Personal Statement:
I am primarily interested in reaching those graduate students who have an aptitude for the process of history, but who are seeking an alternative to the traditional, teaching-and-research career path. The graduate degree in history is not just for professors and other teachers, but is a means to employment in a career such as archivist, curator, museum professional, historical site interpreter, or historical editor. Archivists, for example, break the path of scholarship for professional historians, by selecting those documents and other records to be retained for historical analysis. The primary sources of history, upon which historical interpretation rests, were inevitably selected and preserved by archivists. To arrange, appraise, describe, preserve, and provide access to our documentary legacy, in this information age, is an intellectually challenging and noble pursuit. I aspire to give my students the opportunity to participate in making history.

Representative Publications:
“Ethical Issues In Constructing A Eugenics Web Site.” Chapter in Privacy And Confidentiality Perspectives, Peter J. Wosh and Menzi L. Behrnd-Klodt, eds. Chicago: The Society of American Archivists, 2005.

Tucker, Tom, Bolt of Fate: Benjamin Franklin and His Electric Kite Hoax, NewYork: Public Affairs Books, 2003. Review in Isis: the Journal of the History of Science Society (2004).

“The Development and Politicization of the American Helium Industry, 1917-1940.”  Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, Vol. 30, Part 2 (2000), pp. 333-347.

The Crucible of War, 1939-1945: The Official History of the Canadian Air Force.  Greenhous,. . . [et al.].  Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994.  Book review in The Public Historian, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Fall, 1995), pp. 132-134.

"The Psychology of Children: Twisting the Hull-Birmingham Psychological Survey  to Influence British Aerial Strategy in World War II."  Psychologie und Geschichte, Vol. 7, No. 1 (May, 1995), pp. 44-59.

"The Airship in World War II: Assessing a Unique Element of Naval Air Power."  Air Power History.  Vol. 39,  No. 3 (Fall, 1992), pp. 10-20.

"Curious Pursuits." Mercator's World: The Magazine of Maps, Atlases, Globes, and Charts 2:4 (July/August 1997), 13.

"Mentoring Interns at the Library of the American Philosophical Society." Archival Outlook (January 1996), 22.

"Documentary Legacies: Preserving the Elements of History." American Studies Library Newsletter: Journal of the American Studies Library Group 35 (December 1992), 2-9.

"Linguistics as History: Preserving Linguistic Oral Records." International Journal of American Linguistics 55:4 (October 1989), 417-423

Notes:
Professor Levitt was the 1991-92 Fulbright Fellow in Archives (UK), a 1998 Andrew W. Mellon Sabbatical Fellow, and a Fellow of the David and Mary Eccles Centre for American Studies (British Library). Levitt is Librarian (Director) of the American Philosophical Society Library, repository of the papers of Benjamin Franklin, the Lewis and Clark Journals, and nearly eight million other historical documents.

In 2007 Levitt was elected President of the Academy of Certified Archivists; he will serve first as Vice President until August 2008.  For further information see www.certifiedarchivists.org

Among Levitt’ professional activities are:

• 2005.  Grant Review Panelist, National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access.
• 2002-03.  Speaker, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, Commonwealth Speakers Program.

• 1999-01. Chair, Task Force on Archival Education, the Academy of Certified Archivists.

• 1997-99. Member, Certification Exam Development Committee, Academy of Certified Archivists.
• 1996-98.  Fulbright Fellowship Review and Selection Committee for UK, Canada, and Ireland.

Levitt has also served on several non-profit Boards, including:

• 2004-  Chair, Executive Board, PhiladelphiaAreaCenter for the History of Science.

• 2005- Strategic Planning Board, and Committee on Library, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

• 2002-2005.  Member, Committee on Library, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
• 2001-2005. Regent for Examination Administration, Board of Regents, Academy of Certified Archivists.
• 2000 -01. Board of Trustees, The David Library of the American Revolution, Washington’s Crossing, PA.