2008-2009 OAH Committees

Contact our Committee Coordinator with questions.

Last modified:
12:33 PM, 01/06/09

Elected Members
Linda Shopes
David S. Trask
David J. Weber
Philip Deloria
Kim Ibach
Martha A. Sandweiss
William Cronon
James Grossman
Theda Perdue

Executive Committee
Consists of officers of the Organization (President, President Elect, Executive Director, Editor, Treasurer) and the Immediate Past President
Pete Daniel, President
Elaine Tyler May, President Elect
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director
Edward T. Linenthal, Editor, The Journal of American History
Robert Griffith, Treasurer
Nell Irvin Painter, Immediate Past President

Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award Subcommittee
Four senior members of the OAH Executive Board nominate an OAH member to receive the Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award. The committee may also recommend an individual outside the organization to receive a similar award for public service to the historical profession.

• Members for the 2009 award are: Vicki L. Ruiz, Chair; Linda Shopes; David S. Trask; and David J. Weber.

Finance Committee
The Finance Committee assesses the financial condition of the organization on a quarterly basis and consists of the President, President Elect, the immediate Past President, Treasurer, and ex officio members (Executive Director, Editor, Leadership Advisory Council Cochair):
Pete Daniel, President
Elaine Tyler May, President Elect
Nell Irvin Painter, Immediate Past President
Robert Griffith, Treasurer, ex officio
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director, ex officio
Jay S. Goodgold, Cochair, Leadership Advisory Council, ex officio
Edward T. Linenthal, Editor, The Journal of American History, ex officio

Leadership Advisory Council
The council advises the Executive Office and Executive Board on development matters and funding and implementation of the Organization's strategic plan.
Edward L. Ayers
Ira Berlin
William H. Chafe, Cochair
Pete Daniel
Jay S. Goodgold, Cochair
Alan Hermesch
James O. Horton
Carroll H. Leggett
Mark E. Mitchell
Victor Navasky
Valerie Paley
Paul S. Sperry
Jeffrey L. Sturchio
Geoffrey C. Ward
Barbara Winslow
Paul Martin Wolff

Nominating Board
The board nominates candidates for the annual election of the Vice President, President, President-Elect, and President as well as three members each of the Executive Board and the Nominating Board.
Spencer R. Crew
Donna R. Gabaccia
Christine Leigh Heyrman
Amy J. Kinsel, Chair
Nancy MacLean
James A. Percoco
Kimberly L. Phillips
George J. Sánchez
Daryl Michael Scott

OAH Magazine of History Editorial Board
Keith Berry
Kevin Byrne
Billie Jean Clemens
Kimberly Gilmore
Cathy Gorn
Lisa Kapp
Rita G. Koman
Stephanie Rossi
Cynthia Stout
Laura Westhoff
Gideon Sanders
Linda Sargent Wood

The Journal of American History Editorial Board
Dee E. Andrew
Thomas Bender
Nancy Bristow
Paul S. Boyer
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director, ex officio
María Cristina García
Alison Games
Leslie Harris
Charlene Mires
Dylan Penningroth
Mark Smith
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu
Dwight T. Pitcaithley
[three new members pending]

OAH Newsletter Advisory Board
The board advises the Newsletter production team, helps form basic policy for the Newsletter's operation, helps guide content matters, and explorees new ideas and directions for the Newsletter
Joan C. Browning
Kristin L. Ahlberg
Clyde A. Milner II
Stephen L. Vaughn
Shirley Teresa Wajda

Committee on Committees
The purpose of the committee is to fill all regular vacancies on the service and award committees of the Organization subject to the approval of the Executive Board.
William P. Jones
Peter A. Kraemer
Karen T. Leathem
Earl Lewis, Chair
Gloria E. Miranda
María E. Montoya
Eric Rothschild
Jeannie Whayne

