From the SFRA Executive Committee
From the President
Stina Attebery
I’m honored to be writing my first SFRA President’s Column. I realized recently that I’ve been involved with the SFRA since the 2011 conference in Lublin (my first time ever presenting at a conference!), which means I’ve been around for 15 years at this point. Through the SFRA I’ve met wonderful mentors and friends who helped me through grad school and through my first few rocky pandemic-era years in my post-PhD career. Other scholars should be jealous of the kind of support and friendliness we get to experience.
I want to express my thanks to the outgoing board members, Gerry Canavan and Sarah Lohmann. They’ve done wonderful work as Immediate Past President and Secretary, and I’m glad to inherit the SFRA that they helped shape. My thanks as well to Hugh O’Connell, who has been a wonderful source of information and support in the advisory force ghost position as Immediate Past President. It has already been lovely to work with the ongoing board members Chris Pak (Vice President), Josh Pearson (Treasurer), and our At-Large board members Helane Androne and Kania Greer. And my welcome and thanks to Brittany Roberts for stepping up to serve as our new Secretary.
The membership portal is open for renewals and new memberships. This year you will have noticed an increase in our membership rates. Unfortunately, due to general inflation and rising costs, several of the journals that we provide to SFRA members have raised their rates. We are still getting a good rate from these journals compared to the cost that they charge for non-members (almost half the price!). We always try to keep costs as low as possible, so the decision to raise our membership rates wasn’t made lightly. All of the money generated by SFRA memberships goes toward our basic operation costs, including journal access, travel grants, “support a scholar” grants, and our yearly awards. These rising costs will be a subject for discussion at this year’s business meeting as part of our annual Treasurer’s report.
Looking ahead, we’re excited for the upcoming 2026 conference “Into the Slipstream: Watering Futures” at Michigan State University from June 17th-21st. The acceptance letters have gone out, and the conference program will be sent out very soon. As a reminder, you can apply for a $500 SFRA travel grant by submitting a proposal to SFRA Secretary Brittany Roberts.
SFRA Review 