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Looking back and forward

  • 1.  Looking back and forward

    Posted 09-01-2017 05:21

    Dear colleagues,

    With the Atlanta conference just behind us, I'm deeply honored to have the opportunity to chair the Careers Division this year. Before looking into the future of our division, let's take a moment to look at what has happened in the past year. Our division, under the exemplary leadership of Corinne Post, has taken a major leap forward. Among the various accomplishments and developments I would like to mention first that our membership is steadily growing and our financial household is fully in order. Our solid membership base and financial position have triggered a series of new initiatives designed to offer members an additional benefit beyond the annual conference. Noteworthy are the first edition of the mid-year "Careers in the Rough" which will be taking place late February 2018, and the launch of Connect@AOM, the online platform designed to facilitate networking and collaborating with other members. On behalf of the division I want to express my immense appreciation to Corinne for all her hard work, persistent encouragement, and pioneering courage and foresight that allowed us to set things in motion.    

    With our division alive and kicking, my overall ambition for next year is to keep the momentum going and start to reap the benefits of last year's hard work. The main goals remain unchanged. We want to provide a "home" to career scholars all over the world, and for that we need to stay financially healthy. We also want members, new and existing, to feel at home, as in a place where it is easy to connect and share ideas with like-minded scholars. The Connect@AOM tool will help to accomplish this goal. Finally, home is also a place where one can safely grow and develop while challenging each other along the way. My aspiration is that our division may offer all of this to you-belongingness, meaningful relationships, and personal development.

    The Executive Committee is anxious to get started and to make this happen. Its committed officers are: Gina Dokko (PDW Chair), Jamie Ladge (Program Chair), Scott Seibert (Division Chair-elect), Corinne Post (Outgoing Division Chair), Denise Jepsen (Treasurer), Ryan Klinger (Secretary); Jos Akkermans (Newsletter Editor); Augusto Nishimura (Webmaster); Sherry Sullivan (Historian); Belinda Allen (Listserv Manager), Rick Cotton, Wendy Murphy, Emma Parry, Akram Al Ariss, Lauren Keating, Evgenia Lysova, Ariane Froidevaux, and Daniel Spurk (Reps-at-large).

    My deepest gratitude goes to our outgoing officers, Tania Casado, Fida Afiouni, Andreas Hirschi, Robert Ford, and Ariane Ollier Malaterre for their invaluable contributions to our division over the years. You've been amazing! Thunderous thanks for generously devoting your precious time and energy to our division!

    It is a privilege to serve with the hardworking and talented members of the Executive Committee, and I thank them for their dedicated service to the division. I look forward to our work together to ensure that our division thrives and that we provide our members with the best possible resources they need to excel in their profession.


    Bert Schreurs, Division Chair 2017-2018