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APA Will Commence a Search Soon for a New Executive Director

Brian Leiter

Philosopher Kate Norlock (Trent) writes:

I like to believe that philosophers could publicly discuss the nature of the APA executive director position, what we'd like in such a figure, and even, dare I say it, whom one would consider a good nominee.  That last may not be popular and usually people are loathe to name particular individuals in public conversations in the blogosphere, but I would hope that on a well-moderated blog, we could manage to calmly discuss possibilities. 

Please discuss.  Signed comments (full name in signature line and valid e-mail address) will be strongly preferred, though students may simply supply a valid e-mail address.

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9 responses to “APA Will Commence a Search Soon for a New Executive Director”

  1. anonymous grad student

    Someone who can stick it to the man, and also to the woman, would be good. And a bonus would be if that person clearly has a track record of doing good things/getting stuff done in the profession. Rebecca Kukla comes to mind.

    Reply
  2. Michael Cholbi

    I don't have any particular candidates to recommend, but I believe that the APA actually needs two heads: first, a philosophical public figure to be the face of the discipline, advocate for philosophy and the interests of philosophers, etc.; second, an organizational administrator to oversee day-to-day operations, spending, etc. The first would be more like an association president, the second an association CEO. And in general, I think we need leaders who are willing to shake up the governance structure of the APA. A good deal of the actual power seems to reside in the divisions, with the result that the discipline as a whole lacks leadership and vision.

    Reply
  3. 8675309

    I really like the idea of two heads. In any event something like a PR department might help make philosophers more employable beyond academia.

    Reply
  4. Margaret Atherton

    The APA has two heads already–there is the Chair of the Board of Officers of the APA, currently Michael Bratman, and there is the Executive Director, currently David Schrader. It is the second position for which a replacement is being sought.

    Reply
  5. Michael Cholbi

    Margaret, the Board Chair is not employed by the APA national office. Bratman, like all past chairs, retains a full-time academic position. And while the board chair has some of the 'presidential' responsibilities I alluded to above, no one in the APA is charged with advancing the professional interests of the discipline and its members. My suggestion is that the organization have two full-time positions with the responsibilities divided as I suggested above.

    Reply
  6. Becko Copenhaver

    I could be wrong but part of the issue is that the person has to move to Delaware. This restricts the possible candidate pool in obvious ways. I'm not sure if there is a sensible way around this.

    Reply
  7. Margaret Atherton

    One further question people should keep in mind if this discussion is not merely to be a set of nice wishes is,how big a raise are they willing to accept to pay for what they are wishing for. The APA is not at the moment a very rich organization.

    Becko, what you say is perfectly true. Most professional organizations like ours house their national office in DC where they can get at relevant bodies easily. Delaware is a lot less expensive than DC and an easy commute. Think Joe Biden.

    Reply
  8. Becko Copenhaver

    Margaret, thanks for confirming. I just thought that folks might not know this and thus might have great ideas for an Executive Director without knowing what it entails for that person and, say, her family. If we are working with relevant bodies in DC, this location makes good sense. And I know that there is a permanent staff in the National Office that can't just be expected to pick up and go somewhere else. But…and these are real questions and not criticisms: are we in fact doing a lot of work with the relevant bodies in DC? If so, I think that a lot of members aren't aware of it (perhaps through sheer ignorance rather than any faults on the part of the national office). If we aren't doing such DC-based work, should we be doing it? If so, then remaining in Delaware makes sense. If should not be doing it, or if it doesn't require such close proximity to DC, could or should the office be moved and/or be moveable?

    Reply
  9. Margaret Atherton

    Becko, I'm not an expert, but I think the answer to your excellent questions is, the APA is doing DC-based work but (as is regrettably the case with everything we do, in our own jobs as well as in the national organization,) we could do more work.

    Reply

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