The Society of Architectural Historians invites its members to apply for service on a variety of SAH committees including awards, fellowships, and other standing or working committees. We seek a breadth of voices, viewpoints, and experience on our committees. This call is to ensure better transparency than has been done in the past on how committees are formed, what the length the service commitment is, what a committee member’s responsibilities are, the timeline needed to complete the assigned tasks, and preferred skills of a candidate. The President of the Society reviews all applications and appoints committee members with the input of others as needed and selects the committee chair(s). Term lengths vary depending on the committee.
Committee members must be current SAH members for the duration of their committee service. Some committees require certain qualifications and those are noted below. Self-nominations should include a brief statement (no more than 150 words) describing your qualifications and relevant experience and a CV (no more than 2 pages). You may apply for up to three committees but will be asked to serve on only one, if accepted. If you apply to serve on multiple committees, please indicate your preferred committee.
Submit your interest through the online portal: 2021–22 Call for Committee Members
The submission deadline is Friday, May 14, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Notices will be sent out the week of May 24, 2021.
Publications and Video/Film Award Committees
(Please visit sah.org/jobs-and-careers/award-programs for details on each award’s area of focus)
Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award Committee: 3 members
Antoinette Forrester Downing Book Award Committee: 3 members
SAH Exhibition Catalogue Award Committee: 3 members
Spiro Kostof Book Award Committee: 3 members
Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Book Award Committee: 3 members
Founders' Award Committee: 3 members
SAH Award for Film and Video Committee: 3 members
Qualifications: Members of publications and film awards committee should have published a peer-reviewed book or article as appropriate and have an expertise connected to the nature of each award. These committees will almost always be filled by senior scholars in our field.
Workload: Members will review books, articles or films submitted in a timely fashion. The number of each varies per award, but can be between 10–30 items. (Please note that some publishers are only submitting electronic versions of books at the present time). Committees will collectively select the award winners after reading each entry and then draft a citation for use at the SAH Awards Ceremony at the annual conference.
Timeline:
- June–July 2021: Books/films submitted for review
- August–December 2021: Committee reviews submissions and deliberates
- December 31, 2021: Award decision made
- January 31, 2022: Award citation due
Fellowship and Dissertation Award Committees
Committee members for fellowship and dissertation awards will usually be senior members of the organization, with expertise in guiding advanced work in academia and heritage conservation. Applications may number 10–60 and vary according to award. Committees will usually have 1–4 months to complete their review and report recipients to SAH staff. (Please note that timelines may vary slightly from what is included below).
David Brownlee Dissertation Award: 3 members
Timeline: 7/31/2021 applications due, 12/31/2021 decision made
Gill Family Foundation Dissertation Research Award Fellowship:3 members
Timeline: 7/31/2021 applications due, 12/31/2021 decision made
HABS-SAH Sally Kress Tompkins Fellowship: 3 members
Timeline: 12/31/2021 applications due, 1/31/2022 decision made
Charles E. Peterson Fellowship of the Buildings of the United States and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia: 3 members (1 early career scholar preferred)
Timeline: 12/31/2021 applications due, 2/28/2022 decision made
SAH Annual Conference Fellowships: 3 members
Timeline: 9/30/2021 applications due, 12/1/2021 decisions made
Standing and Ad Hoc Committees
Standing committees of the Society are set out in “Article IX – Standing and Ad Hoc Committees” of our bylaws and include: Budget and Audit; Development; Investment; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accountability, and Sustainability (IDEAS); and Nominating. Other committees may be created as needed and at this moment those include: Graduate Student Advisory; Heritage Conservation; Membership; and those related to our publications including JSAH Editorial, Archipedia/BUS Editorial, and Digital Publications. Membership on each committee is for a two-year term, renewable twice for a total of six years maximum. Some committees are not in need of members at this time so they are not included in the list below. Calls for a few committees happen at other times of the year than this main call and they will be shared with membership.
Budget and Audit: 2 members
Tasks, Time Commitment and Qualifications: The SAH Budget and Audit Committee works with SAH staff and leadership to review proposed annual budgets, quarterly budget to actual reports, and draft audit reports. Meetings are bi-monthly meetings with interim monthly email check in on the budget and financial status of the Society. Expertise in running budgets is essential for this role.
Development Committee: 2–3 members
Tasks, Time Commitment and Qualifications: The SAH Development Committee strategizes with SAH staff and leadership about how to raise new funding for priorities established by the SAH Board including programs, publications, special initiatives and operations. This committee meets monthly via virtual conferencing. Expertise in development for non-profits or other organizations is valuable for members of this committee.
Heritage Conservation Committee: 2 members
Tasks, Time Commitment and Qualifications: Preserving important structures, landscapes and other aspects of the built environment is a key tenet of the Society of Architectural Historians' mission. As a matter of policy, the Society only becomes involved in preservation issues of national or international significance. The SAH Heritage Conservation Committee meets monthly via virtual conferencing to discuss buildings and landscapes at risk. Expertise and knowledge of the diverse nature of architectural heritage, conservation and/or preservation is essential.
Investment Committee: 2 members
Tasks, Time Commitment and Qualifications: The SAH Investment Committee works with SAH staff, leadership and investment advisors to review SAH Investment Policies and performance of the Society’s investments. Members with experience handling endowments and other funds are encouraged to apply.
Nominating Committee: 4 members
Tasks, Time Commitment and Qualifications: The Nominating Committee is tasked with working year round to advertise, cultivate, recruit and encourage nominations to the Society’s Board of Directors. Work will begin immediately for this committee in June 2021 through April 2022.
