Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Candidate for Vice President/President-Elect

Professional Experience: Director, Special Collections & Archives and University Archivist, Wake Forest University, 2013–present. Head, Special Collections & University Archives, Iowa State University, 1998–2013. Curator, Archives of Women in Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, 1995–2013. Private Records Archivist, Alabama Department of Archives and History, 1989–1994.

Education: BA, History (cum laude), Ohio Wesleyan University, 1983. MA, Historical and Archival Administration, Wright State University, 1990.

Awards:  Fellow, Society of American Archivists, 2011. Wright State University Department of History Outstanding Alumni Award, 2007.

Professional Activities: Society of American Archivists: Chair, Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy, 2015–2016. Executive Committee—Council representative, 2014–2015. Council, 2012-2015. Membership Committee, Chair, 2009–2010. Membership Committee, 2006–2010. Reference, Access, and Outreach Steering Committee, 2010–2012. Oral History Section, Chair, 2003–2004. Key Contact, 2002–2006. Nominating Committee, Chair, 1999. Science, Technology and Healthcare Roundtable Steering Committee, 1996–2002. Women’s Collections Roundtable Co-chair, 1997–1999. Committee on the Status of Women, 1995–1998. Midwest Archives Conference: Nominating Committee, Chair, 2011–2012. President, 2009–2011. Vice President, 2006–2008. Council, 2002–2005.

Selected Publications: Co-editor (with Anke Voss), Perspectives on Women’s Archives, Society of American Archivists, 2013.

Archives Leadership Institute: Steering Committee, 2012– 2018. Presenter, 2010, 2012. Participant, 2008.

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Question posed by Nominating Committee:

The last several VPs/Presidents-elect have developed and promoted initiatives that tie into SAA’s strategic plan. For example, Kathleen Roe’s “Year of Living Dangerously” promoted SAA’s advocacy agenda. If you were the successful candidate, what initiative(s) would you promote during your tenure as president? How would you help SAA fulfill its mission of “promot[ing] the value and diversity of archives and archivists” and inspire the membership to do likewise?

Candidate's Response:

This is certainly an interesting and thought-provoking question, although it is not one I am sure I can answer at this point. Initiatives have their time and place, and as such, correspond to their moment. It is difficult to tell what we may be facing during my term, if I am elected. SAA and the archival profession face an increasingly complex and complicated world. However, I do care strongly about several issues, particularly in the areas of advocacy, career development, and diversity.

Advocacy is an essential goal for our Society—it is vital that we collaborate with other allied groups to increase our voice and participation in the public policy arena, but we need to also focus our efforts on the local, state and regional communities whom we serve. At the same time, however, I believe there are broader issues looming over our profession, which we would do well to acknowledge, discuss, and proactively confront. What role should SAA play in the careers of its members, whether they are beginning, mid-career, or heading to retirement? As a multi-generational organization, how can we best mentor and provide the resources we need to succeed? How do we define the cultural role of records--why and how and by whom they are created, and what do they reflect about our larger society? How does this relate to diversity, and to our profession as a whole? There are many questions we face, and I would like the opportunity to help SAA in answering them.

As to the second question—I have always had a streak of pragmatism, and as such, believe it is better to achieve some goals imperfectly, as opposed to delaying our efforts in the quest for perfection and achieving nothing. If elected, I will be calling on every individual and organizational SAA member to help me as we discover who we want to be as a Society in the 21st century. I would focus on how we communicate with each other and how important it is for us to truly listen and come to consensus in order to succeed as an organization. The Society is comprised of committed volunteers and staff, and remembering there are human beings on the other side of any issue is critical. As I have stated previously, if we prioritize our efforts and harness our many talents, we can succeed in not only making SAA better, but advancing our profession and consequently, improving the world as well.

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