On Jan. 1, Prof. David Engerman (HIST) began his term as the president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, a scholarly organization that focuses on the United States’ diplomatic engagements with other nations.

According to its website, the society, founded in 1967, promotes “the study, advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of American Foreign Relations.”

Engerman, the University’s Ottilie Springer Professor of History and the Chair of the History Department, previously served as the society’s vice president last year. In an email to the Justice, Engerman wrote that he first joined SHAFR in 1989 or 1990, before starting graduate school.

He wrote that during his tenure, he hopes to help facilitate the society’s functions and increase the pool of scholars and topics that SHAFR considers. “In terms of scholarship, I’m trying to continue the longstanding work of the organization to include within its orbit a wider and more diverse range of scholars and scholarship,” he wrote. “But there is also an institutional aspect to being president, and here my task is to help the organization manage transitions in our staff. While I was Vice President last year, I helped hire a new Executive Director and a new Conference Consultant — both of whom are already doing excellent work.”

According to Engerman, SHAFR has approximately 1,300 members, the majority of whom are either professors or graduate students, though he added that there are a number of high-school teachers and some retired diplomats and foreign-policy experts who belong to the society. The society also publishes a quarterly scholarly journal, “Diplomatic History,” and a newsletter, “Passport,” and hosts annual conferences for members.

Though he has only been in office a short time, Engerman added that, “working as SHAFR president has already put me in touch with many members whom I hadn’t known earlier.” As a result, he said, he has come in contact with new books and articles that have helped him in his own research and writing. “SHAFR also actively promotes the exchange of ideas about teaching, so I’ve learned about some new sources and ideas to use in the classroom. I can’t wait to teach my ‘American Century’ course next year and try out some of those ideas,” he wrote.

Having been a part of the society for over 25 years, Engerman also emphasized how honored he feels to serve as its president and encourage its growth and improvement. “It’s been an intellectually exciting organization, with a great journal … and a terrific annual conference; it’s also been exceptionally well-run, with amazingly talent and dedicated membership and leadership. My main job is simply to keep the momentum going,” he wrote.

Engerman, an expert on the history of the Cold War, received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998, and authored “Modernization from the Other Shore” (2003) and “Know Your Enemy” (2009). He is currently working on a new book titled, “Planning for Plenty: The Economic Cold War in India.” According to the SHAFR website, he was named the society’s Bernath Lecturer in 2006 and a “Top Young Historian” by the History News Network in 2010.