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The
American Schools of Oriental Research |
PRESENT: P.E. MacAllister, Joe Seger,
Holland Hendrix, Al Leonard, Victor Matthews, David McCreery, Jim Strange
Ex Officio: Rudy Dornemann, Holly Andrews, and Billie Jean Collins
Call to Order at 10:49 AM by Chairman P. E. MacAllister.
1. The Chairman called for Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Board Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the Minutes of the ASOR Executive Board Meeting of Oct. 9, 1999 be accepted as distributed. The Resolution was moved, seconded, and PASSED unanimously.
2. There was no official report from Chairman P.E. MacAllister. He congratulated the staff on the handling of the unexpectedly high registration for the Annual Meeting.
3. Report from President Joe Seger: In the matter of the loss of services from Scholars Press, the President has been advised to contact Kent Richards of SP, who gave reassurances. Joe Seger thinks they have covered themselves legally. Glassick, the new Director of SP, sent a detailed letter of future plans.
The President announced three Institutional Memberships and requested that they be accepted:
Gannon University
University of LaVerne in LaVerne, CA
Converse College
RESOLVED: That this Executive Committee accepts these nominations as Institutional Members. The Resolution was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
The Centennial Program is scheduled for the week of April 13-16, 2000. Committees meet the first day. The Board meets on the 14th, followed by a Gala dinner in the evening. The State Department dining room will be used for the Gala and the Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering will be the featured speaker. The Smithsonian Associates program scheduled for Saturday is set. On Sat evening there will be a Grand Reception/Dinner and the program for this event is being developed. Library of Congress space is not available, but the Hotel is secured. The Program of the Grand Reception depends on the space available, currently thought of as a grand buffet followed by a program. Awards and honors have been moved from the Annual Meeting to be part of the Saturday night program. A “Digs Reunion Luncheon” will be the closeout.
Rudy Dornemann interjected that the Public Forum Institute (PFI), a functions facilitator, has been working on Sponsorships. We need contact possibilities for the Centennial and for the endowment campaign.
President Joe Seger added that there are two levels of contact for Board members based on “contact someone we know.” Use PFI at the second level as a third party. Joe stressed the need for contacts.
The Registration charge for the Centennial Program is under review. Joe projects $125 for the Gala dinner. ASOR Members pay $50 for the Smithsonian program, Smithsonian Associates pay $80. Lunch is not included. Corporate sponsorship could cut this in half. Another reduction under discussion is for junior members. Jan 1 is unstated deadline for preparation of all materials. A letter is going out to recruit an Honorary Committee of Ambassadors, Congress people, Senators, etc under invitation.
Holly Hendrix asked if PFI could put together something to put in the hands of potential sponsors. Joe Seger agreed that a fresh ASOR brochure be put out.
Joe Seger reviewed nominations to the Board of Trustees. A full slate of institutional & individual members will continue to serve on the Board.
New Trustee nominee: John Camp, novelist, Pulitzer Prize winner in literature, photographer, and author of non-fiction books, sponsor of the Rehov excavation. His name will come forward at the Board Meeting. Kent Bermingham is already elected as Trustee and has met with the Finance Committee. The President added that the By-laws will come up for change of Board classes to provide room for Board recruitment and allow for new growth.
4. Financial Report -- Rudy Dornemann in the absence of the Treasurer. The current Report takes us to the end of October 1999 and is pretty much on budget though this is difficult to see since a number of major bills for the period have not yet been received. Expenses are staying in line as they have regularly and total trustee and non-trustee giving are not up to budget at this point. Rudy explained that the subvention by Boston University of the cost of the fifth floor office space at 656 Beacon Street is shared by ASOR and the affiliated overseas centers, so that by agreement ASOR accounts for 45% of that support in its budget. Centennial Celebration expenses are not spelled out separately as part of the budget since we are in the process of determining the costs. A separate account statement for the Centennial Program is being developed. Rudy and Ingrid Wood have modified certain budget lines to make them as clear as possible. This year for the first time we show prepaid amounts. Rudy said that all of our endowment and other funds, stocks, and treasury bills have been invested at Salomon Smith Barney in a series of mutual funds and allocated to separate accounts to respect the restrictions on specific accounts. The ASOR funds spreadsheet has kept track of these funds for us and now monthly reports are provided by Salomon Smith Barney and we will continue to summarize these in a general funds statement quarterly. The Salomon Smith Barney accounts folder is available for inspection.
RESOLVED to approve the Revised Budget as presented. The Resolution was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
5. Auditors' Preliminary Report -- Rudy Dornemann, also in lieu of the Treasurer, Ingrid Wood. The" bottom line" this year is not as good as last year because of changes in the stock market and because two issues of NEA scheduled for FY1999 did not appear until FY2000. The adjustment for deferred income has a negative effect on Publication’s balance sheet. This report is preliminary, but it represents a clean audit. Rudy raised the question whether we should change auditors simply because some have thought we should use a “big six” firm. There was no discussion.
RESOLVED to receive the Preliminary Auditor’s Report. The Resolution was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
6. Development Committee -- Holland Hendrix. Dr. Hendrix thanked President Joe Seger for all his work in development. He mentioned that two lead solicitations have been made so far for the proposed Endowment Campaign. Development may require the services of a development consultant in the future. An Endowment Leadership Committee is being developed for this campaign.
President Joe Seger added that we are on track with what we have planned. At the Centennial Banquet we hope to announce the campaign and that we are two-thirds pledged. He added that the Centennial Campaign absorbs its own costs and the Annual Appeal in this three-year campaign.
7. Committee on Publications Report -- Al Leonard: COP recommends the adoption of the recommendations of Billie Jean Collins’ “Report on ASOR Publications,” namely, that ASOR keep all book and journal production and distributing and marketing in house; while outsourcing membership/subscriber services for two years.
Rudy Dornemann suggested that we look carefully at B.J. Collins’ projected budget from an accounting point if view.
P.E. MacAllister suggested that the Executive Committee inform the Trustees by adding the information to their packet.
RESOLVED, that the “Report on ASOR Publications” be added to the packet for the Trustees for the forthcoming Trustees’ Meeting. The Resolution was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
Billie Jean Collins reported on current proposals for membership services. Negotiations are proceeding with Academic Services and with B U. Another possibility is American International Distributing Corp. in Vermont.
The Chairman ruled that it is implicit in the action that we have just taken that this investigation of firms for membership services shall continue.
Committee for the Annual Meeting and Program -- Victor Matthews: The current over-registration is being handled by staff. The ASOR office had 535 badges available, and all have been used. Our 2000 meeting will be in Nashville. Our hotel is downtown at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza. CAMP assumes that the registration increase at this meeting is due to the strong program and perhaps the location in Boston.
Committee on Archaeological Policy -- David McCreery: The Committee has 58 proposals and has discussed the proposals, will yet meet on policies. CAP's discussions suggest that CAP perceives itself has having a mission. CAP wants annual reports. CAP will approve publication projects for 5 years. After the third field season will require a more substantial report. The annual reports maintain affiliation. One suggested change is that applications be stored in the server and password-protected for committee access only. This will cut down the paper flow.
There is interest in the Saudi initiative; but clearly also some concerns.
Meeting Adjourned by Chairman P.E. MacAllister at 1:09pm
Respectfully Submitted,
James F. Strange, Secretary