To the Members of the Medieval Academy,
Voting in the Medieval Academy governance election is one of the most important means that members have to impact both the Academy and the future of medieval studies in North America. I am very pleased to announce the names of the Medieval Academy members who have generously agreed to stand for election to office in 2020:
President: Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski (French, Emerita Univ. of Pittsburgh)
1st-VP: Thomas E. A. Dale (Art History, Univ. of Wisconsin)
2nd-VP: Maureen Miller (History, Univ. of California, Berkeley)
Councillors (four seats available, three-year term):
Lisa Bitel (Religion, University of Southern California)
Travis Bruce (History (Mediterranean Studies), McGill University)
William Caferro (History, Vanderbilt Univ.)
Seeta Chaganti (English, Univ. of California, Davis)
Elina Gertsman (Art History, Case Western Reserve Univ.)
Geraldine Heng (English & Comparative Literature, Univ. of Texas at Austin)
Luisa Nardini (Musicology, Univ. of Texas at Austin)
Alison Perchuk (Art History, California State Univ. Channel Islands)
Sebastian Sobecki (English, University of Groningen)
Nominating Committee (two seats available, three-year term):
Alison Beach (History, The Ohio State University)
Matthew Desing (Spanish, Univ. of Texas, El Paso)
Andrew Rabin (English, Univ. of Louisville)
Cord Whitaker (English, Wellesley College)
Click here for more information about these candidates.
The election will be conducted in accordance with our By-Laws. The Nominating Committee is charged with nominating eight candidates for the four positions on the Council, balancing racial, gender, geographic, professional, and specialization diversity while also considering the same facets of the incumbents. A ninth candidate has been nominated by petition (see below). There are four candidates for two openings on the Nominating Committee, tasked with proposing candidates for the annual Council and Officers’ election. As is our practice, the slate of three Presidential Officers is presented unopposed (this will change next year).
Additional nominations by petition may be made as follows, in accordance with article 26 of the By-Laws:
Nominations of other members of the Academy for elected officers, Councillors, or members of the Nominating Committee may be made by written petition signed by at least seven members of the Academy. A nomination by petition may be for a single office, several offices, or an entire slate. Such petitions must be received by the Executive Director within twenty days of the circulation of the report of the Nominating Committee (article 25), unless the Council extends the period for making nominations by petition.
As the slate of candidates is being announced on 25 September, the closing date for nomination by petition has been set at 11:59 PM, 14 October 2019. Additional information about the governance of the Academy can be found on our FAQ page:
http://medievalacademy.site-ym.com/page/FAQ
In addition to biographical information, each candidate has submitted a statement detailing their vision for the Academy and their reasons for wanting to participate in its governance. It is our hope that these statements will assist members in making informed choices about the governance of the Medieval Academy. These statements are online here:
https://www.medievalacademy.org/page/2020Ballot
As you consider these candidates, you may wish to take into account the demographics and specializations of the incumbents:
Council:
2018-2021:
Ray Clemens (Manuscript Studies, Beinecke Library, Yale Univ.)
Valerie Garver (History, Northern Illinois Univ.-DeKalb)
Lucy Pick (Religion, Univ. of Chicago)
Kathryn Smith (Art History, New York Univ.)
2019-2022:
Lynda Coon (History, Univ. of Arkansas)
Hussein Fancy (History, Univ. of Michigan)
Fiona Griffiths (History, Stanford Univ.)
Anne Latowsky (French/Latin, Univ. of South Florida)
Nominating Committee (2019-2020):
Sean Field (History, Univ. of Vermont) (Chair)
Jessica Goldberg (History, Univ. of California, Los Angeles)
Sif Rikhardsdottir (Comparative Literature, Univ. of Iceland)
My thanks to the Nominating Committee for their careful and thoughtful work in establishing the slate of Council candidates: Nicholas Watson (Chair), Robin Fleming, Jessica Goldberg, Sif Ríkharðsdóttir, and Catherine Saucier. My thanks as well to President Ruth Mazo Karras for proposing the slate of Nominating Committee candidates.
Electronic balloting will open on 16 October. If you would prefer to receive a paper ballot and have not received one in the past, please contact me.
Please vote and let your voice be heard. I look forward to your participation in the election of the leadership of the Medieval Academy of America.
– Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director
