“Now, more than ever, history matters”
August 2023 – Anne Ricculli G’18 has worn many hats at Drew University.
Her journey commenced as a student in Drew’s Caspersen School of Graduate Studies’ History & Culture program, then a program manager for Drew’s Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict, and an adjunct professor at both Caspersen and the College of Liberal Arts.
Ricculli is currently the director of exhibits and collections at the Morris Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, located in Morristown, New Jersey.
“Now, more than ever, history matters,” she said when asked about the importance and relevance of obtaining an advanced degree in History & Culture. Read on to learn more about how Ricculli has taken her education at Drew to find success in her curatorial career.
Why did you pursue an advanced degree in History & Culture at Drew?
Before applying to Drew, I had completed my MA in Museum Studies at New York University. I also have an undergraduate degree in science. Drew’s History & Culture program was, for me, the ideal way to support my curatorial career goals through interdisciplinary graduate studies with a focus on the history of science and technology.
Drew faculty endorsed my internships at the American Museum of Natural History, Liberty Science Center, and Christie’s Museum Services Department. The opportunity to serve as teaching assistant, later course coordinator, for Drew’s Museum Studies and Cultural Management kept me up-to-date with the shifting non-profit landscape.
What are the transferable skills offered by the program?
I rely on skills developed while at Drew all the time! I speak at international conferences as lead member of the museum’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Committee about our Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) programming initiatives, and Drew’s Dean Hopper Conference [annual conference inaugurated to bring graduate and junior scholars from different fields to examine current events or circumstances from a historical perspective] was a key introduction to that style of presentation.
I continue to design syllabi and select readings for my interns, modeled after my adjunct assignments at Drew and other area universities. And of course, writing and publishing is a major part of my job as curator of the museum’s historic mechanical musical instruments collection.
