2011 OAH Annual Report

Organization of American Historians 2010-2011 Annual Report 2010-2011 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 March 21, 2012. Organization of American Historians 2010-2011 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 ............................................................................15 Financial Statements ...........................................................................................17 Administration .................................................................................................... 21 OAH At a Glance................................................................................................. 23 Membership ......................................................................................................... 25 Meetings and Conferences .................................................................................27 OAH Magazine of History .................................................................................. 29 National Park Service Collaborative Project ................................................... 31 Distinguished Lectureship Program .................................................................33 Th e Civil War at 150 ............................................................................................35 Advocacy .............................................................................................................. 37 Career Center .......................................................................................................39 Communications ................................................................................................. 41 Development and Philanthropy ........................................................................45 Awards and Prizes ...............................................................................................51 Volunteer Leadership ..........................................................................................57 Staff ........................................................................................................................71 A Message from the OAH President Alice Kessler-Harris THE PERIOD SINCE MARCH, 2011 when I took offi ce has been one of exhilarating behind- Eileen Barroso by Photo the-scenes work on the part of board members and the Organization of American Historians’ staff , and especially Kathy Finley, our new Executive Director. We have tightened our belts, stabilized our fi nances, and in the past several months, we have begun to turn to questions of future planning and growth. Much of this work had begun under the previous presidencies of Elaine Tyler May and David Hollinger, and the organization owes much to them for their foresight and insight into the OAH. In accord with the mandate of our strategic plan, which is now in the third year of a fi ve-year cycle, we have begun to examine the challenging question of how to imagine our membership in the future and how to reconfi gure our resources to accommodate what is likely to be a broader membership base. We are still aiming for what our plan calls “a big tent,” and to Alice Kessler-Harris achieve it requires rethinking many of the ways we function as an organization. For example, we have now begun to explore the location and content of our annual meetings to see if they can more fl exibly serve an expanded membership base. We also are considering how to better serve the needs of historians studying disability and LGBTQ issues, as well as how to accommodate historians who identify with these groups. Our Journal of American History continues to be ranked among the leading historical journals in the world. And we are taking a close look at our OAH Magazine of History to see what larger audiences it might serve. As I write, our program for the 2012 Milwaukee meeting has just been put to bed. Planning for this program began almost a year before we held our 2011 annual meeting in Houston (which you can learn more about on page 27 in this annual report). I am delighted to note that the 2012 meeting successfully meets an array of challenges suffi cient to daunt any program committee. Th rough panels, special events, and the participation of Wisconsin activists, the meeting will highlight the political and labor-related issues that set off a political furor in Wisconsin. It will include special events for K-12 teachers, who will be encouraged to re- main for the entire convention. Th e program also experiments with a variety of new formats including sessions featuring presentations by senior scholars whose papers are posted online in advance to allow for in-depth discussion. Among the plenary sessions at the convention will be one that addresses the question of how an organization like ours balances its fi duciary responsibilities against the political and social commitments of its members. We have great hopes that this convention will prove to be an enticing occasion for all our members, as well an entry point for signifi cant numbers of new members. Among the new initiatives in which we are engaging this year is an exchange program with Chinese scholars of U.S. history. With the generous support of the Ford Foundation, planning Organization of American Historians 5 meetings for these exchanges will take place with Chinese delegates in Milwaukee and with three OAH representatives in Shanghai at the end of May 2012. Together these meetings will produce plans for a long-term program on the model of our U.S./Japan exchanges. On another front, the OAH has enhanced its public visibility by taking a strong position against the expanding oversight of Institutional Review Boards over the arena of oral history. In a statement to the Department of Health and Human Services, which is re-evaluating the role of the IRB, we insisted that the professional ethics of historians vitiated the need for any oversight. Our organization thrives on continuing discussion and debate among our members. I am pleased to report that this year has witnessed an enthusiastic spurt of energy on many fronts, and one that will continue to stand historians of the U.S. in good stead. ■ Alice Kessler-Harris is the president of the Organization of American Historians and the R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of History at Columbia University. 6 2010-2011 Annual Report From the OAH Executive Director Katherine M. Finley FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN HISTORIANS, fi scal year 2011 (July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011) was one of internal focus and change. For me, it was my fi rst full year as executive director of this most venerable organization. A year prior to my arrival, the OAH adopted a new strategic plan that was designed to help the organization widen its reach while at the same time better serve its current members. To improve the effi ciency and eff ectiveness of the organization, it was decided that an internal reorganization was necessary. As with most organizations, the OAH must do more with less. As part of this reorganization, the OAH transferred the production, publication, advertising, and Katherine M. Finley institutional subscription sales of the Journal of American History and OAH Magazine of History to Oxford University Press. Th e OAH staff who handled these functions were assigned new duties including much needed marketing and communications, and desktop publishing and graphic design. Also, as part of the 2009 OAH Strategic Plan, we have created a new Web-based database to more adequately meet the needs of our members. Th e database is still in testing but should go live by spring of 2012. All the procedures and policies of the offi ce were examined to help expedite operations and improve service to members. Not all of OAH’s focus during fi scal year 2011 was on internal processes and procedures. Much eff ort was spent improving the look and functionality of the OAH Web site and improving communications with members. Once completed, the new online database will be integrated into our Web site so dues renewals and conference registration will be simplifi ed. In addition to posting pertinent information on our Web site, we have instituted a monthly e-mail newsletter to members, and the OAH Executive Board approved resuming a quarterly print newsletter to carry timely articles of professional and scholarly interest to members. Th e fi rst issue of this newsletter, OAH Outlook, was mailed to members in August 2011. In December 2011, OAH Outlook received a Star Award from the Indiana Society of Association Executives (ISAE) in the best association bulletin and newsletter category. (Th e OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program was recognized as well by ISAE with a Star Award for the best non-dues revenue program for associations.) Th e OAH Executive Board

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