PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Historical Society announced Friday that C. Morgan Grefe will be its new executive director as of June 13, the first woman to fill the role.
Grefe will take over for Michael Gerhardt, who has filled the position on an interim basis since March, when Bernard Fishman resigned.
Grefe was the director of the Newell D. Goff Center for Education and Public Programs at the society since 2005. She is also an adjunct assistant professor of history at the University of Rhode Island.
“We were looking for someone who blended a dynamic, outward-looking leadership style with the background of a skilled historian. We are confident that in Morgan we have found this combination,” said Roger Begin, president of the board of trustees, in a news release, while noting there were about 50 applicants to the position.
She holds a bachelor of arts and a master of arts in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in the same subject from Brown University.
“I take this position knowing that, as the first female director of the Rhode Island Historical Society, I am part of a new era in our society’s life,” Grefe said.
The R.I. Historical Society, founded in 1822, is the fourth oldest state historical society in the U.S. It maintains historical collections related to the state, as well as the John Brown House Museum, the Aldrich House, and the Museum of Work and Culture.
