PLACE AND ATTENDANCE
APSA offices, Washington, DC
Present: John Aldrich, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Michael Brintnall, Michael Desch, Paul Gronke, Kerstin Hamann, Ange-Marie Hancock, Mala Htun, Jeffrey Isaac, John Ishiyama, David Lake, Taeku Lee, Jane Mansbridge, Laura Olson, Ronald Rogowski, Dara Strolovitch, Kathleen Thelen, and Angelia Wilson.
APSA Staff: Jeffrey Biggs, Regina Chavis, Jennifer Segal Diascro, Jonathan Gilad, Polly Karpowicz, Michael Marriot, Kimberly Mealy, Andrew Stinson, Elizabeth Super, Barbara Walthall, and Lauren West.
Guests: Archon Fung, Margaret Levi, Kay Schlozman, and Kaare Storm.
CALL TO ORDER
An emergency meeting of the American Political Science Association Council was held in Washington, DC on October 6, 2012. The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by President Mansbridge.
WELCOME AND REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
President Mansbridge opened the meeting with a round of introductions. She went on to thank the APSA staff for their work in New Orleans and to express appreciation to out-going president Bing Powell, noting his openness in working with her during his year as president. She encouraged future APSA presidents to provide a similar role for the president-elect because it provided two perspectives on issues. In that context, she looked forward to an on-going discussion of governance including Michael Brintnall's memo on the subject. She noted that planning for the 2013 Annual Meeting under the direction of program chairs Catherine Boone and Archon Fung was moving ahead under the theme “Power and Persuasion.”
She briefly discussed her task force “Getting to Yes” that would bring the study of negotiation into politics. Do institutions, for example, make negotiations better or worse? Her request that the Council reauthorize the ad hoc initiative on “workable solutions for advancing women in the profession” led by Kristen Monroe was fulfilled without objection.
Among the areas of focus for the coming year she said would be work on the APSA website including attention to content, gaining assistance of a web designer, and, down-the-road, upgrading the membership platform. Her suggestion to ask president-elect John Aldrich to lead work on the website was approved without objection.
CONSENT AGENDA
The council approved the minutes for the April 14 meeting with the following changes to the entire sections:
a. XVII. Political Science Research Journal Proposal
Dr. Brintnall provided the background for a proposal for a new APSA journal focused on short articles reporting research findings that had been discussed in general terms by the council in previous meetings. Dr. Arthur Lupia, at previous meetings when he served on the council, had been asked with a group of colleagues to draft a proposal for such a journal. Dr. Adam Berinsky, who was part of this drafting group, presented a draft proposal to the council. The articles would be posted online on a rolling basis with regularly printed volumes.
Widespread council discussion followed. Many council members expressed the concern that council action on this specific proposal was premature. Key issues for future development of the proposal related to the business plan, how to assure that the journal is seen as welcoming to diverse fields and approaches, how to address reviewer fatigue, and the possibility of soliciting a broader range of member opinion about the need for, and nature of, a new journal.
Dr. Rogowski moved “to refer this proposal to the publications committee, where they will review and report, and possibly ask to accept other proposals.” The motion was approved.
b. XXII. Ad Hoc Committee on Workable Solutions to Advancing Women in the Profession Recommendations
Dr. Diascro presented the committee's recommendations. Council members discussed the report at length. Among other concerns, council members suggested that the list of best practices be further developed, that the committee focus on other obstacles to women's advancement in addition to work-family conflicts, and that the intersection of sex and gender with other categories of marginalization including race and sexuality be addressed.
Dr. Isaac moved “to refer the report to the committee on the status of women in the profession.” The motion was approved.
The council approved the minutes of the September 7 conference call with one change to add Kerstin Hamann to the attendee list.
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michael Brintnall expressed his delight that the council was meeting in the newly renovated space in the APSA building. This is the first time in recent memory that there was a space for the council to meet in our own building; the space has been designed to be consistent with the spirit of the APSA Centennial Center for Politics & Public Affairs as a venue for more public programs. He described the design of the newly installed heating and air-conditioning system as very green.
