Do we need to rethink this structure in this current political environment?

A triennial convening of women historians set for next year won’t occur. The two co-presidents of the organization that puts on the event are no longer in their positions. And the group isn’t providing many details on what happened to what it calls “the largest women’s history event in the world.” 

Adding to confusion about how this happened is the fact that one of the Berkshire Conference’s leaders was on the faculty at Northwestern. Ji-Yeon Yuh, a Northwestern associate professor, was one of the organization’s co-presidents. But not anymore.

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, the Ruth N. Halls Professor of History at Indiana University at Bloomington, posted on Facebook March 18 that the co-presidents —who, she noted, were women of color —were progressing toward securing an alternate venue when they were ousted without warning. 

In fact, the co-presidents learned of the decision when they were locked out of their Berkshire Conference email account and asked why, Myers wrote. The former account for the presidents no longer accepts emails.

None of the other Berkshire Conference officers or Board of Trustees members granted interviews. The trustees’ email address sent Inside Higher Ed a statement it said was from the officers and trustees.