Saturday, April 18, 2015 Chicago, IL
The APSA Council Meeting was held at One Wacker Conference Center, Chicago, Illinois, April 18, 2015.
MEMBERS PRESENT
APSA Council officers present were Rodney E. Hero, University of California, Berkeley, APSA President; Jennifer Hochschild, Harvard University, President-Elect; Joanne Gowa, Princeton University, Vice President; Kathleen Thelen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Treasurer.
Council members present were Amrita Basu, Amherst College; Kenneth R. Benoit, London School of Economics; Michelle Deardorff, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; James N. Druckman, Northwestern University; Maria Escobar-Lemmon, Texas A&M University; Linda Fowler, Dartmouth College; Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, University of Oklahoma; Frances Lee, University of Maryland, College Park; David Lublin, American University; Tasha Philpot, University of Texas, Austin; John M. Sides, George Washington University; Evelyn M. Simien, University of Connecticut; Mark Warren, University of British Columbia.
Ex-Officio Council Members in attendance: Jeffrey Isaac, Indiana University at Bloomington; John Ishiyama, University of North Texas; Steven Rathgeb Smith, APSA Executive Director; Alvin Bernard Tillery, Northwestern University; Annual Meeting Program Cochair.
APSA Staff attending were Kara Abramson, Regina Chavis, Dan Gibson, Morgan Johnson, Meghan McConaughey, Kimberly Mealy, Teka Miller, Steven Rathgeb Smith, Heidi Souerwine, Betsy Super, and Barbara Walthall.
Absent Council officers/ members: E. J. Dionne, Jr., Brookings Institution; Christine DiStefano, University of Washington; Fredrick Harris, Columbia University; David C. Kang, University of Southern California; Marc Lynch, George Washington University, and David Stasavage, New York University.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by APSA President Rodney E. Hero. Self-introductions by council members and APSA staff followed.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Rodney Hero thanked everyone for attending. Hero discussed his task force, “Race and Class Inequality in the Americas.” President Hero then discussed his initiative of visiting colleges and universities with Hispanic, African American, and first-generation students to give a “Promise of Political Science” presentation to discuss why the discipline is an important, and interesting major. He would like former APSA presidents to give presentations to students in their respective concentrations as well. He outlined his highlights for the Council Meeting: APSA responding to academic issues in the nation; how to incorporate diversity and generate interest in panels relating to politics in political science; the American Political Science Review (APSR) editor search; and offering a dance party at the Annual Meeting Presidential Reception.
FINANCE REPORT
APSA Treasurer Kathleen Thelen reported that the association is in sound financial shape. The 2014 audit was conducted and completed successfully. The March 31, 2015 Market Value of the association’s investments was $33 million. As of February 28 the YTD profit was $23,000. Thelen will present the 2015–2016 APSA budget at the September 2015 Council Meeting.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Steven Rathgeb Smith presented his executive director’s report. He noted there was concern about the lack of attendance at the APSA awards luncheon and ceremony in 2014. Rather than a Thursday luncheon, Smith suggested a ceremony on Wednesday night with new features that would entice participation. He then provided association updates on a wide range of issues including IT policies, publications, meetings, and strategic planning. He also noted a number of staff changes: Regina Chavis is now Associate Executive Director, Senior Director of Operations; Betsy Super is now Senior Director of Research and Development; Kara Abramson is now Director of Government Relations, Public Engagement, and Congressional Fellowship Programs; Dan Gibson is Director of Communications; Grant Mukai is Web Services and System Support Specialist; Barbara Walthall is Director of Publications; Drew Meadows is Administrative and Editorial Assistant; Celina Szymanski is Managing Editor of PS: Political Science & Politics; Meghan McConaughey is Executive Assistant and Program Assistant to Executive Director; and Julia Schwarz is Program Associate to Director of Government Relations, Public Engagement, and Congressional Fellowship Programs.
APSA Website and IT
Smith provided background information on the APSA website and technology issues. APSA had used the NOAH system since the 1990s; in October 2014, APSA converted from NOAH to a new Timberlake system.
APSA Publications
APSA is digitizing older publication materials and making them free to members. Druckman asked what is to be done with all the hard copies. APSA staff will recycle the 30,000 outdated books. Super indicated that APSA is working with the library at the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya to receive some books. The materials are intended to support PhD students in Africa. Smith said that he is working with International Political Science Association (IPSA) to get some of these books to the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (INION) library in Moscow after a fire damaged their collection.
