What is the Humanities Leadership Initiative?
The Humanities Leadership Initiative is conceived as 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 will 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 will this initiative work?
The HLI will develop the present success of the summer PhD Internships program that gives students exposure and experience in humanities-related community organizations such as the Concord Museum, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston Athenaeum, and Institute of Contemporary Art. The Initiative will also build upon the inaugural December 2023 convening of regional Humanities Center directors in discussion of issues of mutual concern as well as unique institutional challenges.
Moving forward, the Initiative envisions collaboration on leadership initiatives across Boston University (e.g., the Questrom School of Business and the Wheelock College of Education); in the Boston-area humanities and adjacent communities (e.g., heritage organizations, other humanities higher-ed administrators and center leaders); and with the BU alumni network (esp. humanities-trained graduates working in higher education, alternative-academic careers, and other industries).