Dear fellow AMNESPers,
Happy April! I hope that you are soaking up the long-awaited sunshine outside even as I type this.
I have been remiss in writing to you about elections for our GSA; it's time for us to focus our energies upon next year's leadership and agenda. But first, a moment of congratulation and reflection. We've accomplished a lot together this year and I think we should note the following developments:
We established an officially recognized and approved graduate association at the university
We built a web presence for the GSA
We conducted monthly meetings to address matters relevant to the graduate community of AMNESP*
We assisted faculty in an external review process that confirmed our program's national profile and ranking
We maintained the success of the Americanist Forum
We revitalized the Learning the Ropes series
We began the process of creating a new AMNESP online journal
We founded a social action committee
We organized a conference that drew fellow graduate students from a range of institutions across the country
We established a place for a student representative on the AMNESP executive committee
We began the year dependent upon the Program for funding and now have $545 in our GSA account
We celebrated together through new social channels and events
Undoubtedly, there are projects and accomplishments that I have missed, but such is the way with such an ambitious group of people! Suffice it to say that we've done a good job and we have done it together. In that spirit, I am requesting nominations for the following positions on the GSA for next year:
President--see Casey for details/questions re: responsibilities
Vice President--see Niki
Secretary--see Jared
Treasurer--see Becky for details
GSO Liason--see Tessa, Rachel S, or Ian S
AMNESP Executive Committee Student Representative--see Niki
Preservation Coordinator--see Haley
Orientation/Welcoming Coordinators--see Adrea, Channon, Sam
Fundraising Chair--see Sarah
Americanist Forum Chair--see Kathleen or Rob
Social Chair--see Emma or Karen
Gretchen Pineo has graciously agreed to remain our webmistress unless or until someone in AMNESP would like to take that on.
Please send your nominations to me by this Friday, April 12th. I will contact all nominees this weekend to ensure their willingness to participate, and then we will hold elections next week. After the elections, I will send out an email about the final AMNESP GSA meeting for this semester.
Thank you all,
Casey
* Except for March, because holy cats running a conference takes up a lot of time. Sorry about that.