Call for Volunteers: SAA Appointed Groups

by Danna Bell-Russel, SAA Vice President/President-Elect

Most professional organizations depend on the talents of their members to ensure that the organization’s work is completed. SAA is no exception. We have many intelligent and skilled members who are willing to give their time and expertise to help SAA meet its mission to serve the education and information needs of its members and to lead archivists to identify, preserve, and make use of records of historical value.

When I first joined SAA, I was encouraged to volunteer for a committee. At first I didn’t see the benefits of joining a committee or task force. I wasn’t sure how to apply to be considered. I wondered if only certain people with certain credentials could be on committees. Fortunately, I had a mentor who guided me through the process, and I was selected as a committee intern.

The benefits I’ve gained as a volunteer for the Society are greater than I could have imagined. I’ve learned about the archival profession and how the Society works to serve its members. I’ve gained leadership skills and learned about myself as a professional and as a person. I’ve developed a network of contacts that can assist me or other colleagues. Most importantly, I’ve developed some incredible friendships that have sustained me during good times and bad.

During my year as vice president/president-elect, my primary responsibility is to make appointments that begin during my presidential year (August 2013–August 2014). It’s a huge task: I will fill approximately one-third of the available appointed positions, with most volunteers serving a three-year term. I am fortunate to have an amazing Appointments Committee to help me select members for these positions. The committee is chaired by Herbert Hartsook of the University of South Carolina. He is joined by Sharmila Bhatia from the National Archives and Records Administration, Thomas Rosko of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Teresa Mora of the University of California at Berkley. Scott Schwartz of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, last year’s Appointments Committee chair, serves as an ex officio member.

How do you apply for an opening? A web form is now available (http://www2.archivists.org/membership/volunteer - form closed as of January 14) for submission of volunteers' applications. The Appointments Committee encourages applicants to be concise and to honestly consider which committees would be the best fit for your talents. You can read about the various boards and committees on the SAA website (under the "Groups" tab).

As always, the Appointments Committee will follow SAA’s long-standing policy of making appointments that reflect the diversity of our membership in all appropriate ways, including years in the profession, race and ethnicity, gender, geographic region, and type of archival repository. Also be aware that to ensure that the committee can select as many volunteers as possible, we will adhere to two additional criteria: An individual may be elected or appointed to only one position in the Society at a time, and no one is reappointed to a second term unless a critical need exists to continue an individual’s particular specialized contribution beyond the original appointment period.

The appointments process is always intense, and we are lucky to have many more applicants than positions. Don’t be discouraged. There are many ways to serve. If you have questions about the appointments process or other ways to support the Society, please contact Herb or me at appointments@archivists.org. We can’t wait to read your applications!

Appointments Available in 2013-2014

The following groups will have vacancies (number of vacancies indicated in parentheses) beginning in August 2013.  For descriptions of the groups, see www.archivists.org/leaders.   

Application deadline:  January 14, 2013. 

 

SAA/ALA/AAM Joint Committee on Archives, Libraries, and Museums (aka CALM) (2)

American Archivist Editorial Board (2)

Awards Committee (Co-Chair) (1)

Archival Innovators Award Subcommittee (1)

C.F.W. Coker Award Subcommittee (1)

Distinguished Service Award Subcommittee (1)

Diversity Award Subcommittee (1) 

Emerging Leader Award Subcommittee (1)

Hamer-Kegan Award Subcommittee (1) 

Oliver Wendell Holmes Travel Award Subcommittee (1)

J. Franklin Jameson Advocacy Award Subcommittee (1) 

Sister M. Claude Lane, OP, Memorial Award Subcommittee (1)

Waldo Gifford Leland Award Subcommittee (1)

Theodore Calvin Pease Award Subcommittee (1) 

Donald Peterson Student Scholarship Award Subcommittee (1)

Harold T. Pinkett Minority Student Award Subcommittee (1)

Fellows’ Ernst Posner Award Subcommittee (1, must be an SAA Fellow)

Preservation Publication Award Subcommittee (1)

Spotlight Award Subcommittee (1)

Josephine Forman Minority Scholarship Subcommittee (1)

F. Gerald Ham and Elsie Ham Scholarship Subcommittee (1, must be an SAA Fellow) 

Mosaic Scholarship Subcommittee (1)

Committee on Education (3)

Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Subcommittee (1)

Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct (2)

Diversity Committee (4, including 1 chair, 2 regular members, and 1 designated representative of Latin American and Caribbean Cultural Heritage Archives Roundtable)

Finance Committee (1)

Host Committee / DC 2014 (10-12)

Membership Committee (2)

Program Committee / DC 2014 (6)

Publications Board (4)

Standards Committee (3)

SAA Foundation National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives Grant Review Committee (2)

TO VOLUNTEER

Log in to the SAA website to view, complete, and submit the self-nomination form (http://www2.archivists.org/membership/volunteer - form closed) by January 14, 2013. You may save changes and come back to this form; you may also change or resubmit information. SAA membership is required both to view the self-nomination form and to be appointed to an SAA group.

Much information requested on this form is required (*) because more complete information submitted to the Appointments Committee results in more effective recommendations to the Vice President/President-Elect. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers that will ensure or prevent an appointment. In text areas, we are interested in highlights.

Please send any questions to appointments@archivists.org. Thank you for your interest!