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APSA Council Meeting Draft Minutes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2004

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PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2004 , pp. 181 - 189
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© 2004 by the American Political Science Association

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9:30AM-4:00PM

Present: Theda Skocpol (president), Susanne Rudolph (president-elect), Margaret Levi, Wilbur Rich, Robert Kaufman, Steve Macedo, Peter Katzenstein, Martha Crenshaw, Gary Segura, Susan Clarke, Lee Sigelman, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Jennifer Hochschild, Desiree Pedescleaux, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Larry Dodd, Francis Hagopian, Henry Brady, Kirstie McClure, Marsha Posusney, Jack Snyder, Margaret Weir, Michael Brintnall

Council Nominees: Manny Avalos, Judith Baer, John Harbeson, Joanna Scott, Gary King, Rodney Hero, Judith Goldstein

Not Attending: Nancy Burns, Michael Dawson, Jim Scott, Jeff Spinner-Halev

Guests: Chris Aiken, Rogers Smith

Staff: Rob Hauck, Jeff Biggs, Linda Lopez, Bahram Rajaee, Robin Smith, Rebecca Odum

Visitor: Tony Affigne

Introduction of the Council and Welcome from President Theda Skocpol

President Theda Skocpol began by welcoming the members of the Council, Council nominees, and APSA staff. She affirmed that APSA is in good health. Her travels throughout her tenure to the regional meetings have been enlightening and further substantiate this fact. She found that people are aware of what the Association is doing and are pleased. She also commented on the progress of the important task forces that formed during her terms as president and president-elect. For example, the Task Force on Graduate Education has an extensive report for comment by the Council and the Task Force on Inequality has reached the half-way mark on its activities. She noted that the success of APSA is the result of the continued growth of its membership, the work of the staff, the unity and diversity of its leadership, the opening up of the APSR, the launch of Perspectives on Politics, and the dedication of APSA's many volunteer leaders.

Report of the Executive Director

Executive Director Michael Brintnall reiterated Theda Skocpol's assertion that the Association is in good shape. He noted the budget is tight, but broad and balanced. The national office building is under construction for the Centennial Center and flooring improvements, which are progressing smoothly. He recognized staff who will be receiving decade awards for years of service at APSA: Sean Twombly for 10 years, Gwen Howard for 20 years, and Joyce Williams for 30 years. He mentioned other important staff members with whom the Council should be familiar including Deputy Director Rob Hauck, Bahram Rajaee, Director of Institutional and Research Support, Linda Lopez, Education and Professional Development, Jeff Biggs, Director of the Congressional Fellowship Program, Robin Smith, Director of Finance and Administration, Jennifer Richards, Director of Annual Meetings, Elizabeth Weaver-Engel, Director of Membership and Technology, Polly Karpowicz, Manager of Web and Design, and Rebecca Odum, Program Associate for the Executive Director and liaison to the Council.

Report of the Treasurer

Treasurer Robert Kaufman noted that since his term as treasurer was ending this was his final financial report to the Council. He reported that the budget is in solid shape with only minor adjustments since the last meeting that need approval. These adjustments include a 5% decrease in royalties from Cambridge, and a technology investment proposal.

Robin Smith elaborated on the changes to the budget from the last meeting. One important difference was the illustration of actual results for the end of May and proposed figures for FY04. Also, additional revenues from Annual Meeting program ads and sponsorship were offset by reduced revenue from Cambridge. The Departmental Service Program has been re-categorized as well, which results in a change in how Departmental Services is presented.

With respect to technology expenditures, Robin Smith reported on a proposal from the executive director which would upgrade the APSA physical computer network, improve network security, create a records archive process, and introduce content management capabilities for our web site. The cost of the special technology plan—increased depreciation of up to $50,000 in the first year and up to $30,000 in two following years—would be funded from APSA reserves.

The actions before the Council were to approve the revised budget and the technology investment proposal.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved the revised budget and the technology investment proposal.

Discussion of Council Working Groups

Theda Skocpol began the discussion on Council Working Groups by defining their purpose: to allow council members to play larger roles in the direction of the organization. Through these working groups, the talents of each council member are utilized and important topics to the membership are addressed in substantive ways.

