What is the Humanities Leadership Initiative?
The Humanities Leadership Initiative is a multi-level professional development pathway dedicated to building a pipeline of organization leaders for and from the humanities in higher education and other industries. The HLI strategically promotes the humanities at BU by demonstrating the humanities’ value for organizational leadership inside the academy and beyond, thus building support and understanding for the humanities generally.
Who does this initiative engage?
The Humanities Leadership Initiative envisions a suite of programs — internships, workshops, panels, mentoring — for BU students and faculty, as well as other regional humanities centers’ leaders and staff, to develop professional organizational leadership skills for application both in higher education and alternative-academic careers.
How does this initiative work?
In summer 2025, the Humanities Leadership Initiative is sponsoring a three-part Impacting Organizations and Communities Workshop, led by the Questrom School of Business’s Dr. Paul Hutchinson, for humanities graduate students to enhance their skills and prospects for future careers, whether in or outside of academia, by learning more about project management, relationship building, and effective feedback. The Initiative is also hosting a one-day professional development event for New England regional humanities centers staff both for informal networking and for structured discussion of organizational challenges such as leadership transition, strategic planning, and student marketing.
The Initiative is also overseeing and coordinating five PhD internships at the Boston Public Library, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Concord Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Massachusetts Historical Society.