Membership

Constitution

History UK (HE) is the national body promoting history in higher education. It represents all UK HE history departments and is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, London.

It was founded in 1982 as the History at Universities Defence Group (HUDG), to 'defend and maintain the scope and quality of the teaching and scholarly study of history in British universities', and to 'monitor the effects of the financial cuts on the viability of history in all its aspects in the various universities and to bring these effects to the notice of the public and of all relevant responsible bodies'. In 1992 it merged with its sister body the Campaign for Public Sector History (PUSH), representing Polytechnics and Colleges of HE, and in 2005 adopted the name History UK (HE).

All UK HE History departments (or equivalent units) are eligible for membership of History UK, and the great majority do subscribe annually. A Steering Committee of 30 elected members (plus officers) meets 3 times a year, and business is carried on by the officers (one or two convenors, a secretary and a treasurer), supported by an executive secretary.

Previous convenors include Rees Davies, Andrew Porter, Anthony Fletcher, Eric Evans, Jane Longmore, Christopher Durston and Virginia Davis. The executive officers are appointed on a 3-year rolling basis. The convenors are the principal executive officers, acting on behalf of the society and convening meetings. The secretary attends to minutes, elections, and constitutional issues; the treasurer is self-explanatory. Constitutional arrangements were formalised at the time of the 1992 merger.

History UK communicates with the profession via heads of history departments (or equivalent). Where there is no Steering Committee member, heads may nominate a colleague to receive a second mailing and act as a second History UK contact. Contacts do not attend the Committee but exist purely to improve communications and act as a useful pool of future potential Steering Committee members.

The Steering Committee (formalised in 1992) consists of up to 30 elected members, together with one postgraduate representative, up to two co-opted members, and representatives of the Historical Association and the Royal Historical Society. Steering Committee members are nominated by heads of department (or equivalent), with a ballot of departments if there are more nominations than vacancies, and confirmed at the annual plenary. Members sit for a term of three years from the annual plenary, normally renewed for a further three years (maximum). If a Steering Committee member from a department cannot attend, or where there is no Steering Committee member, departments may send an occasional substitute. Members, however, are treated as the elected representatives of the profession as a whole and may not be replaced permanently; when moving institutions they retain their membership until the end of their three-year term, requiring fresh nomination by their new department if they wish to serve a second three-year term. Members who miss three successive meetings may be deemed lapsed, and replaced. The Steering Committee is anxious to represent all sectors of HE (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Colleges and Institutes of HE). The remits of the Steering Group are as follows:

Profile of History. To promote the value of the academic study of history, ensuring that the worth of the subject is widely understood both within Institutions of HE and beyond. To promote fruitful collaboration and understanding between professional historians, those involved in the promotion of 'public history', and those with an interest in the subject in the wider community. To ensure effective collaboration with other professional bodies within history and the wider Arts and Humanities Community.
Recruitment. To monitor recruitment to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in UK Institutions of HE and to report to the Steering Committee with recommendations as appropriate.
Research culture. To maintain oversight of the research resources (including archival, library and other source material) available to historians working in institutions of HE in the UK and to bring pressure to ensure that access to such resources is maintained. To monitor the impact of external measures of research quality on historians working in HE institutions.
Audit Culture. To monitor developments within the sector concerned with the definition and assessment of quality and standards. To disseminate information about bodies concerned with this work both within institutions and externally (e.g. the QAA); to bring appropriate pressure to ensure that the 'Audit Culture' is fit for purpose and not unnecessarily burdensome.
Career development. To gather information about recruitment and career development of history teachers and researchers in institutions of HE, to monitor trends, and to promote good practice in career development.

In the past, HUDG/History UK has taken a leading role in drawing up the QAA History Benchmark Statement, which sets out the standards for History degrees in the UK; monitored trends in the profession through surveys of departments; sent regular mailings to members covering developments affecting the profession; nominated members to RAE History panels and other bodies; made representations on behalf of member departments experiencing 'local' difficulties; lobbied parliament and government on behalf of the History profession; and liaised with cognate organisations.