Seminar for Historical Administration
Every year, I have the distinct pleasure to work on the upcoming Seminar for Historical Administration. This past week, I ventured to Indianapolis, Indiana, to kick off the 49th SHA at our host institution, the Indiana Historical Society.
In my opinion, SHA is one of the finest professional development programs in the country. It is sponsored by six organizations—AAM, AASLH, Colonial Williamsburg, IHS, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture—that each care deeply about training the next generation of leaders in our field.
Some of the field’s greatest minds teach the three week curriculum and each year the partners review the program to ensure that it’s meeting the needs of the field. We tweak the schedule and presents based on the program’s evaluation and our own understanding of the issues facing the field. For example, in 2007 we introduced a session called “The Electric Museum” looking at issues of technology.
Yet the formal program is only a small part of the seminar. Based on my conversations with SHA alumni and my own observations, it is the peer networking that makes SHA nonpariel. Each year, the partners meet and select the eighteen history professionals who will make up that year’s SHA class. It is a competitive process and we put an incredible amount of thought into selecting the class.
My experience in the two years I’ve been managing the program for AASLH has been nothing short of inspiring. I look forward to my meetings with the partners each year and to meeting each year’s class.
Three weeks is a long time to be away from work and home to be sure. Yet seminarians report that the experience was well worth that time and effort.
One person from the Class of 2007 noted, “The confidence I gained and the new insights are invaluable as well as the bond with other professionals in my field. The memories I made there will be with me forever. I not only benefited as a professional but also personally. It gave me confidence in myself to be trained by the top professionals in my field and that carries into every aspect of my life.”
I believe that SHA is one of the best and most inspiring professional development opportunities around and it is something I am proud to be a part of.
I hope you will consider applying for the Class of 2009 and/or will forward along information on the program to your peers. You can find information about the program and the application process here.
Posted: November 5th, 2008 under AASLH Standards, Administration, Audience, Collections & Exhibits, Community Engagement & Collaboration, Disciplines, Diversity, Education & Interpretation, Evaluation, Financial Management, Funding & Fundraising, General, Historic Houses, Human Resources, Interpretation, Leadership & Governance, Management, Marketing, Mission, Vision, and Governance, Professional Career Development, Publishing and New Media, Small Museums, Stewardship of Collections, Stewardship of Structures and Landscapes, Technology & Digitization, Uncategorized, Volunteers.
Tags: AAM, AASLH, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Colonial Williamsburg, future leaders, IHS, Indiana Historical Society, next generation, professional development, Professional Networking, Seminar for Historical Administration, SHA, the National Trust for HIstoric Preservation
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