Randy Smookler

Randy Smookler is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. After earning her teaching credentials at Pitt, she spent many fulfilling years as a high school Social Studies teacher. She relocated to Tallahassee in 2012 and ultimately decided to pursue a graduate degree at Florida State University. In 2025, Randy graduated with her doctorate in History with a concentration in Modern Germany and the Holocaust. Her dissertation examined women's motives for joining the National Socialist German Workers’ Party before it came to power in Germany in 1933. 

Equally at home teaching European and US History courses, Randy strives to foster a classroom culture that is productive, personalized, and fun. As a graduate student, she was the recipient of the Joe Richardson Excellence in Teaching Award in 2022 and 2023. 

When she’s not in the classroom, Randy can be found reading on her back porch with her husband Mark and their four cats: Gracie, Daisy, Violet, and George.