Truman Library official heads up MCHE board

When he was asked to run for president of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Mark Adams was both surprised and excited. Recently elected to the position, Adams says he’s both honored and humbled by the election.

“It’s kind of intimidating,” Adams said. “You want to make sure you do them right and do the right thing in terms of recognizing the survivor community.”

Adams, 45, works as education director at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Mo. He hopes to provide leadership and sound advice to MCHE.

“With Mark Adams as our new president, MCHE’s future is in great hands. I have worked closely with him as a member of our executive board for the last six years, and he is truly a team player,” said past MCHE President Gayle Krigel. “Mark worked diligently on our strategic-planning team, and with his educational background and thoughtful leadership style, he will ensure that our strategic roadmap is implemented. His presidency will further enhance our longtime, valued partnership with the Truman Library.”

Adams said he would like to expand MCHE’s educational programming, though he’s impressed with the current efforts of Executive Director Jean Zeldin and others on the MCHE staff.

“As a non-Jew, maybe (I can) give them a perspective from the non-Jewish community as well, to broaden it. That might open some doors to people who may not have used these programs before,” Adams said.

In the 1980s, Adams taught at King David High School in Liverpool, England, his hometown. He learned a lot about Jewish life and culture at the Jewish school.

“Part of that learning was to learn more about the Holocaust,” Adams said. “I became more aware of it through memorials they had at the school and that I had to interpret for the student. (Holocaust education) stuck with me as something for students of all types — all genders, races, religions … from an early time in my career.”

Adams expects to continue and expand the partnership that has formed between MCHE and the Truman Library. For example, this summer, the library is holding a teachers’ conference about the period between World War I and World War II, and MCHE Program Assistant Fran Sternberg will be a presenter.

‘The essence of education’
Adams came to Topeka from Liverpool in 1990 and worked at the Kansas State Historical Society. Later, when he began working at the Truman Library, the director asked him to be the liaison to MCHE. Thereafter, Adams joined the White Rose Student Essay Contest committee. He later chaired the committee for four years. Adams said he found that he truly enjoyed seeing the work students produced about the Holocaust.

“You get to see how the students are handling the topic and interpreting it for their own lives. Those are very inspiring when they’re written by teenagers who are realizing how it affects them,” he said. “That’s the essence of the education … it’s not just history. It’s actually relevant to their own lives, and they can learn from these lessons.”

Adams has gone on to serve two-year terms as board secretary, vice president of education and vice president of administration, as well as participating on the steering committee for MCHE’s “Nazi Olympics” exhibit and on MCHE’s strategic-planning committee.
His biggest challenge as president will be dealing the economic recession, because donations are an important part of MCHE’s budget.

“You wonder whether those donations and memberships will drop off. We haven’t seen any sign of that … but we hope people will continue to see the value of MCHE. A strong not-for-profit organization relies heavily on that kind of support,” Adams said.
Thus far, he’s impressed by the work ethic of the MCHE board members. At his first meeting as president, he passed around a volunteer sign-up sheet for a project. When it came back around to him, it was completely full.

“They all seem to be a very close-knit group, forthcoming with ideas and contributions,” he said. “When Jean calls for volunteers, there’s no shortage of people who want to help.”

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Write comment