Greetings to all, and to those of you working on campus, welcome back! I hope that everyone was able to take a break and relax a bit this summer, and maybe even get some work done.
In speaking to medievalists at various conferences over the last few months, it has become clear to me that we are all struggling in one way or another. Many MAA members have lost grant funding or other support, whether from the NEH rescission, budget cuts on campus, or other sources. The lawsuit challenging the NEH actions filed by ACLS and our sister learned societies MLA and AHA is moving forward, but it will take time before a resolution is reached (there’s an update here). We’re seeing entire departments slashed or admissions frozen, tenure lines cancelled, institutions of higher education under attack, diversity initiatives shut down, the very history of the United States rewritten before our eyes. This is – to put it mildly – an extremely challenging time for us all.
At a moment such as this, community is more important than ever. And that is exactly what the Medieval Academy of America offers. Our Centennial conference in March was a wonderful example, as more than 800 of us gathered to share scholarship and experience, engage with the challenges of our field, and celebrate our worldwide community of medievalists. Our graduate student members continue to demonstrate their innovation, resilience, and dedication. Members working beyond the tenure track prove over and over again that it is possible to produce the highest-quality scholarship without a .edu address. The Fellows continue to give back through their support of the Fellows Research Awards and participation in the Fellows Speaker Series. Our senior scholars show their support through donations to the MAA’s various funds and participation in our mentorship programs. Through our Diversity, Digital, and K-12 initiatives, we continue to work to build an MAA and a medieval studies that is expansive and inclusive, one that works to broaden and rethink the received and perceived narratives about our field and its practitioners.
There are other intersecting circles of community that are critical to the Medieval Academy’s work. The administration of Speculum and the MAA’s numerous grants and other programs could not function without our administrative and editorial staff, elected governance, and dozens of volunteer committee members. The Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) provides boots-on-the-ground support to representatives of departments and programs on campuses nationwide. Widening our view, we can also place the MAA within the community of eighty-one learned societies affiliated with the American Council of Learned Societies. The community of ACLS Executive Directors has proven to be an invaluable support system for myself and for all of my fellow Learned Society executives. Last year, I was elected Chair of the Executive Committee of the ACLS Conference of Executive Officers (and as such serve ex officio on the ACLS Board of Directors). It has been an absolute joy and a privilege to work with ACLS President Joy Connolly, the ACLS Board and staff, and my fellow Executive Directors as we navigate these turbulent waters together. The community of ACLS Executive Directors meets semi-annually to discuss current issues, share best-practices, engage in professional development, and trade stories and strategies. We will meet in Seattle at the end of October, and I am currently working with the Executive Committee to formulate the agenda for the two-day conference. Alongside the usual topics of non-profit financial management, development best-practices, and membership-retention strategies, we will be discussing the current state of academia and the humanities in the United States, working together to consider ways we can better advocate for and support our constituents. I will report on the meeting in the November edition of Medieval Academy News.
In the meantime, I encourage you to read not only the columns above written by President Peggy McCracken and our new Editor of Speculum Barbara Newman, but all of the various items in this month’s MAA News. There’s a lot going on, and I hope you will take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the MAA. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions, suggestions, or concerns, and, if MAA membership has value to you, take a moment to support us with a tax-deductible donation. Finally, please encourage your medievalist friends to join us in our work.
I hope to see you at the 2026 Annual Meeting in Western Massachusetts!
– Lisa
Lisa Fagin Davis, Executive Director
