Annual Report 2002
Minutes of the 116th and 117th Business Meetings
Note: This annual report is carrying the minutes of two business meetings of the Association—the 116th and the 117th—to correct for the anomalies resulting from a shift in the meeting dates from December to January. The minutes were compiled by Sharon K. Tune, assistant director for administration and convention director. Future reports will carry the minutes of the business meeting held immediately after the reporting year.
Minutes of the 116th Business Meeting
President Wm. Roger Louis called the annual business meeting to order
at 4:56 p.m. on January 5, 2002. The meeting was held in Union Square
5 and 6 of the Hilton San Francisco. Michael Les Benedict of Ohio
State University served as parliamentarian for the meeting.
1. Report of the Executive Director: Arnita A. Jones supplemented
her written report (see page 4 of the Annual Report for 2001) with
supplementary remarks. She stated that annual meeting attendance was
healthy and that other budget components, such as the exhibit hall,
had also done well. Ms. Jones reported that the Association’s
finances were in good order and that a surplus was projected at the
end of the current fiscal year. Ms. Jones informed attendees that
individual membership in the Association was stable and briefed members
on advocacy efforts of the AHA.
2. Report of the Editor: Ms. Jones presented the report of American
Historical Review editor Michael Grossberg, Indiana University, who
was unable to attend due to illness (see page 15 of the Annual Report
for 2001 for text of the editor’s report).
3. Report of the Nominating Committee: Sara Nalle, William Paterson
University, committee chair, reported on the action taken to deal
with the impact upon the AHA election of dislocations in the distribution
of District of Columbia mail caused by dislocations consequent to
discovery of an anthrax-laden letters. She then announced the results
of the 2001 election.
4. Reports of the Vice Presidents: Vice presidents Barbara D. Metcalf,
University of California at Davis (Profession); Gabrielle Spiegel,
Johns Hopkins University (Research); and William A. Weber, California
State University at Long Beach (Teaching) each reported on the activities
of their respective divisions over the course of the past year. The
text of these reports is in the Annual Report for 2001.
5. Other business: (a) Expressions of Appreciation: Mr. Louis thanked
the two groups of volunteers that had worked so diligently to make
the annual meeting a success: the Program Committee, chaired by Philippa
Levine of the University of Southern California, and co-chair Paul
Ropp of Clark University, and the Local Arrangements Committee, chaired
by William N. Bonds of San Francisco State University, as well as
the AHA staff.
(b) Election of members to Board of Trustees: Members present unanimously
approved Council’s nominations to reappoint
R. Dyke Benjamin, Lazard; D. Roger B. Liddell, Ingalls & Snyder
LLC; and C. Evan Stewart, Winston and Strawn, to five-year terms on
the Board of Trustees. Mr. Liddell will serve as chairman of the Board.
In concluding his term as president, Mr. Louis observed that he appreciated
the confidence the membership had placed in him in electing him president.
Accepting the gavel from Mr. Louis, Ms. Hunt expressed gratitude to
Mr. Louis. As there was no further business, Ms. Hunt declared the
meeting adjourned at 5:41 p.m.
Minutes of the the 117th Business Meeting
President Lynn Hunt called the annual business meeting to order at
4:50 p.m. on January 4, 2003, in the Joliet Room of the Hilton Chicago.
Michael Les Benedict of Ohio State University served as parliamentarian
for the meeting.
1. Report of the Executive Director: Arnita A. Jones supplemented
her written report (see pages 4–6), stating that the Washington,
D.C., headquarters building, a 19th-century rowhouse, was in good
shape following completion of several major projects. She noted that
the building would require less expenditure in the future and that
the staff would next address the organization’s archives. Ms.
Jones observed that the Association’s financial status was sound,
and that the end-of-year financial statement should conclude with
a small surplus. She reported that the Committee on Graduate Education
report had been presented to the AHA Council for approval at its recent
meeting, and thanked committee chair Colin Palmer, secretary Thomas
Bender, research director Phillip M. Katz, and AHA staff members Miriam
Hauss and Robert Townsend. In concluding her report, Ms. Jones thanked
staff members for their diligent work on the annual meeting.
2. Report of the Editor of the AHR: Michael Grossberg stated that
the journal continued to be produced in a timely manner and that the
staff continued to develop an understanding of what it means to produce
in print and online. He noted that the staff had begun to upgrade
the AHR server and the database used to store information about potential
book review authors, books under review, and article manuscript information.
The text of the editor’s report is on pages 11–12 of this
annual report.
3. Report of the Nominating Committee: Gary Kates, Pomona College,
chair of the 2002 Nominating Committee, announced the results of the
2002 election. The committee’s report appeared in the January
2003 Perspectives and will be published—with additional details—in
the annual report for 2003.
4. Reports of the Vice Presidents: Vice presidents Gabrielle Spiegel,
Johns Hopkins University (Research); William A. Weber, California
State University at Long Beach (Teaching); and William D. Cronon,
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Profession) reported on their respective
divisions activities and projects. The text of their reports is on
pages 7–10 of this annual report.
5. Other business: (a) Expressions of Appreciation: Ms. Hunt thanked
Association members who had worked unstintingly on the 117th annual
meeting: the Program Committee, chaired by Anand A. Yang of the University
of Washington and cochaired by Margaret Washington of Cornell University,
and the Local Arrangements Committee, chaired by Leon Fink of the
University of Illinois at Chicago and cochaired by Ann Durkin Keating
of North Central College. She also expressed gratitude to Convention
Director Sharon K. Tune and the AHA staff for their efforts.
(b) Reading of Statement: Ian C. Fletcher, cochair of affiliated society
MARHO: The Radical Historians’ Organization, read a statement
drafted on January 3, 2003, by a newly formed ad hoc group, “Historians
against the War.” The statement, which had been signed by more
than 500 historians by the time it was presented at the business meeting,
declared: “We historians call for a halt to the march toward
war against Iraq. We are deeply concerned about the needless destruction
of human life, the undermining of constitutional government in the
United States, the egregious curtailment of civil liberties and human
rights at home and abroad, and the obstruction of world peace for
the indefinite future.”
Concluding her term as president, Ms. Hunt introduced Mr. McPherson.
Accepting the gavel and noting there was no further business, Mr.
McPherson declared the meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
