SHGAPE Council Minutes
January 5, 1996

President Robert W. Cherny called the Council of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era to order at 4:15 p.m., January 5, 1996, in the Yukon Room, Marriott Hotel, Atlanta, Ga.. Present were officers, council members and SHGAPE members Robert W Cherny, Kriste Lindenmeyer, Patrick Reagan, Ballard Campbell, Kathryn Kish Sklar, Elisabeth Israels Perry, Robert Harris, Ari Hoogenboom, Eileen McDonagh, Michael Les Benedict, Marjorie Spruill Wheeler, and Roger D. Bridges.

President Cherny submitted an agenda that was adopted.

Secretary Bridges asked that members present read the submitted minutes carefully because they had been reconstructed from memory and notes from President Cherny. Bridges had lost his orignal notes before completing the minutes. Marjorie Spruill Wheeler noted that she had not been in attendance as noted in the minutes. Bridges noted that he had still failed to include a paragraph (which he read) and which will be placed in the corrected minutes at the appropriate location. With those corrections, the minutes were approved.

Secretary-Treasurer Bridges reported the checkbook balance as of January 4, 1996, at $4102.29. Moved, seconded, passed.

Cherny commented on the H-SHGAPE editors' "Report to the SHGAPE Council on H- SHGAPE." He noted that Ballard Campbell had joined as an editor (formerly moderator) for H- SHGAPE and would assume Cherny's responsibilities (at least while the latter is in Russia). He noted, also, that Patrick Reagan has gotten the H-SHGAPE gopher at MSU up and running. Acceptance of the report was moved, seconded, passed.

The Council entered into a general discussion of the H-SHGAPE Gopher. Some suggested that papers from SHGAPE sponsored sessions should be kept there. Others thought it should only be abstracts because some journal editors consider appearance on the net as publication. Pending clarification, the consensus was that each session participant should made the decision about his or her paper. The Editorial Board was asked to prepare a policy for consideration by the Council at its next meeting. The policy to be initiated by the editors (moderators) for H-SHGAPE for the next several months. Those editors are Kriste Lindenmeyer, Ballard Campbell, Maureen Flanagan, and Philip VanderMeer. Cherny announced the following appointments to the Board for terms ending in January 1999: Robert Beisner, American University; Donna Gabaccia, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Melanie Gustafson, University of Vermont; Robert Johnston, Yale University; Nina Mjagkij, Ball State University; and Philip VanderMeer, Arizona State University.

Lindenmeyer reported for the Prize Committee in the absence of Chairman Ruth Crocker. She noted there had been 26 submissions for the biennium. The committee thought the overall quality of the articles under consideration had improved sharply over those submitted in the first round. The Committee recommended that the individual who was to be awarded the SHGAPE Article Prize be notified, invited to the Luncheon (ticket provided by SHGAPE) at which the Presidential Address is given, and be given a suitable certificate in addition to the monetary award of $500. After discussion of whether to alter terms for committee members, the Council asked the Prize Committee to review terms of office and bring a recommendation to the next session (at the OAH).

Wheeler reported that the nominating committee had nominated the following:

Vice President Elisabeth Israels Perry

Council Members Wanda Hendricks

Kendrick A. Clements

Ari Hoogenboom.

All were elected by mail ballot.

Michael Les Benedict reported for the Program Committee. He indicated that there were two sessions at the AHA, both on Friday, and that they were successful. The committee recommended that the SHGAPE continue creating programs for both the AHA and OAH sessions, and that the organization should seek out sessions already accepted and jointly sponsor those as well. He also requested that SHGAPE officially endorse the William McKinley Centennial program currently being organized to commemorate the centennial of McKinley's election in 1896. Other sponsoring organizations include the Department of History and Division of Humanities at The Ohio State University and the Ohio Historical Society.

Kriste Lindenmeyer reported that two Newsletters were planned for the 1996-97 academic year (there did not seem to be a need for a third). She thanked all those who had sent news but requested that members send more news along.

Robert Harris reported that the graduate students had met in special committee at the AHA meeting earlier in the day. He suggested that faculty members more aggressively encourage their graduate students to join SHGAPE. The students recommended that they be given the responsibility for identifying one or more graduate students to represent them on the Council, and that the graduate students only vote for the graduate representative. They also recommended that a graduate issues page be added to the H-SHGAPE web page when it becomes active.

The following by-law resolution was moved to create an executive committee:

"The President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, and the three members of the Council in their last year of service shall constitute an executive committee of the Council, empowered to consider questions that must be decided before the next meeting of the Council. " The motion carried unanimously. Bridges was directed to number the bylaw and add it to the existing bylaws in the appropriate location.

Owing to the length of the meeting, two other bylaw recommendations were by common consent laid over to the next meeting.

By common consent, the Council passed a resolution of thanks to retiring President Robert Cherny for his untiring and outstanding leadership of SHGAPE and the Council.

The Council adjourned to the Reception being held in a nearby hotel.

Respectfully Submitted,

Roger D. Bridges
Secretary-Treasurer

Approved with corrections 03/29/97