Adopted April 12, 2007
MISSION STATEMENTGiven the essential value of historical understanding, the National Council on Public History promotes professionalism among history practitioners and their engagement with the public.
1. NCPH will promote professionalism and best practices in public history by:
1.1 Establishing and articulating professional standards, ethics, and best practices for public history practitioners;
1.2 Providing a professional network for developing and maintaining professional standards, facilitating best practices in the training of public historians, and promoting quality public history programming;
1.3 Offering ongoing professional development opportunities for members and others;
1.4 Expanding our programs for recognizing excellence in public history through awards, publications, the annual meeting, the web page, etc.
2. NCPH will provide leadership in addressing issues that arise at the intersection between history practitioners and the public by:
2.1 Developing partnerships and relationships with other organizations, professions and professionals, and communities;
2.2 Engaging our many publics in conversation about the relevance of history;
2.3 Being a strong advocate for the interests of public history practitioners in service to the public;
2.4 Supporting history education with a public historical perspective at all levels
3. NCPH will effectively convey its identity and purpose by:
3.1 Developing and communicating a consistent organizational identity;
3.2 Learning more about who our members are and what they want from the organization;
3.3 Utilizing publications, media, conferences, and other resources to clarify and project our identity and purpose;
3.4 Articulating the benefits of NCPH;
3.5 Providing useful products and services to members, sponsors, and patrons;
3.6 Providing useful information to non-members
4. NCPH will provide a effective structure for a diverse community of public history practitioners by:
4.1 Cultivating an international membership that reflects the diverse community of history’s publics and practitioners;
4.2 Creating/maintaining a responsive committee structure to meet the needs of the organization and its membership;
4.3 Monitoring staff needs regularly and providing support for their work;
4.4 Maintaining the financial security of the organization by, among other things:
4.4a Establishing an endowment investment and management policy;
4.4b Expanding endowment to further the goals of the organization;
4.4c Establishing a policy for the use of endowment earned income.
Background
This Plan builds upon previous long range planning documents and sets a course for the future based on the implementation of those plans. Earlier plans include Plan 2005 (produced by the Long Range Planning Committee chaired by Dwight Pitcaithley in 1999-2000), Plan 2000 (produced by the committee chaired by Philip Scarpino in 1994-95), and work by committees chaired by Martin Melosi in 1993-94 and Brit Story in 1992-93.
In 2004, the Long Range Planning Committee chaired by Rebecca Conard recommended that an ad hoc committee conduct an organizational self-assessment to ensure that the organization was well-placed to meet the ambitious goals laid out in Plan 2005. The ad hoc committee, chaired by Robert Weible, met and concluded that, for the most part, NCPH was in good shape. It was financially stable, its annual conferences and professional journal were well-regarded among history professionals, and its board and committee members and staff were all firmly committed to the organization’s well-being. Still, while the committee recognized that NCPH retained its leadership position in the field of public history, it also noted that other professional organizations were increasing their interest in the field—a potential concern at a time of individual and institutional budget constraint. Committee members consequently expressed concern that membership numbers were beginning to plateau and possibly to decline. They concluded that, because a growing membership was critical to the organization’s long term health, NCPH could not afford to accept a status quo approach to its future.
The committee therefore supported the recommendations of the Long Range Planning Committee of 2003-04 that 1) NCPH strengthen its Executive Director position and Executive Office; 2) NCPH reaffirm its good relationship with host institution IUPUI; and 3) NCPH stabilize its governing structure by lengthening the terms of the president and vice-president from one to two years.
NCPH’s governing board approved the recommendations in 2005, and the changes were put into place within a year. NCPH re-described its Executive Director position as a Chief Executive Officer rather than as an Administrative Officer and conducted a national search to fill the position. In late 2005, NCPH hired John Dichtl, and within months Dichtl made other changes to strengthen the organization’s staff structure. Changes included the upgrading of the Administrative Assistant position to Program Manger and the hiring of Sarah Younker-Koeppel. NCPH and IUPUI renewed their contract for another five years. And the organization’s first two-year president and vice-president, Bill Bryans and Marianne Babel, assumed office in 2006.
In 2006, Dichtl worked closely with Bryans and Babel to encourage Long Range Planning Committee co-chairs Weible and Sharon Babaian to create a mission statement and plan based on a broad, more clearly defined understanding of public history. With this in mind, committee members agreed 1) that the discipline of history was important to everyone and that it should be an important part of our civic culture, 2) that NCPH should promote a more socially responsible role for professional historians, and 3) that NCPH should work with both history practitioners and the public to build more useful public appreciation and understanding of history.
After considerable discussion, the committee drafted a mission statement and list of long term goals. It presented them to the NCPH Board for review and comment, and Board comments and suggestions have been incorporated into this Long Range Plan.
Clearly, this plan presents an ambitious agenda for NCPH. Its successful realization requires careful thought, strong commitment, and hard work by everyone associated with the organization. It is the committee’s belief, however, that NCPH is at an important juncture in its own history. The committee believes the organization will not succeed in expanding its membership by following a plan that is inward looking and self-serving. If it is to grow, the organization must distinguish itself from other professional organizations by giving prospective members, especially younger ones, reason to serve larger purposes than their own careers. The committee believes that this can best be done by actively strengthening the relationship between the profession and the public.
The plan is, in essence, a statement of principles and major goals for the organization and is therefore much less detailed than previous documents. This plan provides a framework for work planning but leaves that task to the Executive Office, officers, Board, and committees to carry out on a yearly basis.
Respectfully Submitted:
Long Range Planning Committee
March 2007