3. EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Executive Office Staffing

The ASA Executive Office evolved through two major changes over the past two decades: (1) The reorganization of 1984 created a managerial structure which shaped functionality and created the base for professionalizing services offered by ASA (Chapter 1); and (2) As noted in the introduction to this chapter, the realignment of professional functions in the Executive Office resulting from the strategic planning of 1992 further defined staff roles and responsibilities. An aspect of the strategic plan was to create more symmetry and synergism across significant activities within ASA. Thus, in 1993 in addition to articulating six programs, the Annual Meeting and publications activities were more formally featured as central program emphases. In 1993, sociologists who previously were considered Assistant Directors became Program Directors. By 1996, job titles changed from Manager to Director for Janet L. Astner (Meeting Services) and Karen G. Edwards (Publications), thus completing the transformation to creating a tier of senior director-level staff.

The enormous changes in information technologies and their application in almost all areas of Association activity since 1980 also dramatically altered how the ASA does its work. As part of implementing the strategic plan, for example, the integration of technology in membership services (membership, order fulfillment, benefits and other queries) made possible a Membership and Customer Services unit under a single umbrella. While this transformation began in 1990 with a program assistant with computer-based skills being promoted to Membership Manager, by 1994 staffing further altered to hire a manager with database management skills. Other administrative and operational functions were also enhanced. For example, the financial operations of ASA became professionalized by upgrading the position of Bookkeeper to Controller, also in 1994.

Similarly, efforts were made to enhance the operations of and support to committees and sections by clearer demarcation of a Governance Coordinator position. Most significantly, while the Association has substantially increased its services and professional activities, the number of staff persons has held fairly steady since the early 1990s: At the end of 2000, the ASA Executive Office staff consisted of 23 persons compared with 22 persons at the end of 1990. (The Executive Office Staff as of January 1, 2005 is listed in Appendix 30.)

Felice J. Levine served as the 11th Executive Officer of the Association from August 1, 1991 to May 15, 2002. She succeeded William V. D’Antonio and was appointed Executive Officer-designate in May 1990 until she joined the ASA staff in August 1991. Levine was Director of the Law and Social Science Program at the National Science Foundation before becoming Executive Director of the ASA. In the fall of 2001, Levine announced her resignation as Executive Officer to become the Executive Director of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Washington, DC. She was succeeded by Sally T. Hillsman in May 2002 (Chapter 3).

During the 1990s, three new professional positions were created:

• Phoebe H. Stevenson was appointed Deputy Executive Officer for finance, administration, and planning effective August 1, 1994. (She remained in that position until 2002.) In this restructuring, Deputy Executive Officer Carla B. Howery was to focus on programs and program planning. Howery was appointed Deputy Executive Officer in the fall of 1990 to succeed Lionel Maldonado by Executive Officer William D’Antonio in consultation with Executive Officer-designate Felice Levine.

• Along with establishing program emphases in Public Affairs and Public Information in 1993 came an alignment of duties and ultimately staffing. In 1995, Edward Hatcher was hired as the first Director of Public Affairs and Public Information and held this position from 1995 to 1997. Executive Officer Levine, who had led these functions from 1993 to 1995 with a special assistant, resumed doing so in 1997 without director-level staff, though a Program

Assistant was hired in June 2000, and independent consultant Katherine Rosich coordinated public information functions from 1998 to 2001. Lee Herring was hired as Director commencing employment in April 2002.

• The position of Director of the Research Program on the Discipline and Profession was held by Carla Howery up to 1995, by Cynthia Costello in 1995 and 1996; and Roberta Spalter-Roth, 1997 to the present (2005).

Other professional staff during the 1990s included:

• The Academic and Professional Affairs Program (APAP), established in 1993 on the foundations of the Teaching Services Program and the Professional Development Program of the 1980s, was directed by Janet Mancini Billson in 1993 and 1994 and by Carla Howery since 1995.

