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Livingston County Historical Society manuscript (µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø/Keith Walters ’11)

Michael Leroy Oberg, SUNY distinguished professor of history, has been awarded an NEH American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations grant forµÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø Center for Local and Municipal History.

The $172,692 one-year grant will enable the center to hire a director for the center. It will support 21 undergraduate students in semester-long internships with a stipend of nearly $2,000 each. The grant will also support guest speakers and other minor expenses.

Joel Helfrich, PhD, has been selected to serve as the center™s director. Helfrich is a public historian in Rochester, New York, and currently a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellow. He will network and liaise with the center™s partners, especially local history centers, municipal historians, nonprofits, history organizations, and other groups. Also, part of the director™s responsibility is to recruit, place, and advise interns, including to serve as a mentor to students pursuing the new, accelerated BA/MA Program between µÚÒ»³Ô¹ÏÍø and Claremont Graduate School.

In addition to his directorship responsibilities, Helfrich will teach two courses in public history, including a class for education majors, Teaching Local History for education majors, which is planned for Spring 2022.