Douglas Greenberg
Douglas Greenberg is Professor of History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Previously, he was Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences (2008-2012) at Rutgers. In the past, he served as a Professor of History at the University of Southern California, Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and President of the Chicago Historical Society.
Biography
Greenberg's professional career in history began with a Bachelor's degree in 1969 from Rutgers University, where he became a Brother of Phi Sigma Kappa. This was soon followed up with a Master's degree as well as a Ph.D in History from Cornell University in 1971 and 1974, respectively. In the early 1980s, Greenberg taught and served as a dean at Princeton University and eventually became the chair of the New Jersey Historical Commission. In 1986, he became Vice President of the American Council of Learned Societies.
Though his studies trained him as an historian in early American history, Greenberg's own studies prepared him for his career in public history in general. In 1993, Greenberg went to the Chicago Historical Society, where he became President and CEO. During Greenberg's tenure, he oversaw several exhibitions and documentaries on the history of Chicago, which included The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory. He also focused resources on advancing the technology used at the Historical Society, including developing a website that included public access catalogs, digitized materials, and so on.
Greenberg was soon drawn to the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, later to be known as the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education at the University of Southern California. Started in 1994, the purpose of the Shoah Foundation was to collect 50,000 oral histories from survivors of the Holocaust. The current total today is over 52,000 in thirty-two languages.
He assumed his current position at Rutgers in 2008.
In 1997, Greenberg was a member of the Board of Editors for Reviews in American History. Over the next several years Greenberg was awarded with several fellowships and honorary degrees. Besides publishing several books, Greenberg has had articles published in Library Resources and Technical Services and Journal of the Sydney Institute. In 2005 was featured in the "Conservation and Meaning" chapter of Stewards of the Sacred: Sacred Artifacts, Religious Culture and the Museum as Social Institution.
Notable works
Survivors of the Shoah: Visual History Foundation (2004) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405358/
- A short documentary featured on the DVD for Schindler's List
Advisory/Leading Roles
- Executive Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey -- http://sas.rutgers.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=217&Itemid=274
- Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education -- http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/vhi/
- President and CEO, Chicago Historical Society -- http://www.chicagohs.org/
- Board of Editors, Reviews in American History -- http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/
- Executive Board, Organization of American Historians (2000-2003)
- Chair, New Jersey Historical Commission -- http://www.state.nj.us/state/history/
References
- http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2008/06/historian-educator-d-20080602
- http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/faculty/faculty1012287.html
- http://www.oah.org/pubs/nl/2001feb/greenberg.html
