S-USIH Business Meeting Minutes 2019
Business Meeting
8 November 2019, 8AM
Attending
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Sara Georgini, Tim Lacy, Andrew Klumpp, Lora Burnett, Rebecca Brenner Graham, Paul Murphy, Pete Kuryla, Mark Edwards, Drew Maciag, Zach Kopin
Agenda
2019 Conference Chair
President’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Secretary’s Report
Publications
2020 Conference Chair
2021 Conference News
2018 Conference Chair
2019 Conference Chair
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela:
Sizeable registration, higher than last year
Open spots for New School because university event
Discussed pros and cons of university event versus hotel. University event means not an outside organization using space.
We only paid $447 for this event, which was for keeping a few rooms open slightly later.
Fundraised by reaching out to different contacts and different programs on campus
History Channel donated $2500
Public Seminar printed all programs for free for us
Mistakes: Need to reach out to book people earlier. Only two presses here. Need clearer expectations for program committee.
Consider professional event planners
Everything takes more emails than you anticipate
Single papers did NOT make the conference more exclusive because tenured men abused the privilege.
Suggests single paper submissions only from only graduate students and adjuncts
Discuss possibility of paying a conference coordinator
Tim: Ray made himself an unpaid employee
Last year conference broke even
Other means of making money: grant-writing. Also, being affordable generates volume of membership.
Lora: People exist who coordinate conferences professionally. Clearly delineate an in-house S-USIH person who frees up the program committee. Or contract someone.
Sara: Lay out details for paid conference coordinator. Renee Davis does this for SHEAR and is fantastic. Maybe find money for a conference coordinator. Furthermore, be more upfront with programs committee. Then, supplement with a local arrangements committee. Those are three possible strategies.
President’s Report
Sarah Gardner in absentia; Delivered by Sara Georgini:
Ongoing professionalization of the organization
Established dissertation prize honoring Leo Ribuffo
New partnership with Modern Intellectual History
Treasurer’s Report
Andrew Klumpp:
In good shape financially
Attorney’s fee helped to renew charitable status
We switched from PayPal to Wild Apricot
Event insurance this year and then event cancellation insurance plus liability insurance
Slightly less award money this year because fewer donations
Positive bump in membership fees because we required people to become members before registering
Lora: Cost of liability insurance changes based on the venue.
Andrew: Yes- someone local should be working on insurance.
Sara: This is the first year that we have not permitted registrants to use our devices on site.
Formal recommendation: Registrants must only use their own devices.
Secretary’s Report
Rebecca Brenner Graham:
730 members in our system, but only 300 are active. 73 are new in last 30 days, owing to our policy of requiring membership for conference registration
188 people registered so far for our conference, though that’s Natalia’s territory
2,292 people follow our Twitter account – good job Sara – that’s many more than our email reach
Types of emails: blog post pitches which I vet; potential books for review; questions for individual board members that I forward; conference inquiries
Registration issues included: confused Henry May donation with membership payment; only wanted to attend their session; someone asked me to send their password
Finally, our website is functional for people coming to use it, but on the backend it can be challenging
Publications
Richard Candida Smith in absentia; Delivered by Lora Burnett:
Rebecca should forward blog inquiries to Lora
We have a new guest blogger: Dr. Holly Brewer from the University of Maryland at College Park
Comment section on the blog has been quiet because breaking news has drained energy from blog discourse
2020 Conference Chair
Sara Georgini:
Backbay Sheraton
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday immediately following the presidential election
Our theme is Revolution and Reform broadly interpreted
Not letting people use our devices to register on site
No 8am panels and no Sunday sessions
Thursday afternoon session on teaching intellectual history with food provided because pedagogy panels are well-attended
Danielle Allen of Harvard is the keynote
Friday 9am plenary
Emphasizing indigenous perspectives
2021 Conference News
Pete Kuryla:
Asked by Sarah Gardner if Nashville, Tennessee, can host 2021
After casting around for help, he is thrilled to do that.
Institutional support from American Studies program at Vanderbilt
Theme along lines of public versus private
Nashville is a tourist city. Looking into hotels but probably on Vanderbilt campus
2018 Conference Chair
Tim Lacy:
Conference chairs must be part of upcoming S-USIH election cycle
Business meeting should not be during lunch
Sara: Creation of a permanent conference committee comprised of past conference chairs
Formal recommendation: Request for creation of an ad hoc committee of conference chairs, composed of past, present, and future conference chairs
Meeting adjourned 9am