The Alliance of Digital Humanities (ADHO) is looking for enthusiastic Digital Humanists who would like to actively help further DH in all its breadth and diversity on a global scale. The ADHO Steering Committee (SC) has several vacancies to be filled, starting August 8, 2017, until July 1st 2018 (when the governance structure of ADHO will change). Extensions of service in some comparable roles after July 1, 2018, may be considered.
If you’re interested in helping ADHO and the worldwide DH community become a more transparent, inclusive, and beneficial network for the many organizations and individuals that make up the ADHO community, then please consider becoming a candidate for one of these volunteer offices. Current and former office-holders are available to answer your questions and to help orient you to the work involved. Please address your questions to web@digitalhumanities.org, and your question will be forwarded to the relevant office-holder(s).
If you or someone you know would be perfect for one of these roles, you are kindly invited to make a nomination to one of ADHO’s seven Constituent Organizations (all of which are listed, with contact information, at https://adho.org/) – preferably having already asked permission from the person you have in mind. Please send your nomination to web@digitalhumanities.org, stating your organization membership, and your nomination will be forwarded to the relevant Constituent Organization.
The deadline for stating your interest in such a role, or for nominating someone else, is August 1, 2017. A short summary of your expertise and brief statement of your motivation will be helpful as well. The Steering Committee will gather all nominations for discussion and selection (by vote) during its annual meeting on Tuesday, August 8, 2017.
The vacancies are as follows:
- two Steering Committee Secretaries;
- a Deputy Treasurer;
- Chair of the Awards Committee;
- Chair of the Publications Committee;
- Membership Coordinator;
- Communications Officer.
More details for each of these follow below.
Secretaries
Overview: The Secretaries work closely with the Steering Committee Chair, with the Steering Committee as a whole, and occasionally with various officers of the Constituent Organizations, to organize, record, and communicate ADHO governance meetings, documents, decisions, and action items. They also serve as record keepers, holders of institutional memory, and reference sources for ADHO policy, decisions, and custom.
Purpose: To prepare and maintain the official documents of ADHO, and to serve as authority on past actions, on policy and custom.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Responsibilities:
- To provide notices of meeting times and places, and requests contributions of items for the agenda.
- In consultation with the Chair, to prepare agendas for meetings; these agendas, along with any supporting documentation, are distributed by the Secretary to the SC members in advance of the meetings.
- To record the minutes of all meetings, making sure that all actions are duly noted and distributed in a timely fashion. Immediately after meetings, the Secretary prepares a summary of their actions and deadlines that is distributed to all committee members.
- To maintain and monitor a calendar of important dates, which includes times and terms of service, and action-item reminders.
- To maintain the records of the Alliance, and oversee their distribution via means the Committee feels are warranted.
(Deputy) Treasurer
Overview: The Treasurer (and Deputy) is the financial manager for both ADHO and the ADHO Foundation (ADHO’s legal entity, based in the Netherlands). The Treasurer keeps track of and reports on the budget, and advises the SC about financial decisions. The Deputy Treasurer assists the Treasurer as needed, and fills in if the Treasurer is unavailable.
Purpose: To manage the financial assets of ADHO and to advise the ADHO Steering Committee (SC) on the financial implications of its decisions.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Responsibilities:
- Reporting on the ADHO budget (both to SC at annual and midterm meetings, and to governmental institutions as required)
- Financial management (monitoring ADHO accounts and transactions)
- Analysis and research (comparing planned and actual budget figures; preparing annual budget in consultation with the SC; etc.)
- Meetings and communication (presence at all annual and mid-year ADHO business meetings, and active discussion via email)
- To serve as Treasurer for the ADHO Foundation
Awards Committee Chair
Overview: The Awards Committee Chair coordinates the Awards Committee to administer all of ADHO’s prizes, including its triennial prizes: the Busa Prize (for lifetime achievement in DH) and the Zampolli Prize (for a noteworthy achievement in DH); as well as its annual student and young scholar prizes: the Lisa Lena Opas-Hänninen Young Scholar Prize, the Fortier Student Prize, and the DH Conference Travel Bursaries.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Purpose: The Awards Committee furthers the inclusivity and visibility of the Digital Humanities, and honors members of the DH community, by presenting several prizes for which a substantial budget is reserved.
