e-mail because of spam, and due to the increasing quantity of messages, individuals are more selective regarding which e-mail messages they read. In the OAH’s case, only one member in four takes the time to open our monthly e-mail newsletters. Furthermore, five different generations are represented by OAH membership, ranging from the Greatest Generation or the “G.I. generation” (born between 1901 and 1924), through “Generation Z” (born as late as the 1990s), which requires the organization to reach members who are uncomfortable with digital publications as well as members who are happier to receive news through social networks.

proposed increasing funding so the organization could publish four issues of the newsletter annually. � e OAH Newsletter appeared three times in 1981 and was en-larged to a tabloid-sized format. � e OAH expanded the newsletter's newspaper-like appearance to include opinion pieces and more substantive articles on issues facing the profession.

In 1996 the organization entered the digital age and created its � rst Web site. While the tabloid-sized newsletter con-tinued until 2010, discussion over the dissemination of timely information from the OAH via pixels or print continued apace. By 2010 the printing of a newsletter seemed to be an unnecessary expense, since many organizations and associations had opted to move exclusively online with e-mail newsletters and expanded Web sites. Moreover, given the time required for writing, editing, laying out, printing, and mailing, the OAH Newsletter seemed to be losing ground in providing timely information to the membership. News could now � ow more quickly and inexpen-sively through e-mail, the OAH Web site, and electronic newsletters.

In practice, however, e-mail newsletters have not been as effective at reaching their audience as expected. Research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that fewer people trust

OUTLOOKOAH VOLUME 1 / NUMBER 1 / AUGUST 2011

A membership newsletter of the

Near the end of his three-year tenure, the outgoing OAH Executive Secretary

Thomas D. Clark persuaded the OAH Executive Board that the establishment of a newsletter would be “of real assistance in making the Organization better known in areas where it needs friendly acceptances.” To that end, the OAH Executive Board moved to establish the OAH Newsletter at its April 1973 meeting and recommended that its content include “activities and memberships of the standing committees, decisions of the Executive Board and the Executive Committee, changes in pro-cedures in the [business o� ce] and any news which is pertinent to the member’s relationship to this professional body.” In essence, the proposed newsletter was to be what all association or organization newsletters are—a way of conveying timely information about the organization, its programs, and its publications. � e � rst issue, published in July 1973 was 8½" x 11" and only four pages in length. It included a letter to the membership from the retiring executive secretary, who was “very happy that we have progressed to the stage of producing this Newsletter” and pleased to have a venue for the executive secretary to speak directly to the membership.

Until 1981 the OAH Newsletter was bi-annual, appearing in July and December. � at year, OAH President Gerda Lerner

Welcome to OAH Outlook: A Membership Newsletter of the Organization of American Historians

FROM THE OAH EXECUTIVE DIRECTORKatherine M. Finley

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2 • August 2011 • OAH OUTLOOK

Given the wide range of ages of our mem-bership and the fact that many of you have contacted us regarding the demise of the quarterly print newsletter, the OAH Execu-tive Board voted at its spring meeting this year to resume a print newsletter. Not only did the board feel that a newsletter was an important tool to inform the membership about the news of the organization but it was also seen as a central element in build-ing a sense of community among OAH members. �e OAH is not unique in that regard, with more associations returning to print newsletters as their readers insist on both print and electronic versions.

And so, we are pleased to present to you the inaugural issue of a revised and improved newsletter. In line with the original intent of its predecessor, OAH Outlook is not intended to duplicate the efforts of the Journal of American History or the OAH Magazine of History.

q Finley / from page 1

The OAH Nominating Board is pleased to announce the candidates standing

for o�ce in the 2012 OAH Election. In ad-dition to voting for three candidates for the OAH Executive Board, OAH members will vote for candidates to the OAH Nominating Board. Candidate information and ballot material will be sent to all members in November. �e election opens December 1, 2011, and closes February 1, 2012.