Smith provided updates regarding the three APSA journal editor searches, as well as discussion about the Journal of Political Science Education (JPSE). The APSR Editorial Search Committee will review proposals after April 15, 2015, and will bring a recommendation to APSA Council at the September 2015 council meeting. For Perspectives on Politics, editor Jeffrey Isaac’s contract expires May 31, 2017. In the early fall 2015, or soon after, the APSA Council will appoint a search committee for a new editor. For PS: Political Science & Politics, Phillip Ardoin and Paul Gronke were appointed at the August 2014 Council Meeting for a two-year term as interim editors; the council will need to decide to continue past the two years and how the process will work. Smith explained overlapping procedures for editors and searches.
Smith highlighted a proposal discussed at the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference in January 2015 to make JSPE an APSA-wide journal like APSR, PS, and Perspectives. Currently JPSE is a journal of the Political Science Education Organized Section. Smith described talks with Taylor & Francis about procedures to make it an APSA journal. Discussion followed. Isaac asked about the procedure for approval. Smith explained that the organized section will have to approve the transfer at its Business Meeting. Discussion followed. PS editors indicated that they would have liked an advanced warning. Deardorff explained that PS and JPSE have different themes. Gronke indicated that the transfer may affect PS by removing teaching articles. Simien sees both of these options as an improvement. Ishiyama remarked that he had conversation with Rob Hauck about division of labor: PS would deal with pedagogy, “show and tell.” JPSE would be dedicated to research articles. Page limits vary in both journals. Isaac understands Gronke’s frustration, and believes this is a governance issue and there should be a Publications Committee. Lublin enquired how this transfer of JPSE would address the association’s future and sees this as an opportunity to think about how government is taught in schools.
Smith next discussed the Cambridge University Press contract. Previously in 2011, APSA put the contract out to bid and it was an elaborate process. Cambridge University Press is drafting a new contract. It is hoped there will be a draft contract, from Cambridge University Press, to present to Council at the September 2015 meeting.
International Programs
Smith next discussed APSA’s International Programs. He noted that the grant for workshops in Africa is ending in 2015. With Super directing the program, the workshop program has been very successful. Carnegie Corporation of New York has granted an extension and $500,000 for the Middle East and North Africa Workshops and APSA has attended to issues of siting and security.
Membership
Smith gave details about the member survey and analysis, which was sent out February 2015. This member survey is the first in many years. It was sent to 13,000 members, 5,000 recently lapsed members and non-members. 3,000 members and 2,000 nonmembers responded. A full analysis will be delivered to Council in September 2015, then posted to for members to review.
Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Status Report
John Aldrich, APSA past president, appointed a working group to review the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) program with the National Conference of Black Political Scientists and APSA; Philpot is the chair and Mealy is APSA staff member managing the working group. Currently, 12 students are attending the program this year selected from 40 applicants; APSA is supplying a $75,000 subsidy, primarily from 2nd Century Fund in addition to $150,000 from Duke University. The working group has been meeting to bring a proposal on the future of RBSI to the September 2015 APSA Council meeting. The group is not confident of long term support for the program as it is now structured; National Science Foundation funding ended in 2013. Smith explained that through 2013–2014 there were many specialized fundraising initiatives for RBSI, but there were not many results from the campaign; none of the foundations contacted were interested in supporting an endowment fund for the program. Development plans have been put on hold until the working group report is received and the development can build around them.
Congressional Fellowship Program
In 2014–2015, the fellowship program had three political scientists as fellows. Smith explained that there is a dedicated endowment to support the Congressional Fellowship Program and that APSA also has contracts with Robert Wood Johnson foundation to support other fellows. For the incoming class of 2015–2016, 12 fellows are participating, including one journalist.
Advocacy Program
Smith said APSA is working to invest more resources into advocacy. APSA staff and members participated in an Advocacy Day in March with the Consortium of Social Science Associations. He explained that the association has been asked to take positions on variety of matters. Currently, the staff would like to work with the Council on creating a policy for advocacy.
Changes at APSA Headquarters
Smith described the renovations to the Centennial Center to improve the size and environment for fellows. Reorganization of APSA offices and building improvements were also discussed.
