Public History News

March Newsletter is Here

Public History News this month includes a preview of the new NCPH blog, “History@Work,” one of the blogs first posts (on consulting), an overview of the Milwaukee annual meeting, the Treasurer’s Report, and more. Members’ print copies will arrive in a couple of weeks. http://ncph.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/Newsletter-2012-March.pdf

Long Range Plan 
We would value hearing what members and other friends of the organization think of the draft Long Range Plan for NCPH. See it in the March newsletter or at http://ncph.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/NCPH-LONG-RANGE-PLAN-DRAFT-4.5.pdf.  Please send comments by March 31.
Conference Hotels MilwaukeeSpecial OAH/NCPH meeting-only rates are available at two downtown hotels, the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee. Both hotels are connected to the Frontier Airlines Center, where the Exhibit Hall and the majority of the convention sessions are scheduled. Most meals and receptions will be held in the Hilton, which is a classic art deco hotel built in 1927.  Staying at the conference hotels is convenient and provides a great opportunity for additional networking. Both hotels are located in the center of downtown with easy access to entertainment, dining, and art and history museums.  http://ncph.org/cms/conferences/2012-annual-meeting-3/

Full Conference Program
A PDF of the full Program for the joint NCPH/OAH Annual Meeting is at http://annualmeeting.oah.org/library/2012program.pdf.
 
Workshops for Professional Development
When registering for Milwaukee, how about signing up for some direct professional development?  Among this year’s several offerings are “Preparing NH Landmark Nominations”, “Tenure and Promotion for the Publicly Engaged Historian,” an “Oral History Workshop,” and the “THATCamp NCPH” digital history unconference.

International Federation - Election Results
The following have been elected to serve on the Steering Committee of the International Federation for Public History:

Chair, Serge Noiret, European University Institute, Italy

Vice-Chair, Jean-Pierre Morin, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada

Treasurer, Michael Devine, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, United States

Secretary, Arnita Jones, Executive Director Emerita of the American Historical Association

Delegate, Anna Adamek, Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Canada

Delegate, Andreas Etges, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Congratulations to those elected, and thank you to all who participated as candidates!  If you would like more information about the IFPH or would like to join, visit http://ncph.org/cms/international-federation-for-public-history/.

Jobs 
Searching for or posting a public history job or internship on the NCPH website is free!  http://ncph.org/cms/careers-training/

www.ncph.org
    Putting history to work in the world

Volunteers Needed for Speed Networking at NCPH 2012

The Curriculum and Training Committee is excited to host the speed 
networking session at the NCPH’s annual meeting in Milwaukee, April
18-22, 2012.  The session will take place Thursday, April 19, from
3:30 to 5:30 pm.
 
We have a great group of professionals who have agreed to participate
this year, representing a broad spectrum of careers in public history.

But we still need a few more volunteers.
 
If you will be attending the conference and are a public history
practitioner interested in meeting with students
and new professionals at this event, please consider participating in
the speed networking session.  If you would like to participate,
please reply off-list directly to Cherstin Lyon at clyon@csusb.edu.
Send a one-paragraph description of your current position and your
previous experience in public history.  We will do our best to include
all qualified volunteers in this year's session, but if you would like
to be included in our on-site program, we will need to hear from you
no later than Friday, February 10.
 
Speed networking has been a highly successful event at NCPH meetings
over the past few years.  It connects established public historians
(such as yourself) with graduate students and new professionals in a
fast-paced, fun, and low-stress environment.  The idea is to get
people talking to one another and to spark further networking
discussions throughout the conference.
 
If you are selected to participate, you would be part of a group of
thirty established public historians—from the Milwaukee area and
across the nation—who would have brief conversations with two
conference attendees at a time for five minutes each over the course
of about an hour and a half (the session lasts a total of two hours).
During these conversations you will be sharing your experiences
working in a public-history related career in a relaxed and informal
setting and answering questions posed by the "rotating" pairs.
 
If you have questions about the NCPH or this year's program, held
jointly with the Organization of American Historians (OAH), please
feel free to browse our website and the conference program.
http://ncph.org
 
Even if you are not able to join us for this session, we hope that you
will join us for part or all of the conference.
 
Sincerely,
Cherstin Lyon, NCPH Curriculum and Training Committee Chair
 
Dr. Cherstin M. Lyon
Assistant Professor of History
Public and Oral History Program Coordinator
California State University, San Bernardino
5500 University Parkway
San Bernardino, CA  92407
(909) 537-3836
Fax (909) 537-7645

Call for Submissions: Computer History Museum Prize

The Computer History Museum Prize is awarded to the author of an outstanding book in the history of computing broadly conceived, published during the prior three years. The prize of $1,000 is awarded by SIGCIS, the Special Interest Group for Computers, Information and Society. SIGCIS is part of the Society for the History of Technology. 

In 2012 the prize was endowed in perpetuity through a generous bequest for the estate of Paul Baran, an innovator and entrepreneur best known for his work on packet switching and networks. Baran was a longtime supporter of the history of information technology and the prize celebrates the contributions of the Computer History Museum to that field. 