Work and Family Issues

Members of this working group include Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Jeff Spinner-Halev, Fran Hagopian, and Jack Snyder. The group focused on the issue of fieldwork and family obligations that prevent many political scientists from taking anything but short-term research projects. However, the chance of receiving a short-term research grant is slim to none. The group drafted the following statement for Council approval that expresses the importance of this issue and urges organizations to support short-term research:

The APSA is concerned about the dilemmas faced by scholars whose research requires overseas field work, but who are constrained by family obligations from undertaking more than short-term (i.e. less than two months) trips. Although some short-term financing is available, many—including the most prestigious—granting organizations do not support short-term field work. Recognizing that scholars with prior field experience can work very efficiently and amass a large amount of information in a short period, we believe that such short-term trips can contribute significantly to the advance of scientific knowledge. We therefore urge organizations that offer research grants and fellowship, and other donor organizations, that do not presently support short-term research to establish such programs.

In addition, the group continued to analyze their ideas on surveying membership on family-friendly policies. They noted that a survey on just what policies exist is not enough. The needed survey is one that gets to the root of the issue: the notion that faculty with children are less likely to get promoted to tenure. The next step for the group is to see what data sets are available and to hire someone to do the research.

Susanne Rudolph suggested the purpose of these working groups was to plant ideas and formulate initiatives, but not necessarily to perform all the leg-work.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved the statement drafted by the Working Group on Family Issues and asked the executive director to circulate this statement to funding agencies.

Political Scientists in Non-Ph.D.-Granting Institutions

Members of this working group include Larry Dodd, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Kirstie McClure, Desiree Pedescleaux, Wilbur Rich, and Marsha Pripstein Posusney. The group announced the Annual Meeting reception for small colleges on Thursday from 7:00–8:30PM and invited Council members to attend.

Recommendations from the group included upgrading the working group to a task force that would include both Council members and non-Council members and would give it a more formal status. They also proposed establishing an outreach effort to the five regional associations where there are high concentrations of smaller institutions. Council members remarked that the move to a task force status would mean the establishment of a clear charge, and reaching out to members and providing them with services.

Other council members expressed concern over establishing another task force under current budget constraints. Susanne Rudolph questioned whether or not the working groups should be redefined to consist of council members and others within the membership.

Public Presence

Members of this working group include Margaret Levi, Christian Davenport, Peter Katzenstein, Robert Kaufman, James Scott, Henry Brady, and Gary Segura. The group noted that the Association is already aggressively pursuing the issue of public presence through the Public Presence Task Force. As a result, membership is becoming actively engaged in public presence initiatives. However, Council noted and working group members agreed that this does not negate the importance of the working group in keeping public presence at the forefront of the Association's agenda. Rob Hauck reported that PS is now carrying a column reporting on examples of political scientists engaged in public commentary, and that the public presence task force will turn to topics of outreach and dissemination after it has completed a first round of its substantive deliberations.

Applied Political Scientists

Members of this working group include Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Susan Clarke, and Martha Crenshaw. The group recognized their goal of raising the Association's awareness of these members. The group also cited nomenclature as an issue and stressed that continued thought needs to be given to how this group is recognized by the Association. Membership outreach could be tailored more to the applied political scientist. Also, the nominating committee could make increased efforts to include these members on their slate. They noted Jennifer Hochschild's efforts to solicit articles from these members for publication in Perspectives on Politics.

Council members from the Nominating Committee noted that no applied political scientists were nominated by membership for the Council, so they were not included in the slate this year. More recruitment from the Council, committees, and staff for the nomination of applied political scientists is necessary.

Susanne Rudolph noted the need for better information about applied political scientists (i.e., those people with a professional degree in political science and not in universities doing research).

Annual Meeting and Journal Reports

Centennial Initiatives for Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting Program Chairs, Henry Brady and Margaret Weir, highlighted the 20 theme panels for this year's meeting and gave thanks to the staff for all their hard work in making the meeting happen. Special thanks went to Jennifer Richards for her unfailing reliability and skills as the Annual Meeting Director.