Brintnall reported that APSA staffing remained stable and that there is a search underway for a replacement of Membership Director Sean Twombly. He noted that APSA had submitted a proposal to the National Science Foundation that the association take on the responsibility of managing the application and review process for NSF dissertation grants in political science. Other updates included noting Helen Milner's election as president of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and Diane Pinderhughes election to the IPSA Executive Council. He felt it would be appropriate that APSA host the spring 2013 IPSA executive council meeting in Washington, DC.
Brintnall also invited the council to think about governance issues for APSA. He suggested that the association could strengthen its governance processes, including reviewing whether the council should meet more frequently. He also suggested ways might be found to broaden representation in APSA governance of department chairs and other institutions that play a large role in the association such as publishing, and perhaps transition from having editors on the council to having representatives from key committees including the publications committee.
In the discussion, President Mansbridge proposed having a committee to look into governance issues and Jeff Isaac seconded the motion. The council approved the motion by unanimous consent.
FINANCE REPORT
Regina Chavis referred council members to the financial report in the council materials (page 20) and reviewed the balance sheet. She noted that the budget is in line with anticipated expenses. She referred the council to financial summary in the council book noted that due to the cancellation of the 2012 Annual Meeting, some items will carry over into the next fiscal year.
Two key financial elements were noted—including a slight decline in membership. In discussion, President Mansbridge referred to recent Chronicle of Higher Education reports that describe how many associations are facing declining memberships for many reasons, including that access to journals is now readily available to many scholars, without the need for individuals to join an organization. Following a general discussion of factors influencing members, the council urged staff to follow up with a member survey planned for 2013. Journal revenues were also noted as a significant revenue source. The Cambridge contract for APSA journals will be up for renewal/discussion in 2016, and it was recognized that it is not too early to begin planning for that next period of journal revenue.
Chavis also noted that as part of the 2012–13 budget is the recommendation for the elimination of two postage surcharges that affect members living outside the United States: APSA international postage surcharge and Organized Section international postage surcharge. As international membership is growing, it seems these fees may be a barrier to continued international growth. Council approved the elimination of the international postage surcharge and approved a $1 to $2 addition to APSA dues levels to compensate for revenue loss, and acknowledged that APSA organized sections have taken similar steps.
Isaac moved to accept the recommendation to eliminate the international postage surcharge, seconded by Benjamin-Alvarado. The motion passed without objection.
The council then approved the FY2013 budget.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Michael Brintnall noted that the membership activities are in a transition period while a new director of membership is sought. Council members were referred to the council book (page 91) to review the membership numbers and the “slow drip” and “churn” of membership numbers. Brintnall noted that there seems to be no single factor for the decline, and no evidence of quick fixes. Even pricing does not seem to have a major effect, at least in the short run: the American Economic Association recently decreased their rates, and there was no immediate change in membership. Other ideas discussed included increasing the number of panels on the Annual Meeting; strengthening the Teaching and Learning Conferences and increasing the role of graduate students.
Dara Strolovitch moved to “create an ad hoc advisory group for membership and web services, to work in coordination with president-elect John Aldrich and APSA.” Motion seconded by Jeff Isaac. Council voted 13 in favor, 0 against, 1 abstention.
ANNUAL MEETING 2013
Lauren West reported that APSA has been monitoring the labor dispute and the ongoing situation at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, one of the meeting hotel sites. The contract with the Hyatt Regency will be terminated if no progress on the labor dispute is made by October 4, 2012. Should the association not continue at the Hyatt, the main hotels for our Annual Meeting would be the Chicago Hilton and the Palmer House, along with the Sheraton where we remain contracted labor agreements are in place. Shuttle service will be provided by the hotels. Moving among the hotels will cause some difficulties for members; however it is an unavoidable by-product of meeting our requirements and expectations with respect to labor issues.
ANNUAL MEETING 2012
Lauren West reported that our insurance will be covering net expenses and reimbursements from cancellation of the 2012 Annual Meeting. As of the end of September, all refunds have been processed (registration fees, exhibitors, sponsor fees). The council then began a discussion of the communication of the cancellation decision and the need for a system for real-time communication in the future.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SEARCH UPDATE
Jenny Mansbridge asked that the council move into executive session to discuss personnel matters related to the executive director search. Following conclusion of the executive session, Mansbridge reported the outline of a plan, based on prior APSA practice, in which the search committee will provide a short list of candidates to the president for due diligence, after which the administrative committee will convene to discuss them. At request of council members, the administrative committee will also receive a profile of the characteristics of the candidates in the larger finalist pool. Based on the deliberations with the administrative committee, and other information, the president will recommend one candidate from the short list to the council, for consideration in a conference call.
