S-USIH Minutes 3.28.2012

S-USIH EXCOM MEETING MARCH 28, 2012

Present: Andrew Hartman (pres), Mike O’Connor, David Sehat, Ben Alpers, Ray Haberski (secretary)

Minutes from previous meeting: approved

Agenda:

Reports:

Andrew:

email conversation on graduate committee. Slowly accumulating data.  Intention to have a final report ready by the next conference.  That would take the next excom extending its charge

Have not heard from the membership committee on the issue of diversifying the membership

Budget: nothing has changed; we have not spent much of it.  Bulk in reserve for the conference.

Main concern: two more months on committee and transition to new excom, especially regarding the journal.

Ray:

Website update—logo, deadline, Curtis’s

New members: 8 most who are not academics

Mike:

Over $5000 in the bank

Waiting for CUNY to return money to the society

Filling out the IRS form for non-profit status—done before term runs out

Ben:

Not much to report.

Spoke to people involved in SCMS which is housed at OU.  Spoke about the operation of this partnership including the role of administrative help.

Have a journal but that the conference generates the funds.  Larger conference and most membership comes from the conference.

Clarify relationship of publications committee to a journal; where the journal fits might need revision in bylaws

Tim will be the next chair and the newsletter will be the main feature to work on.

Is the newsletter going to be quarterly?

Figure out the division of labor—Ben does the physical layout and the content would come from Tim and Lauren.

Need regular columns

Could we use report from the department chairs?

We could and need to talk about length and deadlines

Shoot for a bi-annual newsletter for now

David:

CUNY continues to be a problem.  Adjusted reservation on Thursday and Friday 8am-8pm.  Took two months to secure Friday night.

Ana said that she needed to confirm this would be a fee free reservation.  This might be a problem.

If they charge us we will need to adjust fees and/or cut other aspects of it

Progress on plenary?

Beginning to do work on plenary.  Once plenaries are confirmed we should get publicity out.

AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION

Document attached:

Discussion and votes on document itself.

JOURNAL PLANS

George Cotkin was  bit skeptical about the idea

However, as David argued, institutionally we need this journal.

What is this excom’s responsibility for the journal?

Andrew wanted to push harder on this issue before our term is up.

What we need is an editor.

Our vision is not that helpful but our charge of getting the idea “off the ground” is important

Paul and Andrew have been discussing the idea and have been coming to terms on what a journal would be—not just an e-journal, linked with a university press, etc.

We need to lay out to the next excom why a journal is necessary and how progress might be made.

Editor; relationship of journal to excom; publisher; relationship between the publisher and the society; fee for membership changing in relation to publishing agreement

Possible editors: Daniel Wickberg? Elisabeth Lasch Quinn? Neil Jummonville? David Steigerwald?

We need to specify what we see as a vision of the journal but that would include progress on a publisher, a process on selecting an editor, and moving toward finalizing the creation of the journal

Andrew needs information for the final report.  We need to send the information that will go into the draft.

Need to meet to discuss the bylaws that are tabled and the vote on the amendments, in addition to the final report.

Next meeting should be sometime in May after the election and before the next excom takes office.