Each year, the existing members of the HOTCUS steering committee stand down. The vacant positions are then subject to a new nomination and – if necessary, election – process.

All HOTCUS members are eligible to nominate themselves for all positions on the committee. Their nomination application form must be seconded by another HOTCUS member, and submitted to the committee secretary, Miguel Hernandez ([email protected]), by 5:00pm, Monday 29 May 2023. Where ballots are required, they will take place online in early June. The new committee will then be announced during the HOTCUS annual conference.

Nomination forms are available here.

The eight committee positions are:

  • Chair (1-year term)
  • Vice-Chair (1-year term)
  • Committee Secretary (1-year term)
  • Treasurer (1-year term)
  • Membership Secretary (1-year term)
  • Events Secretary (1-year term)
  • Early Career Secretary (1-year term)
  • Postgraduate Secretaries x2 (2-year terms for those currently registered as PhD students)

This year we are particularly encouraging nominations for:

  • Vice Chair
    Membership Secretary
  • One Postgraduate Secretary

Bios of the current committee are available here and descriptions of the responsibilities of each committee position can be found below. As well as completing their duties, committee members are expected to participate in 4 committee meetings per year (usually via Zoom), and to help judge the annual HOTCUS prizes.

Travel expenses are paid for the Postgraduate Secretaries and the Early Career Secretary, but not for the other committee members.

HOTCUS is dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusion and equality in our organizational structure. We seek to develop an intellectual and organizational environment built on the premise of equity in terms of gender, age, race, sexuality, disability, career stage, and employment status. All committee members are expected to communicate a commitment to equality and diversity that encourages and supports HOTCUS’s continued efforts to diversify its work and membership.

Details of the various roles can be found below. If you have any questions about the roles or the nomination and election process, please contact Miguel Hernandez at the address above.

HOTCUS STEERING COMMITTEE: Descriptions of Responsibilities

CHAIR

The responsibilities of the chair are to: 

  • chair the meetings of the executive committee;
  • represent HOTCUS in the broader academic community and act as a link with other organizations, especially BAAS;
  • help to raise the profile of HOTCUS in the community of US historians both in the UK, US and continental Europe;
  • play a part in enhancing HOTCUS membership;
  • arrange the HOTCUS plenary lecture, gain funding for the lecturer’s travel and other expenses, and chair the plenary lecture at the annual conference;
  • generally undertake activities that the steering committee deems important to benefit HOTCUS.

VICE-CHAIR
The responsibilities of the vice-chair are to:

  • act as Chair pro tempore of committee meetings as required;
  • take responsibility for organising the Winter Symposium or appointing an organiser outside the committee and then acting a liaison between the organiser and the committee;
  • take on organisational responsibilities not specifically assigned to a specific committee member as required;
  • act as secondary signatory for HOTCUS financial accounts.

COMMITTEE SECRETARY
The responsibilities of the committee secretary are to:

  • arrange dates, times and venues for committee meetings;
  • draft meeting agendas and take minutes (including AGM);
  • monitor the planning calendar to ensure key decisions are made in a timely fashion;
  • manage annual committee elections;
  • serve as HOTCUS webmaster.

TREASURER

The responsibilities of the treasurer are to:

  • manage the HOTCUS bank and building society accounts;
  • process membership payments and registration forms, keeping a record of monies received;
  • liaise with the membership secretary to ensure records are kept up-to-date;
  • administer the PayPal account (in liaison with HOTCUS webmaster), acknowledging receipt of PayPal payments and transferring funds from the PayPal account to the HOTCUS bank account on a regular basis;
  • receive, record and keep track of conference payments in years when such payments are made direct to HOTCUS rather than to the conference hosts, transferring funds to the host as appropriate (in liaison with events secretary);
  • advise the HOTCUS steering committee on the financial implications of the organization’s activities and strategic planning
  • present an annual financial report at the HOTCUS AGM.

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

The responsibilities of the membership secretary are to:

  • maintain membership list
  • record and acknowledge payments of membership dues;
  • maintain electronic mailing list;
  • coordination of HOTCUS awards programme;
  • mail out relevant messages on electronic mailing list;
  • reply to member requests for information and related correspondence;
  • report to the Steering Committee and to the AGM on membership issues.

EVENTS SECRETARY

The responsibilities of the events secretary are to:

  • organize the annual conference;
  • arrange conference venue in consultation with HOTCUS steering committee;
  • liaise with conference personnel at chosen University/Institute regarding venue, accommodation, meals, costs etc.;
  • compose and disseminate call for papers among national and international organisations;
  • review paper proposals and organises conference programme;
  • communicate with presenters and all delegates;
  • publicise conference among international American Studies networks;
  • solicit suitable publishing companies for paid use of publicity materials at HOTCUS conference.

EARLY CAREER SECRETARY

The responsibilities of the early career secretary are to:

  • engage with the early career researcher population (especially those in non-permanent employment) and report their views to the HOTCUS committee;
  • provide support for the Events Secretary in organising the HOTCUS annual conference;
  • ensure that HOTCUS activities meet the needs of early career researchers;
  • maintain links with their counterpart on the BAAS committee, and other relevant academic bodies as appropriate;
  • take responsibility for the organisation of events and initiatives aimed at supporting early career researchers (such as conference panels and work in progress sessions).

POSTGRADUATE SECRETARIES (2x on staggered two year terms)

The responsibilities of the Postgraduate Secretary are to:

  • engage with the postgraduate population and report their views to the HOTCUS committee;
  • ensure that HOTCUS activities meet the needs of postgraduates;
  • apply for funding from external bodies in order to help subsidise postgraduate attendance at HOTCUS events;
  • maintain links with their counterpart on the BAAS committee, and other relevant academic bodies as appropriate;
  • organise a HOTCUS postgraduate conference at their home institution in the second year of their term, or to appoint an organiser outside the committee and then acting a liaison between the organiser and the committee;
  • maintain the HOTCUS social media accounts.