• The Sydney S. Spivack Program in Applied Social Research and Social Policy, a new program element established in 1992, was co-directed by Carla Howery and Executive Officer Levine from 1992 to 2002, with a special assistant from 1993 to 1996 and other program assistants providing support thereafter.

• The Minority Fellowship Program and the Minority Opportunities through Summer Training Program (MOST) was directed by Tahi Mottl (1991–92) and Lionel Maldonado (Interim Director in 1992 from California State University-San Marcos). By 1993, these initiatives were grouped into the broader program rubric entitled the Minority Affairs Program (MAP). The MAP Directors were Florence Bonner (Interim Director in 1993 from Howard University); Ramon Torrecilha (1993–94, Torrecilha from the Social Science Research Council through the 1994–95 academic year); Havidán Rodríguez (1995–97; Rodriguez from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez through the 1997–98 academic year); Edward Murguia (1998–2000); and Alfonso R. Latoni-Rodríguez (2000–2). Jean Shin served as Acting Director in 2002 and 2003, and Mercedes Rubio was appointed Director in August 2003. (Appendix contains a list of all Directors of the Minority Fellowship Program from 1974 to the present.)

ASA also had two visiting sociologists on staff in the late 1990s. Patricia White, Program Director in Sociology at the National Science Foundation, spent a year at ASA (1997) under an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) arrangement to work in areas relating to the advancement of the discipline. John Kennedy, Director of the Center for Survey Research at the University of Indiana also spent 1997 working on a number of governance and policy issues key to ASA (e.g., examination of the certification program, on committee restructuring). In addition, between 1999 and 2002, the staff included three postdoctoral fellows: Jan Thomas (1999–2001), Sunhwa Lee (2000), and Stacey Merola (2001–2).

Information Technology (IT)

A defining issue of the 1990s was the dramatic and rapid change in the area of information technology (IT). ASA built capacity in IT applications by appointing professionals to plan and develop IT functions, implementing new technologies and systems to improve delivery of services, and adapting these systems to improve communications among sociologists and others.

Phoebe Stevenson brought background and expertise to this function throughout much of the 1990s—first as a consultant, and from 1994 to 2002 as a Deputy Executive Officer. In addition, external consultants, especially those from Computer Strategies Inc., and contractual arrangements with JL Systems, Inc., Association Links (the latter led by the primary technology staff from the

American Psychological Association), and Spectrum Systems (for email support and innovations) enabled ASA to built on substantial experience relating to membership associations and to create new systems. Over time, staff skills were enhanced and staff was hired with computer-based skills and responsibilities. By winter 2002, ASA hired its first Director of Information Technology.

1993–94: NOAH, LAN, and Email service

The first major technology-related transformations of the 1990s took place in 1993. This installation included faster and more powerful computers with all workstations in the Executive Office linked in a local area network (LAN). Key to the new office automated technology was the installation of NOAH, a specialized association database and management software system developed by JL Systems in Annandale, VA. For the first time, ASA had a system specifically designed for the activities and functions of membership associations—including a link to financial record keeping and reporting through Open System. The installation also included a powerful document organizer called PCDOCS that permitted sharing documents easily and a search facility and backup system for archiving documents.

The cost of the full system including hardware, training, and consultancies was approximately $300,000. In 1992, ASA retained Computer Strategies, Inc. led by Fran Craig to assist staff in writing the RFP and selecting the firm to provide the hardware, service, and support. In 1993, Phoebe Stevenson, then with Computer Strategies, provided management and oversight of the installation of the full project.

Other innovations followed rapidly. Council approved the development of an electronic bulletin board for sociology department chairs (Chairlink), which was launched in May 1994. Also, ASA made a transition to have email through Microsoft mail at all work stations. And, the introduction of a FAX server also allowed receipt of faxes at staff workstations. In January 1995, Council moved to establish committees that would further explore issues such as electronic publishing and to advise ASA on the use of high technology for professional communications more generally. Barry Wellman was appointed Chair of the Advisory Group on Electronic Networking (also included Earl Babbie, Howard Becker, Kathleen Carley, Roxanne Hiltz, Rob Kling, Marc Smith, Lee Sproull,

John Walsh, and Phoebe Stevenson). The Subcommittee on Electronic Publishing was comprised of Dan Clawson, Adrian Rafferty, Teresa Sullivan, Barry Wellman, and Felice Levine.

