Volume I: Issue 4
The cool crisp New England air, the wind-whipped leaves that cover the ground and the calendar that reads late November tells us that the Autumn season is rapidly moving along. The signs of the seasons also dictates that Thanksgiving, a time of great national, but also personal, gratitude is observed and the reality that a new liturgical year with the dawn of Advent is just around the corner. Soon the fall semester will end and before you know it we will celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and welcome the new year of 2019. As this will be the last opportunity to speak to the Association collective through this Newsletter format, I want to express my appreciation for your support and the opportunity to serve as President of the American Catholic Historical Association four 2018. Is certainly been a pleasure and honor to receive the confidence that you bestowed upon me this year.
Many things have occurred, decisions made, and awards determined as we come to the end of this year. Let me, therefore, provide you with an update on where the Association stands as we prepare in some six weeks to celebrate our centenary as an historical association.
Election results
First, as you know we have completed our elections for this year. I wish to thank Stephanie Jacobe and her team for their efforts to obtain nominees and to run the election. The results are as follows, the new Vice President is Jim Carroll. The two new Executive Council members are Katherine Duggan and Patrick Hayes; the new Graduate Student Representative is Stephen Koeth, CSC. I wish to extend my heartiest congratulations to those who been elected. You will find the experience of serving the ACHA to be very rewarding. We welcome all new members to the Executive Council and thank those, namely Kathy Cummings, Katie Harris, Fr. Augustine Curley, OSB, and Peter Cajka for their gracious and devoted service over the last few years.
Award recipients
As you know we present several awards annually to individuals and groups, both as winners of various prizes for books and other publications, plus our annual scholarship, teaching and service awards. The John Gilmary Shea award will be presented to Michelle Armstrong-Partida for her book: Defiant Priests: the Mystic Unions, Violence, and Clerical Masculinity in 14th-Century Catalunya. The Marraro Prize winner is Paul F. Grendler for The Jesuits and Italian Universities, 1548-1773. The John Tracy Ellis Disertation Award winner is Elisabeth Davis.
A small committee met virtually to select the winners of the annual scholarship, teaching, and service awards. In that order those selected were Philip Gleason, Professor Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, Father Bill Miscamble, also of the University Notre Dame, and Fordham University. After consultation with the Executive Council, the ACHA decided to present a one-time Centennial Award to Monsignor Robert Trisco for his many contributions to our Association. I am grateful to all of the committees for their hard work and their professionalism in making these selections.
Annual Meeting in Chicago
Registration has been ongoing for the Chicago conference for a few weeks. Charles Strauss has informed me that we are tracking well with respect to registrations. Through the hard work of Jim Carroll, his committee, and the work of several others, including Katie Holscher, we have a fine program that should bid for a fine conference. Some of the highlights include four round-table discussions, one for each of the four words in our name: American Catholic Historical Association, and a plenary session on Saturday afternoon by Dr. Joseph White on the history of the ACHA.
While the calendar year still has one month to go, on December 2 we will begin a new liturgical year with a blessed season of Advent. I hope this is a time of great joy for you and your loved ones as we prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. While many of us will be extremely busy grading final papers and preparing and grading final exams, it is my hope and wish that we will all have some time to reflect upon the mysteries of the Incarnation and what that means for us as individuals and people of faith.
As I close this Newsletter, which was inaugurated last January, I want to thank all the members of the Association, but specifically the Executive Council for the strong support and assistance you have given to me this year. This year the ACHA was forced to negotiate some difficult hurdles and a few hairpin turns, but through the strong and consistent efforts of many we stand proudly prepared to celebrate our centenary in Chicago. I encourage all our members to make a special effort to attend. I am certain you will not be disappointed. Once again, thank you for your service and for the privilege you have bestowed on me to serve as your President during 2018.
Fr. Rick Gribble, CSC
ACHA President 2018