Ohio Northern University will host the Ohio Academy of History Spring Conference on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28.

The panels are free and open to the public; however, a conference registration fee is required for individuals who want to join the Saturday breakfast and luncheon.

The conference begins at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with panels (concurrent sessions) in McIntosh Center. Friday’s Distinguished Historian lecture will be at The Inn at Ohio Northern at 7:30 p.m. This year’s lecture will feature Jane Hathaway, professor of history at Ohio State University.

The two-day conference includes sessions on all aspects of history, including research presentations, book roundtables and pan­els on education. Several sessions are par­ticularly noteworthy, including a Saturday morning roundtable on Geoffrey Parker’s most recent book, “Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Cen­tury.” Other highlights include a panel focusing on “Fort Meigs and the War of 1812,” a roundtable by five leading Ohio historians on “The State of Ohio’s History,” and sessions showcasing winners of the Academy’s Junior Faculty Research Grant and the 2014 Academy Publication Prize winners.

Hathaway’s lecture is titled “It takes an Historian to Understand the Middle East (Doesn’t It?).” She is a specialist in the history of the Ottoman Empire before 1800 and has published four books, including “The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1800,” which won the Turkish Studies Association’s 2008 M. Fuat Köprülü Book Prize. She also has published four edited volumes and many articles and is currently writing a book on the office of Chief Harem Eunuch of the Ottoman Empire. She has served as president of the Turkish Studies Association and member of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association of North America.

On Saturday, panel discussions will begin at 9 a.m. in McIntosh Center. The Plenary Address will be at The Inn at Ohio Northern at 2:30 pm. and will feature James Robenalt discussing his efforts to create an Ohio Presidential Center.

The Ohio Academy of History seeks to promote the development and dissemination of historical knowledge among the citizens and students of Ohio. The Academy promotes high standards of historical scholarship and teaching in the state’s schools, colleges and museums. Since spring 2003, the Academy has committed itself to assuming an active role in setting standards for the education of Ohio’s high-school history teachers.