OAH Committees

There are three types of OAH constitutionally-mandated committees: standing committees that oversee the governance of the organization, service committees that advance the OAH mission, and award and prize committees that identify and recognize the best historical scholarship.


Standing Committees

Executive Committee

The committee is composed of the officers of the organization and the immediate past president. The Executive Committee acts as necessary between board meetings to make decisions to further the mission of the organization.

MEMBERS

Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian Institution, President

David Blight, Yale University, President-Elect

Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University, Vice President

Erika Lee, Harvard University, Past President

Jay Goodgold, Treasurer

Stephen Andrews, Journal of American History, Ex Officio

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Ex Officio

Parliamentarian

Jonathan Lurie, Rutgers University, Newark

Committee on Committees

The Committee on Committees recommends candidates to fill all regular annual vacancies on the service and awards committees of the organization subject to the approval of the Executive Board.

MEMBERS

José Alamillo, California State University Channel Islands, Co-Chair

Catherine Gudis, University of California, Riverside, Co-Chair

Stephen Aron, Autry Museum of the American West

Maddalena Marinari, Gustavus Adolphus College

Katherine Mooney, Florida State University

Martin Summers, Boston College

Kariann Yokota

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Joanne Freeman, Yale University, Executive Board Liaison

Nominating Board

The Nominating Board nominates candidates for the annual election of the President, President-Elect, and Vice President, as well as three members each of the Executive Board and the Nominating Board.

MEMBERS

Julio Capo, Florida International University, Chair

Kristin Celello, CUNY, Queens College

Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University

Danny Diaz, University of California Los Angeles

Sally Hadden, Western Michigan University

Mary Lui, Yale University

Jen Manion, Amherst College

Honor Sachs, University of Colorado Boulder

Elizabeth Todd-Breland, University of Illinois Chicago

Philip Deloria, Harvard University, Ex Officio

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison



Service Committees

Journal of American History Editorial Board

The board advises the editor of the Journal of American History.

MEMBERS

William Bauer, University of Nevada Las Vegas

Geraldo Cadava, Northwestern University

Hilary Green, Davidson College

Jane Hong, Occidental College

Brian Luskey, West Virginia University

Kevin Mumford, University of Illinois

Traci Parker, University of Massachusetts Amherst

LaKisha Simmons, University of Michigan

Serena Zabin, Carleton College

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Ex Officio

The American Historian Editorial Board

The board advises the editor of The American Historian.

MEMBERS

Daniel Gorman, University of Rochester

Willie Griffin, Levine Museum of the New South

Deanda Johnson, National Park Service

Jeffrey W. McClurken, University of Mary Washington

Sonya Ramsey, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Shirley Wajda

Stephen Andrews, Journal of American History, Ex Officio

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Ex Officio

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Ex Officio

Jonathan Warner, Organization of American Historians, Ex Officio

Annual Conference Local Resource Committee

The Local Resource Committee consults with the conference department to arrange tours, offsite sessions, and special events and assists with promotion of the conference through the website and local media outlets. The Local Resource Committee also assists the Program Committee with soliciting sessions that will interest local historians and the public.

2024 Conference on American History: New Orleans LA

Melissa Daggett, San Jacinto College, Texas 

Randy Gonzales, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Clare Daniel, Tulane University

Alanah Odoms, ACLU Louisiana

Greg Lambousy, New Orleans Jazz Museum

Jacquelyne Thoni Howard, Tulane University

Miranda Restovic, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

Committee on Academic Freedom

The mandate of the committee is to investigate reports of repressive measures having an impact on historians’ teaching, research, employment, and freedom of expression, and to report its findings to the officers and members of the OAH in ways it found most useful and appropriate. The committee refers its findings and recommendations to the Executive Board for any actions the board might deem appropriate.

MEMBERS

Jennifer Kerns, Portland State University, Co-Chair

Eric Rauchway, University of California, Davis, Co-Chair

Laura Briggs, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Benjamin Johnson, Loyola University Chicago

Leigh Soares, Mississippi State University

Cynthia Yaudes, Journal of American History, Staff Liaison

David Blight, Yale University, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Community Colleges

The committee’s purpose is to increase the membership and participation of community college historians and to integrate them into the organization. The committee addresses the professional issues and concerns that relate specifically to historians in two-year institutions and provides venues for community college historians to present their original work.

