President Donna Gabaccia called the Council Meeting of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era to order at 5:30 p.m., April 1, 2005, in Room G, San Jose Convention Center In addition to President Gabaccia, University of Pittsburgh, the following SHGAPE Council and other Members attended the meeting: Vice President Peter Argersinger, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; temporary Secretary Roger D. Bridges, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center emeritus; Council Members Professors; Nancy C. Unger, Santa Clara University; JGAPE Editor, Alan Lessoff, Illinois State University; Ruth Crocker, Auburn University; Eric Rauchway, University of California, Davis. Non Council members present included; Robert W. Cherny, San Francisco State University; Charles W. Calhoun, East Carolina University; Membership Chair, Raymond “Skip” Hyser, James Madison University; H-SGAPE Editorial Board Chair Jacqueline Moore, Austin College; H-SHGAPE Book Review Editor Philip VanderMeer, Arizona State University; Shannon Parsley, American University, and Michael Pierce, University of Arkansas.
President Gabaccia reported that the Officers and Editor of the Journal had dealt with a matter relating to plagiarism, among other matters since the last meeting. She also reported that she had authorized the payment of $200 to the National Coalition for History. Based on reports provided by the Hayes Presidential Center, she announced that income during the past year had continued to outstrip expenditures, although expenses have risen, owing in part joining the History Cooperative and the gating of the Journal. Membership continues to increase.
Professor Jacqueline Moore has replaced the late Professor Thomas Winter as a member of the SHGAPE Council.
Professor VanderMeer, chair of the Nominating Committee, reported that the calendar for nominations had been moved up in order to have the elections completed in a more timely fashion. He asked that SHGAPE Members forward nominee suggestions to him.
Vice President and Program Chair Professor Peter Argersinger announced there will be six full sessions for the upcoming AHA and OAH meetings. The proposals look interesting and provocative. There are some problems relating to timing of sessions as there were competing SHGAPE at the OAH meeting. Unfortunately, SHGAPE has very little control over these matters. It was however, that the OAH has been considering affiliation matters.
Professor Lessoff reported that the Association of British American Nineteenth Century Historians (BrANCH) invited SHAPE members to contribute papers and sessions and its journal, American Nineteenth Century History, to the conference and that there would be several joint sessions with their British counterparts.
Professor David Blanke reported that work on the Newsletter was going well. He asked that news of awards, activities, and other matters be sent to him. The purpose of the Newsletter in to keep members of the Society in touch with the professional activities of the members.
There was some discussion of the relationship between the Hayes Presidential Center and the GAPE Journal. The HPC interim executive director has asked the officers to take some of the responsibility for handing matters relating to the Journal, matters that had previously been handled by the Hayes Presidential Center executive director. Until matters are settled there, SHGAPE should not burden the Center more than necessary.
In the light of changes in the leadership of the Hayes Presidential Center, President Gabaccia asked Roger D. Bridges to serve as interim Secretary. He agreed to do so. President Gabaccia will continue to coordinate and approve financial matters between SHGAPE and the Center. Vice President Argersinger will assume responsibility for relationships with the OAH and the AHA. There ensued a lengthy discussion of the relationship of the business matters with the Hayes Presidential Center. She appointed an ad hoc Planning Committee to consider how SHGAPE should relate to the Center and divide responsiblities and other matters in the future. The committee members are President Gabaccia, VP Argersinger, Editor Lessoff, and temporary Secretary Bridges.
President Gabaccia noted that her intention to devote considerable attention to the growth of the SHGAPE Endowment project had been deferred by matters relating to the changes at the Hayes Presidential Center, and to her acceptance of the new position of director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota that had necessitated another relocation. She reminded the Council that all officers should consider contributing to the Endowment as such participation was crucial in seeking outside funding.
The meeting adjourned at 6:36 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Roger D. Bridges
Secretary, ad interim.