SAA Election 2020

Fifteen candidates vying for three different offices are slated for SAA’s 2020 ballot (see box at right). The candidate elected Vice President will serve a one-year term beginning in August 2020 and then will become SAA’s 77th President in 2021–2022. There are three available seats on the Council; those elected will serve three-year terms beginning in August and running through the 2023 Annual Meeting. The three candidates elected to the 2021 Nominating Committee will serve one-year terms beginning immediately.

In the box at right, click on each candidate's name to read a brief bio along with their response to the questions (below) posed by this year's Nominating Committee.

Vice President/President-Elect
SAA is a consortium of diverse individuals and communities facing diverse concerns on the future of the profession in the 21st century. As President, what will be your key themes to ensure that SAA meets the needs of a changing community addressing a wide range of concerns and topics, including technology, diversity/equity/inclusion, labor equity, and climate change, while upholding SAA's Core Values?

Council
In the past, the SAA Council has had to face situations that challenge the strategic priorities and values of the organization. How would you balance the need to support members’ needs and the archival community with the financial needs of the organization?

Nominating Committee
The work of the Nominating Committee is critical to the success of SAA as an organization. Describe how you would identify and recruit potential candidates who represent a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and who demonstrate commitment to SAA’s Strategic Goals.

These questions were developed by SAA's 2020 Nominating Committee: Lae'l Hughes-Watkins (chair), Daria Labinsky, Joshua Youngblood, and Council members Steven Booth and Brenda Gunn.

Any eligible member of SAA may also be placed on the ballot by submitting a petition signed by fifty individual members. Petitions must be received at the SAA office in Chicago by February 10, 2020. A petition to add Kris Kiesling of the University of Minnesota to the slate of candidates to be considered for the position of Vice President/President-Elect was received by SAA on January 10.

The online ballot will be administered by Survey & Ballot Systems in March.

Please note the following:

• All full individual members, student members, and primary contacts of institutional members who are in good standing on February 15, 2020, will be eligible to vote in the 2020 Election. Members who join on or after February 16, 2020, will be eligible to vote in the 2021 Election. 
• Individual associate members are not eligible to vote.
• SAA staff will export and upload voter data to the online ballot system during the first week of March. Voters will be able to access their online ballot between March 2 and March 20, 2020, via their SAA username and a unique password included in the email notification.
• If you have any difficulty, please contact SAA staff at saahq@archivists.org or call us toll-free within the US at 866-722-7858 or 312-606-0722 for assistance.

SUGGEST CANDIDATES FOR 2021

It's never too early to submit names of prospective candidates for next year's election. Click here.