Greetings colleagues! It was so wonderful to see so many of you in Philadelphia, a city near and dear to my heart and our nation’s founding. The History Division is strong, and our research and teaching are more important than ever.
Though things have been quieter than during the conference flurry, we have been busy. Program Chair Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen has been pulling together a wonderful slate of panels; thanks to all of you who submitted ideas. The range of proposals engaged deeply with the 2025 conference host city, San Francisco. The call for 2025 will be live in the New Year, and keep an eye out for requests to review. Awards calls are coming together and we will be seeking nominees very soon. All of these activities persist thanks to the service from all of you, and perhaps the most valuable gift we can give the organization.
Some beginning of the year gratitude is also due: Thanks to Lisa Burns for handling one of the first things we do each academic year, the mentorship program. There has been robust participation from potential mentors, but a shrinking pool of potential mentees. We’ll be putting our heads together in the new year to think of ways to increase participation in this part of the division.
There are also some new faces joining history leadership. Lexie Little from University of Georgia is stepping in as our graduate student liaison. Christoph Mergerson at the University of Maryland is joining the membership team. And, we still need a webmaster.
Thanks to everyone who has fielded a request for service, your willingness and good
humor are much appreciated.
A big thank you to Carolina Velloso and the entire membership team for keeping us connected and figure out how we continue to communicate while all our platforms seem to be in flux at the same time. For now, we maintain a presence on Twitter and Facebook, but e-mail remains one of the most effective ways of staying in touch.
At Journalism History, Perry Parks has stepped into the editor role and brings an impressive team with him. Check out what they are doing, and please, consider submitting your work there. Also, keep an eye out for the call for our next round of microgrants.
I remain excited for the coming year with you all. Please be in touch with any ideas you have for strengthening the division.