
Sarah Weicksel
The American Historical Association (AHA) announces the appointment of Sarah Weicksel as its next executive director. Her appointment follows an extensive national search. She will succeed James Grossman upon his retirement on June 30, 2025.
Weicksel brings extensive experience in historical research, public history, and teaching. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to history advocacy, curriculum and program development, and public engagement. Since 2020, she has served as the AHA’s Director of Research and Publications, spearheading major initiatives in higher education professional development, academic publishing, and teaching with material culture. Her leadership has been instrumental in forging institutional partnerships with the National Archives and Records Administration, the Association of University Presses, and historical museums and organizations around the country. In 2024, she was appointed by the Archivist of the United States to the National Archives Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee. Before joining the AHA, she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
A first-generation college graduate who grew up on a small family farm, Weicksel earned her BA in history from Yale University, an MA in American material culture from the Winterthur Program at the University of Delaware, and an MA and PhD in history from the University of Chicago. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at American University and the University of Chicago, published widely on US history and material culture, co-curated exhibitions at the Smithsonian, and served on advisory boards for museums and other institutions. Her forthcoming book, A Nation Unraveled: Clothing, Culture, and Violence in the American Civil War Era (Univ. of North Carolina Press, 2025), is an object-based history that explores how making, wearing, saving, and destroying clothing was central to how people waged war and acutely experienced war’s costs.
Her scholarship has been supported by numerous fellowships and grants, including an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wolf Humanities Center, a Committee on Institutional Cooperation–Smithsonian Institution Joint Research Fellowship, and an Anthony N. B. and Beatrice Garvan Fellowship in American Material Culture at the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Weicksel is deeply committed to supporting an expansive historical discipline and promoting history’s importance in public life. She envisions the AHA as a space to foster partnerships that broaden our definitions of historical scholarship and embrace the many ways of being a historian. “Uniting the various facets of historical work—from academia to K–12 education, public history to policy, and beyond—elevates our discipline. It inspires collaboration and innovation that activates historians’ work in more aspects of public life,” Weicksel stated. Under her leadership, the AHA will continue to advocate for history funding, support academic faculty and departments, and engage historians working across a variety of professions.
Edward W. Muir (Northwestern Univ.), chair of the committee that conducted the national search, expressed confidence in Weicksel’s leadership, stating, “Sarah excels in building internal and external relationships. She has expanded and strengthened the AHA’s connections with a wide range of institutions and organizations. Her background and educational experiences have allowed her to connect with and understand people from a diverse range of backgrounds.”
Weicksel’s appointment marks a new chapter for the AHA, reinforcing its commitment to historical scholarship, advocacy, and public engagement. The Association looks forward to her leadership in guiding the discipline toward a vibrant and expansive future.
The Search Committee
Weicksel was appointed by the AHA Council after a lengthy search process. In early 2024, the AHA formed a committee chaired by AHA former president Edward W. Muir (Northwestern Univ.) to lead the national search for a new executive director. The committee included Sandra Greene (Cornell Univ., AHA Council member), Joshua Reid (Univ. of Washington, former AHA Council member), Vicki Ruiz (Univ. of California, Irvine, former AHA president), and Dana Schaffer (AHA deputy director).
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