October 10, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Oral History Association [OHA] is pleased to announce that Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History will be the association’s new home, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Stephen Sloan, the Director of the Institute, and associate Professor of History, will serve as the new OHA Executive Director. Steven Sielaff, the Institute’s editor and collection’s manager will serve as the OHA Assistant Director.
Baylor’s Institute for Oral History is a leader in the field and has been recording and archiving oral histories for more than 50 years. It is known for fostering oral history practice through its many workshops and for creating a widely used oral history style guide, among other accomplishments, such as hosting the Texas Oral History Association. “After five successful years at Middle Tennessee State University, we’re looking forward to our new partnership with Baylor, which has one of the premier oral history programs in the country,” said OHA President Amy Starecheski.
Under the new partnership, the Institute for Oral History will provide office space, release time for executive director Sloan and assistant director Sielaff, as well as additional program support. The Oral History Association will hire a full-time program associate to support the organization’s work. “The Oral History Association has long been the nexus of my professional life, the place where both my passions and practice have been honed and energized. I am grateful for the community and guidance that OHA and its membership has provided me in so many profound ways, and I relish the opportunity to facilitate that for other oral historians,” said Sloan. Sielaff added, “I am honored to be appointed assistant director, and I am excited to be able to provide this additional level of service to OHA and all oral historians as we venture further into the technological marvel that is the twenty-first century.”
Since 2018, the OHA has been headquartered at the Albert Gore Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University, where Professors Kristine McCusker and Louis M. Kyriakoudes have served as co-executive directors. “We have navigated the OHA successfully through the COVID-19 pandemic, won important grant initiatives from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and are handing over to Baylor a healthy organization. It has been an honor to serve the Oral History Association and the field of oral history,” said Kyriakoudes.
Outgoing OHA co-executive director Kris McCusker and program associate Faith Bagley will oversee the transition of OHA operations to its new home at Baylor. “These five years have gone by so quickly, and I’m looking forward to Prof. Sloan and his outstanding team continuing to foster OHA’s growth and service to oral historians,” said McCusker.
For more information contact:
Louis M. Kyriakoudes,
Co-Executive Director, Oral History Association,
Louis.Kyriakoudes@mtsu.edu / 615-898-2633