Committee on Community Colleges
The committee's goals are to integrate community college historians into the Organization and address the professional issues and concerns that relate specifically to historians in two-year institutions.
David A. Berry
Jennifer Helton
Amy J. Kinsel
Maureen Murphy Nutting, Chair
Thomas J. Osborne
Lisa Ossian
Mark Roehrs
Melissa M. Soto-Schwartz
David S. Trask

Executive Director Search Committee
William H. Chafe
Claude Clegg
Pete Daniel, Cochair
Susan McGrath
Elaine Tyler May, Cochair
Janice L. Reiff
George J. Sánchez

International Committee
The committee shall assist in carrying out the commitment of the Organization to international perspectives, collaborations, exchanges, and members.
Shannon Bennett
Victor R. Greene
Maurice Isserman
Edward T. Linenthal
William C. Pratt
Ian Tyrrell, Chair
David J. Weber

Membership Committee
The purpose of the Membership Committee shall be to encourage all persons interested in American history to join and become active members of the Organization of American Historians. It shall seek to enhance the availability of The Journal of American History to the public by encouraging institutional subscriptions, and to spread the Magazine of History as widely as possible among educators.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITEE
Stephen Kneeshaw, Chair
Cecelia Bucki
William D. Carrigan
Cary Wintz
Appointment pending to replace Western Region chair

NORTHEAST REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
CONNECTICUT CHAIR: Cecelia Bucki [Chair, Northeast Region]
MAINE CHAIR: Leigh H. Hallett
MASSACHUSETTS COCHAIR: Susan E. O'Donovan
MASSACHUSETTS COCHAIR: Appointment Pending
NEW HAMPSHIRE CHAIR: Appointment Pending
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Margaret Susan Thompson
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Mary Bogin
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Appointment Pending
RHODE ISLAND CHAIR: Naoko Shibusawa
VERMONT CHAIR: Melanie Gustafson
EUROPEAN CHAIR: Axel R. Schäfer
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Appointment Pending

MID-ATLANTIC REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
DELAWARE CHAIR: David Suisman
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHAIR: Adam Rothman
MARYLAND CHAIR: Elizabeth Kelly Gray
NEW JERSEY CHAIR: William D. Carrigan [Chair, Mid-Atlantic Region]
PENNSYLVANIA COCHAIR: Andrew B. Arnold
PENNSYLVANIA COCHAIR: Walter Greason
VIRGINIA CHAIR: John T. Kneebone
WEST VIRGINIA CHAIR: Joan C. Browning
AFRICAN CHAIR: Greg Cuthbertson
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Timothy Hack
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Laurie Lahey

SOUTHERN REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
ALABAMA CHAIR: Joshua Rothman
FLORIDA CHAIR: Raymond Arsenault
GEORGIA CHAIR: Susan M. McGrath
KENTUCKY CHAIR: Thomas C. Mackey
LOUISIANA CHAIR: Charles Vincent
MISSISSIPPI CHAIR: Kyle F. Zelner
NORTH CAROLINA: Robert Korstad
OKLAHOMA CHAIR: Stephen H. Norwood
SOUTH CAROLINA CHAIR: Mark M. Smith
TENNESSEE CHAIR: Appointment Pending
TEXAS CHAIR: Cary D. Wintz [Chair, Southern Region]
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN CHAIR: Fernando Purcell
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Laura Renée Chandler

MIDWEST REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
ILLINOIS COCHAIR: Glennon Graham
ILLINOIS COCHAIR: Pamela A. Smoot
INDIANA CHAIR: Steve Messer
IOWA CHAIR: Charles Lauritsen
KANSAS CHAIR: Christopher C. Lovett
MICHIGAN CHAIR: Kathleen P. Chamberlain
MINNESOTA CHAIR: Melodie J. Andrews
MISSOURI CHAIR: Stephen Kneeshaw [Chair, Midwest Region]
NEBRASKA CHAIR: Mark R. Scherer
NORTH DAKOTA: Michael J.C. Taylor
OHIO CHAIR: Christopher Phelps
SOUTH DAKOTA: Donald C. Simmons Jr.
WISCONSIN CHAIR: Victoria Z. Straughn
CANADA COCHAIR: Robert MacDougall
CANADA COCHAIR: Frank Towers
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Andrea Mott

