The 111th AAA Business Meeting was called to order by President Leith Mullings on November 15, 2012, at 6:30 pm in the Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel, Continental Room 5. After it was determined that no quorum was present, the president adjourned the meeting and the committee as a whole reconvened. President-Elect/Vice President Monica Heller read a list of deceased AAA members since the 110th AAA Business Meeting and a moment of silence was observed.
President Mullings referenced her written report and provided a summary. She indicated that it was a challenging, active and productive year with significant progress made in many areas. She noted the meeting was the largest meeting ever with 6,650 registrants. She thanked the members of the Executive Board (EB), AAA staff and members. She remarked on our scholarly publishing program and the discussions concerning its future that will be occurring during the meeting. She noted that this year the first AAA digital-only journal, Open Anthropology, was established. This publication will be a collaborative effort with Sections and the goal is to have anthropology content open to the public. Currently there is a membership vote open about a proposed merger of the Society for Economic Anthropology (SEA) into AAA. If the merger is approved, SEA would become a Section and would be subject to rules that govern AAA Sections. Mullings also stated that the Principles of Professional Responsibility (formerly known as the Code of Ethics) was approved by the membership this fall. She noted that a task force was established to review the Annual Meeting, Executive Program Committee, and new innovations such as the Salon. She noted that it is time to formally consider the context in which we hold our annual meetings; ideas should be sent to Carolyn Rouse and Jason Watkins. She noted that our association was built on diversity and that we strive for an inclusive association. She has appointed a Task Force on Race and Racism to implement recommendations by the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology established by past AAA President Alan Goodman. She also commented that expanding the influence of anthropology is an important goal. The new “This is Anthropology” website initiated by Florida students after remarks made by the Florida governor helps with this goal. Our RACE exhibit continues in both large and small museums and over 200,000 people have seen this exhibit. She remarked that this exhibit has changed discourse in some areas and is being seen as an important element in the continued discussion of race. We are moving forward with the working group on migration, which is exploring ways to collaborate with the Smithsonian Institution. She closed her remarks by expressing her thanks for the many years of diligent service Bill Davis—who will retire in January—has provided the association as executive director. She noted the extensive process that was undertaken to find his replacement, and then announced that Ed Liebow will be the new AAA executive director. She noted his background, extraordinary vision of the association, and his vision of what anthropology can do.
Deb Nichols, chair of the Committee on the Future of Print and Electronic Publishing (CFPEP), provided a brief report in which she thanked her committee for their hard work. She outlined the committee’s work which included reviewing the publishing partnership with Wiley-Blackwell and recommending contract renewal for five years to provide financial stability for the publications program while the AAA develops a future planning process for its publishing program. They also worked closely with the Section Assembly (SA), surveyed section editors and membership, created SA working group in order to receive additional feedback from Sections, and solicited views of the AA editor. She stated that the Executive Board charged CFPEP to develop a proposal for a process of long-range planning for the publishing program. She noted that CFPEP analyzed the financial situation and explored various alternatives to address sustainability and accessibility. Over the long run, the current publishing program does not appear sustainable because of rising costs and reduced subscriptions. In the fall AAA contracted an outside consultant, Raym Crow, to review the AAA publishing program and consider possible alternatives to its future. He also analyzed results of the membership survey. CFPEP submitted the Crow report and membership survey results to the Anthropology Communications Committee (ACC) and EB who then released it to the SA, then to the membership via the members-only area of the AAA website. She noted that the report raised issues to be considered by the membership and in going forward we need to think of publishing in a different way. She stated that working with SA, we offered an opportunity for one publishing Section to shift its journal to an open access model. She concluded that she welcomed members emails and comments and as we engage in dialogue about the future of the publishing program.