OAH PRESIDENT, Albert M. Camarillo, Miriam and Peter Haas Centennial Professor in Public Service and Professor of History, Stanford University; OAH President-Elect, Alan M. Kraut, University Professor of History, American University; and OAH Vice President, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Faculty Director and Chair of the Board, Center of the American West, University of Colorado.

OAH EXECUTIVE BOARD Candidates. One in each pairing will be elected for a total of three. Members elected to the OAH Executive Board shall be elected for three-year terms. Pair One: Gary Gerstle, Vanderbilt University; and David W. Blight, Yale University. Pair Two: �omas (Tim) Borstelmann, University of Nebraska— Lincoln; and Lori D. Ginzberg, Penn State

�is publication will focus on short, timely articles of professional and scholarly inter-est to members. OAH Outlook will contain important news of the organization and its programs—such as the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program, the Civil War Ses-quicentennial project, our podcast series, and our ongoing collaboration with the National Park Service—presented in an attractive and interesting format. It will also contain a regular column from either the OAH President or myself, as well as news from the Archivist of the United States, and “Capitol Commentary,” a regular feature on our advocacy e�orts on Capitol Hill. We will continue to send our monthly electronic newsletter, utilize various social media tools, post the latest events on our Web site (www.oah.org), and archive OAH Outlook on the OAH Web site. We hope you enjoy our new and improved print newsletter. ■

University. Pair Three: David A. Berry, Essex County College, New Jersey; and Amy J. Kinsel, Shoreline Community College, Washington.

NOMINATING BOARD Candidates. One in each pairing will be elected for a total of three. Members elected to the OAH Nominating Board shall be elected for three-year terms. Pair One: Billie Jean Clemens, Swain County High School, North Carolina; and Frederick W. Jordan, Woodberry Forest School, Virginia. Pair Two: Barbara Ransby, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Kevin Gaines, University of Michigan. Pair Three: Stephanie McCurry, University of Pennsylvania; and Mary L. Dudziak, University of Southern California.

CANDIDATES BY PETITION. As out-lined in the OAH Constitution and Bylaws (http://www.oah.org/about/constitution.html), one hundred voting members of the organization may present a petition for an additional candidate for any o�ce open for election, with such petition to be presented to the Executive Director by October 15, 2011. �e names of persons so nominated shall be placed on the o�cial ballot, being identi�ed as “candidate by petition.” ■

2012 OAH Election Slate of Candidates

CONTENTS

FROM THE OAH E XECUTIVE DIREC TOR

Welcome to OAH Outlook: A Membership Newsletter of the Organization of American Historians K AT H E R IN E M. F IN L E Y 1

2012 OAH Election Slate of Candidates 2

FROM THE OAH PRESIDENT

Fighting the Good Fight AL I C E K E SSL E RHAR R IS 3

OAH COMMIT TEES IN THE NEWS

OAH Adopts Standards for Part-Time, Adjunct, and Contingent Faculty Employment 3

The Civil War at 150: OAH Commemorates the Sesquicentennial 4

2013 OAH Call for Proposals 4

FROM THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES

NARA Tightens Security to Prevent Document Thefts, Mutilation DAV ID S. F E R R IE R O 5

The OAH Career Center 6

YOUR OAH MEMBERSHIP

OAH Moves to Single Membership Renewal Date 6

OAH Residency Program in Germany 6

Lectureship Program Celebrates Anniversary, Welcomes New Speakers 7

OUTLOOKOAH

VOL. 1 / NO. 1 / AUGUST 2011

OAH OUTLOOK (ISSN 2162-5050 [print], ISSN 2162-5069 [online]) is published each February, May, August, and November by the Organization of American Historians, 112 North Bryan Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47408-4199. Telephone (812) 855-7311; Fax (812) 855-0696; E-mail outlook@oah.org; http://www.oah.org/. The OAH reserves the right to reject articles, announcements, letters, advertisements, and other items that are not consonant with the goals and purposes of the organization.

