Dr. John Keenan

In this case we are concerned about the quality of undergraduate education and the role of Salem State historians in the community. [...] Salem State was one of 120 history departments that participated in AHA Tuning, which involved thinking intentionally about the core value of the discipline to liberal education, and the utility of historical thinking to career and lifetime learning. [...] The AHA has also recognized the work of department faculty and is especially disturbed that one of your colleagues apparently on the potential chopping block includes a winner of the Association’s prestigious James Harvey Robinson Prize, which recognizes “the most outstanding contribution to the teaching and learning of history in any field for public or educational purposes.” The role of historic. [...] History department faculty have served as trustees and advisory board members of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the House of the Seven Gables, the Witch House, Historic Salem, Inc., the Salem Athenaeum, Voices Against Injustice (formerly the Salem Award), and the regional Essex National Heritage Area, and these same institutions have benefitted from a succession of interns trained and. [...] This realignment plan, however, will have serious and deleterious consequences for the practice of history and the quality of undergraduate and graduate education at Salem State, as well as the relationships between the university and surrounding communities.