Written by Extended deadline: Friday 26th March 2021
As you will have seen from our Call for Applications, we will be standing down as FSA Co-Chairs in January 2021. Although our term as chair was due to run until January 2022, increases in our workloads have meant that we have come to the decision to stand down early.
In the two years that we will have been chairs, we feel that we have achieved a great deal for the association, and we are really proud of this work. In particular, we are pleased to have:
- Launched the mentoring scheme, which aims to counter competitive and corporatised higher education environments with a collective feminist politics, and provide a support system for feminist colleagues, by pairing mentees with a more experienced mentor who is able to give advice or share experiences.
- Relaunched the small grants scheme to support feminist research and teaching, specifically for feminists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of colour. This aims to address the particular intersectional inequalities experienced by this group.
- Relaunched the annual book prize, with new sponsorship from the great Emerald Publishing. We have two prizes available this year for the best new feminist publications to cover the year that the competition was on hiatus.
- Redesigned and relaunched the website to create new, interactive areas for members and make our initiatives and aims clearer. This continues to develop with new content to be announced soon.
- Rebranded the association as Feminist Studies Association, with the aim of better representing the diversity of our membership, both within and outside academia and across various disciplines.
- Implemented an electronic membership system, which makes it easier for members to join us, and provides an easy platform for changes or renewals.
We have a series of online webinars on ‘Feminist Perspectives on Disability’ coming up in the next few months, which we hope will give space for new directions in feminist research and open up conversations about important intersections.
We feel that the Association is in a really strong position with a good infrastructure for new Co-Chairs/Chair and Vice Chair to take over and lead the FSA in a new direction.
We are now opening up the election process, and you can find more information on how to apply for the Co-Chairs/Chair and Vice Chair roles here. We are happy to have an informal conversation with anyone who might be interested in applying.
We would like to thank members for the opportunity to serve as Co-Chairs. We would also like to thank the executive committee for their hard work and support over the last couple of years – these roles are a labour of love and we are really thankful to them all for their dedication to the Association, particularly given the turbulent times we have experienced over the past year. We remain committed to the FSA as an important space for supporting feminist research and teaching, and look forward to seeing its further developments.
Laura Clancy and Sara De Benedictis
FSA Co-Chairs
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The FSA seeks to appoint a new Chair and Vice-Chair or Co-Chairs from spring 2021 and invites applications for these positions.
Chair and Vice-Chair
The Chair will lead the FSA executive committee (currently 15 people) and oversee the running of the Association, with the support of the Vice-Chair. The Chair’s duties include chairing executive committee meetings and the annual general meeting, overseeing the exec’s roles, liaising with the exec about their roles, organising working/focus groups within the exec, building the Association’s networks and connections, assisting the membership officer and treasurer with income generation, and responding to external requests for information, e.g. from higher education bodies.
The Vice-Chair will work to support the Chair on the duties above as required, and may take responsibility for specific areas; the distribution of workload will be negotiable between the Chair and Vice-Chair once appointed.
Co-Chairs
Co-Chairs will jointly lead the FSA executive committee (currently 15 people) and oversee the running of the Association, as stated above.
Terms of appointments for both positions are three years, and appointees should be members of the Association at the time of taking up the position.
Application process and timescale
To apply for the Chair/Co-Chair or Vice-Chair position, please send a one-page mission statement outlining relevant skills/experience and your objectives for the role, along with a two page CV by Friday 26th March 2021 to contact@the-fsa.co.uk. Please state in your application which position you are applying for and/or whether you wish to be considered for both. We will also accept joint applications for those who wish to apply together.
Applications will be posted on the FSA website and members will be invited by email to vote using an online election tool. Voting will be open for two weeks with results being announced the week after the voting period ends.
Enquiries can be directed to chair@the-fsa.co.uk or contact@the-fsa.co.uk, and the current Co-chairs are very happy to have an informal chat with anyone interested in applying.