Charlene Mires

Charlene Mires is a historian with expertise in the history of the Greater Philadelphia region, built environment, material culture, and public memory. From 2010 to 2023, she served as director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH), a center for research, public humanities, and experiential education at Rutgers University-Camden. Her collaborative projects there included the digital Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia and “Learning from Cooper Street,” which engaged students in uncovering and interpreting hidden histories of a Camden historic district. Dr. Mires holds a Ph.D. in history from Temple University, a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism and political science from Ball State University. Her published work includes the books Independence Hall in American Memory and the forthcoming Greater Philadelphia and the Nation, co-edited with Jean R. Soderlund. Her public history work has included projects, programs, and teacher workshops with the National Park Service, the Philadelphia History Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, and the Independence Seaport Museum, among others. In her early career as a journalist, Dr. Mires worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers. She was co-winner of the Pulitzer Prize with other staff members of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel for coverage of a community-devastating flood.