ASLE is a nonprofit professional association with one part-time professional staff member and a volunteer leadership team. ASLE thrives because of the commitment of members to carrying out our work; therefore we invite our members to sustain this vital work and to shape our future by considering serving as an officer or coordinator.
This fall, ASLE will hold elections for:
- Vice President
- Two At-Large Executive Council seats
- Graduate Student Liaison (junior)
If you would like to nominate yourself or another ASLE member for one of these positions, please contact us at info@asle.org. Online voting will be conducted from mid-November to mid-December. Candidate statements for elected office (maximum of 500 words) are due by November 14, 2026.
Please send all candidate statements via email, as PDF or Word attachments, to info@asle.org. Feel free to inquire if you have any questions about the offices, duties or statements after reading the full position descriptions posted below.
In addition, we seek applicants for these key appointed positions:
- Mentoring Co-Coordinator
- MLA Liaison
Applications are due by November 14, 2026, and should include a letter stating reasons for interest and relevant experience and skills, and a CV or resume. Please send all candidate or application materials, via email as PDF or Word attachments, to info@asle.org. Feel free to inquire if you have any questions about the offices, duties or statements; job descriptions are below.
Vice President (Two-Year Term as VP, One as IPVP: 2027-2029)
The Vice President will serve for two years in that role; they will also serve on the voting executive of the Association for a third year as Immediate Past Vice President (IPVP).
The Vice President is expected to participate in the annual officers’ meeting (held virtually in recent years) in non-conference years, and attend the officers’ meeting in-person during biennial conference years.
Responsibilities
- Act as President pro tem whenever the President is absent, has resigned, or is otherwise unable to perform the duties of that office
- Organize the off-year EC annual meeting, and assist with moving agenda items forward from the conference-year EC meeting.
- Assist the President(s) with organizing the Executive Council meeting at the biennial conference.
- At least once per year, work with the President(s) to assess, prioritize, and assign or take on various organizational goals set forth in the ASLE Strategic Plan.
- Serve as a member of the Budget Committee (2-year budget cycle)
- Chair the Nominating Committee for fall elections
- Serve as member of the Biennial Performance Review Committee for the Managing Director, chaired by the ASLE Executive Secretary
- Serve as a member of the conference committee, and take on specific duties in consultation with Conference Chair and conference committee members.
The IPVP will serve as a mentor and liaison to the incoming VP, and continue to support the Association’s mission and to advance the Strategic Plan in consultation with the President(s) and VP. The IPVP may be called upon to initiate special projects, and serve on ad-hoc committees. The IPVP retains full voting rights on the EC.
Executive Council: Two At-Large Seats (Three-Year Term, 2027-2029)
The Executive Council (EC) is the primary policy-making body of the Association. The EC will review programming, procedures, and policies of the Association regularly and revise them as needed to meet the Association’s purposes most effectively. The EC will meet at least once every calendar year, at the call of the President. Between formal meetings, EC members will be consulted virtually, as necessary. Executive Councilors are charged with representing the interests, issues, and concerns of the multiple constituencies that comprise our member community.
Responsibilities:
- Attend the EC retreat held in the spring of non-conference years, and the EC meeting during the biennial conference
- Review the ASLE Strategic Plan and work with officers to prioritize and implement the goals and action items of the Association
- Participate actively and thoughtfully in ongoing ASLE policy deliberation and decision-making, and participate in EC votes
- Serve on the Conference Committee for the biennial conference
- Serve on at least one other program or administrative committee, such as financial management (budget); personnel evaluation; grants, awards or Spotlight proposal reviews; activism; public engagement projects; social media design and evaluation, etc.
- Help recruit candidates for officer positions, and encourage and facilitate greater involvement in the organization by its members
- Assist with mentoring graduate students and junior faculty as appropriate
Graduate Student Liaison – Junior (Two-Year Term: 2027-2028)
The two Graduate Student Liaisons (GSLs) represent the interests, needs, and concerns of ASLE’s graduate student members. One GSL will be elected for a two-year term each year, serving as non-voting junior GSL in the first year, and voting Senior GSL in the second year of their term. In conference years, the senior GSL will serve in an advisory capacity through the next biennial conference cycle to provide continuity, mentoring, and guidance.
