President’s Welcome to the New ACHAhistory.org

February 22, 2010

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome!

ACHA President Fr. Steven M. Avella

For ninety years, the American Catholic Historical Association has been promoting the cause of Catholic studies among professional historians. We have traditionally relied on our annual meetings and our excellent journal to maintain and refresh the bonds of scholarly exchange and collegiality among ourselves. We now have this excellent new website to promote the work of our Association in the 21st century. Our hope is that it will become a “middle ground” for all of us engaged in the diverse topics and fields included under the umbrella of Catholic studies.

We are very grateful for the hard work and high professional standards of those who have promoted the work of the Association over the years. We look forward to welcoming a new generation of younger scholars whose new perspectives, energy and fresh approaches to old topics will continue the work so well begun many years ago.

I am privileged to serve as your president for this coming year and working with Vice-President (and next year’s president) Professor Larissa Juliet Taylor and Executive Secretary, Rev. Paul Robichaud, CSP, I have made it a priority to increase the membership of the Association. Our Membership Committee is already at work identifying potential members and our planning for both the Spring meeting (Princeton, March 13, 2010) and the annual meeting, (Boston, 2011) will include sessions designed to reach out to graduate students and others new to the field.

Stay tuned to this website as we unveil some of the new ideas approved at our last Executive Council meeting. These include some modest grants to graduate students attending our meetings and three new awards, Life Time Service, Service to Catholic Studies and Teaching which will be bestowed at our annual meeting. We hope to keep refreshing this site with information and ideas that will make it useful to our members and attractive to those who discover us with a Google search–or through the recommendation of a professor or fellow scholar.

For over thirty years the American Catholic Historical Association has been a wonderful professional “home” to me. I was mentored by some wonderful colleagues whom I met at ACHA meetings and bonds of respect and friendship have been fostered and strengthened over my years of membership. Through this new website, I hope to continue the good work and fellowship of this community of scholars. I invite you to contact me with your ideas, concerns and recommendations for the Association at [email protected].
Steven M. Avella
Marquette University
President, American Catholic Historical Association, 2010