American Philosophical Association
Central Division
Draft Minutes of the 2007 Executive Committee Meeting

Palmer House Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Cresthill Room
April 18, 2007

Present: Members Charlotte Brown, Ted Cohen, Marilyn Friedman, Peter van Inwagen, Robin Smith, James P. Sterba, Eleonore Stump, Joan Weiner; Visitor: Executive Director David Schrader

1. President Ted Cohen called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.

2. Draft minutes of the 2006 meeting, as printed on pp. 159-161 of the February 2007 APA Proceedings, were approved as printed.

3. The agenda for the meeting was approved.

4. Executive Director David Schrader reported briefly on activities in the National Office during the preceding year. He said that the National Office expects to bring the APA’s new electronic data system on-line July 1, 2007, and enumerated some of the advantages this would bring to the Association. He also mentioned his participation in the efforts of the National Humanities Alliance in working for increased support for the National Endowment for the Humanities. In response to questions about the capabilities of the new data system, he said that it would permit more effective tracking of such things as job statistics that are of interest to several APA committees, including the Committee on the Status of Women.

5. Past President Eleonore Stump presented the report of the Nominating Committee (which is printed on pp. 163-164 of the February 2007 issue of the APA Proceedings). In discussion, Vice President James Sterba asked whether having two nominees for Vice President from the same university was an issue, recalling a similar case in a prior year when one nominee had withdrawn on discovering he was one of two nominees from his institution. The Executive Committee discussed the procedures for determining nominees. President Cohen moved the following:
“That the Nominating Committee distribute the list of nominees to all nominees as soon as that list is established,”
This was approved unanimously.

6. Secretary-Treasurer Robin Smith reported on the activities of the 2008 Program Committee, chaired by Ann Cudd (the members of the Program Committee are listed on p. 8 of this issue of the Proceedings).

7. Secretary-Treasurer Robin Smith presented the financial report for 2006-07 and the proposed budget for 2007-08. The report for 06-07, which is necessarily an estimate since income and expenses for the 2007 meeting will not be known until after the meeting, projects higher registration income but lower book exhibit income than budgeted, and anticipates a significant increase in audiovisual charges; overall, the projection for the current year is for income $1,000 above the budget and expenses $4,500 greater than budgeted.
The proposed budget for 2007-08 assumes income at 2007 levels, with an increase in exhibit income predicated on increasing the rate charged to exhibitors. Budgeted expenses are decreased because of lower anticipated program committee expenses and a lower budget for audiovisual expenses. The Executive Committee discussed the matter of audiovisual charges at length. Smith explained that most of the cost is labor charges, which are determined by union agreements affecting all hotels in the city and depend in part on the number of rooms using projection equipment simultaneously (an increase in requests for LCD projectors is the main factor behind the current year’s increase). The Executive Committee agreed (1) that a deadline for audiovisual requests well in advance of the meeting should be established (four to six weeks), with requests after that date to be rejected except in unusual circumstances; (2) that all program participants should be made thoroughly aware of the high costs of audiovisual equipment, especially LCD projectors, and asked not to make such requests unless they are genuinely necessary for a presentation. The Executive Committee also endorsed Executive Director Schrader’s proposal that the three Secretary-Treasurers work out common language to be added to the paper submission forms informing those who submit papers that electronic projection equipment is not provided automatically and that requests must be submitted by a specific deadline.
Past President Stump and Divisional Representative Friedman noted that the proposed budget contained incorrect figures for the Division’s contributions to the PIKSI project. These will be corrected for the APA’s annual audit.

8. The Executive Committee discussed at some length possible meeting sites for 2009 and beyond. Secretary-Treasurer Smith reported that dates in Chicago for 2010 were very likely not going to be available. As a result, the Executive Committee instructed the Secretary-Treasurer to proceed with developing a contract proposal with the Palmer House for 2009 and to explore contract posibilities for 2010 in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and St. Louis.

9. The Executive Committee approved the agenda for the Business Meeting as printed on pp. 147-149 of this issue of the Proceedings.

10. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Smith
Secretary-Treasurer, APA Central Division