GOVERNANCE REFORM
The Ad Hoc Committee on Governance Reform chair, David Lake, provided a report on governance reform. He reviewed the origins and mandate of the committee and the main issues it sought to address including corporate governance, institutional memory, and diversity. The committee recommends relatively minimal changes to address these issues. For the structure of APSA Council, terms are lengthened from two to three years; treasurer’s term is increased from two to three years. Membership of the Council would be extended to past presidents; noting concern regarding the size of the Council, eliminating vice presidents and secretary positions is recommended. Council committees would be created: Membership and Professional Development; Publications; Teaching and Learning; Public Engagement; and Meetings. There is a soft expectation that Council members would serve multiple years in each committee. An Executive Committee would be created, he noted, in place of the current administrative committee. The Standing Committees are left as is. The committee proposal attempts to recognize the good work that the Nominating Committee has done over the years with other options; the proposal puts forth a new practice of allowing members to “withhold vote” if there is only one candidate for an open position.
A discussion of the committee’s proposal followed. Smith said a draft of the new bylaws will be posted on APSAnet; comments from members will be collected over the next few months, with a redraft to be proposed to the Council at the Council meeting in September 2015. A final decision is anticipated in spring 2016. Gronke asked if past presidents would better serve as president-pro-tempore in the president’s absence, rather than president-elect. He also asked about Organized Sections. Druckman thought the timing is ironic since the Council turns over in Spring 2016. New Council members are faced with important decision without knowing the full background. Gowa asked what the council policy committees will do, how ethical issues will be addressed, and how journal editors would fit with the publications committee. Lake reported that policy committees would be charged with oversight of work in the areas in question.
Thelen liked the transparency and member involvement, including bringing things to membership on votes of various issues. Perhaps membership is declining due to feeling of disengagement. Regarding standing committees composed of Council members, she encouraged dialogue within the Council and hoped the committees would not add too much work to Council members.
Ishiyama noted changes including the role of editors on Council. He believed this would be informative for the Publications Committee. Lake noted that part of decision is that it is possible that APSA will add journals in the future and including editors would expand the size of the council. Deardorff thought it helpful for the bylaws to state the relationship between existing standing Committees and new Council committees. Simien believed the relationship with committees speaks to open issues on oversight, institutional memory, and inconsistency.
Isaac asked about the editor’s status on Council. He noted the editors’ ex-officio role and vested interests in the work of Council. Fowler thought it a good idea to eliminate one-year term of vice presidents and the secretary. Lake expressed that there was work remaining to be done, including drafting of a Council handbook. Fowler suggested online voting. She noted that few go to the business meeting. Gronke expressed concern with extending terms to three years and more responsibilities. Lake conveyed that it is expected that by having Council subcommittees, they would work with membership committees on advisory matters. Lublin discussed the responsibilities of council member roles and officer’s roles and the implications of referenda. He also noted that referenda may become more common.
Ishiyama conveyed support for the value in having someone at the table with a deeper knowledge of the journals. Lake responded that much time was spent thinking about composition of Council and reserved seats for various components of the association, but where to draw the line? Should status committees have a representative on Governance Committee and which ones have ex-officio seats and which ones do not? He offered that it may be appropriate for the Nominating Committee to recommend a council nominee with journal editorship experience.
Escobar-Lemmon asked about the withhold vote mechanism. Lake responded that the draft language can be clarified.
Thelen offered that on elections, the withhold vote is a nice addition. If the whole slate goes back to Nominating Committee there may be a smaller Council. Hochschild suggested to Lake not to be too quick to recreate Committees in the new document. Hero recommended an orientation guide for new council members. Smith reviewed next steps for the process, including a revised draft, posting for the membership, and presentation to council.
HELEN DWIGHT REID AWARD
Smith presented an update on the Helen Dwight Reid Award. This international relations dissertation award is given by the association annually and funded by the Helen Dwight Reid Foundation, set up in 1960s by the Kirkpatricks. In 2011 the Foundation stopped supporting the award. A request to rename it the Ken Waltz Award has been put forward. Smith asked Council to recommend a sub-committee to review. Council approved the committee.
PANEL ALLOCATION
Smith updated the Council on the past panel allocation formula for the annual meeting which consisted of 90% on prior year’s attendance and 10% on submissions. In 2015 this formula has been reconfigured to 45% on attendance – 45% on section membership – 10% on submissions. Smith invited conversation about panel allocation.