APSA ADVOCACY
Michael Brintnall provided a report on APSA advocacy activities. APSA had recently taken active steps in response to action in the House of Representatives to cut off funding of political science at the National Science Foundation. He noted that APSA has from time to time taken such actions, but there has not been any formal documentation of our advocacy role or approach, and he referred to a summary document he had prepared for council review that outlines priorities, practices, and some differences of opinion within the association over this role. The council acknowledged that in some cases the nature of effective advocacy will call for us to make strong statements in support of some programs for which many members views may be more nuanced, and that this is a trade-off that is necessary in very specific circumstances. The council suggested that APSA do more to express to the membership the diversity of programs for which we do advocacy, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and Title VI language and area studies programs as well as the National Science Foundation, and that we report more fully to members on APSA's affiliation with outside alliances such as COSSA and the National Humanities Alliance.
MIDDLE EAST PROJECT
Betsy Super reported that APSA had received a $500,000 two-year Carnegie Foundation grant for a Middle East-North Africa workshop project that would substantially be a collaborative effort working with young scholars and building networks in the region. The program is closely modeled on APSA's Africa project. Lisa Anderson of the American University of Cairo will chair the steering committee.
The council also asked about the Ethics Committee's engagement in Israel's Ben Gurion University and a local recommendation to the university that it cease admitting political science students. The Ethics Committee's communication did not take a position on the substance but asked to be informed about what was at stake and how the issue was proceeding.
INTERNATIONAL NETWORKING
The council was informed that Pippa Norris had requested that APSA be one of a number of organizations as founding members a network to advance women in international political science, with a seed funding proposal of $5,000. The funds would support development of an on-line website. The council unanimously approved the budget for this program.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Jennifer Diascro reported that the current public engagement activities follow from Henry Brady's ad hoc committee on Public Understanding of Political Science. Steps are underway for a new APSA web presence called politicalsciencenow, plus more active social media presence. Council documents identify current programs, new initiatives, and future possibilities. President-elect John Aldrich indicated he hopes to make this a focus during his presidency. Council discussion touched on connections to Theda Skocpol's scholars initiative, journalist access to APSA journal articles, teaching initiatives, enhanced recognition in promotion and tenure for public engagement work. Brintnall noted that effective public engagement is one of the most difficult tasks the association can address, with a risk that significant resources can be expended without assurance of any major effect.
APSR REPORT
The Council noted this was the first council meeting with the new editorial team in place, and welcomed them. John Ishiyama reported that the editorial and manuscript transition from UCLA to UNT has been smooth; their staff is experienced, and work is underway for the next issue. The percent of reviewers agreeing to review for the APSR once requested is holding close to the previous year (from 75% to 64%). The return rate is lower. The council noted continuing interest in improving the ways in which categories for classifying submissions and acceptances are constructed and implemented, and Ishiyama said he would work with the Publications Committee and APSA staff in response to their direction.
PS: POLITICAL SCIENCE AND POLITICS REPORT
Rob Hauck reported the PS content, scheduling, and staffing remains strong. Reviewer fatigue and accessing reviewers remains a concern. Particularly unsettling is that in the recent PS reader survey (see next paragraph) none of the respondents had ever reviewed for PS and 20% had submitted a manuscript to PS. With a database of 18,000 individuals, it seems there is some disconnect in the reviewer selection/updating process. Reviewer database has not been updated for some time. In the annual report to the Publications Committee and the Council Hauck noted that PS authors reflect much of our membership, regarding professors, assistant professors, grad students, as well as male and female authors/ members. Junior members are encouraged to submit.
Hauck outlined highlights of the PS Reader survey, conducted in summer 2012. Based on the results, 65% of those survey as satisfied (very, somewhat) with the content of PS; most respondents read PS in print only, readers are satisfied with the quality of all the sections of PS, more than two-thirds rate PS Features and Teacher sections as very good or above average.
He said that content in PS serves many audiences, and often continues to have a second life after appearing in PS, as a compendium of articles on specific topics, e.g., writing, teaching, simulations, publishing, elections, etc. Goals for the year ahead include improving turnaround times, reviewer pool, and looking for ways to recycle good content, either in print or online, as resources for members and others.
