Dear AHA Members:

I am writing to you in my capacity as the chair of the 1998 Nominating Committee to encourage you to recommend potential candidates for president-elect, Council, divisions, and committees. Before I was elected to the Nominating Committee two years ago, I assumed that the AHA, like other large organizations we belong to, was run by an efficient, but anonymous "them." After attending my first meeting of the committee, however, I found that it really is run by us, the members.

The members of the Nominating Committee want you to know that we welcome and seriously consider every recommendation we receive from the membership. The nominating process is open, and all of the names of candidates submitted by friends, colleagues, or by themselves are carefully assessed by the committee; no one has an inside track. Your participation is important because the committee has the charge of creating a slate of individuals who represent both professional excellence and the many different membership constituencies of the AHA. We aim for balance among the numerous areas—including fields of research, types of institutions, regions of the country, gender, race, career development, and expertise suited to the work of the committees and offices. The nine-member Nominating Committee cannot possibly have in-depth knowledge of every constituency, so please contact us if you notice an area that is underrepresented.

In making your nominations, keep in mind the following points as you consider the list of present officers and open positions.

1. All candidates for office must be members of the Association.
2. The committee rotates the nomination of the president-elect among specialists in the histories of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the United States, and the rest of the world. We ask your assistance this year in identifying candidates who specialize in U.S. history.
3. We normally seek candidates whose fields will not already be represented a specific committee when the new term begins. (See October Perspectives, 5-6, for list of current officers and fields.)
4. We normally seek candidates whose institutions will not already be represented on any of the committees when the new term begins. Therefore, potential candidates should not be currently employed at following institutions:

Brandeis Univ.; Brooklyn Coll., City Univ. of New York; Univ. of California at Berkeley; Univ. of California at Angeles; Univ. of California at San Diego; Univ. of Chicago; Chicago Historical Society; Columbia Univ.; Dartmouth Coll.; Drew Univ.; El Camino Coll.; Graduate Sch. and Univ. Center, City Univ. of New York; Kansas State Univ.; Marquette Univ.; Univ. of Minnesota; Univ. of New Mexico; New York Univ.; Newberry Library; Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Northwestern Univ.; Ohio State Univ.; Princeton Univ.; Rice Univ.; Saint Mary's Coll. of Maryland; Sandia Preparatory Sch.; Santa Clara Univ.; Smith Coll.; Univ. of Texas at EI Paso; Tufts Univ.; Univ. of Virginia; Coll. of William and Mary; Yale Univ.

It is important that we remain a strong responsive organization during this period when the historical profession is facing a multitude of complex issues such as a job market crisis, political criticism of exhibitions and curricula, attacks on tenure, and a movement for national standards for the teaching of history. You can help by forwarding your nominations for consideration by the Nominating Committee, along with a short c.v. (1-5 pages), to Sandria B. Freitag, Executive Director, AHA, 400 A St., Washington, DC 20003-3889.