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WESTERN SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
FLAGSTAFF, AZ · EIN 237029863 · Form 990 · FY2022 · Small ($100K-$1M) · www.wssaweb.com
revenue
$221K
expenses
$220K
net assets
$2K
employees
0
program ratio
0%
mission · from form 990

The World Social Science Association WSSA is committed to multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship service and collegiality. The WSSA's mission includes fostering professional study advancing research promoting the teaching of social science and encouraging professional exchange across the social science disciplines. WSSA draws scholars and others in some 32 disciplines or "sections," from across the United States and around the world; convenes an annual conference; conducts research competitions for faculty and students; and publishes The Social Science Journal a juried quarterly research journal.

profile · synthesized from sources

Western Social Science Association (WSSA) is a scholarly organization that promotes research and academic exchange in the social sciences. It hosts an annual conference for presenting research and recognizes outstanding work through awards for books, papers, and emerging scholars. The association serves academics and students across the United States and internationally.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2022

what they reported doing

Program narrative the organization filed with the IRS. Ordered by program spending.

  1. #1 primary $30K
    Journal Publication
named programs · 4 · from sources

what they call their work

Annual Conference
Hosts an annual academic conference featuring presentations, panels, and discussions on social science research across various disciplines
Best Book Award
Annual award for the best book in the social sciences published during the previous year
Graduate and Undergraduate Paper Competitions
Competitions recognizing outstanding research papers written by graduate and undergraduate students
Outstanding Emerging Scholars Award
Recognizes early-career scholars for significant contributions to social science research
activities · 6 groups

