Organization of American Historians
Click on the keywords to navigate the site.
Home > Activities > OAH Committees


2009-2010 OAH Committees

Contact our Committee Coordinator with questions.

Last modified:
01:14 PM, 06/30/09


Executive Board
Officers
Elaine Tyler May, President
David A. Hollinger, President Elect
Robert Griffith, Treasurer
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director
Edward T. Linenthal, Editor, The Journal of American History
Jay S. Goodgold, Cochair, Leadership Advisory Council, ex officio

Past Presidents
Richard White
Nell Irvin Painter
Pete Daniel

Elected Members
Philip Deloria
Kim Ibach
Martha A. Sandweiss
William Cronon
James Grossman
Theda Perdue
Doris D. Dwyer
Ramón A. Gutiérrez
Mary Kelley

Executive Committee
Consists of officers of the Organization (President, President Elect, Executive Director, Editor, Treasurer) and the Immediate Past President
Elaine Tyler May, President
David A. Hollinger, President Elect
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director
Edward T. Linenthal, Editor, The Journal of American History
Robert Griffith, Treasurer
Pete Daniel, 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 2010 award are: Richard White, Chair; Philip Deloria; Kim Ibach; and Martha Sandweiss.

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):
Elaine Tyler May, President
David A. Hollinger, President Elect
Pete Daniel, 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
Jay S. Goodgold, Cochair
Alan Hermesch
Carroll H. Leggett
Elaine Tyler May
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.
George Chauncey
Spencer R. Crew
Rosemary Kolks Ennis
Christine Leigh Heyrman
Amy J. Kinsel, Chair
Kathleen S. Kutolowski
Nancy MacLean
Kimberly L. Phillips
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
Paul S. Boyer
Ann Fabian
Lee W. Formwalt, Executive Director, ex officio
María Cristina García
Alison Games
Kristin Hoganson
Karen Leong
Charlene Mires
Dylan Penningroth
Jonathan M. Schoenwald
Mark Smith

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 explores new ideas and directions for the Newsletter
Joan C. Browning
Kristin L. Ahlberg, Chair
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.
Ron Briley
Matthew Garcia
Brian Horrigan
William P. Jones, Chair
Peter A. Kraemer
María E. Montoya
Peggy Renner
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
Thomas J. Osborne
Lisa Ossian
Mark Roehrs, Chair
Melissa M. Soto-Schwartz
Andrés Tijerina

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.
Victor R. Greene
Maurice Isserman
Edward T. Linenthal
G. Kurt Piehler
William C. Pratt, Chair
Ian Tyrrell

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
William D. Carrigan
Amilcar Shabazz
Cheryl A. Wells
Cary Wintz

NORTHEAST REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
CONNECTICUT CHAIR: Cecelia Bucki
MAINE CHAIR: Leigh H. Hallett
MASSACHUSETTS COCHAIR: Gary Donato
MASSACHUSETTS COCHAIR: Amilcar Shabazz
NEW HAMPSHIRE CHAIR: Rebecca Noel
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Mary Bogin
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Michael Spear
NEW YORK COCHAIR: Margaret Susan Thompson
RHODE ISLAND CHAIR: Naoko Shibusawa
VERMONT CHAIR: Melanie Gustafson
EUROPEAN CHAIR: Axel R. Schäfer
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Christopher Brick

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: Melissa Walker
TENNESSEE CHAIR: Sarah Potter
TEXAS COCHAIR: Janet Schmelzer
TEXAS COCHAIR: Cary D. Wintz [Chair, Southern Region]
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN CHAIR: Fernando Purcell
COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE: Stephen Davis
GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE: Laura Renée Chandler

MIDWEST REGION SUBCOMMITTEE
ILLINOIS COCHAIR: Glennon Graham
ILLINOIS COCHAIR: Richard L. Hughes
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: David Silkenat
OHIO CHAIR: Appointment Pending
SOUTH DAKOTA: Donald C. Simmons Jr.
WISCONSIN CHAIR: Victoria Z. Straughn
CANADA COCHAIR: Robert MacDougall
CANADA COCHAIR: Frank Towers
COMMUNITY COLLEGE REPRESENTATIVE: Edward V. Carroll
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., Chair
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers
Lydia R. Otero
Adrienne Petty
George J. Sánchez