2012 Call for Submissions

Books published in 2009-2011 are eligible for the 2012 award. Books in translation are eligible for three years following the date of their publication in English. Publishers, authors, and other interested members of the computer history community are invited to nominate books. Send one copy of the nominated title to each of the committee members listed below. To be considered, book submissions must be postmarked by 15 April 2012. 

For more information, please contact the prize committee chair, Prof. Jonathan Coopersmith (j-coopersmith@neo.tamu.edu). 

Current information about the prize, including the most recent call and a list of previous winners, can be found at http://www.sigcis.org/chmprize. 

2012 Prize Committee Members

Jonathan Coopersmith (Chair): Associate Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4326 j-coopersmith@neo.tamu.edu 

Pierre Mounier-Kuhn: CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne 28 rue Serpente, 75006 Paris, France mounier@msh-paris.fr 

Rebecca Slayton: Visiting Assistant Professor, History of Science and Technology Program, University of Minnesota, 108 Pillsbury Hall, 310 Pillsbury Drive Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55455 rslayton@umn.edu

Public History News

NCPH Election Results 
Their terms start on April 22, but join us in welcoming Patrick Moore to the position of Vice President/President-Elect, Dee Harris, Mary Rizzo, and Jennifer Ross-Nazzal to the Board of Directors, and Sheila Brennan and Joan Zenzen to the Nominating Committee.

Journal Transition
For nearly three years, NCPH and the History Department at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) have been in ongoing negotiations about the future of the editorial offices of the journal, The Public Historian.  TPH was founded at UCSB in 1978 and has been edited there ever since.  It is published by the University of California Press for UCSB and the NCPH.  NCPH has a publishing contract with UC Press and UCSB, as well as a separate contract with UCSB for housing the editorial office.  The NCPH leadership is in ongoing negotiations with all parties.  At the same time, NCPH has been discussing with other institutions the possibility of moving the journal or starting a new publication.  The process is complicated, and all involved are working hard to achieve a resolution that has the best interests of the public history field at heart.  When we know more, we will share the news.
 

Annual Meeting--Milwaukee 
In our joint meeting with the Organization of American Historians this April 18-22, there will be far more opportunities for members of each group than either the OAH or NCPH could ever provide on its own.  Take advantage of two major conferences in one! 

“Public History Commons”
NCPH meetings typically are 500-600 people; OAH meetings are 1800-2200.  To help preserve some of the advantages of the casual scale of an NCPH conference, we will be creating a central meeting spot called the “Public History Commons.”  (Learn more about it on p. 16 of the Program.)  Located in the front of the exhibit hall and adjacent to the registration area, the Commons is a lounge space open to public historians as an informal or formal venue to gather with friends, colleagues, project teams, fellow panelists, or committees.  This is the place to be!

Program in Print and Online 
A PDF of the full conference Program is at http://annualmeeting.oah.org/library/2012program.pdf .  Members of both organizations received paper copies by mail in January.

Interested in Consulting Issues?
- “Valuing and Pricing the Work of Historical Consultants” – Thurs., 4/19
- “A Different Kind of History: Historians In The Legal Arena” – Fri., 4/20
- “How Much Is a Piece of the "True Road" Worth?  Evaluating Historic Roadway and Preservation Value” – Sat., 4/21
- NCPH Consultants Reception – Sat., 4/21
 

It’s Not Too Late to Sponsor an Event, Exhibit, or Advertise
Learn more about marketing in Milwaukee at http://ncph.org/cms/conferences/2012-annual-meeting-3/.

Students and New Professionals 
-Volunteers are needed to assist with registration, exhibit hall, and special events.  Receive a free conference registration for working a four-hour shift.  Members of NCPH or OAH should apply by February 5.  Learn more at  http://ncph.org/cms/conferences/2012-annual-meeting-3/.
-Mentoring and the fast paced Speed Networking are two programs NCPH has developed to make your early conference experiences highly rewarding.  Learn more at http://ncph.org/cms/conferences/2012-annual-meeting-3/.
- Frequently Asked Questions are answered by the NCPH New Professional and Grad Student Committee at http://ncph.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/FAQ-2012-NCPH-Annual-Conference.pdf.

Workshops for Professional Development 
When registering for Milwaukee, how about signing up for some direct professional development?  Among this year’s several offerings are “Preparing NH Landmark Nominations…”, “Tenure and Promotion for the Publicly Engaged Historian,” and an “Oral History Workshop.”  (See p. 29 of the Program.)
 

Community Service Project – Milwaukee’s Turner Hall 
As a “thank you” to our host city, the Local Resources Committee has arranged an afternoon tour and work session at the 1882 German-American Turner Hall.  It’s a National Landmark and on the National Register, and it could use up to 20 pairs of willing hands for cleaning, organizing, and painting.  (See p. 16 of the Program or email us at ncph@iupui.edu to sign up.)

www.ncph.org
    Putting history to work in the world