News of the Organization

Fall 2005 Action Items of the OAH Executive Board
The following actions were taken by telephone or email by the executive board subsequent to its fall 2005 meeting and prior to its spring 2006 meeting.

  • By conference call on December 7, 2005, the OAH executive board voted unanimously to move OAH investments from Wells Fargo Bank in Lincoln, NE, to the Indiana University Foundation.
  • By conference call on December 7, 2005, the OAH executive board voted unanimously to remove the requirement that contracts with Hilton Hotels for annual meetings in 2011, 2013, and 2014 include labor disputes in its escape clause.
  • By email on January 4, 2006, the OAH executive board voted to present Geoffrey C. Ward the Friend of History Award at the OAH Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, on April 22.
  • By email on January 13, 2006, the OAH executive board voted to sign on to an amici brief in the case of Berman v. C.I.A.

Spring 2006 Action Items of the OAH Executive Board
At its spring 2006 meeting at the Hilton Washington, April 19 and 22, the OAH Executive Board took the following actions.

  • Approved unanimously the minutes of the fall executive board meeting in Washington, October 21-22, 2005, including actions subsequent to the meeting.
  • Approved the FY 2007 annual budget including a five-year plan to pay back to the General Endowment $328,000 withdrawn in FY 2005 and FY 2006 to cover the FY 2005 deficit and costs relating to the move of the 2005 Annual Meeting from San Francisco to San José.
  • Approved issuing a statement of concern about the Showtime-Smithsonian agreement in the form of a letter to Lawrence M. Small, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, with a copy to members of the congressional authorizing and appropriating committees for the Smithsonian.
  • Approved three bylaw amendments relating to the Treasurer’s duties, business operations, and the Budget Review Committee. The amendments were then brought to the OAH Membership at the Business Meeting on Saturday, April 22. (See below.)
  • Approved Journal of American History Editor Edward T. Linenthal’s appointment recommendation for the following board and committees: Journal of American History Editorial Board: Nancy K. Bristow, University of Puget Sound; Leslie M. Harris, Emory University; Dwight T. Pitcaithley, New Mexico State University; Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Ohio State University. Pelzer Prize Committee: Stephen Kercher, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. David Thelen Prize Committee: Kate Delaney, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Udo Hebel, University of Regensburg.
  • Approved the future publication of Recent Scholarship in the online version only, thus eliminating it from the paper version of the Journal of American History beginning with the June 2006 issue.
  • Approved the establishment of a Darlene Clark Hine Award for the best book on African American women and gender when a minimum of $48,000 is raised for that purpose and deposited in the OAH Prize Fund.
  • Tabled an invitation to join INMEX (Informed Meetings Exchange), a new organization created by the labor union UNITE HERE for academic and professional associations which hold regular meetings and conventions.

2006 Annual Business Meeting
The following actions were taken by the membership of the organization at the Business Meeting on Saturday, April 22, during the 2006 Annual Meeting in Washington.

  • Approved replacing Bylaw 2.d. under "Duties of Officers" with:
    "d. The Treasurer shall review all disbursements of funds, shall report to the membership annually on the financial status of the Organization, shall together with the Executive Director and Editor prepare a proposed budget each spring for submission to the Finance Committee, shall serve without a vote on the Finance Committee, and shall serve as financial adviser and consultant to the Organization."
  • Approved replacing Bylaw 3 "Business Operations" with:
    "a. The books and accounts of the Organization shall be audited by a certified public accountant.
  • "b. All payments of funds of the Organization shall be numbered serially, approved by the Executive Director, and reviewed quarterly by the Treasurer."
  • Approved replacing Bylaw 4.b.1. Service Committees, Budget Review with:
    "1) Finance. This committee shall consist of the incumbent President, President-elect, and immediate past President as voting members, and the Treasurer, Executive Director, Editor and Chair of the Leadership Advisory Council or designee as nonvoting members. The Committee shall receive and review quarterly reports on the financial situation of the Organization, such reports to be provided by the Executive Director. The committee shall meet each fall to review the budget and overall financial situation of the Organization, including investments, to develop any necessary budget adjustments for proposal to the executive board, and to develop recommendations for ongoing operations and investments. The committee shall meet each spring to review, modify, and approve the proposed budget prior to its presentation to the executive board, and to consider other matters within its responsibility. The committee shall also project long-range needs and probable constraints—budgetary and otherwise—with regard to future years. The committee shall meet at all other times when called by the President, Executive Director, or Treasurer. Committee meeting may be conducted in person or through an electronic medium."

2006 OAH Election Results
OAH President: Richard White, Stanford University. OAH President-Elect: Nell Irvin Painter, Princeton University; OAH Executive Board: David J. Weber, Southern Methodist University; David Stephens Trask, Guilford Technical Community College (NC); and Linda Shopes, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. OAH Nominating Board: Donna R. Gabaccia, University of Minnesota; George J. Sánchez, University of Southern California; and James A. Percoco, West Springfield (VA) High School.