MEMBERS

Steven Moreno-Terrill, San Diego Mesa College, Chair

Marjorie Brown, Houston Community College

Todd Bryda, Northwestern Connecticut Community College

Linda Coslett, Chattanooga State Community College

Tracy Davis, Victor Valley College

Clarence Hall, Queensborough Community College / CUNY

Mary Klann, University of California, San Diego

Meredith May, Kilgore College

Ryan Pettengill, Collin College

Kevin Marsh, Journal of American History, Staff Liaison

Moon-Ho Jung, University of Washington, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Disability and Disability History

The committee engages with all professional issues relevant to historians with disabilities and also promotes the study, teaching, and preservation of disability histories.

MEMBERS

Leslie Reagan, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Chair

Frederick Augustyn, Library of Congress

Rabia Belt, Stanford Law School

Ryan Lee Cartwright, Universit of California, Davis

Laurel Daen, University of Notre Dame

Michael Rembis, University at Buffalo

Kathleen Brian, Western Washington University, Ex Officio

Jonathan Warner, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Karen Miller, CUNY, LaGuardia Community College, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Marketing and Communications

The committee is responsible for supporting and advising the marketing and communications goals of the OAH, as well as any related activities that the leadership may designate. The committee works closely with the staff of the executive office, to promote scholarship and collaboration within the American historians’ community and beyond.

MEMBERS

Tiffany Gonzalez, James Madison University, Chair

Evan Faulkenbury, SUNY Cortland

Charlene Fletcher, IUPUI

Carly Goodman, Made By History

Rahima Schwenkbeck, Policy Studies Organization

Nora Slonimsky, Iona University

Natale Zappia, California State University, Northridge

Christopher Brick, George Washington University, Ex Officio

Kariann Yokota, University of Colorado, Denver, Ex Officio

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Executive Board Liaison

Graduate Student Committee

The committee works with existing OAH committees to serve the graduate student community and co-sponsor relevant panels and workshops at the annual conference and year-round in virtual sessions. An important role of the graduate committee is to regularly survey graduate student membership as well as sponsor additional graduate student caucus meetings to continue to listen for new ideas for programming and new ways to facilitate active membership in the OAH by the wide array of graduate students studying American history.

MEMBERS

Andrew Gerstenberger, New York University, Chair

Austin Hall, University of Cincinnati

Kate Kaitcer, Texas Christian University

Annabel LaBrecque, University of California, Berkeley

Siobhan Quinn, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Brigid Wallace, Lehigh University

Abby Whitaker, Temple University

Alan Wierdak, University of Maryland

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Margot Canaday, Princeton University, Executive Board Liaison

International Committee

The committee assists in carrying out the commitment of the organization to international perspectives, collaborations, exchanges, and members.

MEMBERS

Chantel Rodriguez, Minnesota Historical Society, Chair

Alvita Akiboh, Yale University

Anne-Marie Angelo, University of Sussex

Gretchen Heefner, Northeastern University

Ai Hisano, University of Tokyo

Russell Kazal, University of Toronto

Rachel Nolan, Boston University

Elliott Young, Lewis & Clark College

Georg Schild, University of Tubingen, Ex Officio

Britta Waldschmidt-Nelson, University of Augsburg, Ex Officio

Stephen Andrews, Journal of American History, Staff Liaison

Erika Lee, Harvard University, Executive Board Liaison

OAH-Japanese Association for American Studies Japan Historians Collaborative Committee

The OAH and the JAAS, with the generous support of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, select two U.S. historians to spend two weeks at Japanese universities giving lectures, seminars, and advising students and researchers interested in American history, and participating in the life of the host institution. It is part of an exchange program that also brings Japanese graduate students to the OAH Conference on American History.

MEMBERS

Judy Wu, University of California Irvine, Chair

Madeline Hsu, University of Texas

Lon Kurashige, University of Southern California

Yuki Oda, Chuo University

Renee Romano, Oberlin College

Derek Taira, University of Hawai, Manoa

Shuichi Takebayashi, Tohoku University

Beth English, Organization, Staff Liaison

Philip Deloria, Harvard University, Executive Board Liaison

Membership Committee

The committee generates ideas for new membership benefits, programming, and outreach to expand the membership of the OAH; serve as a sounding board for proposed membership marketing, benefit changes, and programming ideas proposed by the business office; when nearby, represent the OAH at history events/conferences such as the Western History Association annual meeting, the NCPH annual meeting, the Military History annual meeting, etc., as well as other national, regional, and local history events; and conduct individual and group membership outreach among peers.

