MINUTES OF THE 1997 GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING

The meeting was held on January 2, 1997 at 5 pm at the Hilton Hotel in New York City. Donna Guy presided. In attendance were Teresa Mead, Lyman Johnson, Vince Peloso, Mike Tarver, Mike Conniff, Mark Szuchman, Barry Carr, Sarah Cline, Ida Altman, Don Stevens, Alida Metcalf, Georgette Dorn, Susan Socolow, Bill Beezley, Linda Hall, Jackie Kent, and Sandy Johnson. Donna welcomed Sarah Cline and Barry Carr, as newly elected board members, and Susan Socolow, Vice President.

The Minutes of the 1996 General Committee Meeting were brought up for approval by the board. Don Stevens said that they should be amended, since at that meeting the Caribe-Centro American Committee had not met to discuss the matter of dividing into tw o committees, Caribe and Centro American Studies. Elections were held by both newly formed committees and officers were elected.

He also requested that the following should be added as an amendment to the 1996 minutes: The Latin American Population History Newsletter (edited by Robert McCaa, e-mail Robert.E.McCaa-1@tc.umn.edu) will be delayed but will continue to be publ ished on paper.

The Board approved the division of the committee, accepted the amendments, and then approved the minutes.

The Financial Report was given by Mike Conniff. The Secretariat has continued to curb expenses. He noted that the biggest expense is printing the newsletters and directory. The committee discussed the suggestion that the Newsletter be sent electroni cally, as the News-E-Ltr, to all members on line. This would cut our printing and postage charges dramatically. The secretariat will circulate a letter to members on the internet to propose this idea and to make it appealing. The committee agreed to initiate the News-E-Ltr in the Fall, so we have time to prepare members for the change. Questions of whether to make it voluntary, when to start doing it Spring or Fall 1997 were also discussed. It was also suggested that a light weight paper be used in the print version.

The endowment funds continue to do well. Conniff presented figures for the first three quarters, and said the secretariat would include fourth quarter numbers in the Spring Newsletter. A general audit will be held this year.

Sandy reported that membership for the year is down. We enrolled 90 new members, but 124 mem-bers will be canceled for not paying 1996 dues. The secretariat will put out a last chance message on H-Latam to try to keep these members.

Sandy presented the Prize Winner List, which was amended to include the plaques to Barbara Tenenbaum and Leslie Bethell for outstanding work in the field of Latin American History. Since few recipients were attending the luncheon to receive their priz es, the committee decided to move prize deadlines to September so that winners can be informed in time to make plans to attend the luncheon.

Ken Andrien, 1998 Program Chair, was not able to attend the meeting, so Mike Conniff presented the list of panels. The program shows a good general balance, with lots of graduate students as presenters. Mexico is somewhat over-represented, as are paper s on national period. It is strong in comparative history. The program was approved unanimously, with thanks to Ken for his good work.

Lyman Johnson discussed H-Latam, which needs regional committee chairs and secretaries to vet book reviews. He is concerned that Jackie Kent serves as sole operator. Those present support helping her find a co-moderator. Barry Carr offered to be ava ilable, even though he will be traveling on sabbatical this year. Susan Socolow, as part of her Vice Presidential duties, will now be the "point person" for H-Latam.

Donna Guy attended the AHILA conference in Liverpool last fall. Papers were given in Spanish and Portuguese. Donna represented CLAH and gave a paper. She outlined possibilities for reduced membership fees, exchange of newsletters to promote dialogue between scholars in Europe and the US. Newsletters could be swapped via email. International conferences could be held between participating organizations every few years. ADULAC is working on similar topics.

Mike brought up the proposal that we support a paperback edition of the Cambridge History of Latin America Volume 11, which contains bibliographic essays. The issue had been discussed on our list-serv previously, and most persons present expressed rel uctance to commit to the project. Some were concerned about our backing a commercial venture, others to protect our endowment.

Mike also mentioned a proposal for a new edition of the Latin American Teaching Atlas, by U. of Wisconsin Press. The original was totally commissioned, with a modest grant from the Tinker Foun-dation. Don Olliff has proposed substantial revisions, su ch as color maps and digital files that could be downloaded. He needs someone to work with him on this project. The atlas probably needs to be on a CD ROM. Sarah Cline offered to help out.

Bill Beezley, 1997 Program Chair, expressed thanks for the terrific job that his committee did and to the secretariat for its help in getting the program out.

Reports from Standing Committees:

Teaching: Teresa Meade has appointed new committee members. She has tried to get members from several types of schools. She will continue with the columns. She would like suggestions or feelings about teaching millenarian movements at the Seattle me eting.

COMPAQH: Don Stevens stated that the Latin American Economic History Newsletter has been converted to a World Wide Website by its editor, Richard Garner. Garner reports that there is increased response to the newsletter when he posts it on the web com pared to when the newsletter appeared in print. Since he has retired, Garner is looking for a new editor and a website host. If you have any suggestions, please contact him.

Projects & Publications: Sarah Cline volunteered to be the Chair of this committee since Marshall Eakin retired after 5 years as chair.

Linda Hall is a member of the AHA nominating committee and requests people contact here about candidates.

Mark Szuchman urged that CLAH send letters acknowledging institutional support for the secretariat and the journals. Lyman Johnson volunteered to do this.

The search for a new home for the Secretariat continues. The University of South Florida, MSU, and Texas Christian University have expressed interest.

There being no further business, a motion to adjourn the meeting was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael L. Conniff
Executive Secretary