New Exec. Dir. for Humanities Council

LANSING— The Michigan Humanities Council Board of Directors and staff are pleased to announce its new Executive Director. Erik Nordberg, a former MHC board member, will begin serving as the Executive Director on May 1.

Nordberg, a resident of Calumet, has worked at Michigan Technological University in Houghton since 1994. There he has served in a variety of roles, most recently as the University Archivist and Head of Archives. Previous to his employment at Michigan Tech, he served as an Assistant Librarian – Archives/Special Collections, for Indiana University in South Bend.

While at Michigan Tech, Nordberg built a comprehensive program for collecting, preserving and sharing the cultural history of Michigan’s “Copper Country,” a four-county area comprising the state’s historic copper mining district.

Beginning with the department’s archival speakers series in 1995, he has been directly involved in a wide variety of public humanities programming, such as lectures series, tour programs, development of web content and publication programs.

In addition, Nordberg has designed and completed a variety of collections, digitization and exhibit projects, including the successful Keweenaw Digital Archives online image repository. He also completed a number of externally funded projects, including major grants from federal agencies and private funding to support institutional initiatives, such as conferences, exhibits, computer hardware, and a $1 million unrestricted planned gift.

Nordberg served on the MHC Board of Directors for eight years, ending his term in the executive role of board secretary/treasurer and chair of the finance committee in December 2011. Previous to his two year assignment, he served on the board’s executive committee and chaired the legislative and advocacy committee.

Nordberg also served on grant review and program committees, assisted in board development and actively engaged in fundraising and development for the Council’s signature program, The Great Michigan Read.

Nordberg received his Bachelor of Arts in Combined Humanities from the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. He went on to earn his Master of Philosophy degree at the University of Dublin – Trinity College in the Republic of Ireland; and a Master of Science – Library Science degree and Graduate Certificate of Archival Administration from Wayne State University.

He is currently working toward his doctorate in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology at Michigan Tech.