Copyright © 2011, Organization of American Historians. All rights reserved.

August 2011 • OAH OUTLOOK • 3

When I first entered the profession an astonishing number of years ago, the idea of a “relevant” history was something of an anathema. Damned as

“presentist” and therefore biased, a history written to shed light on contemporary problems seemed inevitably distorted. Over the past two decades or so, we have come to understand that the world view of a historian necessarily emanates from the world in which he or she lives and that our views of the past may well be conditioned by our relationships to the present. If all history is present history, as R. G. Collingwood famously put it, then the past is a moving spectacle. Generations of scholars and students of history have contributed their mite to the drama we call American history. Its rich and complex fruits have produced a vibrant and con-tinuing debate that contributes to common understandings of the present and reciprocally builds new pasts.

�at’s why I’ve found the current assault on our capacity to engage in historical scholarship and to distribute new findings so disturbing. Over the past several months, we have watched Congress make steep cuts in programs that have increased knowledge and encouraged its distribution. “Save America’s Treasures”—a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation designed to spread understanding of the institutions on which America’s freedoms rest—was cut from the national budget. Its office has now been closed. The National Historical Publication and Records Commission has been cut to half its former budget; Teaching American History grants have been gutted down to a level that permits zero funding for new grants and barely maintains projects already in their second and third years. Under the circumstances, it is bitter irony that we are heartened by the relatively small cuts sustained by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

These cuts come at a time when Virginia’s fourth-grade history textbooks make statements that, in David Blight’s words, question “the legitimacy of emancipation itself ”; when Sarah Palin made national headlines by interpreting Paul Revere’s ride in a way that supported her conceptions of the freedom to bear arms; and when test results reveal that levels of historical knowledge among most students remain abysmally low.

�e OAH, through the National Coalition for History, and in appeals to our mem-bers to write to individual representatives and senators, has spoken out frequently during the spring. Many of us attribute the cuts to the state of the economy and the current ideological push for less government. But I submit that in the end, these par-ticular cuts may carry a heavy cost. As historians committed to understanding the past, we need to �ght for the resources to do our work successfully. We also need to make sure that mechanisms for distributing knowledge are kept open; that students of all ages have access to varieties of opinion and learn to make their own choices; and that their teachers learn about new scholarship in workshops, seminars, and classrooms. �e fourth graders and high school students who no longer know any American history will soon become the adults who are convinced that the past is an explanation for the present, rather than in dialogue with it. ■

Alice Kessler-Harris is the R. Gordon Hoxie Professor of American History at Columbia University.

Fighting the Good Fight

FROM THE OAH PRESIDENT Alice Kessler-Harris

OAH COMMITTEES IN THE NEWS

OAH Adopts Standards for Part-Time, Adjunct, and Contingent Faculty EmploymentThe OAH Executive Board has approved new Standards for Part-Time, Adjunct and Contingent Faculty Employment. The standards, also endorsed by the American Historical Association, recommend five best practices for the fair treatment and effective use of non–tenure track history faculty at all levels of higher education:

n Employment conditions, benefits, and professional development

n Participation in departmental and campus governance

n Salary levels for teaching and compen-sation for service work

n Accurate data collection on the use and status of non–tenure track faculty

n Timely reports on efforts to meet these standards

These updated guidelines suggest much-needed steps to encourage equity for contingent faculty, cultivation of a professional work environment, and recognition of the vital contributions made by non-tenure-track faculty. To read the complete set of standards, visit http://www.oah.org/news/20110331OAH_PACE_Standards_03-17-11.pdf.

