The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Allison Miller as editor of Perspectives on History.

With a PhD in history from Rutgers University‑New Brunswick (2012) and 10 years’ experience in magazine and academic publishing, Miller brings to Perspectives a flair for the written word to match her commitment to the scholarly practice of history.

“Historians are in the trenches every day, fighting to bring light to civic debate and engagement in public life,” Miller says. “Our members should see those efforts reflected in the pages of Perspectives. Whether they’re college and university faculty, K-12 teachers, public historians, graduate students, museum curators, or archivists, historians have a stake in the future, not just the past.”

Miller, who will take up the position in June, comes to Perspectives from the University of Southern California’s Department of History and the USC-Huntington Institute for California and the West, where for two years she was the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in the history of women, gender, and sexuality. Before entering graduate school, she spent eight years in the world of magazine publishing, including staff positions at Lingua Franca, Paper, and CosmoGirl.

“Oddly enough, I went to graduate school because I wanted to write,” Miller says. “I knew I had a book in me, I adored history, and even though I worked in popular culture magazines, I was fascinated by historiography. But part of me always stayed in magazines. In a way, joining Perspectives fulfills two ambitions: to write, and to write about history.”

Joining a talented team dedicated to advancing scholarly initiatives in the AHA’s print and digital presences, Miller foresees Perspectives taking a greater role in helping historians strengthen ties to one another while simultaneously reflecting the diversity of the discipline.

“I’d like historians in every career stage and profession to be able to say, ‘Perspectives does a good job representing historians like me,’” Miller says. “Frankly, we face so many challenges from people who question our relevance that we need to promote solidarity where it counts. That means convincing all our constituencies that issues facing librarians, say, have an impact on graduate students and other academic historians. We can do this through vivid writing and increasing the magazine’s online visibility.

“At the same time,” Miller continues, “the AHA’s membership leans strongly toward the critical-thinking set—we like to disagree! For a magazine, that’s an opportunity, not a liability. Perspectives should continue to be a forum for dialogue and debate about scholarly and professional issues we confront.”

Perspectives is published nine times a year, and complete issues since January 1998 are available on the AHA’s website. Follow Allison Miller on Twitter at @Cliopticon.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.