| The SFRA is seeking nominations for President and Secretary (3-year elected positions) and members for each of the various Award Committees (3-year appointed positions). Open Elected Executive Committee Positions: President and Secretary The SFRA is opening self-nominations for two Executive Committee positions: President and Secretary. Each elected representative will serve for three years beginning on January 1, 2026 and will be a voting member on the Executive Committee. The President then serves a subsequent three-year term as Immediate Past President. The SFRA is an international organization and there are no place-based restrictions on President or Secretary candidates. All are encouraged to run! If you are interested in running for either position, please send a candidate statement by July 25th to hugh.oconnell@umb.edu. These statements will be shared with the membership ahead of the election, which will take place in the fall of 2025. Previous President and Secretary Candidate Statements can be found at: https://sfrareview.org/2022/10/22/candidate-statements-for-the-2023-2025-sfra-executive-committee/ If you have any questions about the positions, please feel free to reach out to me directly or to the current Secretary, Sarah Lohmann (sarah.lohmann@lit.gess.ethz.ch). The SFRA Bylaws descriptions of each position appear below. President and Secretary Information from the SFRA By-Laws 1. SFRA President (the President serves one three-year term and then a subsequent three-year term as Immediate Past President) The President does a lot to shape the direction of the SFRA, as they are often setting the agenda and overseeing both short-term and long-term planning. I’m copying the official by-law language for the President below; however, as the outgoing President, I’d be happy to speak with anyone about the position in more detail: “The president shall be chief executive of the association; they shall preside at all meetings of the membership and the Executive Committee, have general and active management of the business of the association, and see that all orders and resolutions of the Executive Committee are carried out; the president shall have general superintendence and direction of all other officers of the association and shall see that their duties are properly performed; the president shall submit a report of the operations of the association for the fiscal year to the Executive Committee and to the membership at the annual meeting, and from time to time shall report to the Executive Committee on matters within the president’s knowledge that may affect the association; the president shall be ex officio member of all standing committees and shall have the powers and duties in management usually vested in the office of president of a corporation; the president shall appoint all committees herein unless otherwise provided.” After fulfilling their three-year term, each President then serves for another three years as the Immediate Past President (IPP), acting as a sounding board for the current President and helping to provide some institutional knowledge and continuity for the organization as a whole. 2. SFRA Secretary (the Secretary can serve one or two three-year terms) The second position is for the Secretary, who helps keep the SFRA’s records, oversees the travel grant process, and manages relationships with the journals, among other responsibilities. I’m copying the official by-law language for the Secretary below: “The secretary shall attend all sessions of the Executive Committee and all meetings of the membership and record all the votes of the association and minutes of the meetings and shall perform like duties for the Executive Committee and other committees when required. At any meeting at which the president is to preside, but is unable, and for which the vice president is unable to preside, the secretary shall preside. The secretary shall give notice of all meetings of the membership and special meetings of the Executive Committee and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Executive Committee or the president. In the event the secretary is unable to attend such meetings as may be expected, the Executive Committee may designate some other member of the association to serve as secretary pro tem.” Of course, these official descriptions just scratch the surface of the work that these officers do, and all members of the SFRA’s Ex Com are highly involved in the shaping of the organization. If you have any questions about these positions, please feel free to contact me (hugh.oconnell@umb.edu) or the current officers. We’ll be happy to chat with you about any of the positions. 3. Award Committees: Student Paper Award, Mary Kay Bray Award, SFRA Book Award, Clareson Service Award, Innovative Research Award, Lifetime Contributions to SF Scholarship Award All award committee members are appointed by the Executive Committee and serve on the committee for three years, chairing the committee in their third year. Generally, each committee is responsible for choosing the winner and preparing a committee statement to be presented at the Awards Banquet and published in The SFRA Review. Other responsibilities, depending on the specific award, may include sending out calls for and/or reading submissions. Information about each award can be found at: https://sfra.org/awards/ Serving on awards committees is a good way to begin getting involved with the organization, to learn about current sf work, and to build connections with other SFRA members. If you have any questions about the committees, please feel free to reach out to me directly (hugh.oconnell@umb.edu). Cheers, -Hugh. Hugh C. O’Connell, PhD [he/him/his]President, Science Fiction Research AssociationAssociate Professor of English & Undergraduate Program DirectorUniversity of Massachusetts Boston |
