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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
The fact that the San Francisco meeting was a great success is a testimony to the resilience and inner strength of the United States and all of us as members of this nation. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, many of us thought that it would not be possible to gather in conferences like ours merely three months later. I certainly expected a small luncheon meeting and thin attendance to our sessions. I was deeply moved to see over one hundred CLAH members gathered for our annual lunch, and I thank all of you who reaffirmed the spirit of freedom with your presence there and in the wonderful sessions we all enjoyed. We had a beautiful day, good food, and a gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay for the annual luncheon. It was crowned by a spirited talk by Stuart Schwartz. Due to sickness in her family, Rolena Adorno had to cancel her talk, and Stuart gallantly acceded to replace her at very short notice. His personal comments on the co-stewardship of the two volumes of the Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas (South America) were pithy and humorous. The cocktail party was very well attended and the buffet was excellent. All sessions were well attended. At the luncheon meeting I called for bids to house CLAH for the next five years. By March 1, 2002, the Executive Committee had received three excellent offers. The decision was difficult and after careful consideration the campus of the University of California at Davis was selected. Thomas H. Holloway will be our next Executive Secretariat. The transfer will take place in July. We have some exciting new ideas to discuss and are looking forward to working with Tom. I want to express my deep appreciation to Paul Dosal and Sandy Guthrie for the most supportive and congenial of relationships and their dedication to serving CLAH for the last five years. The General Committee adopted several motions of interest to the membership. It was agreed to give some small financial support to special foreign guests of the Regional Committees to encourage a dialogue with colleagues who can only visit on special occasions. New Guidelines for the Program Committee were proposed and approved. They are published in this Newsletter and should help give the members of the Program Committee and those wishing to present papers in the annual meetings guidance on how to organize successful panels and clarify doubts about eligibility. Paul Dosal will report on other matters. I would like to remind our membership that the Susan Socolow Challenge Fund is still alive and doing very well and that all contributions are welcome. Each one of them adds financial stability to CLAH. In regard to other matters, all Prize Committees are in place and ready to start their work. The task of finding volunteers is difficult, but serving in the committees is a labor of love that we all appreciate. Many thanks to all those who accepted the responsibility. Also grateful acknowledgment is due to the 2003 Chicago Program Committee, Dain Borges, Jeremy Baskes, Kendall Brown and Karim Rosemblat who worked diligently with a large number of submissions for the forthcoming program. Since this Newsletter will
arrive when most of our members are readying themselves to finish
the activities of the spring semester, I wish all of you a good
and productive summer.
All content Copyright ©2002 The Conference on Latin American
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