The World History Center bids farewell to long-serving Associate Director and Head of Educational Outreach Dr. Molly Warsh, who is stepping away from the role after many years in order to focus on her research.
Molly joined the World History Center as Associate Director in 2016. During her tenure, Molly has helped grow the Center into one of the leading institutions in the world dedicated to the study of the global past. Throughout her associate directorship, she has been integral in the planning and implementation of thematic events, pedagogy workshops, and working groups that promote the mission of the Center. Over the years, Molly also served as a mentor to numerous graduate student assistants and graduate student fellows.
As Associate Director, Molly was most passionate about promoting world historical teaching and pedagogy. Molly served as the Center’s Head of Education Outreach and the leader of the Alliance for Learning in World History (ALWH), a collaboration of educators and history scholars organized to advance the teaching and learning of world history in classrooms. As the head of the ALWH, Molly organized six summer professional development workshops for educators of world history at all levels, including a two-day workshop at the University of Pittsburgh that coincided with the World History Association Annual Meeting in 2023.
In 2020, Molly spearheaded a collaboration with the National Humanities Center’s Humanities in Class Digital Library to publish free, open access world historical resources for educators. As of 2023, the ALWH has published over 100 resources for educators. She is active in numerous pedagogy related organizations such as the H21 Project and the OER Project.
Molly is also a talented scholar in the field of World History. She is the author of American Baroque: Pearls and the Nature of Empire 1492-1700 (Omohundro Institute/UNC Press, 2018) which considered the global repercussions of patterns of human and environmental resource management established in the sixteenth-century Spanish Caribbean pearl fisheries. Molly also serves as the Editor of the Journal of Early Modern History, the country’s leading journal focused on our global early modern past. Molly will continue work on her second book project about itinerant labor and the environment during the early modern period.
Although her associate directorship has come to an end, Molly will continue to run the Alliance for Learning in World History (ALWH) and be an active and enthusiastic supporter of the World History Center through her ongoing activities as a world historian.
Not only a talented scholar and dedicated supporter of World History, Molly is also a generous, kind, and supportive colleague. She will be greatly missed by Center staff and affiliates. The World History Center is so grateful for the energy and vision Molly brought to the position during her tenure!
The World History Center is thrilled to welcome Molly's successor, Dr. Raja Adal, as the new Associate Director of the Center!