Noted Historian Becomes Director of Ackerman Center

Celinscak, a professor of history, succeeds Dr. Nils Roemer, dean of the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, who served as director for 11 years.

"This role requires quite a few different skill sets and abilities," said Roemer, who also is the Arts, Humanities, and Technology Distinguished University Chair. "We were looking for someone who not only had the right academic credentials, but also is recognized and well respected. We needed a person who can teach undergraduate and graduate classes, get students excited, and also be able to talk to potential donors about the center and its mission. Mark has all of these qualities. I'm thrilled that we found him, and I'm excited to see what he's going to do."

"It was a landmark exhibition that changed the university and one of which I am incredibly proud," he said.

Celinscak also established key global partnerships with leading organizations, such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Yahad - In Unum, the Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University and the Survivor-Centred Visual Narratives project, among others.

"I ensured every major initiative expanded opportunities for students through hands-on training, mentored research, field work and archival study," Celinscak said. "A decade of leadership and international collaboration has prepared me to guide the Ackerman Center forward."

Celinscak's research encompasses military history, World Wars I and II, genocide and modern Europe. His work focuses on how soldiers, liberators and survivors have processed the Holocaust.

"The stories of war were always around - whether in movies or from friends' grandparents," he said. "I was interested in how soldiers told the story of combat. I wondered what could be more intense than battle. How do you depict that in language or with a paintbrush or photography?

"His groundbreaking work on Holocaust diaries and memoirs was foundational to my research," said Celinscak, who first learned about the Ackerman Center in 2023 when he presented a paper during the War, the Holocaust, and Human Rights conference, a partnership with the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Celinscak also has co-edited several books, including the graphic narrative Two Roses: A Story of Deception and Determination in Nazi Germany and Global Approaches to the Holocaust: Memory, History, and Representation. He also has written book chapters and contributed columns to several publications.

A native of Canada, Celinscak earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Education from Brock University, a Master of Arts in history from the University of Toronto and a PhD in humanities from York University.

The Holocaust Studies Program - encompassing scholarly research, an undergraduate minor in Holocaust, genocide and human rights and one of the few graduate certificates in Holocaust, genocide and human rights studies in the U.S. - was founded in 1986 by Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth, a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, author of books about her experiences, and the first Leah and Paul Lewis Chair of Holocaust Studies. In 2006, Edward M. Ackerman and his wife, Wilhelmina, made the lead gift that named the Ackerman Center. Distinguishing elements of the program include the Arnold A. Jaffe Holocaust Collection and the Einspruch Lectures on the Holocaust.