The Society for Critical Exchange
 

Announcement

Call for Proposals: SCE Institutional Home
 
 

The Society for Critical Exchange invites proposals from colleges and universities wishing to serve as the organization's executive and institutional home. The SCE will negotiate the beginning date with the new host institution or consortium of hosts, but ideally hopes to transfer operations by the opening of the fall term 2008. The successful institution will secure an initial commitment for operating the society for five years. The Executive Director of the Society must have a permanent attachment to the primary host institution; the Society recommends that an Associate Director operate from the new institutional home, or from an affiliate institution in a consortium of hosts.

Basic responsibilities of the SCE institutional home include the following:

1) Archival and record-keeping functions, including building/maintaining a web presence for the Society; archiving programs, publications, and papers from Society projects; and responding to queries for archival materials.

2) Secretarial functions, including maintaining membership records, responding to inquiries about the Society, and corresponding with members, the Board of Directors, project coordinators, and national organizations with which the SCE has formal relationships, especially the national and regional Modern Language Associations.

3) Treasurer functions, including collecting and depositing membership dues; paying SCE bills; keeping financial records; and providing regular reports to the Board.

4) Executive functions, including initiating, advising, monitoring, and publicizing Projects of the Society; consulting with Board members; and coordinating and approving programming for the Society's standing and special sessions at regional and national conferences.

Before applying, prospective host institutions or consortiums should look carefully over the Society's history and current configuration at www.case.edu/affil/sce. Each new home for the Society has brought fresh thinking about the Society's operations and ambitions. The Board and Directors especially welcome proposals to grow the society in creative and new directions even as it maintains its historical emphasis on theoretical, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research projects in the humanities and social sciences.

To apply, individual institutions, or consortiums of institutions should send the following to the current SCE directors, Martha Woodmansee (maw4@case.edu) and Kurt Koenigsberger (kmk25@case.edu), by November 1, 2007:

1) The CVs of those designated to serve as Executive or Associate Directors, along with those of others who will be part of an initial 5-year commitment;

2) A detailed account of how the institution or consortium proposes to fulfill the basic responsibilities described above on an ongoing basis, including all office, graduate, or research assistant support expected from the institution. If more than one institution, a plan for distributing responsibilities and collaborating to ensure their successful and ongoing maintenance will be essential;

3) A proposal that articulates a vision for the Society over the next five years, beyond the fulfillment of the basic responsibilities; and

4) Letters of endorsement of the proposal and assurance of a five-year commitment from the administrators (chair, dean, provost) with the authority to describe and confirm ongoing institutional support for at least five years. Administrative endorsements/statements of support should confirm not just overall budget figures, but also any clerical, graduate, or research assistantship support.

The successful institution or consortium must be available to work with the Directors at Case Western Reserve University in the spring of 2008 to transfer all essential Society functions before July 2008.
Please feel free to consult with the Society's current directors as you prepare your proposal.

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