Theda Skocpol recognized the creative re-organization of the schedule as an interesting innovation and one that could be looked into for future meetings.

APSR Editors Report Lee Sigelman, editor of APSR, summarized his report briefly by stating that submissions are up for the second year in a row and the journal is experiencing a healthy growth rate.

Two major impacts on the journal this past year were the appearance of Perspectives on Politics and a site visit by the Executive Committee of the APSR Board to assess the performance of the editor and staff. An interim report by the review team was submitted to the APSA president and will be followed by a final report that includes survey results of authors, reviewers, and readers.

Sigelman noted that after a year of unprecedented submission rates, the expectation was that the following year the journal would settle into a more “normal” mode of operation. However, submissions continued to increase in 2002–2003. Though the rate was somewhat slower, Sigelman concluded that the dramatic increase in submissions experienced in 2001–2002 was not a one-time occurrence. As represented in the report, submissions and papers accepted also continued to represent a broad range of fields and approaches.

Discussion of APSR Editor's Term

Theda Skocpol reported the Administrative Committee's recommendation on the topic of the APSR editor's term was to grant Lee Sigelman an extension to a 4th year without a formal review process, but ask him to notify the Council if he will extend to a 6th year by no later than February 2004. This would allow the Council reasonable time to begin a normal review process and search for a new editor, if need be. Separately, the Council could discuss changing the terms for editors altogether.

Jennifer Hochschild expressed her admiration of Lee Sigelman's abilities and agreed with the recommendation of the Administrative Committee. Other members reminded the Council of his one and half years of work prior to actually becoming the APSR editor, which provides some context to his request.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved a one-year extension to Lee Sigelman's term as APSR Editor with a review to occur next spring, 2004 if he requests extension to six years.

Perspectives on Politics Editors Report Jennifer Hochschild, editor of Perspectives on Politics, reported on the status of the new APSA flagship journal and referenced a report within the Council Book. From June 1, 2002–July 31, 2003, there were a total of 400 submissions with a high acceptance rate because the journal was in its first year. Hochschild noted that much of the in-house work is on fact-checking and copy-editing and based on the type of submissions that they were now receiving, she was confident that the hump of submission standards had been overcome. The issues that remain are that too many articles continue to be submitted on political science, and not on policy, that some are too topical and more appropriate for a magazine or quick turn-around journal, and that there are not enough non-American submissions.

Hochschild also inquired into whether or not the Council thought offering subscriptions to non-member individuals and institutions was a good idea. Skocpol recommended that the Publications Committee look into this idea and work out a proposal that the Council could vote on over email. The Council also broached an idea of allotting 100 free subscriptions that the editor could distribute at her discretion.

Hochschild ended with a reminder to the Council that the book review editors' terms end in one year.

Journal Publishing Developments

On the topic of journal choice and allowing members to drop subscriptions to certain journals, Skocpol offered the Administrative Committee's recommendation of not enacting journal choice at this time, but noted that future Councils would have the authority to implement the idea if they so chose. The rationale for the recommendation was the newness of Perspectives on Politics, and the recent changes made to the APSR. Susanne Rudolph noted the original discussion regarding journal choice was not about money or discounts, but was a critique of the APSR prior to Lee Sigelman's editorship. Since then, under the leadership of Lee Sigelman, many changes have been made to the format and review structure of the journal. The benefits of such changes have not yet been realized, so it would be unwise to implement journal choice at this time. In addition, the hidden costs in terms of printing and advertising losses would have to be considered. Other Council members noted the importance of looking into ways to reap revenue from online journals that would free the Association from its dependence on print. The Council noted the Publications Committee role to revisit the issue of journal choice periodically.

Council Action:

Susanne Rudolph moved that the Council take no action on implementing journal choice at this time because of the newness of Perspectives on Politics, the on-going re-development of the APSR, and questions about the impacts on advertising revenues and on the scholarly standing of eJournals. Council noted, however, the Publications Committee's standing charge to revisit this issue periodically. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Approval of Consent Agenda

The following items were unanimously approved by the Council:

  1. Committee Nominations of the president-elect with proviso that further substitutions of names are allowed. The Council also noted desirability for greater solicitation of nominees for committees.
  2. April 5, 2003 Council Minutes.
  3. Review of Decisions since April 5 Meeting.

