Barbara Krauthamer to Conclude Service as Dean of College of Humanities & Fine Arts at UMass to Accept Leadership Position at Emory University
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Barbara Krauthamer will conclude her service as dean of the College of Humanities & Fine Arts at UMass Amherst on June 30 to become the dean of Emory University’s College of Arts & Sciences in Atlanta.
Plans for the appointment of an interim dean will be forthcoming.
Krauthamer joined UMass Amherst as a professor in the Department of History in 2008. Since then, she has served as dean of the Graduate School, senior vice provost for interdisciplinary programs and innovation, and dean of the College of Humanities & Fine Arts.
“Dr. Krauthamer is an outstanding scholar, teacher and leader. Both in her role as graduate dean and as dean of the College of Humanities & Fine Arts, she distinguished herself through her devotion to student and faculty development,” says Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy. “She has been a great ambassador for UMass in emphasizing equity and access. She will be greatly missed.”
“Dean Krauthamer has made innumerable contributions to UMass Amherst as both a pre-eminent scholar of slavery and emancipation in the 19th century American south and as a talented and innovative administrator in the Graduate School and in the College of Humanities & Fine Arts,” says Tricia Serio, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Dean Krauthamer has consistently centered diversity, equity and inclusion in her initiatives and has been an enthusiastic and effective advocate for the humanities and fine arts. She will be missed at UMass Amherst, not only for her impactful professional contributions, but also for her thoughtful and collaborative approach to our mission and deep commitment to our values.”
As senior vice provost, Krauthamer took on 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 her role 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.
As a member of the 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. She is the author and editor of a number of textbooks and non-fiction books, including her work as 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. 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.