Job Opening - Editor, The Papers of George Wasington

The Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia invites applications for an Editor position to work on its Presidential Series beginning August 25, 2008. This full-time, twelve-month, renewable non-tenure track appointment may be at the Lecturer, Assistant or Associate Professor level depending on qualifications. The project is engaged in publishing a scholarly, annotated edition of Washington's public and private papers. The Presidential Series (1788-1797) is now up to 1794, and future work will deal with the last two and a half years of Washington's administration. Responsibilities of the Editor include transcription of manuscripts, research and writing of annotations, proofreading, and indexing.

Ph.D. in History or American Studies is required for the academic rank of Assistant or Associate Professor level. An M.A. combined with at least three years of documentary editing experience is required for the rank of Lecturer. Excellent research and writing skills, a collegial spirit and a commitment to documentary editing as a career is preferred. Specialization in the Early National period of American history is preferred. Reading knowledge of French, Spanish, or German is useful but not required.

To apply, please submit a candidate profile, cover letter, a curriculum vitae, and two writing samples via Jobs@UVA at www.jobs.virginia.edu under the posting number 0601870. For immediate consideration, please submit application materials by April 30, 2008; however, the position will remain open until filled.

The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity. Women and members of under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

Valerie Champeau, a ninth-grade student at Clarkstown High School North in New City, N.Y., visited the Papers of George Washington on January 25, 2008, in order to conduct research on her project for this year's National History Day competition. Ms Champeau's project is the so-called Newburgh Conspiracy of March 1783, in which Washington successfully overcame a move by some of his officers to lead a march on Congress in order to secure long-overdue pay, pensions, and other benefits. Joined by her mother Beth Champeau and guided by Associate Editor Edward G. Lengel, Valerie consulted many unpublished documents in our collection, along with print and electronic resources available at the Washington Papers project and in the University of Virginia library. We wish her the best of luck on her project!

Associate editor Christine S. Patrick presented a program entitled "George Washington: A Personal Glimpse" to the Jack Jouett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Charlottesville, Va., on April 12, 2007. Washington's relationship with his wife, his love of Mount Vernon, and the value he placed on his military, political, and personal papers were emphasized.

The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition released. A landmark in historical scholarship, The Papers of George Washington encompasses five separate series and the complete diaries. This digital edition offers the complete Papers to date in one online publication. You may search on full text and by date, author, or recipient across all volumes and series. The exceptional indexing of the individual print volumes is combined here into a single master index, and all internal document cross-references are linked.

Bill Ferraro is scheduled to speak on April 16, 2007, to the Mahwah Museum Society in Mahwah, New Jersey. This group has special interests in Andrew Hopper--a prominent citizen of the Ramapo Valley who hosted George Washington in his home several times during the Revolutionary War--and the march of the Continental and French troops from New York to Yorktown in 1781. Bill's talk is titled "War Without Battles: George Washington and the Continental Army in New Jersey, 1779-1781," and will focus on scouting and intelligence activities under the direction of Brigadier General William Maxwell posted in Elizabeth-Town.

Ed Lengel is featured in an A&S Online article - George in War. "Scholar Edward Lengel follows Washington from his struggles in the French and Indian War through his triumphs in the Revolutionary War. Along the way he is continually surprised by discoveries he makes about the man." read more»

Ed Lengel also appeared in the History Channel documentary, "The Search for George Washington," which aired on February 17th. read more»

In January 2007, Assistant Editor William M. Ferraro received a $1,500 research grant from the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Virginia to examine and microfilm selected letters between Ellen Ewing Sherman and her sister Maria Theresa Ewing Steele in the Charles Ewing Papers at the Library of Congress. These letters will help him complete his book manuscript on the Sherman-Ewing Family during the Civil War, a project begun before he joined the Papers of George Washington in June 2006 that is an outgrowth of his longstanding interest in the extended family of Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman.

On November 10, at a White House ceremony, President George W. Bush awarded the 2005 National Humanities Medal to eleven distinguished Americans and one scholarly research project - The Papers of George Washington - for their contributions to the humanities. The National Humanities Medal honors individuals and organizations whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand America's access to important humanities resources. more»

Christine Patrick was elected to serve as secretary of the Association for Documentary Editing, 2005-2007.

Christine Patrick's article "Trials and Tribulations: As Found in the Journals of Samuel Kirkland" appeared in Documentary Editing (Fall 2005, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 107-113). She also contributed several entries to the Encyclopedia of New York State (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2005).

Christine Patrick presented a paper "A Witness to Despair: Samuel Kirkland and the Oneida Indians" at the Northeastern Native Peoples and the American Revolutionary Era, 1760-1810, conference at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, Connecticut on September 23, 2005. She also presented "'When the Calamity of the war came': The Sullivan Campaign of 1779" at the Conference on Iroquois Research, Rensselaerville, New York, October 2, 2005.

President George W. Bush talks with editors in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday, April 29, 2005, after they presented him with volume 12 of the Presidential Series. From left are: Ted Crackel, Christine Patrick, Phil Chase, John Pinheiro, former assistant editor, and Bruce Cole, chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities.

Philander Chase lectured on David Hackett Fischer's 2004 book Washington's Crossing for the "Books Sandwiched In" program at Charlottesville's Northside Library on January 21, 2005, and again at the Crozet Library, Crozet, Va., on January 25, 2005. He gave a President's Day lecture entitled "Wasn't That a Time? George Washington at Valley Forge" at Brevard College, Brevard, NC, on February 21, 2005. His review of William Howard Adam's 2003 book Gouverneur Morris: An Independent Life appeared in the February 2005 issue of the American Historical Review.