Andrew E. Masich, PhD, President and CEO

 

Andrew E. Masich headshot

Andy Masich is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Senator John Heinz History Center and a commissioner (former chairman) of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The PHMC is Pennsylvania’s official history agency, overseeing archives, museums, and historic preservation efforts across the state.

Since 1998, he has provided leadership for Pittsburgh’s nationally acclaimed 370,000 square-foot History Center and museum system, which includes the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum; Detre Library & Archives; Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, the oldest site of human habitation in North America, located in Avella, Pa.; the Fort Pitt Museum; and the nine-story Museum Conservation Center adjoining the History Center.

Under Andy’s leadership, the History Center has been recognized for its award-winning exhibitions and innovative educational programs. He has forged strategic partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Allegheny Conference for Community Development, Boy Scouts of America, VisitPittsburgh, American Association for State and Local History, and 125 History Center affiliate museums in Western Pennsylvania.

Andy is an adjunct Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University and is a recognized authority on the preservation and interpretation of history. He has served on the American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Commission and as a faculty member of the prestigious Seminar for Historical Administration. His lively lectures on subjects ranging from American Indians to American innovation have entertained and educated audiences from coast to coast. Among his popular presentations are “Unknown Stories of the Civil War,” “History of Innovation,” “Young George Washington,” “Lighten Up!” (humor therapy for directors and other humor impaired museum professionals), and “History Museum Vampires: How to Suck the Life Out of Your Museum.” He makes regular television appearances on KDKA (CBS), including the popular “Pittsburgh’s Hidden Treasures” programs and the regular feature, “Pittsburgh History Today.” With Public Television partners at WQED, he has won Emmys for his historical documentaries. He serves as an expert for a variety of national media outlets, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, The Travel Channel, and The History Channel. His popular Pittsburgh “History Minutes” can be heard daily on KQV Radio.

Known for his extensive knowledge of Pennsylvania history, he has also authored or co-authored award-winning books on a wide range of subjects, including Cheyenne Dog Soldiers: A Ledgerbook of Coups and Combat (University Press of Colorado, 1997); Halfbreed: The Remarkable True Story of George Bent – Caught Between the Worlds of the Indian and the White Man (Da Capo Press, 2004, winner of the Colorado Book Award); and The Civil War in Arizona: The Story of the California Volunteers, 1861-1865 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2006, named Southwest Book of the Year), and Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL (a collaboration with Dan Rooney and Dr. David Halaas, was a New York Times bestseller). His newest book, Civil War in the Southwest Borderlands, 1861-1867 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2017), delves into the multicultural and transnational dimensions of the conflict in the American West and Mexico. It is the winner of the 2018 Nau Book Prize for Civil War History, A. M. Pate Award for the Best Civil War book on the Trans-Mississippi West, and has been named a Southwest Book of the Year by the Border Regional Library Association.