Welcome Message from the Incoming PSA ECN Committee Members

This summer, there was a changeover on the PSA ECN Committee. As they start their term together, the new committee shares a welcome message.

As we reported over the summer, there was a changeover on the PSA Early Career Network Committee this year. Five new committee members were elected earlier this year and officially took over in the summer. One member of the committee, our Communications Officer Caroline Leicht, has stayed on and will serve out her two-year elected term until April 2024. On staying on the PSA ECN Committee, Caroline said:

I feel immensely lucky to have been given the opportunity to serve on the PSA Early Career Network Committee. Over the past year, I have learned so much from working with my fellow committee members and can honestly say I have made some great friends. While I am sad to see them leave the committee as their terms come to an end, I am excited to see what they do next. I am also thrilled to have the opportunity to stay on the committee for my second year and get to work with my new fellow committee members. Their enthusiasm for their roles and this very important work is fantastic to see and I look forward to working with them over the next few months to offer opportunities to our members.”

Caroline is now joined by the following five new committee members:

Matthew Hepplewhite (University of Oxford) has taken over from Taylor Borowetz (SOAS) as President.

Niamh Cashell (University of Manchester) has taken over from Lydia Ayame Hiraide (Feminist Centre for Racial Justice) as Secretary.

Stephanie Luke (University of Sheffield) has taken over from Elsa Bengtsson Meuller (Goldsmiths, UoL) as Treasurer.

Daniel Bowman (University of Liverpool) has taken over from Thomas Ron as Events Officer.

Manuel Hernández-González (University of Nottingham) has taken over from Katie Pruszynski (University of Sheffield) as EDI Officer.

The new PSA ECN Committee is committed to continuing the work of the previous committee and to continue delivering for our members. Reflecting on his new role and the term ahead, our new President Matthew Hepplewhite said:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Early Career Network Committee for their fantastic work. The many events and talks they organised were a tremendous help to me and to many others. I hope we are able to have as successful a term in office as they did.

I would also like to thank the incoming Committee – Niamh, Stephanie, Daniel, and Manuel – for their decision to help early career scholars. It involves a lot of work, and I am very grateful for them forming the team with me. I would like to pay a special thank you to Caroline, who is remaining on the Committee and has proven absolutely invaluable during the transition process.

My aims for our term as Committee of the ECN are twofold. I want to replicate the events and talks that the previous ECN ran with such success, for example on building resilience, on applying for academic positions, and on submitting articles to journals. But I also want to build on the foundations they have laid and explore additions way we can help early career scholars. For example, I am very keen, given the ever-greater internationalisation of academia, to build links between the PSA’s ECN and early career networks in other political studies associations.”

We look forward to sharing upcoming events and opportunities with you all very soon. As a first opportunity to come together in the new academic year, please do join us for our free online Welcome Event on 20 October at 3pm via Zoom. Registration is available here.