Council Initiatives

Task Force on Graduate Education Chris Achen and Rogers Smith, cochairs of the Task Force, summarized the draft of their report that was submitted to the Council for comments. The report is a compilation of memos from members of the task force who represent a variety of institutions, political science subfields, scholarly backgrounds, and methodological viewpoints. The report is supplemented by a memo from Michael Brintnall responding to APSA activity recommendations from the Task Force. The co-chairs highlighted the fact that the report is a consensus document consisting of basic principles upon which all members agreed regarding ways to better graduate education in political science. Their core principle is that politics matters and graduate education must equip students to pursue the questions this conviction raises. Other principles include: assuring the analysis of politics in the most intellectually honest and rigorous ways; use of a variety of methods to pursue this analysis; addressing a diverse range of subjects; clear communication of research to each other and to the public; and a broadly informed perspective on the discipline. To meet these guiding principles, the task force proposed several changes to the structure of graduate programs in the areas of program breadth, specialized training, diversity strategies, teaching and research experience, structured evaluation and advising, graduate student associations, informing enrolled and prospective graduate students, and preparing graduate students for professional careers and beyond.

Council commended the efforts of the Task Force and the boldness of the report. Members raised some issues with the wording of certain sections and APSA's role to discourage programs. Others commented that the report does not expressly list the set of issues that need to be resolved and those problems need to be stated at the beginning of the document. Also, the report does not recognize the training that occurs after graduation.

The Task Force chairs thanked the Council for its comments and offered to incorporate the changes in the revised report.

Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy

Rob Hauck reported on behalf of the Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy by referencing a memo in the Council Book by Task Force Chair Larry Jacobs. He stated that the Task Force has produced a number of written products already and mentioned its activities including sponsorship of a panel on its work and participating in a featured panel with Kevin Phillips. The Task Force will also be meeting in November and in early 2004 to continue working on a draft report for presentation to the Council as well as on other activities.

Task Force on Mentoring

Linda Lopez reported on behalf of the Task Force on Mentoring and made note of the task force's sponsorship of a panel and reception at the Annual Meeting. The Task Force is also sponsoring a series of articles on mentoring to be included in each issue of PS over the next three years. The most critical focus of the task force at this time is outreach and letting people know about this program. Soliciting volunteers to mentor and uncovering mentees are challenges that are being met as the Task Force examines the structure of the program. It is also working with the APSA on developing a system to match mentors with mentees. Susan Clarke added that the Task Force is looking into sponsoring at least one panel every year and looking into funding prospects.

Council also suggested a forum for students to present drafts of their papers to distinguished faculty for comment which might foster a more personal relationship.

Committee on Civic Education and Engagement

Stephen Macedo provided an update on the Civic Education and Engagement Committee. He indicated the committee would have a refined report to present to the Council by the spring meeting, which will be circulated widely for comments and input.

Council inquired into the focus of civic engagement and whether their approach was geared to the citizen or student. Macedo replied that, at least for the first phase, the committee's focus is on the citizen, but their findings may affect the student. Also, the committee's approach is both practical and theoretical as opposed to comparative at this time. Susanne Rudolph added that another public presence group will be formed to focus on non-American issues.

Governance Issues

All-Member Election

Council addressed the issue of an impending contested election. Michael Brintnall stated that the certification of nominees would take place at the Annual Business Meeting and that the election would be overseen by the Election Committee. He said that voting would be done electronically, as approved by the Council previously, and APSA had contracted with a private vendor, Campus-vote.com, to arrange an election. Council stressed the importance of sending out postcard notifications in addition to email in the likely event that the email is recognized as spam and automatically deleted.

Council opted not to authorize the gathering of data for analysis of election results at this time because tracking voters for data analysis purposes might raise questions about the anonymity of the election.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved proceeding with a simple, secret, electronic ballot including postcard notification with no attempt at data collection at this time.