MEMBERS

Judith Allen, Indiana University

Allyson Brantley, University of La Verne

Amy Essington, Cal Poly Pomona

Sandra Harvey, Lone Star College-CyFair

Valerie Jimenez, Campbell Hall

Michael McCoyer, CIA Joint Historian

Alina Mendez, University of Washington Seattle

Hilary Miller, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Christian Paiz, University of California, Berkeley

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

OAH Committee on National Park Service Collaboration

The committee assists with the cooperative agreement between OAH and the National Park Service, by consulting on the selection of projects and project participants, advising the Executive Board and OAH staff on NPS issues, and advocating for NPS within the organization.

MEMBERS

Dennis Vasquez, Chair

Janet Bednarek, University of Dayton

Thomas Chambers, Canisius College

Adria Imada, University of California, Irvine

Sarah Leavitt

Sojin Kim, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Ex Officio

Paul Zwirecki, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Part-Time, Adjunct, and Contingent Employment

The committee’s purpose is to monitor employment conditions and professional opportunities, recommend programs, services and best employment practices or guidelines, and advocate for Non-Tenure Track members of the history profession.

MEMBERS

Ryan Archibald, California State University-Dominguez Hills

Heather Daly, University of California, San Diego

Claire Goldstene

Dorothee Schneider, University of Illinois

Eva Swidler, University of California, San Diego

Beth English, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Catherine Allgor, Massachusetts Historical Society, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Public History

The committee maintains liaison with public history organizations and institutions, including those in both public and private sectors and persons in the field of public history, and generates such proposals relating to OAH policy and program as seem suitable to its membership.

MEMBERS

Sojin Kim, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Chair

Kimberly Alexander, University of New Hampshire

Margaret Lee, Split Rock Studios

Stephen Vider, Cornell University

Eric Zimmer, University of Montana

Paul Zwirecki, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories

The committee considers all professional issues bearing upon ALANA historians in the historical profession as well as the study of ALANA histories.

MEMBERS

Erika Perez, University of Arizona, Chair

Kami Fletcher, Albright College

Nicole Guidotti-Hernández, Northeastern University

Kristy Taylor, Organization Of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Cynthia Orozco, Eastern New Mexico University, Ruidoso, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Historians and Histories

The committee considers all professional issues bearing upon LGBTQ historians in the historical profession as well as the study of LGBTQ histories.

MEMBERS

Ernesto Chavez, University of Texas at El Paso, Co-Chair

Evelyn Schlatter, Co-Chair

Kelsey Henry, Yale University

Paul Renfro, Florida State University

Cookie Woolner, University of Memphis

Andrew Cooper, Journal of American History, Staff Liaison

Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian Institution, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on the Status of Women in the Historical Profession

The committee considers all professional concerns bearing upon women in the historical profession.

MEMBERS

Rachael Cassidy, University of New Mexico

Cynthia Castaneda, California State University, Fullerton

Teagan Dreyer, Oklahoma State University

Elizabeth Everton, Coordinating Council for Women in History

Cherisse Jones-Branch, Arkansas State University

Rosina Lozano, Princeton University

Elisabeth Marsh, Organization of American Historians, Staff Liaison

Ashley Farmer, University of Texas at Austin, Executive Board Liaison

Committee on Teaching

The committee works to improve the teaching and understanding of history at all levels of training and in diverse venues.

MEMBERS

Natalie Mendoza, University of Colorado Boulder, Co-Chair

David Thomas, Pierce College, Co-Chair

Nancy Baker, Sam Houston State University

Brian Casserly, Bellevue College

Gordon Mantler, George Washington University

Hannah Page, Raleigh Charter High School

Stephen Andrews, Journal of American History, Staff Liaison

Eric Fure-Slocum, St. Olaf College, Executive Board Liaison



Award & Prize Committees

Willi Paul Adams Award

The prize is given biennially in odd-numbered years for the best book on American history published in a language other than English.

MEMBERS

Lauren Braun-Strumfels, Cedar Crest College

Nathalie Dessens, University of Toulouse

Masako Hattori, National University of Singapore

Anna Mazurkiewicz, University of Gdansk

Erik Barnouw Award

One or two awards are given annually in recognition of outstanding programming on network or cable television, or in documentary film, concerned with American history, the study of American history, and/or the promotion of American history.

