Council Highlights

ASA Council held its mid-year meeting on February 12-13, 2011, in Washington, DC. Pending Council approval and online posting of the minutes, the following is a snapshot of key decisions and discussions.

Minutes.

The minutes for the various Council meetings, conference calls, and email votes from August 17, 2010, through February 1, 2011, were approved.

Budget.

Approved the operating budget and the Spivack budget for 2011.
To support an editorial transition, approved a one-time 80-page increase for the journal Social Psychology Quarterly.

Donations.

Expressed gratitude and appreciation to Margaret L. Andersen for her outstanding efforts in organizing and leading the ASA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Leadership Campaign.
Provided feedback on proposals from the Council Subcommittee on Member Giving.

MFP Transition.

To follow up on recommendations made by the Committee on the MFP Transition, Council asked the MFP Advisory Panel to prepare a set of concrete recommendations for future activities/directions of the program, accompanied by an appropriate budget, for review by Council in August 2011.

Publications.

Selected new editors for Contexts and the Rose Series in Sociology.
Approved the Committee on Publications’ statement of appreciation to the University of California Press for its invaluable partnership during the development and inauguration of the magazine, Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds, during its first decade (2001-2010).

Membership.

After considerable discussion, Council approved a model for a new dues structure as recommended by the Committee on the Executive Office and Budget (EOB). A membership referendum on changing the dues structure was added to the ASA ballot in May 2011. It was also agreed that, if approved, a new unemployed dues category will be implemented in 2012, and the remainder of the new dues structure will be implemented in 2013.

Sections.

Bylaws changes were approved for five Sections, and one section was asked for clarification of its proposed changes.

Annual Meeting.

Appointed Jess Gilbert to fill an unexpected vacancy on the 2012 Program Committee.
Reviewed background information on the site selection process and criteria and on viable destinations for future meetings.

Status Committees and Task Forces.

Received an update on efforts by the Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology to begin collecting data on women’s career trajectories over time.
Tabled appointments to the Task Force on the Post-doctorate in Sociology for one or two years or until more data are available.
Received a brief progress report on the work of the Task Force on Sociology and Global Climate Change and appointed Sarah Soule to serve as the Council Liaison.

NRC Doctoral Program Rankings.

Council accepted the report of its Subcommittee on NRC Doctoral Program Rankings with a commendation for its work. The Executive Office was directed to circulate the report and its findings including distribution to department chairs, the National Research Council and other appropriate people and organizations..

New Business

Reviewed the draft of an amicus brief in Wal-Mart v. Dukes et al. and outlined issues to be addressed, after which an email vote of Council was to be taken to decide whether ASA would submit the brief to the United States Supreme Court.
Due to a lack of time, tabled consideration of the 2010 Business Meeting resolution on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Children was moved to the next meeting of Council.