Deborah Kallman

View graduate student office hours

I have taken a somewhat non-traditional route to UMass. I returned to school following a career in the finance and accounting fields. Having spent much of my professional life in higher education financial administration, I recognize the transformative power of education. I was thrilled to pursue my personal dream of studying history. I was initially drawn to UMass because of its highly regarded Public History program. Public historians play an important role in making history and historical sites approachable to the general public. My own passion for history was ignited by visiting many of the historic sites in New England. Since my first visit to campus, I felt part of the UMass history community and I continue to be impressed not only with the UMass faculty and scholarship, but the vast resources that are available through the Five College Consortium. In addition to the field of public history, I studied modern European history and Modern U.S. history.

I completed an internship at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s former residence in western Massachusetts. I applied what I learned in the classroom to the professional practice of public history and this internship further supported my interest in education as I wrote lesson units for two of The Mount’s onsite school programs and adapted a physical exhibit to an online format. This practicum reinforced my belief in the transformative power of education and that, indeed, education does not only occur in a formal classroom setting. After completing my MA I accepted a position as Business Manager at The Mount. Currently, I am the Director of Finance at Historic Deerfield.

In addition, I maintain research interests situated within the Progressive era and specifically to the study of a utopian farm in West Newbury, Massachusetts.  In Fall 2019, I returned to UMass History to pursue my Ph.D., while continuing in my work at Historic Deerfield. I retired from my position at Historic Deerfield in 2021.