Planning for OAH's Future

From the OAH President
Pete Daniel

Daniel

A committee set up by the OAH Executive Board is deeply engaged in drawing up a strategic plan that will set priorities for the next half decade. At the same time a search committee is looking for an executive director to replace Lee Formwalt, who is retiring next summer. These crucial projects are contextualized by Depression-like shadows over the national economy that could impact OAH finances. The conjunction of the strategic plan, the search, and a fragile economy, challenges us to rethink our priorities and find the ideal person to guide us in achieving them.

The OAH Strategic Planning Committee has been impressed with how the landscape of the history profession has shifted over the past decade and especially how the digital revolution impinges on every aspect of our work. We have also observed a generational split between those who were born to the web and those who race to keep up with it. The mentoring equation has been upended as many older historians ask for digital guidance from younger colleagues. Readers of the Journal of American History have been treated to imaginative supplementary material that greatly enriches scholarly essays. Extraordinary digital material accompanied the special Katrina issue, for example.

We have opportunities to increase the OAH web presence. In addition to revamping the OAH web site, I suggest that we add content that advertises our excellence and provides material for teaching. Videos of several OAH Distinguished Lectures would allow any teacher to tap into some of the country’s best scholarship, and this would also advertise the quality of the distinguished lectureship program. A discussion site could provide space for scholars to debate current topics, exchange research information, and even share gossip. As the potential of the web increases exponentially, it is imperative that the OAH ride this wave and not get buried beneath it. The committee would welcome suggestions on how to make the OAH more responsive to members’ digital needs. We welcome your comments at <strategic@oah.org>.

The culture of members has also changed since I joined the OAH as a graduate student in 1968. I thought that OAH membership was the first step on my path as a professional historian. Surveys have revealed that membership culture has shifted over the years. Today younger scholars expect to read the Journal online or in the library—sometimes only joining to give papers at the convention. Some prefer specialty organizations. Historians beginning both a career and a family often judge the OAH too expensive. If the Journal, the convention, the OAH Magazine of History, and other programs are not enough to attract members, what else does the OAH need to offer? 

Our strategic planning committee seeks ways to make the OAH relevant, even indispensible, to all historians. The role of public historians, community college professors, and K-12 teachers in the OAH has increased enormously over the past decade, and has brought fresh perspectives on how history is generated and disseminated. Graduate students have demonstrated increasing interest in jobs outside the academy. When I give lectures, students invariably want to know more about museum work and other non-collegiate opportunities. 

As strategic planning and the search for an executive director move through the current financial crisis, OAH leadership is paying close attention to possible impacts on our financial stability. With state tax revenues falling, scholarly institutions will face drastic cuts, and travel budgets will surely dry up.

I hope that hard times will not prevent members from attending the Seattle convention. Seattle has a rich intellectual and cultural life, offers spectacular views of mountains and water, provides inexpensive ferry rides, has excellent food, and many other delights. Our local resource committee has created a list of special opportunities and programs that will make the convention even more inviting. Finally, the program committee has crafted excellent sessions that will appeal to our diverse membership. I am planning to arrive early and stay late, and I hope to see you there.