Lillian Wilson Szlaga reports on the Career Diversity Grant

History Department Awarded a Career Diversity Grant

Last Spring, the Department of History was pleased to become one of twenty PhD programs across the country to receive an American Historical Association (AHA) Career Diversity Implementation Grant. The grant is intended to help prepare history grads for a range of career paths within and beyond the academy. Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by the AHA, the grant funds two years of programming and a Career Diversity Fellowship for one PhD student at each of the twenty schools.

Career Diversity Fellow

Lillian Wilson Szlaga, a fifth-year PhD candidate, was selected as the Department's Career Diversity Fellow (CDF). One of Szlaga's main goals as the CDF was to help other grads get the support they need to prepare themselves for meaningful careers suited to their interests and unique skill sets after completing the PhD. With this goal in mind, Szlaga has worked with faculty advisor Tracy Neumann, DGS Eric Ash, and department chair Elizabeth Faue to organize a range of programming including an alumni speaker series in Fall 2018 that included museum consultant Dennis Barrie, and professor and travel blogger Amy French. Szlaga is also working to build and maintain connections between the Department and other university offices including the Office of Teaching and Learning, and the Humanities Clinic.

Workshop and Panel

Szlaga planned a mentorship workshop for PhD students and faculty with AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman, which took place on February 25, 2019. She is also working with the History Graduate Student Association to coordinate a job talk panel with recent alums on April 17, 2019.