Mountain West News
April 20, 2010
Membership continues to grow steadily in all six states of the region, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. I would like to remind members that if you are planning on attending the WHA conference in San Diego June 24 - 27, please come to the WHA Affilates' Roundtable from 1:00 - 2:30 and to the Mountain West Affiliate meeting immediately following the roundtable from 2:30 – 4:00 on Thursday, June 24.
I hope to see you in San Diego, and if not then, I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the first business meeting, which we should schedule for sometime in late November or early December, 2010.
At this meeting the three officers, president, vice-president, and secretary/treasurer must be elected, annual membership dues set, a constitution adopted, and a conference committee established. Mountain West will then be able to apply to the WHA for recognition as an official affiliate. A late November or early January meeting date will give us enough time to get the official request on the agenda for the January 7, 2011 WHA executive council meeting. WHA is looking forward to welcoming Mountain West as a new affiliate!
Chair, WHA Affiliates Committee
February 17, 2010
There are several compelling and exciting reasons for establishing Mountain West as an affiliate of the World History Association. First on the list is that until this time world historians in the states of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have not been represented by an affiliate. Colorado was served by Rocky Mountain History Association, but Mountain West now replaces that affiliate (and will now represent Colorado) primarily because it encompasses a much wider geographical area.
Mountain West will now draw world historians within its region into a community of scholars, and it is always a wonderful surprise to find that just down the road, so to speak, there is another fellow historian with whom to share ideas about teaching and research. A further benefit of geographical proximity to one another is that members will be able to establish and maintain an annual world history conference that could float from institution to institution throughout the region.
If you would like to join Mountain West and help to get it up and running, please submit the membership form. Of course there are no dues at this point, as these must be determined by the membership itself. This issue is one of many that will be discussed at at the initial business meeting to which all members will be invited. Also on the agenda for this meeting will be the election of three officers: president, vice-president, and secretary/treasurer, the adoption of a constitution, and the establishment of several essential committees, particularly a conference committee.
Once these tasks have been completed, Mountain West will then request recognition from the executive committee of the WHA as an official WHA affiliate. The executive committee meets twice annually: during the WHA conference, which is always held in late June, and during the AHA conference, which is always held in early January. Since June is fast approaching, it is probably not a good idea to try for that deadline; however, the January deadline seems perfect, as this will give ample opportunity to build membership and to start establishing a regional network of world historians and teachers, and later on this year the affiliate could then start thinking about establishing a time and place for that initial meeting that would accommodate the most members.
WHA support and resources for this endeavor will be provided by Marc Gilbert, our new WHA vice-president, by Winston Welch, WHA executive director, and by me, Marc's assistant. Our goal is to help make Mountain West a great home for World Historians throughout its six state region. Incidentally, the formation of Mountain West means that WHA has achieved a long-standing goal of having all fifty states represented by an affiliate.
It is also an exciting time for the region because the 2012 Annual WHA Conference will by in Albuquerque, New Mexico, providing excellent meeting and conference opportunities for all Mountain West world historians. See the Albuquerque 2012 link for further information.
Please e-mail me with your questions, comments, and concerns regarding Mountain West.