Summer 2026 at the AHA has been busier than ever. In June, we provided a series of professional development opportunities for historians in a variety of professions. in addition to our annual Department Chairs Workshop, a two-day intensive for anyone in the role, we brought together higher education faculty from the Midwest at the University of Northern Iowa for a workshop on civic education. Participants explored history’s role in civic education, assessed institutional capacity, developed strategic plans for engaging future teachers, and identified resources needed to advance this work. That same month, we brought together organizations that support educators for a conference at the Library of Congress as part of our work as a regional partner in the library’s Teaching with Primary Sources program. Participants exchanged ideas and explored new ways to develop projects and resources that help audiences engage meaningfully with primary sources.
Our committees were hard at work too. On our 42 Awards Committees, 150 members spent their summer reviewing nominations and reading great scholarship. The Governance Committee has begun reviewing the Association’s Constitution & Bylaws and governance policies to ensure that they remain current, functional, and aligned with the AHA’s mission and nonprofit governance best practices. Council will consider the committee’s recommendations this winter and put forward any approved recommendations for a membership vote on next year’s ballot.
And as the summer comes to a close, the AHA is preparing for a flurry of activities and programs. Our Virginia Conference on Introductory History Courses convened on August 28 and 29, and our Texas Conference will follow on September 25 and 26. These two-day meetings bring educators together to share ideas, exchange teaching strategies, and build connections around the teaching and learning of introductory history courses. Also in September, the AHA encourages our members to participate in “We Want More History!”, a nationwide weekend of history programming designed to highlight the many ways people love, experience, and share history. For new graduate students, we are offering an online orientation to the historical discipline on October 13, and on October 15–16, we will gather at Johns Hopkins University for an AI and History Conference. And of course, look out for details about our 140th annual meeting, which will be held in New Orleans on January 7–10, 2027.
Check our website regularly to learn more about new programming, activities, and resources for historians.