Lisa Maruca
Election
Position
Name
Lisa Maruca
Candidate statement
Lisa Maruca. Associate Professor and Internship Coordinator, Department of English, Wayne State University, Detroit.
SHARP has played an integral role in developing of my intellectual and professional identity for over twenty years. For this reason, I'd like to think I could in a small way repay the organization with my time, ideas, and commitment. In the office of Membership Secretary, I would work with Johns Hopkins University Press and the affiliate organizations, and present an annual Membership Report to the board. I would continue with the personal touches that Eleanor Shevlin brought to the job--thank you notes for donors and sustaining members—as well as her promotional efforts with posters and bookmarks. I would also work together with others on the EC to use social media to greater advantage for the recruitment and retention of members, particularly Twitter (while of course, strategically avoiding the pitfalls of that forum) – by posting links to new research, relevant popular culture, conference opportunities, and our members’ endeavors. I see this Twitter strategy as part of what might be called "soft" recruiting or public relations, and a "value added" to existing members who would know we are happy to help circulate their work. Finally, as Membership Secretary, I would also want to find out which possible members are being overlooked, who feels marginalized, and how SHARP can be a better home for diverse researchers in all our relevant fields, especially the next generation of scholars.
SHARP has played an integral role in developing of my intellectual and professional identity for over twenty years. For this reason, I'd like to think I could in a small way repay the organization with my time, ideas, and commitment. In the office of Membership Secretary, I would work with Johns Hopkins University Press and the affiliate organizations, and present an annual Membership Report to the board. I would continue with the personal touches that Eleanor Shevlin brought to the job--thank you notes for donors and sustaining members—as well as her promotional efforts with posters and bookmarks. I would also work together with others on the EC to use social media to greater advantage for the recruitment and retention of members, particularly Twitter (while of course, strategically avoiding the pitfalls of that forum) – by posting links to new research, relevant popular culture, conference opportunities, and our members’ endeavors. I see this Twitter strategy as part of what might be called "soft" recruiting or public relations, and a "value added" to existing members who would know we are happy to help circulate their work. Finally, as Membership Secretary, I would also want to find out which possible members are being overlooked, who feels marginalized, and how SHARP can be a better home for diverse researchers in all our relevant fields, especially the next generation of scholars.