An Outgoing Message from the PHA President
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
Thank you for your unending support of the Pennsylvania Historical Association. Your active engagement with the association drives our ability to fulfill our mission—advancing knowledge about the history and culture of Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region.
Our journal, Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, continues to produce top-flight scholarship. Beyond the standard issues, Pennsylvania History followed up our award-winning disability special issue with an excellent African American history issue and has an upcoming edition planned to correspond with the American Revolution’s 250th anniversary. Our book series likewise issues powerful new volumes, most recently including Allan Dieterich-Ward’s Cradle of Conservation: An Environmental History of Pennsylvania.
In-person annual conferences continue to be well attended, with 199 registrants at our October 2024 Johnstown meeting. I urge you to join us at our exciting upcoming conferences in York (2025) and Bethlehem (2026). For me, these meetings have been a reinvigorating and refreshing break from the normal academic grind. If you would like to showcase your hometown, please consider hosting a future meeting.
It was my deepest desire, as incoming President two years ago, to harness the incredible momentum that resulted from our return to in-person conferences at Williamsport. I think we have done that. Despite continued cuts to the humanities, our organization has remained vibrant and on sound footing. We continue to work hard to modernize the organization to address challenging developments. We do this with an eye to protect what has made the Pennsylvania Historical Association special.
It has been my sincerest pleasure to have served as your President for the past two years and I deeply appreciate all your support. The Association is in excellent hands moving forward with our incoming President Jeanine Mazak-Kahne and Vice President Adam Bentz. I know that they have big plans, stay tuned!
Kindest Regards,
Benjamin G. Scharff, PhD
President