Responsibilities:
- To organize the nomination and selection for the ADHO awards by the members of the Awards Committee
- To keep under review the protocols for each ADHO award, and to propose changes from time to time as appropriate
- To ensure appropriate publication of the papers prepared and delivered by award recipients
- To consult with the ADHO Steering Committee on important strategic, operational, and management issues — including the planning and operation of the awards processes
- To report regularly to the ADHO Steering Committee
- To consider possible new awards or related ways to encourage new forms of activity in the digital humanities, e.g. encouraging participation by new scholarly communities.
Publications Committee Chair
Overview: This officer chairs the Standing Committee on Publications, comprised of the Editors or representatives of each of the ADHO publications and Constituent Organizations.
Purpose: To facilitate discussions and activities of mutual benefit to all the ADHO publications, and to liaise between them and the ADHO Steering Committee.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Responsibilities:
- To liaise with the Editors and Representatives of all the ADHO publications, which currently include:
- Digital Scholarship in the Humanities (DSH)
- The Digital Humanities Quarterly (DHQ)
- Digital Studies / Le champ numérique
- DH Commons
- Humanités numériques
- The Journal of the Text Encoding Initiative
- Computers in the Humanities Working Papers
- Text Technology
- To facilitate discussion and activity in areas of common interest
- To report regularly to the ADHO Steering Committee
Membership Coordinator
Overview: The Membership Coordinator maintains and troubleshoots the membership process for the many organizations in the ADHO family, and keeps them running smoothly. S/he provides the connection among Constituent Organization membership coordinators and Oxford University Press (through which memberships are currently managed).
Purpose: To serve as a liaison between the Constituent Organizations, their members, and OUP. Each association has a membership coordinator of its own, so the ADHO membership coordinator is a sort of meta-role.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Responsibilities:
- To work with OUP to identify and address problems with the ADHO Constituent Organization membership mechanisms
- To serve as advocate on behalf of the membership in addressing any issues with individual subscriptions, etc.
- To ensure that the membership information on the association websites is clear and up-to-date
- To help promote membership in ADHO Constituent Organization, and to coordinate membership recruitment efforts across them
- To ensure that sample issues of DSH, ADHO’s flagship journal and publicity materials, are sent to relevant conferences, workshops, etc.
- To report regularly to the ADHO Steering Committee
Communications Officer
Overview: The Communications Officer manages ADHO’s various public communications platforms and initiatives. They coordinate ADHO’s Communications Fellowship program and collaborate with the fellows and ADHO’s web developer to create and deliver content regarding ADHO business and the annual Digital Humanities conference. They also facilitate ADHO’s participation in public communications via social media.
Purpose: The Communications Officer is responsible for overseeing the development and effectiveness of ADHO’s public presence. This position involves editorial oversight of the ADHO website, working closely with the ADHO webmaster.
Term: 1 year (until the governance change on July 1, 2018). At the end of the term a comparable role in the new governance structure may be considered.
Responsibilities:
- To work closely with the ADHO webmaster to ensure that information about ADHO news and publicity are made visible on the ADHO web space in a timely way
- To oversee ADHO’s visibility on social media, e.g. via Twitter and Facebook
- To coordinate the development of ADHO’s public image
- To develop active strategies for strong communication between ADHO and the larger DH world, and for increasing the visibility of all of ADHO’s publications
- To work closely and actively with the various committee chairs to ensure coordinated communication about ADHO activities taking place within their committees
- To take initiative in developing opportunities for public statements (e.g. press releases, etc.) about ADHO activities
- In coordination with Publications Committee, to deputize individuals as appropriate to undertake specific communications projects
- To report regularly to the ADHO Steering Committee