Dear ASA Colleagues and Friends,
We are writing today with news of next directions for the American Studies Association. Before we make that announcement, we’re taking a moment to breathe with you in recognition of what the last few years and months have meant and will mean for us and our communities. Ongoing health and climate crises as well as the Supreme Court’s decisive blow to reproductive health and rights are heightening precarity and creating new disasters every single day. We hope that you all are caring for yourselves and your people at your scale and speed, and that you will communicate with us if you see an opportunity for the ASA to meaningfully lead or, at the very least, assist.
Last fall, John Stephens informed the ASA leadership that he was planning to retire after nearly forty years of service as Executive Director of the ASA. We look forward to properly celebrating him at the New Orleans conference and welcome you to join us there. He has guided the organization through transformations in membership, policy, and financial status with great care and commitment. Even as the organization faced significant challenges, his consistent and prudent service put us in a position to grow and now, with his retirement, move forward on solid footing. In spring 2022 the ASA Personnel Committee—composed of the (then) President-Elect, President, and Past-President—completed the national search for John’s successor. We are pleased to formally announce the hire of Dr. Scott Kurashige, longtime ASA member and former President (2019-2020), as the new Executive Director of the American Studies Association. Most recently a tenured full professor of Comparative Race & Ethnic Studies at TCU, Scott received his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author and/or editor of four books, including The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008) and co-author with Grace Lee Boggs of The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011). His latest book, The Fifty-Year Rebellion: How the U.S. Political Crisis Began in Detroit was released in 2017 in the “American Studies Now: Critical Histories of the Present” series with the University of California Press.
In addition to scholarly expertise in critical ethnic studies, social movements, and political economy, Scott brings commitments to transnational solidarities and community building that are central to the mission of the Association. His stewardship of the 2019 Honolulu ASA conference demonstrated these commitments and innovated the kinds of collaborations and experiences available for members and guests alike. Scott will bring to this position his distinct talents as a scholar and organizer as well as his keen knowledge of the administrative infrastructure of the Association, much of which he learned while ASA President. He already has jumped into this work with high energy and incredible skill, creating a seamless transition in the operations of the Association.
We’re delighted to welcome Scott as the next Executive Director of the American Studies Association, alongside the return of Miguel Amaguaña (graduate assistant) and addition of T’Sey-Haye M. Preaster (predoctoral fellow) to the ASA staff for fall 2022. We look forward to working with them to define and build this next phase, which includes a reorganization of the ASA office in service of equity growth. If you’d like to reach out to them with a note of welcome or question, please email asastaff@theasa.net.
Wishing you all peace and fortitude,
Shana L. Redmond, President
Sharon P. Holland, President-Elect
Community announcements and events are services that are offered by the ASA to support the organizing efforts of critical constituency groups. They do not reflect the decisions or actions of the association’s governance bodies, the National Council or Executive Committee. Questions should be directed to the committee, caucus, or chapter that has authored and posted this notice.