NEW EJOURNAL PROPOSAL
Kaare Strom, chair of the Publications Committee, reported on the committee's response to the proposal for a new journal. The journal as proposed would publish discrete scholarly results, 2000–2500 word articles, published on an ongoing basis, with a possible hardcopy published regularly or annually. The Publications Committee voted 6–1 to support the concept of the journal, but identified several major concerns with the proposal/ concept to consider. Strom outlined the range of considerations to the council:
• Mission
a) publish discrete findings, short, timely
b) facilitate communication with those outside the profession
• Staffing: more discussion and description of editorial team needed, processes, support staff
• Context: target of 2500 words differentiates this from other journals
• Strategies: strong strategy for speedy review process needed; how to prevent reviewer fatigue
• Business plan: none provided. What institutional support is necessary? What university to base it?
Strom noted the benefits to the eJournal:
• Benefits of short scholarly articles presents more avenues for communication
• Recognize new technology and blogs
• No overlap with other APSA journals; if APSA does not do this type of journal another organization will.
• May open publishing opportunities for junior scholars or others without full bore or yet fully developed research agendas.
Lengthy discussion followed with many questions and concerns calling for more specific information, including questions about reviewer pool needed to support such work; concerns that the proposal remains incomplete and perhaps too hasty; questions of whether publishing short articles prevents scholars from publishing longer versions elsewhere; whether authors would consider it worthwhile to publish short versions of their work; justification for the need of such a journal or research/evidence available to prove that it is necessary to the field and to APSA; assurance that the model serves qualitative and quantitative based research; and questions about whether the editor or editorial team should be preselected or not.
The appropriate reviewer model as also discussed: e.g., whether the journal should rely on traditional peer review, or on a crowd sourcing model based on reader rankings and comments (as had been raised in early council discussions of the journal) were also discussed. Other observations were that this proposal has not emerged from a review of all APSA publications and journals and or from a comprehensive plan of action. It was noted for instance that another pathway, that has not been considered, is a model similar to the journal Connections published by the American Sociological Association.
Paul Gronke moved to remand the proposal back to the Publications Committee to address the questions raised by the council. Seconded by Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado. The council voted 8 yea, 2 nay, and 5 abstained. Anne Marie-Hancock then changed her vote from yea to abstain. The final vote was 7 yea, 6 abstained, 2 against.
Jeffrey Isaac then moved to charge the Publications Committee be authorized to review a range of possibilities and needs for APSA. Isaac accepted a friendly amendment to substitute the proposal in the memorandum from Mala Htun to establish a special planning committee for this purpose, and after broader discussion on future of APSA publications, the council voted to “Appoint a special planning committee charged to look broadly at all the opportunities and issues, including those raised by the Publication Committee's report and the wider issues of member need, electronic media opportunities, the appropriate future of the different publications and communications of the association, and report back to the council with a recommendation as to how to proceed.” The council approved this motion by a vote of 11-0.
DART
Betsy Super reported the APSA policy language related to data access and research transparency (DART) were presented to the council, to be included in APSA's Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science. The revised text aims to bring the ethics guide up to date with current standards in the discipline: where earlier language emphasized making data accessible only when findings were challenged, the new guidelines recognize sharing data access and research transparency as a common part of the research endeavor. It also recognizes a broader set of reasons for why researchers may not want to provide access to their data, including confidentiality, privacy, and human subjects protections. The updated language aims to attend to all the empirical research traditions within our discipline. The council urged continued work to communicate with the membership regarding these guidelines.
BERYL RADIN “PRACADEMIC” PROGRAM
Michael Brintnall outlined the program that has been proposed by Beryl Radin to establish a fund in support of a new APSA “Pracademic” program. This program would subsidize academics to work in public policy settings for a short time and then bring their experiences back to the classroom. The program would be funded by a bequest from Beryl Radin of $300,000. The council approved the program.
ANNUAL ALL-MEMBERS BUSINESS MEETING ELECTION
Jenny Mansbridge reminded the council that since the Annual Meeting All Members Meeting was cancelled, the council is empowered by the constitution to act on its behalf and elect the new officers and council for 2012–2013. The council then approved the slate proposed by the nominating committee.
The council adjourned at 4 p.m.
