May 29, 2019

Article written by the UMass News and Media Relations Office

Barbara Krauthamer, dean of the Graduate School, has been appointed as senior vice provost for Interdisciplinary Programs and Innovation by Provost John McCarthy.  As senior vice provost, she will oversee the Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) and the University Without Walls (UWW) degree programs. Krauthamer will also continue in her role as dean of the Graduate School.

Headshot of Barbara Krauthamer

Krauthamer will also take a leadership role in supporting innovation in the university’s degree and certificate programs, particularly those that transcend disciplinary boundaries or respond to new and emerging opportunities. In addition, she will share duties with the other senior vice provosts, participating in planning and decision-making efforts. Her new appointment is effective June 1.

As dean of the Graduate School, to which she was appointed in 2017, and previously as associate dean for student inclusion and engagement, she created multiple fellowship programs and an office for inclusion and engagement to support the recruitment and retention of traditionally underrepresented graduate students.

“The Graduate School is one of the few truly interdisciplinary academic units on our campus,” said McCarthy. “Dean Krauthamer’s leadership of the Graduate School and the new ideas she has brought to it have therefore prepared her well for the role of senior vice provost for Interdisciplinary Programs and Innovation. Furthermore, as I have benefited so frequently from her wise counsel, it seemed only appropriate to bring her onto my immediate leadership team.”

As a member of the UMass Amherst faculty since 2008, Krauthamer has worked closely with master’s and doctoral students in history as well as Afro-American studies; women, gender, sexuality studies, and other departments across campus.

Krauthamer is a widely recognized leading historian of African American slavery and emancipation in the United States. Her published work includes Black Slaves, Indian Masters: Slavery, Emancipation, and Citizenship in the Native American South. She is the co-author of Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery, which received a number of honors, most notably the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Non-fiction. She co-edited the textbook, Major Problems in African American History, one of the leading textbooks in the field. She has authored numerous articles, curated exhibits and written pieces for general audiences. She appears in the award-winning documentary film, Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People. Her research and books have been profiled in many media outlets, including the New York Times, CBS Evening News, National Public Radio, Pacifica Radio and CNN as well as in media outlets in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.