The Executive Committee of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) announced the appointment of Dr. Howard J. Silver as executive director effective this last July 1. Dr. Silver has been serving as acting director since the departure of Dr. David Jenness in January 1988.
Dr. Silver received his undergraduate degree from the City College of the City University of New York and in 1975 his PhD in political science from the Ohio State University. He went on to teach American government and public policy courses at several universities and colleges. Before joining COSSA he worked in various capacities including legislative and political research consultant, political campaign manager, and legislative analyst in the US Department of Education.
The Consortium of Social Science Organizations serves as an advocatory bridge between Washington and the social science research community. The AHA is a member of COSSA as are nine other major social science organizations.
Who says history doesn’t pay? Ballantine Books paid Oxford University Press a record $504,000 to buy the reprint rights for the book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, written by AHA member James A. MacPherson, Edwards Professor of American History at Princeton University. It is the second volume in the The Oxford History of the United States series under the general editorship of former AHA President C. Vann Woodward. Other record reprint sales include AHA member Jaroslav Pelikan’s book Jesus Through the Centuries, published by Yale University Press and sold to Harper & Row for $100,000.
Teaching Abroad, 4th ed., 1988, published by the Institute of International Education provides information on formal exchange programs, sources of employment, and other bits of information on finding a position overseas. The reference guide contains over 360 entries on 112 countries, organized by country and indexed by institution and educational level. Background data on salary level, hiring practices, and availability is also included. Write to IIE Books, Institute of International Education, 809 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild are available to assist foreign scholars in obtaining entry into the United States for purposes of meetings or speaking engagements. Both organizations are monitoring new legislation that prohibits the executive branch from denying visas to foreign visitors “because of any past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or association.” Please contact either Susan Benda, ACLU, (202) 544-1681 or Gail Pendleton, NLG, (617) 227-9727 if you are planning to invite or intend to invite a foreign scholar who may be affected by compliance to this new legislation.
The 1988 National History Day competition culminated on June 16 with the presentation of awards to nearly two hundred future historians representing forty-two states. Over 1,800 students from grades 6 through 12 took part in the national finals, each already having won at the state level earlier in the spring. During the three-and-a-half day competition, teams of historians and teachers carefully evaluated the students’ papers, projects, original performances, and media presentations, looking in particular at the quality of the research, attention to historical context, and significance of the topic to the 1988 theme, “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.” The judges selected 89 students for awards in junior and senior level competition. In addition, the World History Association, the As sociation for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, and other groups conferred 15 special awards, and an outstanding entry was recognized for each state. The AHA and the National Council for the Social Studies provided special recognition for the teachers of the winning students.
The theme for the tenth annual national contest in 1989, will be “The Individual in History.” For information on History Day contact Lois Scharf, Executive Director, National History, 11201 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106; 216/421-8803,