GSLs work with the ASLE Mentoring Coordinators and other ASLE officers and program coordinators to develop and implement policies, initiatives, and programs that support the well-being and development of graduate students and graduate studies. The GSLs are expected to participate in the annual officers’ meeting (held virtually) in non-conference years, and attend the officers’ meeting in-person during biennial conference years.
Responsibilities:
- Work with the Mentoring Coordinator, ASLE officers and coordinators, and ASLE members to organize panels, workshops, and other professionalization/ mentoring/social events for graduate students and junior academics at the ASLE Biennial Conference
- Develop material pertinent to graduate students and graduate study for the ASLE website
- Work on initiatives for undergraduate students, as appropriate
- Manage the ASLE Graduate Student Facebook page and other student-related social media outlets
- Provide virtual and physical forums for discussion between GSLs and ASLE graduate student members, including the Graduate Student Interest Group Meeting at the ASLE Biennial Conference
- Stay up-to-date on professionalization, graduate studies, and graduate student trends, challenges, and opportunities beyond ASLE to better serve our member community
Graduate Mentoring Co-Coordinator (Three-Year Appointment, 2027-2029)
The mission of the ASLE Mentoring Program is to connect graduate students with experienced faculty mentors beyond their home institutions and to cultivate intellectual exchange and community among scholars at all stages of their academic careers. Megan Kaminski is currently serving as one co-coordinator focused on creative writing, we are seeking a partner to handle scholarly matches.
The Mentoring Program, a cornerstone of ASLE’s community-building efforts since the inception of the organization, is primarily focused on matching graduate students with experienced faculty mentors. The Co-Coordinator receives a written applications and a CV. The Coordinator then contacts appropriate mentors with an invitation to become a mentor. If the mentor agrees, the Co-Coordinator contacts the applicant with an invitation to contact the mentor.
Responsibilities of the Co-Coordinator of the Mentoring Program
- Respond to queries about the field and connect members with online resources and to questions about scholarly resources, syllabi, and advice regarding the job market or publishing.
- Cultivate appropriate mentors and stay current in recent developments in the field
- Send letters of invitation to faculty mentors
- Maintain a database of faculty mentors and a list of matches
- Collaborate with the Graduate Student Liaisons in co-sponsoring preconference workshops and concurrent sessions
- Collaborate with the Graduate Student Liaisons in keeping the Graduate Student Handbook current, most importantly the list of graduate programs
- Organize one-on-one job information sessions at the biennial conference
- Collaborate with The Staying Alive Project to extend the ASLE mentoring network to colleagues at any stage in their careers
- Respond to interest from our affiliated organizations for mentoring by developing mentoring relationships
- Assist scholars and teachers based in the US in establishing intellectual contacts and mentors for graduate students and professors working outside the US
- Work with the International Liaison and others in ASLE to enlist international (local) mentors for up-and-coming scholars
MLA Liaison (Three-Year Appointment, 2027-2029)
The MLA Liaison will serve for three years, and can extend the term upon review and mutual agreement with the EC. The MLA Liaison reports directly to the Professional Liaison Coordinator, should be a current member of both ASLE and MLA, and be familiar with organizing panels for the annual MLA Convention.
Responsibilities:
- The MLA reviews all professional affiliate groups every seven years. If the ASLE liaison’s term falls during a review year, that person is responsible for preparing, in collaboration/consultation with the ASLE Managing Director, the application for renewal of affiliation. The latest review was already submitted in Summer 2026.
- Compose and distribute a call for proposals (CFP), in alignment with the calendar and deadlines put forth by the MLA, for the one guaranteed ASLE panel at each convention.
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with other associations who may want to co-sponsor a panel. Seek out and work with these associations on a joint proposal to secure a panel slot on the MLA program.
- Review all proposals submitted for guaranteed and co-sponsored panels, choose accepted presentations, and correspond with all submitters on the decisions.
- Chair the guaranteed session or, if unable to attend in person, designate an alternate panel chair.
- Follow all processes and procedures of the MLA to make sure the panels are placed on the annual program.
- Optional: organize a social event at the MLA annual convention, in collaboration with the Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities Forum.