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.
Laura J. Feller
Kathleen Franz
Frederick E. Hoxie
Todd Moye
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.
Donald W. Rogers, Chair
Donn Hall
Elizabeth Hohl
Arlene Lazarowitz
Susan M. McGrath
Howard Smead

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, Chair
Louis P. Hutchins
Julia Sandy-Bailey
Gregory E. Smoak
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
Noralee Frankel, Chair
David McMillen
Robert K. Sutton
Jeremi Suri
Leland White

Strategic Planning Committee
Steve 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
Halsey Bell
Carole DeVito
Margaret Harris, Chair
Steven Mintz
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.
David Chang
Betty Dessants
Elizabeth Higginbotham, Chair
Emma Lapsansky-Werner
Constance B. Schulz

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, Chair
Kristin L. Ahlberg
Sharon M. Leon
Howard J. Shorr
Jon Sensbach
Margot Canaday
María Cristina García
Tiya A. 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 M. Boland
Katrina Dodro
Kathleen Franz
Cathy Gorn
Keri Lewis, Chair
Robyn Muncy
Joseph P. Reidy
Gideon Sanders

2011 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.
Peter Kolchin, Cochair
Joanne J. Meyerowitz, Cochair
Manfred Berg
Holly Brewer
Hasia Diner
David G. Gutiérrez
Martha S. Jones
Moon-Ho Jung
Paul Kramer
Naomi R. Lamoreaux

2011 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.
John Boles, Chair
Carlos Kevin Blanton
Kathleen A. Brosnan
Alexander X. Byrd
David L. Davis
David G. Gutiérrez
Patrick J. Kelly
J. Kent McGaughy
Martin V. Melosi
Cary D. Wintz
Nancy Zey

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, Chair
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, Chair
Christopher Jespersen
Kohei Kawashima
Robert McMahon
Kim E. Nielsen
Naoki Onishi
Sayuri Guthrie Shimizu
Thomas J. Sugrue

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
Appointment pending

American Council of Learned Societies
Sarah Deutsch

National Council for History Education
Lendol Calder

National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Julie Saville

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

OAH Parliamentarian
Jonathan Lurie

OAH AWARD AND PRIZE COMMITTEES

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.
Elspeth H. Brown, Chair
Lary May
Gerald E. Shenk

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.
Pablo Mitchell, Chair
Kathleen DuVal
David Rich Lewis

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

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.
Carl Moneyhon
Diane C. Vecchio, Chair
LeeAnn Whites

Merle Curti Award Committee
For the best book in social and/or intellectual history.
Raymond Arsenault
Annette Atkins
Mark K. Bauman
Howard Brick
Glenda Gilmore, Chair

Distinguished Service Award Committee
For an individual or individuals whose contributions have significantly enriched our understanding and appreciation of American history.
Philip Deloria
Kim Ibach
Martha A. Sandweiss
Richard White, Chair

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
Elliott Barkan
Carmen V. Harris
Ramona Houston
Anthony E. Kaye, Chair

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.
Steven Hahn
Charles L. Lumpkins
Patrick G. Williams, Chair

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
Lon Kurashige
Francille Rusan Wilson, Chair

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.
Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, Chair
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.
Heidi Ardizzone
Alecia P. Long
Linda Reed, Chair

Lawrence W. Levine Award Committee
For the best book in American cultural history.
Leslie Butler
Lewis Erenberg
Benjamin Filene
Geri Hastings
Robert Korstad, Chair

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.
Joseph Crespino, Chair
Kenneth R. Janken
Susan E. O'Donovan

Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee
For the best essay in American history written by a graduate student.
John M. Belohlavek
Margaret S. Creighton
Stephen Kercher
Edward T. Linenthal, Chair
John T. Schlotterbeck

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

Tachau Teacher of the Year Award
To recognize the contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education.
Don Falls, Chair
Michael Flamm
Frederick W. Jordan

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

Frederick Jackson Turner Award Committee
For an author's first book on some significant phase of American history.
Ned Blackhawk
Jonathan M. Bryant
Pete Daniel, Chair

06-30-09