We extend our thanks to the OAH Committee on Part-Time, Adjunct and Contingent Employment for its work to bring earlier standards up to date. ■

ADVOCACY NEWS FROM WASHINGTON

Future issues of OAH Outlook will regularly feature news of the legislation and policy issues from Capitol Hill that impact archives, research, and the history profession. Your membership in the OAH supports the history profession's advocacy efforts in coopera-tion with the National Coalition for History (http://www.historycoalition.org/). ■

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2013 OAH Call for ProposalsOAH Annual Meeting — San Francisco, CATHURSDAY, APRIL 11 TO SUNDAY, APRIL 14HILTON SAN FRANCISCO

The Civil War at 150OAH Commemorates the Sesquicentennial

During the sesquicentennial of the Civil War (spring 2011 through spring

2015), the Organization of American Historians is committed to bringing the best current thinking on this complex era to a wide audience. In keeping with our mission to promote excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of all American history, we aim to explore the war from its beginnings through its a� ermath, especially mindful of the needs of history teachers and students, the chal-lenges faced by public historians, and the curiosity of the general public.

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In our publications, at our conferences, with our speakers, and through our online projects, we will consider these broad themes during the following sesquicentennial years:n 2011 Originsn 2012 Mobilizing for Warn 2013 Turning Pointsn 2014 Total Warn 2015 Legacies

www.oah.org/programs/civilwar

City Point, Virginia. Soldier guarding 12-pdr. Napoleon, 1865. Library of Congress (cwpb 01983)

The theme for the 2013 OAH Annual Meeting will be “Entangled Histories: Connections, Crossings, and Constraints in U.S. History.” The history of

the United States is one of entanglement: transatlantic, transpacific, and cross-border interactions; con� icts and collaborations based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, and class; intersections and crossings at all scales from the global to the intimate. � e theme for the 2013 conference seeks to examine and complicate a broad range of “entanglements” in U.S. history, paying attention to both the possibilities as well as the limitations of these interactions. the OAH will begin accepting proposals for the 2013 meeting on October 1, 2011.

The 2013 Organization of American Historians Program Committee seeks a wide-ranging program that will cover the full chronological sweep of the American past, from pre-Columbian years to the twenty-first century, and the rich thematic diversity that has come to characterize contemporary American history writing and teaching. The program aims to include those teaching at universities, colleges, community colleges, and secondary schools, public historians, and independent scholars. The program committee also invites the submission of panels and presentations that deal with these and other issues and themes in American history. We welcome teaching sessions, particularly those involving the audience as active participants or those that ref lect collaborative partnerships among teachers, historians, and history educators at all levels.

The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, February 15, 2012. For more information, complete instructions, and to submit your proposal, visit http://annualmeeting.oah.org.

Proposal Submission ProcedureAll proposals must include the following information: n a complete mailing address, e-mail

address, phone number, and affi liation for each participant

n an abstract of no more than 500 words for the session as a whole

n a prospectus of no more than 250 words for each presentation; and

n a vita of no more than 500 words for each participant

Complete session proposals most often include a chair, participants, and, if applicable, one or two commentators (chairs may double as commentators, and commentators may be omitted for the audience to serve in that role). Session membership should be limited by the need to include substantial time for audience questions and comments.

The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, February 1, 2012. ■

August 2011 • OAH OUTLOOK • 5

Over the years, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

has faced many physical and environmental threats to its holdings including � re, water, insects, and mold. We have been open about these risks and forthcoming about our efforts to combat them. However, there’s another risk to our collection: theft and intentional mutilation or destruc-tion of our holdings. Since becoming Archivist of the United States, I have recognized this risk and have taken strong measures to deal with it.

Trevor Plante, a senior archivist at NARA, recently contacted our O� ce of Inspector General to report that a document—pardoning a Union soldier in the Civil War and signed by President Abraham Lincoln—appeared to have been altered.

O� cials in the O� ce of Inspector General (OIG) obtained a full and willing written confession from a historian stating that he had changed the date on the pardon to read April 14, 1865, instead of 1864. The change to 1865 made the document appear to be one of President Lincoln's last o� cial actions on the day he was assassinated.

Based upon the historical importance subsequently assigned to this pardon, it had gained a certain amount of fame. � e historian wrote a book about it and raised his pro� le in the history community.

