Dear AAA Members,

The AAA Nominations Committee is seeking nominations for the open positions on the 2009 AAA ballot. AAA members can volunteer themselves as nominees, or nominate valued colleagues (after checking with the colleagues to insure that they are available to serve, if elected). We encourage both approaches. Nominating a colleague requires getting that colleague's cv and member ID number, please note.

Whether you are volunteering yourself as a nominee, or nominating a colleague, the AAA website provides the information and forms you will need. This year there will be elections for President-Elect, Secretary and four positions on the Executive Board and two on the Nominations Committee, as well as for twelve other positions on AAA committees. (For a complete list of the open positions, click here; for a description of AAA leadership positions, click here). All nominations must be completed by October 1, 2008.

The Nominations Committee, which is itself elected by the AAA membership, is charged with formulating a slate with two candidates for each open position. This slate is then presented to the Executive Board for final approval. The one exception to this procedure is for the positions on the Nominations Committee itself. In this case, it is left to the Executive Board to establish the slate. This is done to keep the Nominations Committee from controlling its own social reproduction, in the service of the larger goal of making AAA governance as open as possible to the entire membership (rather than its being controlled by any narrow network of colleagues).

The best way for someone to be selected as a candidate for an open position, and to have the opportunity to gain experience in AAA governance, is for that person to indicate a willingness to be considered for several different possible openings. The Nominations Committee always seeks to bring into AAA governance members who have not previously participated, and the AAA committees (other than the Executive Board and the Nominations Committee) provide good opportunities for this.

The Nominations Committee has a membership that draws on the myriad subfields of our complex discipline. Before its meeting, the Committee receives a large packet of materials containing the information provided by nominators and nominees. This provides the data core for the Nomination Committee’s decisions. Of course, given the Committee members' diversity in background, disciplinary interests, institutional affiliations, and so on, their professional knowledge of nominees also is shared within the Committee, as decisions are made and the slate is put together. Because we generally have more suggested nominees than positions on the slate, expressing interest and submitting information does not guarantee that a member will become a candidate for an open position. Historically, the Nominations Committee has particularly valued the participation  of Sections in the nominations process, as a way of bringing colleagues with Section experience into the AAA governance.

Among scientific and scholarly associations, the AAA is unusual in having such an extensive system of elected committees and offices. For this degree of participatory self-governance to work well requires that AAA members be willing to stand as candidates and give generously of their time and energies, if elected. As Chair of the Nominations Committee I thank you for your participation in this democratic process.

If you have questions or need assistance with the nominations process please contact Kim Baker, who is the AAA staff professional who supports the Nominations Committee.

Most sincerely,

Daniel A. Segal
AAA Secretary and Chair, Nominations Committee