Ph.D. in History, University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, 1980
M.A. New York University, 1971
B.A. Lafayette College, 1969

Role in Museum

Brent D. Glass joined the Smithsonian Institution as director of the National Museum of American History Behring Center in December, 2002.

A leading public historian, Dr. Glass is a member of the Flight 93 Memorial Commission. From 1987 to 2002, he served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (1987-2002), the largest public history program in the nation. He has served on the U.S. National Historical Publications and Records Commission and on the council of the American Association for State and Local History. Dr. Glass became interested in oral history as a graduate student in North Carolina, and later served as executive director (1983-1987) of the North Carolina Humanities Council. His research interests include architectural and urban history; the history of industry and technology; and the history of memorials, museums, and historic sites.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Behring Center, manages a collection of 2 million objects, from the Star-Spangled Banner and Thomas Jefferson’s writing desk to beloved icons of pop culture. Each year, more than 3 million people visit the Museum’s exhibitions on a wide range of subjects in American history, and 8 million more visit the Museum’s Web site.