WESTERN REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
ALASKA CHAIR: John Heaton
ARIZONA CHAIR: Linda Sargent Wood
CALIFORNIA COCHAIR: Christina Gold
CALIFORNIA COCHAIR: Curtis Martin
CALIFORNIA COCHAIR: Jane Wolford
COLORADO CHAIR: Cecilia Gowdy-Wygant
HAWAII CHAIR: Richard C. Rath
IDAHO CHAIR: Katherine Aiken
MONTANA CHAIR: Wade Davies
NEVADA CHAIR: Greta De Jong
NEW MEXICO CHAIR: Andrew K. Sandoval-Strausz
OREGON CHAIR: Mina J. Carson
UTAH CHAIR: Matthew Basso
WASHINGTON CHAIR: Redmond J. Barnett
WYOMING CHAIR: Cheryl A. Wells [Chair, Western Region]
ASIAN CHAIR: Fusako "Sako" Ogata
COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE: Michael Green
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Jill Horohoe

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.
Lionel Kimble Jr.
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers
Lydia R. Otero
Adrienne Petty
George J. Sánchez, Chair

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.
Frederick E. Hoxie, Chair
Edward T. Linenthal
Robert K. Sutton
Jon E. Taylor
Anne Mitchell Whisnant

Committee on Part-Time and Adjunct Employment
The committee's purpose is to recommend programs and services for adjunct and part-time members of the profession.

Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director
Elizabeth Hohl
Arlene Lazarowitz
Donald W. Rogers
Howard Shorr

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.
Kathleen Franz
Louis P. Hutchins
Gregory E. Smoak, Chair
Mary Ann Villarreal
Matthew A. Wasniewski

Committee on Research and Access to Historical Documentation
The committee deals with all issues relating to historical research; including access to public documents, freedom of information, issues of secrecy, censorship and declassification, corporate and state archives, the Library of Congress, National Archives, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, reference tools, monitoring of electronic archives and networks, research in graduate training, issues relating to Institutional Review Boards, and matters relating to research funding from public and private granting agencies.
Gerald Markowitz, Chair
Noralee Frankel
David McMillen
Robert K. Sutton
Jeremi Suri
Leland White

Strategic Planning Committee
Stephen D. Andrews
Pete Daniel, Cochair
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director, OAH, ex officio
Jay S. Goodgold
Alice Kessler-Harris
Edward T. Linenthal, Editor, The Journal of American History, ex officio
Elaine Tyler May
Linda Shopes, Cochair
David S. Trask

Committee on Teaching
The committee works to improve the teaching and understanding of history at all levels of training and in diverse venues.
Kenneth G. Alfers
Margaret Harris
Kim Ibach
Steven Mintz, Chair
Gideon Sanders

Committee on the Status of Women in the Historical Profession
The committee considers all professional concerns bearing upon women in the historical profession.
Laura Briggs, Chair
Thomas Dublin
Elizabeth Higginbotham
Emma Lapsansky-Werner
Vicki L. Ruiz

2009 Program Committee
The committee is responsible for the program of the Annual Meeting and such other related activities as the President may designate. The committee works closely with the Meetings staff of the Executive Office which is responsible for insuring that professional sessions for graduate students and other constituency groups are included in each program.
Leslie Brown, Cochair
Adrian Burgos Jr.
Alexander Byrd
Kirsten Fischer
Donald L. Fixico
Juli A. Jones
Susan McGrath
Katherine Ott
Donald A. Ritchie, Cochair
Nan Elizabeth Woodruff