MEMBERS

Eduardo Pagán, Chair

Malinda Lowery, Emory University

Ray Allen Billington Prize

The committee is composed of three members, each appointed for a two-year term. The prize is given biennially in odd-numbered years for the best book on the history of native and/or settler peoples in frontier, border, and borderland zones of intercultural contact in any century to the present and to include works that address the legacies of those zones.

MEMBERS

Ari Kelman, University of California, Davis, Chair

Jessica Kim, California State University, Northridge

Jessica Roney, Temple University

Binkley-Stephenson Award

The committee selects the best article that appeared in the Journal of American History during the preceding calendar year.

MEMBERS

Peter Martinez, Tarrant County College, Chair

Simon Newman, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Ji-Yeon Yuh, Northwestern University

Civil War and Reconstruction Book Award

The award is given annually for the most original book on the coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, or the Era of Reconstruction.

MEMBERS

Barbara Gannon, University of Central Florida, Chair

Brandi Brimmer, University of North Carolina

Gregory Mixon, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

Merle Curti Social History Award

Two awards are given annually: one for the best book in American social history and one for the best book in American intellectual history.

MEMBERS

Beth Bailey, University of Kansas, Chair

Samuel Davis, Texas Christian University

Jacob Lee, Penn State University

Alaina Roberts, University of Pittsburgh

Merle Curti Intellectual History Award

Two awards are given annually: one for the best book in American social history and one for the best book in American intellectual history.

MEMBERS

Russell Rickford, Cornell University, Chair

Nate Holdren, Drake University

Kirsten Swinth, Fordham University

John D’Emilio LGBTQ History Dissertation Award

The award is given annually for the best PhD dissertation in U.S. LGBTQ history.

MEMBERS

Julio Capó, Jr., Florida International University, Chair

Derrais Carter, University of Arizona

Chelsea Del Rio, CUNY-LaGuardia Community College

Friend of History Award

The award is given annually to recognize an institution or organization, or an individual working primarily outside college or university settings, for outstanding support of historical research, the public presentation of American history, or the work of the OAH. Recipients will be selected by the OAH Executive Committee.

MEMBERS

Anthea M. Hartig, OAH President, Chair

David W. Blight, OAH President-Elect

Erika Lee, OAH Immediate Past President

Jay S. Goodgold, OAH Treasurer

Beth English, OAH Executive Director, ex officio

Stephen D. Andrews, Interim Executive Editor, Journal of American History, ex officio

Ellis W. Hawley Prize

The prize is given annually for the best book-length historical study of the political economy, politics, or institutions of the United States, in its domestic or international affairs, from the Civil War to the present.

MEMBERS

Kathryn Olmsted, University of California, Davis, Chair

Ernesto Chavez, University of Texas at El Paso

Sam Erman, University of Michigan

Elizabeth Hinton, Yale University

Benjamin Hoy, University of Saskatchewan

John Higham Research Fellowship Fund

The grants are given annually to graduate students pursuing research for the PhD in American history. Thanks to the generosity of William L. and Carol B. Joyce, OAH is pleased to offer this program.

MEMBERS

Andrew Jewett, Boston College, Chair

Christopher Capozzola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Joel Zapata, University of Oregon

Huggins-Quarles Award

One or two awards are given annually to graduate students of color to assist them with expenses related to travel to research collections for the completion of the PhD dissertation. This award was established to promote greater diversity in the historical profession. The Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories serves as the Huggins-Quarles Award Committee.

MEMBERS

Erika Perez, University of Arizona, Chair

Kami Fletcher, Albright College

Nicole Guidotti-Hernández, Northeastern University

Françoise Hamlin, Brown University

Richard W. Leopold Prize

The prize is given biennially in even-numbered years for the best book on foreign policy, military affairs, the historical activities of the federal government, or biography by a government historian.

MEMBERS

John Worsencroft, Louisiana Tech University, Chair

Chad Parker, University of Louisiana, Lafayette

Nicole Sackley, University of Richmond

Lerner-Scott Prize

The prize is given annually for the best doctoral dissertation in U.S. women’s history.

MEMBERS

Tiffany Gonzalez, James Madison University, Chair

Bridget Groat, University of Wyoming

Kumiko Noguchi, Meijigakuin University

Lawrence W. Levine Award

The award is given annually for the best book in American cultural history.

