The Officers and Executive Committee met on Sunday, 4 May 2003, in the Conservatory Room of the Washington Hilton at 9:00 AM and continued until 4:30 PM. The Committee reconvened in the same room on Monday morning, 5 May 2003, from 9:00 AM-11: 30 AM. Those attending were: Ray Jackendoff, President; Joan Bybee, Vice-President/President-Elect; Frederick J. Newmeyer, Past President; Sally McConnell-Ginet, Secretary-Treasurer; Gregory Ward, Secretary-Treasurer designate; Kristen Syrett, Bloch Fellow; Stephen Anderson; Eve Clark; Larry M. Hyman; Sarah G. Thomason; and Gillian Sankoff. Michael Krauss was unable to attend due to family illness. Mary M. Niebuhr and Margaret W. Reynolds represented the LSA Secretariat.
A. Motions of Approval
The minutes of the January 2003 meeting in Atlanta were approved as were the
preliminary agenda and the proposed schedule for these meetings.
B. President’s Business
The members of the Executive Committee broke into small groups to review the
major activities of the Society: publications, annual meeting, linguistic institutes,
and liaison and outreach activities. Their immediate task was to examine these
programs and the priorities each reflects; to consider new activities that could
help the LSA serve its members better; to recommend funding priorities for LSA
activities, including increased support for some and decreased support or termination
of others; and to emphasize programs that LSA is uniquely able to provide. It
was agreed that it would be useful to continue discussions of this kind at the
2003 Linguistic Institute with active members and prominent linguists who are
not members of the LSA.
The President reported on his efforts to organize a session at the November 2003 meeting of the National Council of the Teachers of English in San Francisco.
The Committee received with thanks the revisions to the access policy at the Society’s archives housed at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection and the report of the Ad Hoc Constitution Review Committee; nominated John Rickford, Bill Labov, and Ed Battistella to be invited to participate in the June meeting on the National Science Foundation's educational reform and human resource development project; and approved a resolution of thanks to Peter Tiersma for his work on preparing the amicus brief in the Alaska English Only case.
C. Linguistic Institutes
The report on plans for the upcoming 2003 Linguistic Institute at Michigan State
University, prepared by Director Dennis Preston, was received with great thanks.
The Committee also received a report from the Committee on Linguistic Institutes
and Fellowships, accepted with thanks the progress report submitted by Sabine
Iatridou of MIT on the 2005 Linguistic Institute, and learned that U CO has
begun planning for the 2007 Institute and that UC-Berkeley is interested in
hosting an Institute.
D. State of the Discipline
The Committee discussed the FAQs and identified additional topics (and authors).
E. Committee, Delegate and Secretariat Reports
The Committee received with thanks the report from Joseph Aoun, chair of the
Nominating Committee, and reports from the Committees on Ethnic Diversity in
Linguistics, Advisory to Programs, Language in the School Curriculum, Endangered
Languages and Their Preservation, and Computing. The reports received from LSA
delegates to Sections Z, J, and V of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages were
accepted with great gratitude. The report from the Committee on Committee and
Delegate Appointments was accepted with thanks. All of the nominations made
by the Committee on Committee and Delegate Appointments were approved by the
Executive Committee.
F. Publications
The report from the Editor of Language, Brian Joseph, was received with thanks.
The Committee approved the guidelines suggested by the Editor for the appointment
of Associate Editors of Language: The Committee voted a special motion of appreciation
to Mark Aronoff and Megan Sumner for their work on the Index to Language 1925-2000.
The Secretariat presented a report on the status of the redesign of the LSA
website. The Committee received brief reports on the Society’s participation
in Project Muse and JSTOR.
G. Reports from Sister Organizations and Collaborative Projects
The Secretariat highlighted the reports received from the following: Consortium
of Social Science Associations, National Humanities Alliance, Center for Applied
Linguistics, Joint National Committee on Languages/National Council for Languages
and International Studies, the National Museum of Language, the American Council
of Learned Societies, the Coalition on the Academic Workforce, the National
Research Council, and the Modern Language Association. The Committee received
with thanks a brief report from Doug Whalen on the status of The Journal on
Endangered Languages, a project of the Volkswagen Foundation.
H. Secretary-Treasurer’s Business
Sally McConnell-Ginet reported that the number of members continues to fall.
This year the bankruptcy of Rowcom/Divine has cost the LSA nearly 100 library
and institutional renewals. The Committee unanimously approved awarding the
Victoria A. Fromkin Prize to Eugene Nida in 2004.
I. Annual Meeting
The Secretariat reported that at the first meeting of the officers of co-sponsoring
societies in Atlanta it was pointed out that the LSA guidelines on joint and
concurrent meetings were out of date. The Committee then approved a revised
version of the guidelines. The Committee received an update on the plans for
the Boston meeting. The Committee voted to amend its policy regarding the location
of the Annual Meeting. From now on, the LSA will limit the host cities for its
Annual Meeting to those located in states without sodomy laws. In light of this
change, the Executive Committee unanimously voted to move the site of the 2006
meeting from Houston, TX, to Albuquerque, NM.
J. Finance Committee
The Finance Committee met from 3:00–4:30 PM, Saturday, 3 May, in the Conservatory
Room of the Washington Hilton. Those attending were Joan Bybee, Ray Jackendoff,
Sally McConnell-Ginet, Frederick J. Newmeyer, and Gregory Ward. Margaret Reynolds
represented the Secretariat. The Finance Committee took the following actions:
1. Approved the minutes of the January 2003 meeting;
2. Received a report on the status of the LSA investment portfolio;
3. Discussed the possibility of retaining additional financial advisors;
4. Tabled a discussion of the draw-down of the Endowment Funds until after the Executive Committee discussion;
5. Suggested that committees and departments/programs be invited to nominate targeted projects for possible support;
6. Agreed to offer those participating in the National Council of Teachers of English panel in November in San Francisco $500.00 each in support;
7. Encouraged the Secretariat to continue discussions with the Modern Language Association and the Center for Applied Linguistics about a Language Summit, focusing on public awareness of language;
8. Approved the proposed budget with the suggested increases in advertising fees;
9. Agreed in principle to pay from the Membership Assistance Fund the institutional dues of university libraries victimized by the bankruptcy of Rowcon/Divine; and
10. Received proposals from the Oxford University Press and Blackwell Publishers to provide special benefits to LSA members.
The Executive Committee amended and then voted to approve the proposed budget for FY 2003-04 and approved the proposal from McMaster & Associates to perform the annual audit. The Secretariat was asked to investigate other firms to act as financial managers for the Society’s portfolio. The Committee determined that a draw-down of the endowment, originally discussed in January, should be used to support LSA's participation in the NCTE meeting and in the Language Summit planned with CAL and MLA. The funds could also be used to enhance the LSA website.
K. Executive Session
Margaret W. Reynolds was reappointed Executive Director for a term beginning
1 October 2003 and continuing to 30 September 2004.
L. New Business
At the request of Larry Hyman, the Committee discussed the importance of endangered
languages to the LSA agenda.