October 15, 2018
Associate Professor and Chair of HistoryNerina Rustomji, Ph.D., has been named Councilor for the Professional Division of the American Historical Association (AHA). Her term as Councilor begins January 2019.
Dr. Rustomji’s recognition adds to the St. John’s History department’s record of achievement in representing career diversity in the academy. In 2017, the doctoral program in World History was recognized by the American Historical Association (AHA) as part of its Career Diversity for Historians initiative. “My election as Councilor was a vote about diversity, and how we reflect that diversity at St. John’s,” Dr. Rustomji said.
A historian of the Middle East and Islamic society, Dr. Rustomji also served as the graduate program director for History before assuming the role of department chair. Through both of these administrative positions, she has worked to rethink the ways that historians consider the profession, provide professional development for graduate students, and support junior and mid-career faculty.
Dr. Rustomji has already noticed a shift in focus for the AHA and hopes to contribute her efforts toward directing that change. “The AHA used to be devoted purely to research, and now the mission is expanding to include history teachers and historians broadly defined,” she said.
As Councilor, Dr. Rustomji will be involved in critical policy work at the AHA, including drafting key policy statements related to critical issues such as sexual harassment in the profession, as well as how to value professional work from both faculty and graduate students. In line with the responsibilities of the AHA Professional Division, Dr. Rustomji will work to articulate ethical standards and best practices in the historical profession, work to ensure fair treatment of all historians in the course of their professional training and careers, support the free movement of students and scholars, and collect and disseminate information about employment. “I look forward to serving the full range of historians on a national level,” she said.
“We are very proud that Dr. Rustomji’s colleagues in the AHA have elected her to be the Councilor of their Professional Division,” said Jeffrey W. Fagen, Ph.D., Dean of St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We share the confidence of her history colleagues that she will do an outstanding job of overseeing matters concerning working conditions and practices of historians, primarily by articulating ethical standards and best practices in the historical discipline.”