1995–96: ASA Homepage and Electronic Publishing

A major new phase of technological innovation began in 1995 with the launching of the ASA website. President Hallinan encouraged the Executive Office “to continue working with aligned associations in their experiences with technology and to continue to explore an even wider range of electronic communications.” (Council Minutes, August 23, 1995)

In April 1996, the Employment Bulletin ( EB ) was published online with print copies available to members and subscribers. In early 1996, the Advisory Committee on Electronic Networking and the Committee on Publication’s Committee on Electronic Publications met and discussed goals and objectives, which (for both groups) generally were to: encourage informal electronic scholarly discussion among sociologists, facilitate discussion among interest groups, enhance the ASA’s dissemination of information, develop sociologists’ ability to participate electronically, develop electronic means of publication, develop digital sociological libraries, develop standard forms of referencing online “publications,” and ascertain members’ capabilities and desires ( Footnotes , March 1996:10).

The report of the Advisory Group on Electronic Communications, chaired by Barry Wellman, was presented to Council in January 1996. Council discussed guidelines for access to ASA members’ electronic addresses, and concluded that members should be given the option to indicate their willingness to have their email addresses published or released to inquirers. Council also discussed the possibilities for electronic and Internet access at the Annual Meeting, but considered it not feasible. At its August 19,1996 Meeting, Council also asked the Executive Office to contact all sections offering them the opportunity to have a homepage and listservs related to their area of interest. Council encouraged the Advisory Group to continue to bring forward ideas.

Major changes were also occurring in electronic publishing. At the January 1996 Meeting, Council approved a move to explore and negotiate an agreement with the Mellon Foundation for the electronic delivery of ASA journals. The delivery system, eventually known as JSTOR (Journal Storage), initially included back issues of all ASA journals, except Teaching Sociology , with a moving five-year wall to become accessible. ASR , CS , and JHSB were the first journals to be digitized and released. (see Publications for further discussion)

By the summer of 1996, the ASA homepage was updated and expanded to include information on the Annual Meeting, important initiatives (e.g., the revision of the Code of Ethics), membership information, briefings on important legislative matters (e.g., The Family Privacy Protection Act known as H.R. 1271), links with section homepages, announcements of new ASA publications, the online version of the Employment Bulletin , and forms to which members could respond (e.g., call for nominations to ASA committees). The fax-on-demand capability was also well received and utilized by the membership.

1997–2000: Systems Upgrades and Web Enhancement

As information and computer applications grew in number and complexity (and the existing system approached the end of its usefulness), it became clear that enhancements and upgrades would be needed to the overall system in order to continue to operate efficiently. Based on recommendations of EOB and a budgetary allocation by ASA Council in January 1997, new computer equipment was purchased and the transition to an upgraded system was made in the spring of 1997. The equipment was purchased through ASA’s operating revenues, from which $110,000 was approved for this transition.

By June 1998, ASA entered into an agreement with the APA in which the APA would act as an “invisible” host for the ASA website through which it would provide journal management software and secure online financial transactions where individuals could join, renew membership, purchase publications, register for the Annual Meeting, and so forth. The enhanced website also included a secure member-only restricted area with member emails, department directories, and abstracts of the articles from ASA journals with keyword and text-search capacity.

Throughout 1999, enhancements continued to be made to the homepage and other information systems. By January 2000, the Great Plains Dynamics, a new accounting system that was Y2K compliant was installed and the website redesign was completed, with the member-only area of the website launched that month. By January 2000, listservs for all sections were operating effectively; officers were communicating by email on closed announcement lists, and section members were receiving regular electronic communications. Sections also had the option of operating open discussion listservs; and ASA members could verify and update their own membership information online.