MEMBERS

Erik Seeman, University of Buffalo, Chair

Cindy Ott, University of Delaware

Katrina Phillips, Macalester College

Laura Serna, University of Southern California

John Troutman, Smithsonian Institution

Liberty Legacy Foundation Award

The award is given annually for the best book by a historian on the civil rights struggle from the beginnings of the nation to the present.

MEMBERS

Max Krochmal, University of New Orleans, Chair

Mia Bay, University of Pennsylvania

Felipe Hinojosa, Baylor University

Merrill Graduate Student Travel Grants

The grants are supported by a bequest from the Merrill Trust and are given annually to help sponsor the travel-related costs of graduate students who are confirmed as participants on the OAH conference program and who incur expenses traveling to the annual meeting.

MEMBERS

David Blight, OAH President-Elect, Chair

Annette Gordon-Reed, OAH Vice President

Marc Stein, OAH Incoming Vice President

Darlene Clark Hine Award

This committee is composed of three to five members appointed each year. The award is given annually for the best book in African American women’s and gender history. First given in 2010, the award is named for Darlene Clark Hine, a pioneer in African American and gender history and past president of the Organization of American Historians 2001-2002.

MEMBERS

Shennette Garrett-Scott, Texas A&M University, Chair

Siobhan Carter-David, Southern Connecticut State University

Cherisse Jones-Branch, Arkansas State University

Jessica Millward, University of California Irvine

Traci Parker, University of Massachusetts Amherst

David Montgomery Award

The award is given annually by the OAH with cosponsorship by the Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) for the best book on a topic in American labor and working-class history.

MEMBERS

Jane Berger, Moravian College

Gabriel Winant, University of Chicago

Mary Nickliss Prize in U.S. Women’s and/or Gender History

The prize is given annually for the most original book in U.S. women’s and/or gender history.

MEMBERS

Marcia Gallo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Chair

Rachel Jean-Baptiste, University of California, Davis

Veronica Tiller, Independent Historian

Louis Pelzer Memorial Award

The award recognizes essays by students pursuing graduate degrees in any period or topic in the history of the United States. The winning essay is published in the Journal of American History.

MEMBERS

Catherine J. Denial, Knox College

Terry Anne Scott, Hood College

Daniel Livesay, Claremont McKenna University

Presidents’ Travel Fund for Emerging Historians

The grants provide travel stipends of up to $750 for up to five graduate students and recent PhDs in history whose papers or panels/sessions have been accepted by the OAH program Committee for inclusion on the annual meeting program.

MEMBERS

David Blight, OAH President-Elect, Chair

Annette Gordon Reed, OAH Vice President

Marc Stein, OAH Incoming Vice President

James A. Rawley Prize

The prize is given annually for a book dealing with race relations in the United States.

MEMBERS

Margaret Newell, Ohio State University, Chair

Yuichiro Onishi, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Samantha Seeley, University of Richmond

Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award

The award is given annually to an individual or individuals whose contributions have significantly enriched our understanding and appreciation of American history.

MEMBERS

Philip J. Deloria, OAH Past President, Chair

Catherine Allgor, OAH Executive Board Member

Ashley D. Farmer, OAH Executive Board Member

Joanne Freeman, OAH Executive Board Member

Stanton-Horton Award for Excellence in National Park Service History

The award recognizes excellence in historical projects for, by, and with the National Park Service and is intended to honor projects that make the NPS exemplary in promoting civic dialogue about and appreciation of American history.

MEMBERS

Edward Hagerty, Chair

Lori Kuechler

Ray Rast, Gonzaga University

Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Teacher of the Year Award

The award is given annually to recognize the contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education within the field of American history.

MEMBERS

James Seymour, Lonestar College, Chair

Tiara Fourkiller, Woodhall Public School

Amy Trenkle, DC Public Schools

David Thelen Award

The prize is given biennially in even-numbered years for the best article on American history published in a language other than English.

MEMBERS

Max Paul Friedman, American University

Monica Prasad, Northwestern University

Frederick Jackson Turner Award

The award is given annually to the author of a first scholarly book dealing with some aspect of American history.

MEMBERS

Erika Lee, Harvard University, Chair

Erika Bsumek, University of Texas, Austin

Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University



Organizational Representatives

Kristin L. Hoganson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation

Clarence Lang, Pennsylvania State University, American Council of Learned Societies

Katherine Sibley, St. Joseph’s University, National Historical Publications and Records Commission


Interested in serving on a board or committee?