The Oral History Association announces a search for the next editor/editorial team and editorial offices/institutional home for its journal, The Oral History Review, published for the Association by Oxford University Press. The search committee welcomes applications from individuals and institutions who might envision a variety of editorial models: single editor, editor and managing editor, a group of co-editors, or other configurations. The new editor(s) will take office on January 1, 2018.
The current editorial team led by Kathy Nasstrom, editor, and Troy Reeves, managing editor, is successfully completing its second three-year term of service, thus bringing the OHR to a normal rotation point for the editor(s) and editorial offices. The moment is also a particularly auspicious one. Kathy and Troy have further developed the journal’s relationship with Oxford, expanded the print content with an annual section on pedagogy, brought online multimedia content to the journal, initiated a visible social media presence for the OHR, and published an inaugural virtual issue celebrating the Oral History Association’s 50th anniversary. The OHR continues to grapple with the challenges and opportunities presented by the changing nature of journal publication and the unique content of oral history, thereby positioning the next editor(s) of the OHR to further consider these questions, including the multimedia potential particularly germane to an oral history journal. With the OHR in very healthy shape thanks to Kathy and Troy’s leadership, the Oral History Association now seeks editor(s) and editorial operations to continue to build on this base, and to work with our publisher and our diverse community to imagine and realize an Oral History Review that represents the wide-range of oral history practice.
Selection will be based on the editorial capacities and vision of candidates, but also on the institutional commitment for the editorial office(s). This necessarily requires a mix of support both from OHA and from the home institutions or organizations of the editor(s). The search will proceed in phases, on the following schedule:
- We first invite a statement of interest from potential candidates for editor(s), indicating the basis of interest, the vision for the future of the journal, and the capability of the home institution(s) or program(s) to serve as a base for the journal’s editorial offices. The statement should be sent to the Search Committee Chair as soon as possible, but in no case later than November 28, 2016.
- For candidacies deemed viable, the Search Committee will invite more detailed proposals. OHA will provide job descriptions, information from the publisher, and other relevant data. The top three candidates will be asked to develop a more detailed vision for the OHR, a prospectus for how their editorial office(s) would be organized and operate, and detailed descriptions of what would be provided by the home institution(s), and what would be required from OHA. Invitations for full proposals will be extended by December 1, 2016, with submission expected by mid-January. During this phase, the search committee and others will be available to provide additional information, as needed, to support preparation of a fully realized proposal.
- From late January through mid-February 2017, the Search Committee will pursue detailed interviews, discussions, and negotiations with the candidates/teams submitting full proposals. We will present our recommendations for approval by the Oral History Association Council in early March 2017.
- Before the new editor(s) assume full responsibility for the OHR on January 1, 2018, the editor(s)-designate will have the opportunity to work informally with the current editorial team and Oxford University Press during a transition period from July 2017 to December 31, 2017, or earlier if desired, to become familiar with the editorial/production processes and office operations. Additional transition details and options will be discussed more fully with candidates invited to submit a full proposal—including options for setting up the function of the office(s), assumption of peer review for future issues, staffing for section editors and other staff, and finalizing the last OHR issue produced by the current editorial team, due at the publisher in January, 2018, which the outgoing editors will deliver and see through production.
Oral History Association OHR Search Committee
The search committee consists of the following individuals, any of whom can be contacted for additional information and informal explorations; all formal correspondence and statements should be directed to the committee Chair. We’ll be at the annual meeting. If you are in Long Beach and would like more information or to discuss informally, let us know (contact Susan McCormick, below).
Chair:
Susan McCormick
University at Albany, SUNY, smccormick@albany.edu (518) 442-5431
OHR Editorial Board, 2010 to present
Members:
Seth Kotch
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill sethkotch@unc.edu
Martha Norkunas
Middle Tennessee State University, Martha.Norkunas@mtsu.edu
Ex Officio:
Kathy Nasstrom
University of San Francisco, nasstromk@usfca.edu
Editor, The Oral History Review
