The Career Diversity Pilot Phase began in 2013 and concluded in 2016. This page was last updated in 2016. To find up-to-date information about the Career Diversity initiative, click here.

Visit UNM's AHA-Mellon Career Diversity program website to stay up to date on their activities.

The University of New Mexico History Department brings a record of public engagement to new history career development programs that will expand our students' skills, extend the presence of historical knowledge, and enhance preparation for PhDs who plan to pursue careers in and beyond the academy. Virginia Scharff, Distinguished Professor of History, serves as the Director for the UNM component of the AHA-Mellon project, working with Department Chair Melissa Bokovoy, Graduate Director Enrique Sanabria, Project Assistant Jennifer McPherson, and an enthusiastic array of faculty and graduate students. 

In our first year we hosted a lively Career Diversity conference that drew capacity crowds, coordinated workshops on topics ranging from "getting through graduate school" to crafting elevator pitches. We offered an innovative graduate seminar that drew on the expertise of guest mentors and the research, communication, collaboration, digital, and leadership skills of enrolled students. We also developed an internship program that made connections to a host of public history sponsoring organizations, and created funded opportunities for our graduate students. 

During the 2015-2016 academic year, we look forward to extending our collaboration with UNM's departments and centers, particularly the UNM Anderson School of Management, Career Services, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and Employee and Organizational Development. We have also modified the structure of last year's internship program. This year we are reaching out and developing links across the university and to local and regional non-profits, NGOs, federal agencies, and private enterprises. We have created new opportunities for graduate students to collaborate with faculty on particular components of the overall project. These new "faculty-student teams" are responsible for reviewing and maintaining our fellowship placement program and social media presence; developing a monthly workshop series; implementing ways in which to introduce the AHA skill standards into graduate seminars; and for fostering public-private sector relationships to sustain the initiative in the years to come. As we move forward in building a first of its kind (on our campus) placement and career development center for graduate students in history, this center will serve as a model for such a service across the humanities and arts programs at UNM.