'Lerna is an exceptional scholar and a proven leader. I am confident that she will guide the unit with thoughtfulness, wisdom, and a deep commitment to its continued success. I very much look forward to working with her in the years ahead,' says Agustin Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Ekmekcioglu, who joined the MIT faculty in 2011, is a historian of the modern Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, and Turkey, Armenian history, gender, feminism, genocide, and minority politics. She served as director of the Program in Women's and Gender Studies from 2022 to 2025, where she remains an affiliated faculty member. 'As I begin this new role, my first priority is to sustain and expand the remarkable momentum already underway in the unit. It is truly an exciting moment to be head of History,' says Ekmekciouglu. 'We have ambitious new initiatives, extraordinary faculty work, and ' this is not a small thing ' a group of colleagues who actually...
learn more
