Request for Applications: Directorship of BHC Doctoral Colloquium, 2021-24
The Business History Conference invites applications from senior scholars who would like to direct the BHC’s Doctoral Colloquium, beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the 2021 BHC annual meeting. The BHC sponsors the Colloquium with the generous support of Cambridge University Press.
Overview of the Colloquium and the Director’s Role
Initiated in 2004, the Colloquium has become a BHC fixture, serving as a major conduit for early career scholars to learn about and become active in the organization. The Colloquium provides student participants with substantive critiques and discussions about their dissertation research, as well as sessions on key aspects of professional development (publishing strategies, the value of side projects, career trajectories, etc.).
Each year, the Colloquium Director is responsible for
- selecting a group of faculty participants whose research and teaching represent the diversity of business history, including the incoming BHC President;
- selecting a graduate student liaison from the previous year’s student cohort, who assists with administration;
- ensuring robust outreach to potential doctoral student applicants and fielding questions from interested graduate students;
- overseeing the selection process to identify ten outstanding dissertation students from an international pool;
- organizing and presiding over the Colloquium in conjunction with the BHC annual meeting, and so coordinating with the BHC Local Arrangements Committee and Program Committee; and
- providing the BHC Trustees with an annual report about the previous year’s Colloquium (selection process; participants; structure of the Colloquium and any adjustments thereto; student evaluations).
For more information on the Colloquium, including details about previous cohorts, see:
https://thebhc.org/doctoral-colloquia.
Expectations for Engagement with the 2021 Doctoral Colloquium in Detroit
The incoming Director will serve as a faculty participant in the 2021 Doctoral Colloquium in Detroit and shadow the process of organizing that year’s gathering.
The Application Process
Applicants should submit a c.v., as well as a letter of interest by June 1, 2020. The application letter should describe experience with doctoral training/mentoring in business history, prior engagement with the BHC, any experience in oversight of educational programs, and potential administrative or other support from one’s home institution. The letter should also specify goals/priorities for the next directorship and confirm availability to serve as a faculty participant at the 2021 Colloquium. The applicant also should indicate if they will receive support for the position from their institution. The selection committee, comprised of past President Edward Balleisen, current President Neil Rollings, President-Elect Andrea Lluch, and Interim Secretary-Treasurer Roger Horowitz (non-voting) may interview applicants and will make a recommendation to the BHC Board of Trustees over the summer.
Please contact the current Director, Edward Balleisen, at eballeis@duke.edu, for additional information or to pose any questions. Send applications to Balleisen, current BHC President Neil Rollings (Neil.Rollings@glasgow.ac.uk), incoming BHC President Andrea Lluch (alluch@conicet.gov.ar), and Interim Secretary Treasurer Roger Horowitz (rh@udel.edu), again by June 1, 2020.