Director of Public History and Engagement

Amherst College invites applications for the Director of Public History and Engagement, a full-time, year-round position.

The expected salary range for this role is $95,000–110,000 per year, with the final salary determined by relevant education, training, experience, tenure status, and other nondiscriminatory business considerations.

Amherst College offers a comprehensive, highly competitive benefits package for staff, faculty, and their families.

About the role

The Director of Public History and Engagement provides strategic leadership and program management in uncovering, contextualizing, and learning from the complex history of Amherst College. Reporting directly to the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, the Director works collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external partners to advance institutional memory, with a particular focus on the history of underrepresented communities.

The Director oversees a portfolio of existing historical recovery, public-facing initiatives, curricular connections, and thoughtful community relations while simultaneously helping design new, innovative learning and storytelling opportunities. The role requires expertise in university racial reconciliation and archival efforts to shape how Amherst understands its past, engages its present, and considers its future.

Responsibilities

Public Storytelling and Campus Engagement

• Lead relevant committees and working groups to advance public art and story-mapping projects, including bringing them to fruition, monitoring conditions, assessing utilization, and planning changes and growth.
• Oversee the creation and presentation of physical and digital materials for on-campus and off-campus audiences.
• Advance learning opportunities (e.g., public art, story-mapping, oral histories) within curricula and develop new curricular strategies to learn from Amherst’s history.
• Identify and create new learning opportunities for Amherst’s history beyond existing projects.
• Facilitate dialogues and community-building opportunities around historical narratives.
• Create learning spaces for faculty on teaching and researching Amherst’s history, including developing new opportunities.
• Oversee and enhance dedicated digital platforms, websites, and multimedia storytelling tools.

Historical Recovery and Relationship Building

• Oversee research into the histories of underrepresented communities, including archival research, oral histories, and investigative projects.
• Aggregate and guide student research projects within and outside courses to identify thematic intersections and gaps for future study.
• Sustain, repair, and cultivate meaningful relationships with regional and descendant communities, serving as an institutional point person for community engagement, including organizing visits.
• Learn from other campuses and share Amherst’s work with broader audiences.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in History, Public History, African American Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Indigenous Studies, Museum Studies, Digital Humanities, Higher Education Administration, Social Justice Education, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and directly applicable professional experience.
• Minimum of three years of experience in historical research, public humanities, or community engagement.
• Minimum of three years of project management experience.
• Demonstrated ability to lead multi-faceted teams toward decision-making.
• Excellent oral, written, and public communication skills, with a proven ability to translate complex historical narratives for diverse audiences.
• Exceptional organizational skills and the ability to balance high-level strategic planning with attention to detail.
• Proven ability to work independently and handle sensitive relationships and historical narratives with care.
• Successful completion of required background and/or reference checks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience with assessment and data management tools.
• Experience working within a higher education environment, particularly a residential liberal arts setting.
• Deep conceptual understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion principles, including experience engaging with diverse communities and salient identity groups.
• Experience managing program budgets.
• Experience with digital content platforms.