Global Climate Change Task Force Chair Shirley Fiske reports on the task force’s progress and activities. Photo courtesy American Anthropological Association
Shirley Fiske, chair of the Global Climate Change Task Force (GCCTF), provided a short report on the work of the task force. She noted the GCCTF was appointed for three years and described how they were formed through growing member concern on climate change. She stated that we need to amplify our voice with regard to climate change. She listed the 10 GCCTF members, a good mix of practicing/professional and industry anthropologists, as well as archaeologists and ethnographers. She stated the mission was to identify and communicate what we know about climate change to anthropologists and the media. She welcomed how open the association is in discussing and considering this area. Among the GCCTF’s accomplishments were open forums at many meetings: AAA in Montreal, American Ethnological Society, Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists, and the Society for Applied Anthropology. She noted during the discussions they heard from people who want to know about AnthroSource and wanted to contribute to the column in online AN. She stated that interviews for the AN column were conducted with individuals working with climate change. She noted the group was doing community building, and suggested those who would like to join the conversation can do so via the AAA website. She thanked those who have participated already. She said one of their goals is outreach to a broader public, to establish what we do know and what can still be said about climate change to the public. She noted that they have posted op-eds on why climate matters. She concluded that the GCCTF will be meeting at School of American Research (SAR) next year to attack issues and principles in climate change and draft their final report for the EB which she hopes will prove useful to the grater science community.
Jennifer Wies, chair of the Committee on Gender Equity in Anthropology (COGEA), outlined the committee’s charge, which is to monitor the status of gender equity in the discipline and the AAA. She noted that their role was to advise the EB and educate members and the public on matters of gender and gender equity. Two years ago, the committee was renamed from the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology. In light of the new subtle forms of discrimination, COGEA is in the process of determining how to better serve AAA by shifting their focus to examine all forms of gender equity and formally integrate the needs of men and transgender individuals, as well as women, into the committee’s efforts. Paired with this transition, they have increased their visibility at the annual meeting through invited session and partnership with Sections. She highlighted the roundtable discussions in San Francisco which will be reported back to the AAA and inform COGEA’s future activities. Finally she noted that COGEA showcases the efforts of AAA members to ameliorate gender inequities through the COGEA Award, formerly the Squeaky Wheel Award. The COGEA Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated the courage to bring to light and investigate practices in anthropology that are potentially gender-discriminatory.
Carolyn Rouse, 2012 AAA Annual Meeting program chair, reported that our association coordinates activities of a large range of programs. She noted that Borders and Crossings was the theme and 628 sessions were submitted, with 14% denied. This was the highest registration ever, even surpassing Montreal. Students comprised of 30% attendees and 1312 were not from the United States. She noted that the opening panel this year helped increase attendance of Wednesday events. She highlighted the Wednesday evening session on race and the election and noted that new this year were the creation of Salons, which served as a way of bringing older and newer members together for a conversation. She concluded by indicating she looked forward to working with Jason Watkins on the Annual Meeting task force next year.
Ed Liebow, AAA treasurer, provided a report on behalf of the Finance Committee. He thanked outgoing members and recognized incoming members to include the new AAA Treasurer Ted Hamann. He noted the Finance Committee is responsible to for two things: (1) make sure the investment portfolio adheres to the investment statement, and (2) submit a yearly budget to the EB. He noted that the FY 2013 consolidated budget is $5.1 million in revenues. He stated that the EB sets the priority for the budget, preserves member dues at an affordable rate for the membership, promotes engagement in our publication future to include developing new initiatives, and provides products and services for members and non-members. He noted that AAA strives for transparency to include our accounting practices. He concluded by asking members to contact the finance office or committee with any questions.
Leith Mullings introduced the incoming EB members: Margaret Buckner (Secretary), A Lynn Bolles (Cultural Seat), Karen G Williams (Student Seat), Cheryl Mwaria (Undesignated Seat), Rayna Rapp (Undesignated Seat), Alex W Barker (Section Assembly Convenor), Karen Nakamura (Section Assembly EB member) and Edmund T Hamann (Treasurer). She also thanked outgoing members: Debra Martin (Secretary), Florence Babb (Cultural Seat), Jason Miller (Student Seat), Hugh Gusterson (Undesignated Seat), Jean (Jay) Schensul (Undesignated Seat), Vilma Santiago-Irizarry (Section Assembly Convenor), Gabriela Vargas-Cetina (Section Assembly EB member) and Ed Liebow (Treasurer).
As no new business was brought forward, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 pm.
via Anthropology-News http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2013/03/07/aaa-business-meeting/
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