The Western History Association is seeking a new editor or editors and a new institutional home for its award-winning, flagship journal, the Western Historical Quarterly. Since 1970, the WHQ has had a significant and positive impact on recruitment and professional training of graduate students at both institutions -- Utah State University and University of Oklahoma -- that have hosted the journal to date. The WHA invites expressions of interest in this opportunity from potential editors and from history departments or comparable academic units in other closely related fields with a strong commitment to the field of Western history and the capacity to provide editorial leadership and institutional support for the WHQ. It is anticipated that the new editor(s) will be appointed for a renewable term of five years and that the new institutional home would agree to support the WHQ for a minimum of five years. Institutions may consider submitting an application that includes plans to hire an editor or editors provided the institution is prepared to provide support for the journal and the new hire(s)/editor(s).

The search committee encourages potential editors and institutional homes to contact the chair of the search committee as soon as possible about their interest in the WHQ so that the committee can assist in providing information about the journal and in helping them to craft formal proposals. The chair is Flannery Burke, Department of American Studies, Saint Louis University (Flannery.burke@slu.edu).

The deadline for proposals is August 15, 2024. Print the full Call for Proposals here. 

The search committee has developed a rubric, outlined below, for evaluating proposals to host the WHQ. The rubric should therefore also be used by applicants as a checklist in framing their proposals. Proposals are due August 15 by email to the committee chair: Flannery.burke@slu.edu. Questions about each item in this checklist should be directed to Flannery.

1. The proposal should feature a strong editorial team eager to integrate the journal into a graduate program and to contribute to the professionalization of graduate students in the field. The proposal should outline the organizational structure applicants envision and the roles of graduate students in the program should be clearly outlined.

a) The proposal should name and indicate the qualifications of team members OR outline editorial roles and a plan to fill them.

b) The proposal should name the lead editor(s) and demonstrate their deep knowledge of the field of Western history and excellent scholarship in the field. The lead editor(s) should be tenured, preferably not newly so, and eager to work behind the scenes to advance the field and its scholars. S/he/they should have some editorial experience, either with another academic journal or other academic publication and experience with the ScholarOne platform or a willingness to learn its workings.

c)  The host institution should make provisions to ensure that the book review section of the journal is fully staffed and supported.

d)  The managing editor, if the proposal makes provisions for one, should have prior or parallel experience in this capacity. Editorial assistants should be competent in Word, Access, and Excel, and eager to learn or already familiar with the ScholarOne platform. If the plan is to use graduate students as editorial assistants, the proposal should specify how these students will be trained.

e) Thus, at a minimum, a proposal should demonstrate an awareness of what the job editing the WHQ would entail and a clear plan for managing that work. The proposal should consider that editing the journal will require at least sixty hours per week of effort on the part of the editorial team.

2. The proposal should guarantee adequate institutional support for a minimum of five years and preferably of ten. This support should include financial assistance for the editor(s) through course release(s), summer stipends, travel money, and the like, as well as journal infrastructure, such as housing, computer hardware and software, arrangements for tracking submissions, and office supplies.

3. The proposal should include a brief acknowledgement of the editor’s or editors’ commitment to provide reports to the WHA Council and membership through the attendance of all WHA Council meetings and WHA Business meetings. According to the WHA Constitution and Bylaws, the WHQ editor serves as a non-voting, ex officio member of the WHA Council for the duration of their term(s).

4. The proposal should offer a compelling vision for the future of the WHQ, one that shows a thoughtful grasp of the evolution of the field and considers new directions for both the field and the journal.

WHQ Institutional Host Search Committee

Flannery Burke, St. Louis University (Chair)

Boyd Cothran, York University

Rosina Lozano, Princeton University

Melody Miyamoto Walters, Collin College

David Wrobel, University of Oklahoma