Update on APSA Programs

Centennial Campaign and Center

Deputy Director Rob Hauck reported on the status of the Centennial Campaign and Center. He noted that the campaign raised $3.2 million for scholarships, travel grants, fellowships and the Center itself, which is set to open with nine fellows the week after the Annual Meeting.

Hauck also asked the Council to recognize the Campaign leaders, Dale Rogers Marshall, Jack Peltason, and Centennial Campaign Committee members by considering the following resolution:

The success of the Association's Centennial Campaign is a singular achievement, guided immeasurably by your leadership. Your vision and generosity have made the Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs a reality and have provided future generations of political scientists new and expanded opportunities for scholarly and professional development.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved the resolution honoring the efforts of the Centennial Campaign Committee.

Teaching Conference

Linda Lopez reported on the status of the pilot project for a Teaching Conference. She noted that publishers have expressed an interest in the conference which could represent possible funding sources. The themes of the conference include pedagogy, assessment, diversity and global perspectives, and service learning and civic engagement. The first conference will be launched in Washington, D.C. in February.

Congressional Fellowship Program

Jeff Biggs brought to the Council's attention the 50th Anniversary of the Congressional Fellowship Program which will be commemorated by the sponsorship of two alumni roundtables at the APSA Annual Meeting and a special reception. The program will also honor Washington Post columnist David Broder with the title “Honorary Fellow” to recognize his more than three decades of support.

Pre-print Paper Server Project (PROL)

Michael Brintnall highlighted the status of the Pre-print Paper Server Project (PROL). In its first stage, it is an effort to share conference paper software with other associations; interest in the project by other associations has been high. In stage two, PROL will be a single homepage for pre-published papers and a device to build collaborations with other associations.

Membership

On the issue of bundled memberships, Theda Skocpol summarized the Administrative Committee's recommendation of proceeding with the next step on joint memberships, but monitoring these relationships to ensure the Association does not cut into its membership base.

Council noted a positive impact of bundled memberships is that it would make inviting people to panels easier and allow for more frequent participation.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved a joint membership proposal with the Modern Language Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Association of Political Consultants, and asked the national office to do a report on the revenue impacts of joint membership arrangements.

Community College Consortium

Michael Brintnall provided an update on the Community College Consortium. So far, 2,000 community college faculty members have been identified through the work of Kent Brudney. These faculty members will be contacted in hopes of determining better ways to interact with political science faculty in community colleges. The next step is to approach funding sources. AACS has agreed to administer the consortium. Council suggested Rockefeller as another natural starting point.

New Business

Budget Revisions

No budget revisions were necessary at this time.

Report from the President-Elect

Susanne Rudolph provided some insight into her plans for her term as president by explaining the theme of her presidency. Because of her background as a scholar, the theme will focus on global perspectives. Specifically, her public presence task force will be looking into Inequality in Developing World Countries. She is presently on the IPSA Executive Council as well. She added that the working groups should be continued, but under new themes.

Resolution on Pendleton Herring

In recognition of former president Pendleton Herring's 100th birthday, the Council was asked to approve a resolution in his honor. The resolution stated:

Pendleton Herring, you have graced a lifetime in political science with intellect, scholarly curiosity, institution building, service, and integrity. We salute your accomplishments and offer grateful thanks for your contributions to the discipline, to public life, and to the Association. Nothing could more honor the American Political Science Association than to share this centennial year with you.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved a resolution in honor of former APSA President Pendleton Herring on the occasion of his 100th birthday.

Name Change of Status Committee on Asian-Pacific Americans

Rob Hauck asked the council on behalf of the newly-formed Asian Pacific Islanders Status Committee for permission to change their name to the Status Committee on Asian Pacific Americans in the Profession.

Council Action:

Council unanimously approved changing the name of the status committee on Asian Pacific Islanders to the Status Committee on Asian-Pacific Americans in the Profession.

Meeting Adjournment

President Theda Skocpol thanked everyone for a successful meeting and called the meeting to an end at 4:00PM. Susanne Rudolph presented President Skocpol with a gift on behalf of the Association in thanks and recognition of her service as president.