Associate Director for Public History Research and Program Development

American Association for State and Local History; Sewanee (TN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at Sewanee, TN seeks a community-engaged scholar-teacher of U.S. public history with advanced digital humanities skills to serve as Associate Director for Public History Research and Program Development.

The appointment is twelve months, full-time, for two years with the possibility of renewal. The successful candidate will teach one to two undergraduate courses annually and oversee digital sites using Omeka S and WordPress, while

Qualifications

• PhD in public history or related field required or in hand at start.
• Advanced hands-on experience with Omeka S and WordPress.
• Experience supervising undergraduate research and managing events.
• Teaching one to two undergraduate courses annually in public history.

Responsibilities

• Manage and contribute to digital sites using Omeka S.
• Develop digital research projects aligned with the Roberson Project.
• Oversee undergraduate research and project events.
• Teach one to two undergraduate courses in public history annually.
• Engage with community partnerships and descendant communities.

Skills

Public history

Digital humanities

Scholarly research

Higher education teaching

Education

PhD in public history or related field

ABD candidates considered

Tools

Omeka S

WordPress

Content management systems

Job description

Position Overview

The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at Sewanee: The University of the South in Sewanee, TN, seeks a community-engaged scholar-teacher of U.S. public history with advanced skills and experience in the field of digital humanities to serve as the Project’s Associate Director for Public History Research and Program Development.

The appointment is twelve months, full-time, for a period of two years with the possibility of reappointment. The successful candidate will annually teach one to two undergraduate courses in public history or related fields. Salary for this position is commensurate with qualifications and includes a comprehensive benefits package.

Position Appointment Details

• Career Band: 2D
• Salaried, full-time
• This position is a term position and has a scheduled end date of October 2028.

Position Description

The holder of this position will be tasked with managing and contributing to a number of existing digital sites using Omeka S, but will also be encouraged to develop relevant digital research projects of their own design.

The Roberson Project, launched in 2017, is among the innovative leaders in the movement in American higher education to investigate historical entanglements with slavery and its legacies at colleges and universities that have long denied these connections. The Project maintains an unusually extensive portfolio of engagement opportunities, including dedicated course offerings, interdisciplinary programming, scholarly research (including undergraduate research), digital humanities initiatives, and community-driven partnerships.

Descriptions of many of these facets of the Project can be found on its website: robersonproject.sewanee.edu.

Attributes of a Successful Candidate

We prefer that candidates for this position have extensive professional training and experience in public history, with a PhD in public history (or a related field) in hand at the time of employment.

ABD candidates and MA degree-holders with truly exemplary records of public history experience in the areas specified above may be considered.

In addition, the applicant must possess advanced hands-on experience working with the Omeka S web-publishing platform and WordPress and/or other content management systems.

• Other duties include supervising undergraduate research and managing Roberson Project events.
• The successful candidate will annually teach one to two undergraduate courses in public history or related fields.
• Classroom teaching experience is valued but not required.

The application deadline is September 1, 2026. The desired start of employment is October 2026.

The Roberson Project, committed as it is “to gather and give a more complete historical account of [the University of the South], the town of Sewanee, and all its people,” is a community-focused undertaking that seeks to build and maintain partnerships with descendant and local African American communities that have long histories with Sewanee. Candidates for this position should have experience with and relish these kinds of relationship-building opportunities that are at the heart of the Roberson Project’s mission.