Keith R. Widder served as Curator of History, Mackinac Island State Park Commission for over 25 years. He has written extensively on the history of the western Great Lakes and is author of Battle for the Soul: Metis Children Encounter Evangelical Protestants at Mackinaw Mission, 1823-1837.

Keith's history of MSU’s first 70 years, Michigan Agricultural College, won the Historical Society of Michigan's 2005 'State History Award.' This is the first of a three-volume set that will be published during the Michigan State University Sesquicentennial, beginning in 2005.