� is case is unusual. � e statute of limi-tations has expired so the researcher could not be prosecuted, but he will never again be allowed into the National Archives. However, it’s another reminder that our holdings are at risk from unconscionable acts by researchers who have sought to steal or mutilate documents that belong to the American people.

And we have experienced the� and damage not only by those from outside our agency but also by those we trust the most: our very own sta� . I moved to mitigate this real threat by instituting a new policy in our Washington, D.C., and College Park, Md., facilities of searching bags be-ing taken out by sta� —including me—as

TO REPORT A DOCUMENT you believe is lost or stolen from the archives, e-mail: MissingDocuments@nara.gov.

Or write to: Missing Documents, Offi ce of the Inspector General, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Md. 20740.

Telephone: 301-837-3500 or 1-800-786-2551.

The year has been altered on this Lincoln document.

we leave the building. In these facilities, researchers’ belongings are searched by research room sta� and security guards when they leave both the research room and the building. This policy will be extended to other NARA facilities.

Over the past decade, several individuals have stolen documents and attempted to sell them to trustworthy collectors or place them for sale online. Sharp-eyed researchers familiar with those records quickly alerted us. Those individuals who stole from our holdings went to prison. Sadly, one of them was a National Archives employee.

As a result of the� s, we installed video cameras in all public research rooms in Washington and College Park, as well as in most research rooms nationwide. And we strictly limit what researchers can take with them when they are in those rooms reviewing records. In addition to these speci� c actions, we have elevated holdings security among our many missions. Late last year we formed a Holdings Protection Team to develop policies not only for pro-tecting our holdings but also to educate NARA sta� on how to do so. � e team works closely with OIG sta� , which has demonstrated expertise in investigating and recovering lost or stolen holdings. � rough their energies, many records and artifacts have been recovered, and thieves have been successfully prosecuted.

� e OIG’s own Archival Recovery Team (ART) can assist those who think they may be in possession of a lost or stolen docu-

NARA Tightens Security to Prevent Document Thefts, Mutilation

FROM THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATESDavid S. Ferriero

ment or have knowledge of others who possess or are attempting to sell them. � e ART publicizes items that have been lost or stolen and asks citizens to contact them if they have seen any of them.

I take the� and mutilation of documents very seriously, and the security of our hold-ings is my highest priority. Unfortunately, some the� is perpetrated by employees, and that is especially disheartening. � ese individuals have lost sight of their respon-sibilities as caretakers.

I know the Organization of American Historians and its members share our concern about the theft and mutilation of priceless documents, and I ask your help by reporting instances in which it appears that holdings might have been stolen from the National Archives. ■

6 • August 2011 • OAH OUTLOOK

Thanks to a generous grant from the Fritz �yssen Foundation, the OAH

International Committee is pleased to announce the inauguration of the Residency Program in American History–Germany (Germany Residency Program) at the University of Tübingen. The committee seeks applications from OAH members who are established scholars affiliated with an American or Canadian university and who are interested in leading an advanced undergraduate/graduate seminar focusing on a topic in U.S. history. �e seminar will be based on the applicant’s design and will be instructed in English; all �elds and methodologies are welcome. �e resident scholar will o�er a seminar on a U.S. history topic of his or her design in June of 2012. �e Germany Residency

OAH Residency Program in GermanyProgram will provide round-trip airfare, housing for thirty days, a modest hono-rarium (1,500 Euros), a graduate assistant, and o�ce space. Tübingen is located in southwestern Germany, twenty-�ve miles south of Stuttgart. The University of Tübingen is one of Germany’s oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education, with a vibrant community engaged in the study of the United States.

�e application process requires a short curriculum vitae, the name and contact information of one reference who can speak on an applicant’s teach-ing and scholarship, and an outline of the planned seminar. Applications must be sent electronically to Nancy Croker (ncroker@oah.org); deadline for sub-missions is October 1, 2011. ■

For more information, please see the announcement on the OAH Web site (http://www.oah.org/programs/germany/index.html) or contact Professor Georg Schild of the University of Tübingen (georg.schild@uni-tuebingen.de) or Professor G. Kurt Piehler, International Committee Chair (militarysage@gmail.com).

