Gratz College has announced the selection of Joanna Beata Michlic, Ph.D., as associate director of the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights, program director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies graduate programs, and associate professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
Michlic will assume senior academic and programmatic responsibilities within both the Holocaust and Genocide Studies graduate programs and the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights. Her role includes contributing to curriculum development, program assessment and strategic planning, advising graduate students on research and professional pathways, mentoring affiliated faculty, as well as helping expand non-degree offerings, public programs and international partnerships.
“We are pleased to welcome Joanna Michlic to Gratz College,” said Ayal Feinberg, Ph.D., director of the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights. “She is one of the most respected scholars in Holocaust studies today, and her leadership will strengthen both the intellectual rigor and global reach of our graduate programs. For our students, this means direct engagement with a scholar whose work has helped shape the field. For our partners, it signals Gratz’s continued commitment to building meaningful, research-driven collaborations that extend well beyond the classroom.”
Michlic said she is eager to assume the new position, citing Gratz’s long-standing role in advanced Holocaust education. “Gratz College occupies a distinctive place in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, combining rigorous scholarship with a strong commitment to teaching and public engagement. Having already had the opportunity to teach at Gratz, I am especially honored to now take on a leadership role at an institution dedicated to educating future scholars and practitioners, while fostering meaningful dialogue across academic and civic communities. At a time when the Holocaust continues to be subject to distortion, denial and misrepresentation, I see this work as especially vital. I am particularly excited about contributing to the continued development of the programs and to expanding their intellectual and international reach.”
She is widely known for her scholarship on the Holocaust, antisemitism, nationalism, memory politics, and the experiences of children and families during and after genocide. She has held academic and research appointments in the United States and Europe, including at University College London, Lund University in Sweden, the University of Bristol, Brandeis University and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage. She most recently served as visiting professor of Holocaust and Contemporary History at Lund University and as an honorary senior research fellow at University College London.
Her publications include Poland’s Threatening Other and Jewish Families in Europe, 1939-Present, among numerous peer-reviewed works. Her scholarship has been supported by major international fellowships, including the Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholar Award and the Gerda Henkel Research Fellowship.
Michlic’s appointment underscores Gratz College’s continued investment in research-driven Holocaust education and global scholarly engagement. She officially begins her role on Sep. 1.
