Three oral historians within a stone’s throw of each other—if you could throw a stone 100 miles—bring an array of disparate experiences to their new posts as editorial team members for the Oral History Review.
David Caruso of the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia is the new OHR editor, Abigail Perkiss of Kean University in Union, New Jersey, is the new managing editor, and Janneken Smucker of Philadelphia’s West Chester University will take on the new position of digital editor.
The new editorial team, which will begin its duties in January 2018 replaces Editor Kathy Nasstrom and Managing Editor Troy Reeves, who developed the multi-editor leadership model for the OHR, enabling it to respond more nimbly to changes in academic publishing.
Caruso brings his experience as OHR Book Review editor and as director of the Center for Oral History at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Perkiss, a history faculty member at Kean University, brings her experience as OHR pedagogy editor. Smucker, also a history faculty member at West Chester, assumes the new position of digital editor, bringing her background in developing innovative digital projects. The new position reinforces the OHR’s commitment to digital engagement with oral history content.
Independent scholar Nancy MacKay will be the new book review editor, and a search is still underway for a new pedagogy editor.
In their six years heading the OHR editorial team, Nasstrom and Reeves expanded the Review’s content, including addition of an annual pedagogy section and inclusion of online multimedia content. They created a social media presence for the Review, and in a unique first, they published a virtual issue to celebrate the Oral History Association’s 50th anniversary.
Members of the search committee for the new editorial team included: Susan McCormick, SUNY-Albany; Martha Norkunas, Middle Tennessee State University; Seth Kotch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Nasstrom, who served as an adviser.
