gives his invited talks a second time on campus so students and colleagues can hear the same presentations he delivers elsewhere.  

"ETSU has areas of absolutely leading work happening across all research areas," Maxson said. "We rightly think of ETSU as doing cutting-edge work in health fields, but we have faculty in many other areas, including the arts and humanities, producing work at the cutting edge of their respective fields." 

Maxson isn’t wrong: 

ETSU secured $71 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2024.  

The university has a 53% lifetime patent approval rate.  

ETSU received $21.3 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2024. 

Take a look at how ETSU faculty advance their academic fields at etsu.edu/trailblazers.