SHGAPE Council Minutes
January 6, 1995

President Kathryn Kish Sklar called the Council of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era to order at 4:00 p.m., January 6, 1995, in Conference Room 5G, Chicago Hilton, Chicago, IL. Present were officers, council members and SHGAPE members Kathryn Kish Sklar, Charles C. Calhoun, Robert W. Cherny, Robert A. Harris, M. Les Benedict, Marjorie Spruill Wheeler, Kriste Lindenmeyer, and Roger D. Bridges.

The Council approved the Council Minutes of April 15, 1994, as distributed.

Secretary-Treasurer Bridges reported the checkbook balance as of December 30, 1994, at $4,314.66.

Cherny moved to change Bylaw 3 [Nominating Committee] by striking out the following: {1}President, {2}(commencing in 1995) and {3}even. The word odd will be inserted in the place of the stricken word even. Wheeler seconded the motion; it carried.

After some discussion of the possibility of competitive elections and changing the term of service for the graduate student representative, the council decided to leave the matters unchanged.

Bridges moved to change Bylaw 4 [Elections] by striking September 15 and substituting November 1 as the date to mail the ballot, and to change the date for ballots to be received and counted from November 1 to December 1. Cherny seconded the motion; it carried.

Marjorie Spruill-Wheeler reported that M. Les Benedict had been nominated for Vice- President/President-Elect, and that Eileen L. McDonagh, Leon R. Fink, and Robert A. Harris (graduate student) had been nominated for three-year terms on the Council. Bridges reported that each had been elected.

Cherny reported for the H-SHGAPE Editorial Board.

Cherny moved to further amend the bylaws as follows:

8. H-SHGAPE

a. Definition: H-SHGAPE is the e-mail discussion list for the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, sponsored jointly by SHGAPE and H-Net.

b. Editorial Board: Members of the H-SHGAPE editorial board are appointed for three-year, overlapping terms, with reappointment possible. At the OAH meeting of the SHGAPE Council, the SHGAPE president shall president a nominee for chair of the editorial board of one-year for chair of the editorial board for approval by the council. At the AHA meeting of the SHGAPE council, the SHGAPE president and chair of the editorial board shall present a list of proposed board members for the coming year. The President and Secretary-Treasurer of SHGAPE are members of the editorial board ex officio. Editorial board members should be SHGAPE members. Editorial board members are appointed subject to approval by H-Net.

c. Moderators: At the OAH meeting of the SHGAPE council, the editorial board shall recommend two or more H-SHGAPE moderators for two-year, overlapping terms. Moderators may be reappointed. Moderators are appointed subject to approval by H-Net.

Wheeler seconded the motion; it passed unanimously.

After some discussion, President Sklar appointed M. Les Benedict to draft a new bylaw establishing a program committee, chaired by the President-Elect, for SHGAPE. It was further agreed that program submissions for the 1996 AHA Meeting should be directed to Benedict.

The Council took the appointment of a Newsletter Committee under advisement. Lindenmeyer will bring recommendation and (perhaps) a bylaw proposal to the Council at the OAH meeting.

Lindenmeyer, reporting for Ruth Crocker chairman of the Prize Committee, noted that the committee had received some 20 submissions.

The Council recommended that SHGAPE establish a Distinguished Speaker series for the luncheon meeting in years there is no Presidential address. Benedict will prepare a report and name a committee to select the distinguished speaker.

The Council expressed the thanks of SHGAPE to Joseph A. (Andy) Fry for his outstanding service as Chairman of the membership committee, and for creating the highly useful membership form.

The Council asked President Sklar to discuss the possibility of increasing chronological fields on membership forms in order to better represent the interests of SHGAPE with the Executive Director of the OAH. At the same time, it asked Benedict to begin a dialogue with the editor of the Journal of American History about the possibility of introducing additional chronological fields in the listing of journal articles.

The Council expressed gratitude and thanks to President Kathryn Kish Sklar for her outstanding leadership and service over the past two years as President-Elect and President of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.

President Sklar adjourned the Council meeting at 5:20 p.m. so that all could attend the SHGAPE reception.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roger D. Bridges
Secretary-Treasurer

Approved 03/31/97