The OASPA Board of Directors comprises 11 members who serve for a term of 3 years. There is a rotation system of terms and each year an election is held to fill available seats. This year the two open seats were applicable for a mixed model publisher and an infrastructure/services representative.
OASPA’s Articles of Association state that “at least half of [board] seats must be held by organisations which obtain at least 50% of their revenue from open access publishing” and it is the Board’s responsibility to ensure that this requirement is fulfilled. We are keen to ensure that the Board continues to have the capacity to act in the full spectrum of interests present in the diversity of the membership, both in terms of business models and roles within the scholarly communication ecosystem. Therefore, the Board assesses its requirements and skills on an annual basis and seeks representatives of different types of member organisations and with different areas of expertise each year.
For 2025, we are pleased to welcome Joanna Ball (DOAJ) to the OASPA Board in September to take up the infrastructure/services board seat. Sara Bosshart (Royal Society of Chemistry) has been re-appointed to the board as a mixed-model publisher representative.
This year we also say goodbye to Dominic Mitchell of DOAJ who ends his time on the OASPA Board having served 2 terms. Dom has been an active member of the OASPA Membership Committee and also has served a crucial officer role on the Executive Committee, most recently as Chair of the Board of Directors. During Dom’s time as Chair he picked up the baton to lead a period of change, implementing the board’s Leadership Roadmap which was collectively developed in 2023.
Catherine Mitchell (California Digital Library) has worked closely with Dom on the Executive Committee: “Dom has led the OASPA Board with grace and dedication at a time of significant complexity. He has brought a clear-headed approach to the work of refining both our procedures and the documentation that guides the Board in its work. As Board Secretary, I have appreciated immensely his collaborative leadership style and his eagerness to ensure that the Board serves OASPA in the best way it can. He will be missed!”
The board offers heartfelt thanks to Dom for the time, effort and dedication he has shown the organisation throughout his time on the board.
Questions regarding the Board or election process can be directed to OASPA’s Executive Director, Claire Redhead (claire.redhead@oaspa.org)