The Role of the MSA President

The MSA is a young organization working to become an enduring part of the international scholarly landscape. Candidates for the presidency are elected for a period of three years; during their tenure, they first serve for one-year as president-elect, then serve for one year as president, and then serve for one year as immediate past president. 

As leader of the association for a given year, the president will be responsible for continuing to build the association, setting its agenda, and representing its interests to its constituents and to the public. As substantive leader of the association, the president is tasked with representing and advancing the field of memory studies to its constituents (while working to expand that constituency) and to the public at large. The president carries out this task in close collaboration with the president-elect and immediate past president as well as with the other members of the executive committee, other committees and the advisory board.  

Additionally, the MSA president will  

  • act as the association’s chief executive and administrative officer, responsible for managing its daily affairs and supervising its many initiatives.   
  • chair the executive committee, setting its meetings and agendas; 

Together with the Executive Committee, the president will  

  • oversee the finance, nominations, and ethics committees, as well as help expand the association’s committee structure;  
  • appoint and support the program and local organizing committees for the annual meetings; 
  • work with a designating member of the Executive Committee to manage the working and regional groups of the association;  
  • appoint and supervise the association’s contractors (e.g. the website manager and administrative assistants);  
  • help develop and support the association’s networking and communications (e.g. social media, newsletter, web content); coordinate with the leaders of the Digital MSA and other related projects; and coordinate fundraising and manage the association’s finances (with help of the finance committee).   

A detailed list of tasks is available on request via elections@memorystudiesassociation.org.