ACL Announces New Executive Director
Jennie Luongo and I write to you as Co-Chairs of the Executive Director Search Committee. We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Jennifer Sheridan Moss will serve as the ACL’s next Executive Director. After an extensive search that involved screening and interviewing many outstanding candidates, Dr. Moss was recommended unanimously by the search committee, and the Board of Governors recently voted to accept that recommendation.
In selecting Dr. Moss, the search committee, in partnership with the executive search firm Maneva Group, held listening sessions with ACL members and engaged in meaningful conversations about the future of the organization. We processed that information and created a position statement to recruit a candidate who is a strong administrator, fundraiser, and communicator, and who is well-positioned to help the ACL navigate an era of rapid educational change and economic uncertainty. Further, the new Executive Director, working closely with the Board, must think strategically about the future of the ACL, preserving the close, collaborative nature of the organization, while at the same time exploring and enacting change.
We published the position statement and received over two hundred applications from across the country. Our pool was deep, consisting of both internal and external candidates, and from our conversations and the interview process, Dr. Jennifer Sheridan Moss emerged as the leading candidate.
Dr. Moss is Professor of Classics at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI), where she has taught since 1995 (click here for her CV). A gifted teacher and thoughtful mentor, she has consistently demonstrated excellence in the classroom. She won Wayne State University President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2008) and the Society for Classical Studies’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Classics at the College Level (2014). She was also elected as an inaugural member of the Wayne State Academy of Teachers (2018). From 2020 to 2024, Dr. Moss served as Chief Reader for the AP Latin exam, overseeing scoring, training both the leadership and Readers, and ensuring fairness. Her commitment to service at the local and national level is remarkable.
In 2024, she was elected President of Wayne Academic Union, engaging and collaborating with 1700 members, and leading a staff of full-time and part-time employees. In this capacity, she works with multiple stakeholders, creates and manages budgets, organizes retreats and meetings, and negotiates contracts.
Dr. Moss served as the Secretary-Treasurer, President, and Financial Trustee of the American Society of Papyrologists at the time they built their million-dollar endowment. Additionally, Dr. Moss has extensive grant-writing experience that she will bring to the Executive Director role, opening up additional opportunities for external partnerships and funding opportunities.
Dr. Moss has built her career on supporting, advocating for, and raising up others. She will draw on all of these experiences as she onboards as Executive Director of the ACL. Her ability to build relationships with students, colleagues, and external partners will allow her to enact ACL’s strategic plan, drive innovation, and fundraise in service of our mission.
We are thrilled to introduce Dr. Moss as the next Executive Director of the ACL. A visionary and inclusive leader, she will bring fresh eyes to the ACL and guide the organization into the future. She will begin working on a part-time basis in August, which will allow her to collaborate with Sherwin Little, and she will begin full-time work in January 2026. I hope you will join us in formally welcoming Dr. Moss to the ACL family.
In partnership,
Phil Walsh and Jennie Luongo, Co-Chairs
ACL Executive Director Search Committee