2012 OAH Annual Report

Organization of American Historians 2012 Annual Report 2012 Annual Report of the Organization of American Historians ® Copyright (c) 2012 Organization of American Historians. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Organization of American Historians, 112 North Bryan Avenue, Bloomington IN 47408. Telephone (812) 855-7311. http://www.oah.org First edition November 1, 2012. 2 2012 Annual Report Organization of American Historians 2012 Annual Report Table of Contents A Message from the OAH President .................................................................. 5 From the OAH Executive Director .....................................................................7 From the OAH Executive Editor .........................................................................9 Report of the OAH Treasurer ............................................................................11 Financial Statements ...........................................................................................12 Membership ......................................................................................................... 17 Meetings and Conferences .................................................................................19 National Park Service Collaborative Project ................................................... 21 Distinguished Lectureship Program .................................................................23 Th e Civil War at 150 ............................................................................................25 Communications ................................................................................................. 27 Development and Philanthropy ........................................................................29 Awards and Prizes ...............................................................................................35 Volunteer Leadership ..........................................................................................39 Staff ........................................................................................................................49 Organization of American Historians 3 4 2012 Annual Report A Message from the OAH President Albert M. Camarillo ince the gavel was handed to me by OAH im- Bay Area weather in April—though springtime in mediate past president Alice Kessler-Harris at San Francisco is typically gorgeous—but we can Sthe conclusion of the 2012 OAH/NCPH Annual promise a program filled with excellent sessions Meeting in April in Milwaukee, I am delighted to and panels and many exciting tours of the city and report that the organization is in excellent shape and its historic places. Program Committee cochairs, moving ahead in some exciting new directions. Our Erika Lee and Tom Guglielmo (and their colleagues executive director Katherine Finley (now in her third on the committee), worked diligently to build an year in the post) and her staff in the Bloomington- outstanding program. The 2013 OAH Annual based offi ce, have brought not only stability to the Meeting Local Resources Committee, chaired by OAH but a level of professionalism that will keep us Carol McKibben, has arranged a variety of tours in good stead for years to come. Th e Journal of Ameri- and events sure to be of great interest to conference can History, orchestrated so ably by editor Ed Linen- attendees. thal and his staff , continues to publish outstanding articles. Th e June 2012 spe- cial issue “Oil in American History” was a signifi cant contribution on an important topic not oft en enough addressed by historians. Reports that follow from both Kathy Finley and Ed Linenthal describe in detail the work being carried out at the Journal and in the headquarters office. The quarterly OAH Outlook continues to provide the membership with news On the topic of growing the ranks of OAH member- and developments about the organization. Indeed, ship and related benefi ts, there are important devel- a quick review of all OAH publications, printed opments occurring on two fronts. Th e OAH Execu- and online, reveals that the Organization of Ameri- tive Board will discuss a proposal at its November can Historians is healthy and thriving. meeting to signifi cantly grow the number of graduate students and recent PhDs affi liated with the organiza- With regard to the 2013 conference program, we tion through a new category of “sponsored” member- will finalize details by early October for what will ships. [Th ese new memberships were approved and be an outstanding annual meeting in San Fran- will be available in January 2013.] Th e dual idea here cisco. We may not be able to promise beautiful is to expand the membership and, at the same time, Organization of American Historians 5 create a connection between younger historians and the OAH early on in their professional careers by encouraging existing members to sponsor memberships for their current and former students. Eff orts to attract more junior colleagues and students to the OAH through sponsored memberships are all part of our goal to create the “big tent” for practitioners of American history. Th e joint meeting in Milwau- kee with the National Council on Public History, the recent establishment of an OAH service committee on Disability History and Historians, and current consideration of a new publication for members and potential new members are consistent with my commitment as president to broaden the reach of the organization. Th e related questions of expanding members and broadening the appeal of the OAH has prompted consideration of a new publication that will reach out to, and benefi t, a diverse community of OAH members. An ad hoc committee is busy draft ing a proposal for consideration by the OAH Executive Board to create a new printed and online publication that will appeal to and benefi t current members and, it is hoped, attract new members. Professional organizations remain relevant to existing members and attract new members only if they can adapt and change in ways that serve multiple constituencies. Th e OAH is no exception. Th is is why I am especially excited to serve as president of the OAH at a time when we are considering development of new programs, membership opportunities, and publications. 6 2012 Annual Report From the OAH Executive Director Katherine M. Finley Last year, the OAH focused on improving operations, We have developed a monthly e-newsletter and reorganizing the national offi ce staff and beginning revised and revamped a quarterly print newsletter. the conversion to a new online database. Although The latter won an award from the Indiana Society we are still fi ne tuning the database to improve the of Association Executives for the best newsletter in effi ciency and eff ectiveness of the organization, we the state. We have also increased our visibility and have turned our attention outward to collaborate with reach by regularly posting on the Web site, utilizing other organizations and to communicate more eff ec- social media and publishing an annual report. The tively with our many constituents. OAH is trying to embrace historians not only in various careers but also in various phases of those With the weakened economy, cuts in professional careers. Our reach also has extended internation- development budgets at universities and col- leges, and the end of the Teaching American History (TAH) grants, the OAH saw a decrease in membership last fi scal year. However, at the end of this fi scal year, we have seen membership numbers increase slightly. We have streamlined the dues billing process so we can concentrate on membership marketing and OAH past presidents Alice Kessler-Harris, David Hollinger, and Elaine Tyler May (front row), take part in a group photo at the fourteenth biennial meeting in Shanghai of the American History improved membership Research Association of China. service. We also have developed a number of joint memberships and mar- ally with the continuation of the Japan residency keting plans to target likely groups of individuals who program, the newly established Germany residency might join the organization. Th is past year, we also program, and as of the writing of this report, the opened a career center on our site and are working on establishment of a short-term residency program a comprehensive career toolkit. with China (funded by the Ford Foundation). During the past year, the OAH has worked dili- Th e OAH has worked closely with the National His- gently to keep members and the public informed tory Coalition and the National Humanities Alliance about the organization’s programs and publications. to advocate for funding for various agencies utilized Organization of American Historians 7 by our members (i.e., the National Historical Public missing a wonderful resource for research and teach- Records Commission and the National Archives). ing. One of the other successful Web components was Although the TAH grants were eliminated from one put together by the JAH called “Oil in American the federal budget, the OAH has worked with other History.” You will see more about this in the publica- groups to fi nd funding for other educational initia- tions report. We continue to look for unique ways tives that would support history education. Unfortu- provide our members the information they need

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