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In an effort to better familiarize OAH members with this year's slate of candidates, we present the abridged version of their personal statements. The full biographies will be included with the ballot which will be mailed to all members in January.
President-Elect
James O. Horton
Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University and Director, African American Communities Project of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
I have been teaching American history courses including social history, African American history, and public history at George Washington University since 1977. My scholarship has focused on African American history and U.S. social history, and my work in public history has been an effort to make my scholarship accessible to a broad audience. As OAH president I would broaden and encourage the role that many of our members are playing in public history. I would focus greater attention on the international connections that OAH has established so that American history might have greater visibility and influence abroad. I am convinced that there is a vital cooperative role for the OAH and the ASA in assisting international teachers of American history. As we bring sound scholarly history to the American public and to students and teachers abroad, I want to continue our efforts to work with public school teachers and teachers of history in two-year colleges. We scholars of American history--in the academy, in museums and historic sites, in national parks and everywhere history is taught--have an opportunity and a responsibility to work together to insure that Americans and their political representatives are more aware of the vital role that history education has to play in a democratic society. The OAH has a central role to play in this, and I will dedicate my presidency to that effort.
Executive Board
(paired; you will vote for one person in each pair)
David G. Gutierrez
Associate Professor, Department of History, University of California, San Diego; Visiting Fellow, Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies; Department of History, Princeton University
In my nearly sixteen years in the historical profession, I have divided my time between scholarship on immigration and ethnic politics, undergraduate and graduate teaching, and a strong and abiding commitment to breaking down barriers to disadvantaged students and junior faculty seeking entry into institutions of higher learning and the historical profession. With the ongoing assault on affirmative action programs and the general erosion of scholarship and professional support for "minority" and disadvantaged students and junior faculty, a committed effort in this area is needed now more than ever.
Stephanie J. Shaw
Associate Professor, Department of History, Ohio State University
I have previously worked on diverse committees within the OAH and, if elected, I will continue to work to maintain and promote its high professional standards while attempting to extend its reach to include the full spectrum of the profession. In particular, I would seek not only greater participation from the membership but also greater outreach to history teachers at institutions not well represented in the organization. I would look forward to working with the other committee members in ways that allow the energy and relevance of this organization to reach even more teachers and students of history.
Martin H. Blatt
Chief of Cultural Resources/Historian, Boston National Historical Park
I have been an active member of OAH for twenty-five years and have consistently and forcefully argued for greater collaboration among public historians, scholars, and educators. I believe it is necessary for OAH to take clear positions in a timely manner on issues that challenge the integrity of U.S. history. It is my view that many junior university-based scholars may limit their involvement in public history projects unless those projects are considered a legitimate factor in gaining tenure. The OAH annual meeting is the single most important forum for U.S. historians and hence staff and members need to work together to regularly make improvements. Extending and strengthening the cooperative agreement between OAH and the National Park Service is important for both organizations.
Rebecca Conard
Associate Professor, Department of History, Middle Tennessee State University
As a longtime member, I have benefitted from the historical scholarship disseminated through the OAH. However, my career as a public history practitioner and educator has led me to devote professional service mostly to organizations established to meet the needs of public historians. Because the founders of OAH were activist professionals who believed in the power of history to inform contemporary issues, many public historians have an affinity with OAH that goes beyond scholarship. Accordingly, I have supported closer ties between OAH and NCPH through occasional joint meetings, and I believe this relationship could be strengthened. I will be an advocate for greater unity in the historical profession as a whole and closer collaboration among all professional history organizations.
Nadine Ishitani Hata
Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of History, El Camino Community College
Historians are a diverse and complex mosaic of peoples and perspectives. OAH must continue to develop strong bonds between all practitioners of our profession, seize the opportunities offered by new technologies, strengthen the preparation of future teachers, support preservation and access to research materials, and celebrate its members' varied achievements. Growing specializations, competing agendas, limited resources, and political pressures mean that, more than ever, this premier professional organization must continue to have the courage of its convictions and represent e pluribus unum--respecting diversity while promoting a common search for the truth.
Elizabeth A. Kessel
Professor of History, Anne Arundel Community College
The OAH serves several interlocking purposes. It offers arenas for scholarly presentations, represents historians on issues of academic freedom and access to sources, promotes the teaching of American history in our schools and colleges and to the public at large, and helps historians in traditional and nontraditional occupations. I want to help the OAH open doors to more career paths for American historians and also facilitate scholarly and professional communication among all its members. The OAH should also help make its members' work accessible to the millions of Americans who want to better understand their heritage and institutions.
Nominating Board
(paired; you will vote for one person in each pair)
Ron Briley
Assistant Headmaster, Sandia Preparatory School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Diversity in regard to race, gender, and status is essential to the growth of our professional organization. I will work to expand the voices of K-16 history educators within the OAH organizational structure. I believe that my work with numerous professional organizations will provide a broad base of contacts upon whom we may draw in expanding representation from all quarters of our profession. I would especially like to see more collaborative efforts pursued between schools and universities, and I believe that the placement of dedicated teachers within the professional ranks of the OAH will further this process.
Margaret T. Harris
History teacher and department chair, Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
As a history teacher for over twenty-seven years and department coordinator for over twenty years, I think that I bring a wealth of experience to the Nominating Board for the OAH. My familiarity with teachers, curriculum, and school systems will be an asset to my serving in this position. I have not served on such a board prior to this opportunity; therefore, simply put, I am committed to doing a good job. I look forward to bringing fresh enthusiasm and hard work to the position.
Donald L. Fixico
Thomas Bowlus Distinguished Professor of American Indian History, and Director, Center for Indigenous Nations Studies, University of Kansas
My twenty-plus years of experience in academia will be beneficial to the Nominating Board. These experiences include having served on various committees in history departments, six editorial boards for journals, state and national committees, and involvement with the OAH and other historical organizations. In many cases, I have chaired committees and have always worked for fairness for all individuals while observing a gender balance for equal representation in committees, positions, and for those chosen for awards. As an American Indian scholar, my broad range of experiences include having been on the history faculties at three universities, being a visiting professor at six universities, and teaching abroad in two foreign countries.
Shirley J. Yee
Associate Professor, Department of Women Studies, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of History and the Department of American Ethnic Studies, University of Washington.
I have been a member of the OAH since the 1980s and have been active in several national organizations over the last ten years. I have served on several committees within the OAH, the American Historical Association, and the American Studies Association. In addition, I have served on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Women's History. If elected, I would work hard to ensure that the OAH fields an excellent and diverse pool of candidates for election to important leadership positions in the organization.
Alan Brinkley
Allan Nevins Professor of History, Columbia University
I have previously served as a member of the OAH Executive Board, as chair of the OAH Program Committee, and as a member of the editorial board of the JAH, and I feel I know the organization reasonably well--well enough to be aware of how important the choice of officers is to its continuing health. If elected, I would work to maintain the OAH's longstanding commitment to diversity in all its activities. I would also like to see the organization draw some of its nontraditional members -- historians who are not conventional university or college academics -- more fully into its life.
William J. Cronon
Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The OAH plays a vital role in promoting the study of American history and the dissemination of historical knowledge not just to students, but to the public at large. Because the Nominating Committee helps identify those who will shape the future of this important professional association, our leaders should be broadly representative of the many different kinds of history we study and the many different kinds of historians who study the past, while at the same time upholding the highest standards of excellence and service. We should seek to recruit candidates that a large majority of our members will regard as superb representatives of the best that our profession has to offer to the many audiences we serve.
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