During 2000, a secure server was installed to facilitate online membership applications and renewals and registration for the Annual Meeting. As recommended by EOB and approved by Council in August 1999, the online Preliminary Program became the primary source of detailed information for the 2000 Annual Meeting. A program summary was published as an insert in the

May 2000 edition of Footnotes (with print copies available on request from the Executive office). Starting in 2000, members no longer received a printed copy of the Preliminary Program.

2001–2: Major Enhancements to NOAH and the ASA Homepage

Throughout 2001, ASA introduced other major improvements in its information technology systems. An upgraded e-NOAH membership and contact database system was installed in the Executive Office in the spring of 2001. This new Windows-based version of the now-familiar database offered major enhancements—including the use of Internet portals to support e-commerce online, which also gave members the capacity to view and change information on their records. The upgrades included new desktop PCs to use the new system (the last round of hardware update was in the spring of 1997).

Major enhancements also occurred on the ASA homepage, which in some areas complemented the upgrades in the NOAH membership database. In January 2001, Hal Warren, Chief Executive Officer of Association Links (and also on the senior technology staff at APA), reported to Council on ASA website innovations and short- and long-term plans for the ASA website development.

The major website developments included: (1) Windows web-based version of Tracker , an annual meeting organizer/proceedings applications that could receive online submission of abstracts and papers; (2) an electronic member announcement system, tables of contents and abstracts for ASA journals; and (3) a web-based annual meeting program backed by a robust search engine that would permit many different types of searches and sorts, and would have the capacity (among other innovations) to produce personal schedules.

By the summer of 2001, most of the systems enhancements were fully installed: The conversion of the new membership database and management system was completed, and the refinement of the systems was in progress. In 2001, Deputy Executive Officer Stevenson reported on the steady increases in the utilization of the ASA website: In the fourth quarter of 1999, there were 131 unique visitors per day; this rose to 486 per day in the same period in 2000, and to 565 per day in the second quarter of 2001. ASA also continued to expand Internet-based applications on the website across most programmatic areas and in functions related to the Annual Meeting. EOB members commented on the positive improvements of the online Preliminary Program for the Annual Meeting—most thought it more user-friendly to read and to search, and found the personal scheduler a welcome new feature.

The ASA leadership demonstrated both a willingness to expand the use of the new technologies for enhancing communications and increasing productivity, as well as a sensitivity to those who might be adverse to or intimidated by these innovations. In January 2000, based on an initiative arising from President Feagin’s concerns about a segment of members feeling alienated, and his expressed interest in utilizing the Internet to enhance communication among sociologists, EOB approved launching an ASA Member Forum on the ASA website in the member-only restricted space to encourage members to discuss issues of importance to the discipline and Association.

While these fora did not engage much member participation, they signaled ASA’s interest in stimulating such exchange. The topics for Member Forum discussion included:

• Where is sociology headed in the 21st century?

• The challenges of feminist thought for sociology

• The challenge of race and racism for a sociology of U.S. society

• Thinking ahead about “Cities of the Future” (2001 Annual Meeting Theme)

Sale of the 1722 N Street NW Building

In the summer of 1998, ASA sold the row house on 1722 N Street NW in downtown Washington, DC, which it owned and which had been its headquarters since 1970. This possibility had come up in 1981 and again in 1993 as other social science associations along with ASA considered collaborating on the lease or purchase of office space. Based on EOB and Council analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of relocation, in January 1994, Council approved putting the Executive Office building on sale and relocating to new quarters. The presence of a strong offer and a growing sense of the wisdom of the Executive Office relocation in Washington, DC led to the sale of the property in the summer of 1998. After design and remodeling of the new space, the Executive Office moved to the 7th Floor of the 1307 New York Avenue NW Building in December 1998.

The 1722 N Street NW building had many charming features, but was generally ineffective as office space. Originally built at the turn of the 19th century as a residence, the building was becoming increasingly costly to secure and operate. The ASA staff was spread out over five floors (with no elevator), making interoffice communication difficult. Also, there was no accessibility for persons with mobile disabilities. The costs for remodeling the building were assessed to be considerable.