This executive director's report provides a status report on the Association, an update on programs and activities, and reflections on some issues facing APSA for the future. The basic indicators for the APSA remain strong.

I am pleased to report that our Association's financial condition remains healthy, providing a resource base sufficient to continue current operations, while expanding the Association's activities in new directions as needed. Since our last annual report, we have seen our endowment and real estate holdings grow in value to about $32.1 million (June 2007), against which we are carrying just $1.6 million in mortgage debt. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008, we estimate that total operating income ($4.8 million) was slightly above budget, with expenditures below. Our broad membership base continues to be the most important reason for our healthy financial condition, while the annual meeting and APSA publications also provide substantial income. In short, we are in the enviable position of enjoying stable membership, while holding substantial income- and growth-producing assets with minimal long-term liabilities. All of these factors combine to produce an operating budget that hews closely to anticipated income and expenses, year after year.

The APSA Workshop on Political Participation was convened in Dakar, Senegal, from July 6–27 and is the first of three annual residential workshops APSA will be organizing in Africa from 2008–2010. The workshop series is generously supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is a key part of increasing APSA efforts to support the development of applied research networks linking U.S.-based scholars with colleagues overseas and supporting political science communities outside the United States. All sessions took place at the facilities of the West African Research Center (WARC), and APSA collaborated closely with WARC to manage the workshop. APSA staffer Helena Saele spent the month of July in Dakar overseeing all related administrative and logistical matters and providing direct support to workshop leaders and participants.

The APSA Africa Initiative brought diverse group of about 25 scholars to Dakar to discuss research on political participation. Our working language was French. All participants were interested in some aspect of party politics or political participation. The conference-length research papers or research proposals that participants worked on over the course of our three-week workshop centered on questions about the weakness of opposition parties in some countries, the improbable strength of the opposition in others, regional patterns of party mobilization and voting, the role of traditional authorities in voter mobilization, the role of teacher and student unions in politics, political mobilization outside the party system (as in motions de soutien for ruling parties), the role of the press in shaping political preferences, women's movements and party politics, civil society and election monitoring, historical legacies that shape political culture, and the possible impact of ethnic identity on regional patterns of political behavior. There was plenty to talk about. The participants appreciated the four-tome reading packet of articles and book chapters that we prepared for the workshop and used as the launching point of our seminar and break-out group discussions.

Taking part in the APSA workshop in Dakar was an enriching experience for my understanding of comparative politics. My research is focused on Latin America and my experience with African politics before the workshop was limited. Even if I would not dare call myself an expert in Africa after just one month in Senegal, I would like to discuss a difference and a similarity between these regions that I found surprising. The workshop reminded me of the title of Wim Wender's movie Far Away, So Close.

APSA International Membership by Country.

Upcoming international events.

Call for papers for the 2009 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Toronto, ON, Canada, September 3–6, 2009.

The following is reprinted from AAUP's July–August 2008 issue of Academe with the permission of the AAUP. A more detailed history of the censure list can be found on the AAUP web site http://www.aaup.org.

2008 Executive Director's Report Tables

Recognizing excellence in the profession is one of the most important activities of the American Political Science Association. The Association's Annual Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place at 12 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, in the Grand Ballroom, Salon E of the Marriott. The luncheon is for award recipients and their guests by invitation. The ceremony is open to all registrants beginning at 12:45 pm.