what they do

  • Educator and Professional Recognition Awards 7 activities
    • Administer annual research awards
      Recognizes excellence in social science research by awarding the Distinguished Book Award and the Larry Gould Best Article Award annually, as well as honoring outstanding student papers and dissertations each year.
    • Awards scholarly excellence in social science research
      Recognizes outstanding contributions to social science research through annual awards, including the Distinguished Book Award, Larry Gould Best Article Award, Outstanding Emerging Scholar honors, and prizes for outstanding student and dissertation papers at various academic levels.
    • Honor emerging scholars
      Recognizes up to three Outstanding Emerging Scholars annually at its conference, with recent honorees including Dr. Dory Quinn, Dr. Jussi Laine, and Dr. Montse Feu Lopez in 2019.
    • Recognize outstanding scholarly contributions
      The organization annually honors three Outstanding Emerging Scholars, presents a Distinguished Book Award and the Larry Gould Best Article Award, and recognizes outstanding student papers and dissertations with prizes.
    • Recognize outstanding scholarly contributions
      The organization annually honors three Outstanding Emerging Scholars, presents a Distinguished Book Award and the Larry Gould Best Article Award, and recognizes outstanding student papers and dissertations with prizes.
    • Recognize outstanding scholarly contributions
      The organization annually honors three Outstanding Emerging Scholars, presents a Distinguished Book Award and the Larry Gould Best Article Award, and recognizes outstanding student papers and dissertations with prizes.
    • Recognizes scholarly excellence through awards
      Presents annual awards for outstanding research, including the Distinguished Book Award, the Larry Gould Best Article Award, and recognition for up to four outstanding student papers and one outstanding dissertation paper. Also honors three Outstanding Emerging Scholars each year.
  • Professional Association Conferences & Events 6 activities
    • Host annual academic conferences
      Organizes and hosts an annual conference for social scientists, held in different cities across the western United States. Events have been conducted in-person, virtually (e.g., 2020, 2021), and in hybrid formats (e.g., 2022), with upcoming conferences scheduled through 2027.
    • Hosts annual academic conferences
      Organizes an annual conference for social scientists, held in different U.S. locations each year, with formats including in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Recent and upcoming conferences include San Diego (2019), virtual (2020, 2021), hybrid (2022), Tempe (2023), San Antonio (2024), Seattle (2025), and Albuquerque (2026).
    • Organize and host annual conferences
      The organization hosts annual conferences for social scientists, which have been held in various formats including in-person, hybrid, and virtual, across different cities such as Albuquerque, Denver, Seattle, San Antonio, Tempe, and San Diego.
    • Organize and host annual conferences
      The organization hosts annual conferences for social scientists, which have been held in various formats including in-person, hybrid, and virtual, across different locations such as Albuquerque, Denver, Seattle, San Antonio, Tempe, and San Diego.
    • Organize and host annual conferences
      The organization hosts annual conferences for social scientists, which have been held in various formats including in-person, hybrid, and fully online, across different locations such as Albuquerque, Denver, Seattle, San Antonio, Tempe, and San Diego.
    • Organizes annual academic conferences
      Hosts an annual conference for social scientists, held in different U.S. locations each year, including in-person, virtual (e.g., 2020, 2021), and hybrid (e.g., 2022) formats. Recent and upcoming conferences include locations such as Albuquerque (2026), Seattle (2025), San Antonio (2024), Tempe (2023), and San Diego (2019).
  • Member-Focused Job Board & Career Matching 6 activities
    • Provide job announcement space
      The organization offers free space for universities and education-related entities to post position announcements.
    • Provide job announcement space
      The organization offers free space for universities and education-related entities to post position announcements.
    • Provide job announcement space
      The organization offers free space for universities and education-related entities to post position announcements, supporting career development within the social sciences.
    • Support academic recruitment and communication
      Provides free online space for universities and educational institutions to post position announcements and supports editorial transitions by announcing searches for new editors of The Social Science Journal.
    • Supports academic and professional development
      Provides free space for university and education-related job announcements, supports editorial transitions by announcing searches for new editors of The Social Science Journal, and maintains organizational governance through a constitution and operations manual.
    • Supports academic community development
      Provides capacity-building services to the academic community by offering free space for university and education-related job announcements, collecting membership dues, and maintaining formal organizational governance through a constitution and operations manual that informed adopted bylaws in 2022.
  • Academic Journal Publishing & Member Research Resources 6 activities
    • Publish The Social Science Journal
      The organization publishes scholarly work in the social sciences through its official publication, The Social Science Journal, and provides members with free online access to it.
    • Publish The Social Science Journal
      The organization publishes scholarly work in the social sciences through its official publication, The Social Science Journal, and provides members with free online access to it.
    • Publish The Social Science Journal
      The organization publishes scholarly work in the social sciences through its official publication, The Social Science Journal, and provides members with free online access to it.
    • Publish scholarly research in The Social Science Journal
      Produces and publishes peer-reviewed scholarly work through its official publication, The Social Science Journal, providing members with free online access after the annual conference.
    • Publishes The Social Science Journal
      Produces and publishes scholarly research in the social sciences through its official journal, The Social Science Journal, providing members with free online access after the annual conference. The journal also features official conference abstracts and is managed through periodic editor searches.
    • Publishes and disseminates scholarly research
      Publishes peer-reviewed scholarly work through its official publication, The Social Science Journal, and provides members with free online access to the journal following the annual conference. Also publishes official conference abstracts from past meetings.
  • Conference Abstract and Booklet Publication 4 activities
    • Publish conference abstracts
      The organization publishes official abstracts for its annual conferences, documenting the scholarly presentations and research shared at these events.
    • Publish conference abstracts
      The organization publishes official abstracts for its annual conferences, such as those held in 2019 and 2018.
    • Publish conference abstracts
      The organization publishes official abstracts for its annual conferences, such as those held in 2019 and 2018.
    • Publish conference abstracts
      Produces and publishes official abstracts for its annual conferences, including those from the 2018 and 2019 meetings.
  • Bylaws and Governance Documentation 1 activity
    • Maintain organizational governance infrastructure
      Developed and adopted formal organizational documents including a constitution, operations manual, and bylaws (formally adopted in 2022) to guide governance and operations.
financials · form 990 · fy2022
revenue
Total revenue$221K
Contributions & grants$190K86%
Program service revenue$31K14%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$220K
Program expenses0%
Admin / overhead0%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$30K
Grants paid out$12K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$2K
Cash$2K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$2K
Liquid reserves0.1 mo
2 years on record · 2021–2022 · YoY revenue +281.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2022

who runs it

board members · 5
  • Aresta Tsosie-Paddock — Council Member
  • John Burke — Council Member
  • Karen Jarratt-Snider — Council Membert
  • Michelle Companion — Council Member
  • lisa Ossian — Council Member
relationships · 10

who they work with

  • Arizona State University Partner — Collaborates on academic position announcements, including for Director of American Indian Studies and Director of the Center for Indian Education.
  • Autonomous University of Baja California Partner — WSSA is coordinating with the Autonomous University of Baja California for a seminar.
  • Autonomous University of the State of Mexico Partner — WSSA is coordinating with the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico for a seminar.
  • California State University, Long Beach Partner — Collaborates on academic position announcements, including for Assistant Professor of Sociology, Digital Technology and Culture.
  • El Colegio de Jalisco Partner — WSSA is coordinating with El Colegio de Jalisco for a seminar.
  • LASCIC, Latin American Studies & Chicano-Iberian Culture Network Partner — WSSA is coordinating with LASCIC for a seminar.
  • Northern Arizona University Partner — Collaborates on academic position announcements, including for Assistant Teaching Professor in Applied Indigenous Studies.
  • University of Colima Partner — WSSA is coordinating with the University of Colima for a seminar.
  • University of Guadalajara CLACSO (Latin American Council of Social Sciences) Partner — WSSA is coordinating with the University of Guadalajara CLACSO for a seminar.
  • World Social Science Association Partner — The Social Science Journal is the official journal of the World Social Science Association.