Discussion ensued on the new 2016 meeting formats aimed at fostering innovation, the mechanisms for supporting these, and the role of the sections in determining the formats. Hochschild recommended ensuring the sections are aware at their business meeting at the annual meeting. Hochschild asks for suggestions on a Task Force and section formats.
ANNUAL MEETING
Souerwine introduced the annual meeting report. Sides urged some form of the report be available for members. Discussion ensued on the tradeoffs of different sites and choices, including the interests of lapsed members, career stage and age, gender; and the choices for sites including geography, timing with religious holidays in the fall, state laws, APSA room number requirements, and services and support for graduate students.
Philpot discussed how APSA and MPSA meetings differ. Hochschild proposed finding the location that is the lowest cost conditional of all the conditions mentioned earlier. Souerwine states that will give APSA flexibility for dates off Labor Day. 2021 could be off Labor Day, 2022 could be back on Labor Day. If we want DC for 2024, APSA would have to put that bid in now and skip 2023. Lee believes there will be ramifications with people’s schedule for the job market, and more concern from members for moving it a significant amount of weeks from Labor Day. Thelen proposed that APSA do its best to find more cost-effective cities within three weeks of the Labor Day weekend. Furthermore, APSA should be thinking of ways to shield cost for members. Basu thought in 2021 APSA did have a good non-Labor Day option. Souerwine indicated that we need to site 2023, 2024, and 2025 in the 6 months following the 2015 Annual Meeting. Gronke suggested we reach out to the members who want to move the Annual Meeting. Souerwine indicated that she can incorporate some of the discussion from today and acknowledges these concerns.
Discussion paused while Tillery provided the Report and Update from the Annual Meeting Co-chairs. Updates on the San Francisco meeting were discussed including panels on methodological and gender diversity; work and labor issues; inequality; a panel on marriage equality; recognition of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations; and gender inequality within our discipline. In addition plenary speakers Robert Reich and John Ruggie have been secured, and ten theme panels have been commissioned.
Discussion resumed on the annual meeting dates and planning. Hero introduced a motion to aim to have the 2021 Annual Meeting in Seattle in late September, to provide a report to general membership, and await the Obergefell v. Hodges decision for further information. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
NEW JOURNAL DISCUSSION
Smith introduced his memo on a new open access journal. He noted that the 2010 proposed e-journal was a traditional model subscription style, which Council disagreed with. Discussion followed regarding potential issues in beginning another editor search, e-journal content and quality, the potential to create this journal over a four-year period, as well as the location of the journal.
Additional discussion followed. Hero said he was concerned about other current priorities and if this open access journal would replace them. Isaac stated that relative priorities warrant a serious discussion before moving forward. Basu proposed that a proposed open access journal that would be available to international scholars should be a priority. Thelen offered her concerns about opportunity costs. Smith concluded by outlining the next steps that would include providing the Council with a revised plan, and a draft call for editors, and a new business plan. Council could then decide whether to create a search committee.
HOCHSCHILD’S PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVE
Hochschild noted that her first initiative was to create a task force that will find technological ideas that can be incorporated into APSA to improve the association. She also introduced her second initiative, new annual meeting programming formats. Noting that the traditional panel with 5 papers is restrictive, she suggested working with the sections to open up the meeting to new formats and methods employed at other conferences. More discussion followed. Lee thinks this idea may decrease attendance if too spaced out. Basu asked if it would be harder for people to attend panels in multiple divisions because panels will be starting and ending at different times.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Smith provided details about APSA engagement with two outside consultants last spring. An organizational restructure created an internal staff planning committee. Council discussed a draft vision and mission statement. A motion to create a sub-committee of council members charged with further revising these statements for the September council meeting was introduced, seconded and approved unanimously. Smith then led a strategic planning session with council members identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing the association.
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Smith asked for Council’s approval of the last meeting’s minutes, per the meeting agenda. Discussion of minutes included noting that council minutes were too sparse last time. Isaac moved to approve minutes, was seconded and approved. Council did not discuss “New Business” or “Exemption Policy for Annual Meeting Registration Fees.”
ADJOURNMENT
Hero adjourned the Meeting at 5:15pm.
