NEH Institute Participants Present at AHA on Higher Education History
Five participants in the NEH-funded institute, Unpacking the History of Higher Education, presented the projects they developed at the institute at the AHA Annual Meeting in January along with project co-directors, Kelly Schrum and Nate Sleeter. The summer 2024 institute brought together faculty members from higher education programs who teach or support history of higher ed courses.
At the AHA 2025 annual meeting in January, RRCHNM’s Nate Sleeter and Kelly Schrum chaired the panel, “Unpacking the History of Higher Education in the United States.” The panel grew out of an NEH institute of the same name directed by Schrum and Sleeter in the summer of 2024 in which 25 faculty from universities nationwide came together to explore the teaching and research of the history of higher ed through archival sources. Institute participants included faculty, advanced doctoral students, librarians, and archivists who teach or support courses on the history of higher education in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) programs.
The institute’s participants heard from scholars on a wide variety of topics related to the history of higher education. Each scholar provided an overview of their topic and also engaged participants modeling their approach to research with primary source examples. The institute also included site visits to Howard University, Gallaudet University, Georgetown University, Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and George Mason University archives where participants met with leaders and archivists to see how these very different institutions engage with their own history.
The AHA panelists, Liza Bolitzer (Kean University), LaNesha DeBardelaben (University of Washington, Seattle), Carrie Kortegast (Northern Illinois University), Amy Pajewski (West Chester University), and Chadrhyn Pedraza (New Mexico State University) were all participants in the institute. Their presentations were a testament to the participants’ ability to take the skills and content they learned at the institute and apply them to their teaching and research in innovative ways.
Liza Bolitzer presented on incorporating historical sources into her qualitative methods class for education doctoral students. Bolitzer uses research notes and other primary documents from Margeret Mead, W.E.B. Du Bois and others to demonstrate to students how qualitative researchers have actively shaped their studies. LaNesha DeBardelaben presented on the history of YWCAs and their role in creating communities for Black women at HBCUs. Carrie Kortegast presented (via video) on using primary sources related to the organizational sagas of women’s colleges as a case study in teaching the history of higher education. Amy Pajewski, a student success librarian, presented on the history of academic freedom at her home institution, West Chester University. Chadrhyn Pedraza presented on how historical context is vital to her work exploring the experiences of Asian American students in higher education in the United States.
The interdisciplinary work of building connections between higher education programs and history is ongoing. As part of this effort Schrum and Sleeter are continuing to develop an online resource to support the teaching and research of higher education history. This site features links to over 700 institutional archives for students and instructors to engage with primary source materials. The site will also host learning activities and lesson plans on various history of higher education topics that were developed by NEH institute participants.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: https://www.neh.gov/.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The American Historical Association creates a community for historians of varying specializations through institutes, providing resources for students, offering grants and career opportunities, and hosting an annual meeting for historians to share their work. For more information about the American Historical Association, please visit their website: https://www.historians.org