SHAFR Council Meeting Minutes
Friday, January 7, 2016 – 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Hilton Atlanta, Room 205; Atlanta, GA
Members Present: Amanda Bozcar, Tim Borstelmann, Robert Brigham, Amanda Demmer, Mary Dudziak, David Engerman (presiding), Petra Goedde, Amy Greenberg, Paul Kramer, Alan McPherson, Penny Von Eschen
Others Present: Nick Cullather, Kyle Longley, Amy Sayward, Jennie Epp, Patricia Thomas, Cassie Thompson
Business Items
1) Announcements
Engerman called the meeting to order at 8:05 and especially welcomed those new to the Council: Amanda Demmer, Amy Greenberg, Mary Dudziak (as Vice President), Amy Sayward (as Executive Director), and Jennie Epp (as Assistant Director).
Engerman then proposed a resolution of thanks to retiring Council members, Kristin Hoganson, Michael Sherry, Rebecca Herman, and Tom Zeiler for their service and dedication to SHAFR. The motion was submitted by Brigham, seconded by McPherson, and passed unanimously.
2) Recap of motions passed by e-mail since June meeting
Sayward read into the minutes a summary of the five motions passed by e-mail since the June 2015 meeting:
• approval of the June 2015 SHAFR minutes;
• the July 2015 appointment of Julie Laut as Conference Consultant;
• the July 2015 appointment of Amy Sayward as Executive Director;
• the September 2015 motion to thank Peter Hahn for his service; and
• the October 2015 motion to approve and list SHAFR as an individual signatory to the statement on human research promulgated by the Oral History Association.
All motions passed unanimously by the Council.
3) Summary of Financial Reports
Sayward provided an oral summary of a written report, circulated before the meeting, on the 2015 fiscal year. She pointed out that future financial reports on the endowment will include greater detail differentiating between stock market trends and withdrawals in any given year. She explained that there were extraordinary expenses during the fiscal year caused by the recent executive director transition that will not recur. Borstelmann moved to accept the report, Brigham seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Additionally, on the advice of Peter Hahn, Von Eschen proposed a motion for a financial review of SHAFR’s records, which was seconded by Borstelmann and passed unanimously.
4) SHAFR’s newsletter
Sayward presented a proposal to digitize back issues of SHAFR’s newsletter before Passport became part of the SHAFR website. As part of the digital repository at Middle Tennessee State University, the newsletter could be made available online, included in the SHAFR website, and made searchable. Brigham made a motion to budget $1,200-$1,500 for this process, Greenberg seconded it, and it passed unanimously.
Additionally, Greenberg moved that Council thank Mitch Lerner for his service as consulting editor of Passport; the motion was seconded by Brigham and passed unanimously.
5) Social Media Presence for SHAFR
After discussion about SHAFR’s social media presence, Goedde moved to charge Dudziak with a review of the organization’s presence; Von Eschen seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
6) History of Latin America and the World as Part of SHAFR
Longley and McPherson offered a summary of work-to-date on creating a “Latin America and the World” group as part of SHAFR to better integrate Latin American history, scholars, and scholarship within SHAFR by improving communication, fostering community, and pursuing initiatives that would draw these scholars more fully into SHAFR. Longley suggested a SHAFR breakfast might be a good first step toward these goals. Council members thanked Longley for his efforts thus far and endorsed the efforts of this group to promote the study of Latin America and the World through SHAFR channels – for instance, the website, Passport, and the conference program.
7) Reports on Diplomatic History
Cullather presented an oral report that highlighted the staff’s continuing work on the quality of articles (which includes an online repository of archival citation formats) and the new “Colloquy” feature.
Thomas and Thompson from Oxford University Press summarized how Diplomatic History has done for the fiscal year. Production is going well and previous type-setting and proofreading problems have been reduced dramatically. Individual subscriptions from libraries have declined, but subscriptions through library consortia are on the rise. Council members requested information from Oxford about the financial impact of this trend. Thomas also reported that online traffic and downloads are up about 20%.
8) SHAFR Guide
McPherson briefly discussed the contract negotiations with Brill, which went well. Anticipated online publication date is 2017, and updates will be staggered every six months to generate new content. Council thanked him for his continuing efforts on the Guide.
9) Summer Institutes 2016 and 2017
Council reviewed the final report from the 2015 Summer Institute. It examined an initial report on the organization of the upcoming 2016 Institute and reiterated its commitment to summer institutes that reflect the diversity of SHAFR as a whole.
10) Upcoming SHAFR Annual Meetings
Preparations for upcoming SHAFR meeting in June 2016 in San Diego are in progress and moving smoothly, with excellent turnout expected based on submissions to the Program Committee. Thanks to a long-term contract with the Arlington Renaissance, the venue and hotel rooms have been secured at a good rate for the 2017 and 2019 meetings.
11) Development Committee Update
Engerman summarized the report, which shows an impressive success through the Leaders’ Fund initiative. Discussion about future directions will be pursued at the June meeting.
12) Adjournment
Brigham made a motion for adjournment, Borstelmann seconded, the motion passed unanimously, and the SHAFR January Council concluded at 11:35 a.m.
Respectfully submitted 18 January 2016
Amy L. Sayward, Executive Director
ALS/jee