New faculty spotlight: Darby Kurtz

Darby Kurtz is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: Darby Kurtz
• Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
• Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, archivist and public historian, McGoogan Health Sciences Library

Research/professional interests:

• Collections management
• Diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in museums and archives
• UNMC history
• Object and textile conservation

How I fell in love with special collections:

My mom took me to Chicago when I was 11, and we went to all the museums. The Museum of Science and Industry had an exhibit where engineers recreated 3D versions of Leonardo da Vinci’s various inventions. Seeing these original sketches and the interactive counterparts, I knew I wanted to work behind-the-scenes to make art and artifacts come alive. I am so lucky I get to do that every day at UNMC.

Education:

• Bachelor of arts, history and French language, 2012
• Master of arts, public history, 2014

Memberships:

• Mountain Plains Museum Association (MPMA)
• Registrars and Collections Managers-MPMA
• Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists
• Collection Stewardship Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums (CS-AAM)

Three things people may not know about me:

• I have traveled to nine countries outside of the United States, including working on an archeological dig in Israel near the Sea of Galilee with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Bethsaida Excavations Project.
• I have a personal passion for baking and have perfected the art of regular and vegan rough puff pastry.
• I love Halloween. So much so my husband and I got married Halloween weekend in 2021.