The OAH Career CenterA New Online Tool for OAH Members

The OAH is pleased to announce the opening of the OAH Career Center, a new bene�t for OAH members. Individuals wishing to make professional career

connections may do so by visiting http://careers.oah.org. �e OAH Career Center allows you to browse available jobs easily or use advanced

search tools to target positions by keyword, location, and other criteria. Active job seekers may also place their vita and/or résumé online using the OAH Career Center’s con�dential résumé posting service, which gives complete control over when to release information and to which interested employers. For more information and to begin using this new bene�t of membership, visit http://careers.oah.org.

Employers can target recruiting eorts to American historians. �e OAH Career Center is the latest online resource to reach historians of U.S. history. Single thirty-day packages are available for under $275. Extend the reach of your listing by including it as a “featured job” on the site, for a one-time fee.

�e OAH Career Center includes full résumé database search access, and jobs are listed for a thirty days. To get started, visit: http://careers.oah.org and click “Employers.” ■

OAH MOVES TO SINGLE MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL DATEStarting in October 2010 the OAH simplified its membership dues structure and implemented a single annual renewal date for all individual members. While your original join date will never be disturbed, OAH has adopted the new dues structure and a single annual renewal date to in-crease efficiency, and most importantly, to allow us to provide excellent service to our members. If you have questions, please contact the OAH at 812-855-7311 or e-mail at membership@oah.org.

University of Tübingen Library (courtesy Wikimedia Commons).

FOR THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE OAH, VISITwww.oah.org/news

Look for us on Facebook facebook.com/TheOAH

Follow us on Twitter @The_OAH

August 2011 • OAH OUTLOOK • 7

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

The September 2011 issue of the Journal of American History will include an Inter-change conversation titled, Nationalism and Internationalism in the Era of the Civil War, as well as a multi-article project, "Margins to Mainstream: The Brave New World of Borderlands History."

2012 Awards and Prizes

Apply or Nominate Someone for 2012

The Organization of American Historians sponsors or cosponsors

awards, prizes, fellowships, and grants given in recognition of scholarly and professional achievements in the field of American history.

Visit http://www.oah.org/awards for details. Deadlines are October 1 or December 1, 2011.

OAH Distinguished Lecturer Matt Garcia speaking last fall at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York.

Lectureship Program Celebrates Anniversary, Welcomes New SpeakersTHE OAH DISTINGUISHED LECTURESHIP PROGRAM IS PLEASED TO WELCOME 47 OUTSTANDING HISTORIANS TO ITS ROSTER FOR 2011–2012.

Thirty years ago, this speakers bureau dedicated to American history was created by OAH president Gerda Lerner as “a way of acquiring funds that will enable

the OAH to function more e� ectively on behalf of the historical profession.” � e announcement in the July 1981 OAH Newsletter continues, “It will also help history departments and others attract historians as guest lecturers and encourage members and others to make contributions to the OAH.”

Today, the program features more than 400 lecturers from around the world. Participating lecturers not only visit college campuses and address undergraduate and graduate student conferences but also lead teacher seminars and engage general audiences at public events sponsored by historical societies, museums, libraries, and humanities councils.

When you need a great speaker for your next public event, conference, or work-shop, you can rely on the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program.

Visit http://lectures.oah.org/lecturers/new.html for a complete list of this year’s newly appointed lecturers. ■

DistinguishedLECTURESHIP

PROGRAMCelebrating 30 Years, 1982-2012

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Non Profi t OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDIndianapolis INPermit No. 9502

OAH/NCPH 2012

ANNUAL MEETING

APRIL 19 - 22

WISCONSIN Milwaukee OAH ORGANIZATION OF

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

http://annualmeeting.oah.org

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