2009 Convention Local Resource Committee
The Local Resource Committee consults with the meetings department to arrange tours, offsite sessions, and special events and assists with promotion of the meeting through the OAH Newsletter and local media outlets. The Local Resource Committee also assists the Program Committee with soliciting sessions that will interest local historians and the public.
Redmond Barnett
Thomas M. Gaskin
Amy J. Kinsel
Lorraine C. McConaghy
Julie Nicoletta
Wilson E. O'Donnell, Cochair
Thomas Wellock
Shirley Yee, Cochair

2010 Program Committee
The committee is responsible for the program of the Annual Meeting and such other related activities as the President may designate. The committee works closely with the Meetings staff of the Executive Office which is responsible for insuring that professional sessions for graduate students and other constituency groups are included in each program.
Tim Borstelmann (Committee Chair)
Kristin L. Ahlberg
Sharon M. Leon
Howard J. Shorr
Jon Sensbach
Margot Canaday
María Cristina García
Tiya Miles

2010 Convention Local Resource Committee
The Local Resource Committee consults with the meetings department to arrange tours, offsite sessions, and special events and assists with promotion of the meeting through the OAH Newsletter and local media outlets. The Local Resource Committee also assists the Program Committee with soliciting sessions that will interest local historians and the public.
Kristin L. Ahlberg
Beth Boland
Kathleen Franz
Cathy Gorn
Keri Lewis
Robyn Muncy
Joseph P. Reidy
Gideon Sanders

Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom
Raymond Arsenault
Sara M. Evans
Kevin Gaines, Chair

Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards
The committee's purpose is to advise The Journal of American History as it develops its policy on plagiarism. Once that policy has been presented and approved by the board, the Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards will be dissolved.
Patrick Allitt
James D. Anderson
Kathleen Neils Conzen
Alexandra (Sasha) Harmon
Sandra Gioia Treadway

Ad Hoc OAH/Japanese Association for American Studies Japan Historians Collaborative Committee
Juri Abe
Andrea Geiger
Christopher Jespersen
Kohei Kawashima
Robert McMahon
Kim E. Nielsen
Naoki Onishi
G. Kurt Piehler, Chair

Ad Hoc Working Group on Evaluating Public History Scholarship
Jointly formed in 2007 by the National Council on Public History, the Organization of American Historians, and the American Historical Association, the working group will produce guidelines to help academic institutions define what constitutes public history work and how it should be accounted for in the academic reward system.
Members from the National Council on Public History
Bill Bryans
John Dichtl
Kathleen Franz
Members from the Organization of American Historians
Susan Ferentinos
Constance B. Schulz
Greg Smoak
Members from the American Historical Association
Kristin L. Ahlberg
Edward Countryman
Debbie Ann Doyle

OAH Representatives to Other Councils, Commissions, and Committees

AHA/NASA Fellowship in Aerospace History Committee
Cheryl R. Ganz

Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic
Documentation
Thomas Alan Schwartz

American Council of Learned Societies
Sarah Deutsch

National Council for History Education
Lendol Calder

National Historical Publications and Records Commission
OAH Representative: Barbara J. Fields
[Julie Saville, January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2012]

National Museum of Afro-American History and Culture Planning Council
OAH Representative: Kenneth W. Goings

OAH Parliamentarian
Jonathan Lurie

OAH AWARD AND PRIZE COMMITTEES

OAH/ALBC Abraham Lincoln Higher Education Awards

In recognition of and to promote significant research and scholarship on Abraham Lincoln and his era in United States history, the Organization of American Historians and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission have created two awards to be given to graduate students recognizing work-in-progress on “Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America, 1854-1865.” Both students will receive a certificate from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and OAH recognizing their work and achievement, in addition to an honorarium.
Darrel Bigham
Orville Vernon Burton
Thomas Mackey, Chair
Heather Cox Richardson

Willi Paul Adams Award Committee
For the best book on American history published in a foreign language.
Manfred Berg
Anne L. Foster, Chair
Kristin Hoganson
Jörg Nagler
Nelson Ouellet

Erik Barnouw Award
For 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 history.
Stephen Aron
Elspeth H. Brown
Lary May, Chair

Ray Allen Billington Prize Committee
For the best book about American frontier history, which is defined broadly to include the pioneer periods of all geographical areas and comparisons between American frontiers and others.
Pedro Castillo, Chair
Andrew C. Isenberg
Patty Limerick

Binkley-Stephenson Award Committee
For the best article published in The Journal of American History during the preceding calendar year.
Thavolia Glymph
Susan Lee Johnson, Chair
Claire Strom

Avery O. Craven Award Committee
For the most original book on the coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, or the Era of Reconstruction, with the exception of works of purely military history.
Wayne Durrill, Chair
John C. Inscoe
Joan Waugh

Merle Curti Award Committee
For the best book in social and/or intellectual history.
Fred Arthur Bailey
William Fitzhugh Brundage, Chair
Nancy F. Cott
Elna C. Green
Moon-Ho Jung

Distinguished Service Award Committee
For an individual or individuals whose contributions have significantly enriched our understanding and appreciation of American history.
Vicki L. Ruiz, Chair
Linda Shopes
David S. Trask
David J. Weber

EBSCOhost America: History and Life Award Committee
To recognize and encourage scholarship in American history in the journal literature advancing new perspectives on accepted interpretations or previously unconsidered topics.
Mary Bagne
Earl Lewis, Chair
Khalil G. Muhammad
Barbara M. Posadas
Joe W. Trotter

Ellis W. Hawley Prize
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.
Nelson Lichtenstein, Chair
Jennifer Mittelstadt
Mary A. Yeager

OAH/Immigration and Ethnic History Society John Higham Travel Grants
Travel grants for three graduate students each year to be used toward costs of attending the OAH/IEHS annual meeting.
Elliott Barkan
Cheryl Greenberg, Chair
Francille Rusan Wilson

Huggins-Quarles Dissertation Award
The Committee on the Status of African American, Latino/a, Asian American, and Native American (ALANA) Historians and ALANA Histories serves as the selection committee for the Huggins-Quarles Award, which is given to one or two graduate students of color to assist them with expenses related to travel to research collections for the completion of the Ph.D. dissertation.
Lionel Kimble Jr. Chair, 2009 award
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers
Lydia R. Otero
Adrienne Petty
George J. Sánchez

Richard W. Leopold Prize Committee
For the best book on foreign policy, military affairs, the historical activities of the federal government or biography by a government historian.
Andy Ambrose
Lu Ann Jones
Roger D. Launius, Chair

Lerner-Scott Dissertation Prize Committee
For the best doctoral dissertation in U.S. women's history.
Greta de Jong
Kari Frederickson, Chair
Stephanie Gilmore

Lawrence W. Levine Award Committee
For the best book in American cultural history.
Eric Avila
Lynn Dumenil
James N. Gregory, Chair
Michael Kazin
Teresa Murphy

Liberty Legacy Foundation Award Committee
For the best book by a historian on the civil rights struggle from the beginnings of the nation to the present.
Constance Curry, Chair
Tiya A. Miles
Jerry Thornbery

Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee
For the best essay in American history written by a graduate student.
Carl Guarneri
Stephen Kercher
Edward T. Linenthal, Chair
Martha Saxton
John T. Schlotterbeck

James A. Rawley Prize Committee
For a book dealing with race relations in the United States.
Clare A. Lyons, Chair
Karin A. Shapiro
Kenneth J. Winkle

Tachau Teacher of the Year Award
To recognize the contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education.
Bob Bain
Don Falls
Gloria Sesso, Chair

David Thelen Award Committee
For the best article on American history published in a foreign language.
Kate Delaney
Udo Hebel
Edward T. Linenthal, Chair
Larisa Troitskaia

Frederick Jackson Turner Award Committee
For an author's first book on some significant phase of American history.
David Montejano
Nell Irvin Painter, Chair
Stephanie J. Shaw