AATSEEL Executive Meeting minutes 2001
Summary of Minutes of the Meetings of the Executive Council
of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic & East European Languages
December 27-30, 2001, New Orleans, LA
taken by President-Elect, Benjamin Rifkin
Presiding: Sarah Pratt, President
Present: Kathleen Dillon, Jerry Ervin, Karen Evans-Romaine, Laura Janda, Olga Kagan,
Frank Miller, Ben Rifkin, Harlow Robinson, Cindy Ruder, and Jim Sweigert. Also
attending: Carol Ueland (non-voting member of EC in December 2001, incoming Vice
President, member of EC for 2002-2003).
After approval of the agenda, the EC decided to defer approval of minutes from
December 2000 to March 2002 to give members more time to consider changes and
corrections. The EC voted to post summaries of EC meetings to the AATSEEL Website
and possibly the AATSEEL Newsletter (space permitting). The EC then discussed
items the President should include in her report at the AATSEEL business meeting.
The EC considered a request from Leonard Polakiewicz for $2,500 remaining from a
grant from the National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages
for the development and publication of the Polish Language Learning Framework. The
PLLF has been completed. Leonard Polakiewicz requested funds for a publication
subvention. The EC approved the disbursal of funds for a publication subvention by
May 30, 2002.
The EC discussed plans for the reception and noted, with thanks, the performance of
the Luther College Balalaika Orchestra.
The EC approved the following resolution: The Newsletter Editor is encouraged to post
and enforce all deadlines for all Newsletter submissions.
Executive Director Jerry Ervin informed us that SEEJ has submitted all of its material –
the entire history of its publication – to JSTOR for electronic publication. SEEJ
continues to submit new issues of SEEJ to JSTOR on an ongoing basis. Ultimately
previous issues of SEEJ with a 3-year firewall (up to a 3-year gap) will be up on JSTOR
in pdf format with full-text search options. Ultimately there should be a link from the
AATSEEL website to JSTOR's archives of SEEJ. This will be available only through a
university that subscribes to JSTOR. JSTOR has not yet begun to make the material
available on the web: JSTOR is still working on font issues.
The EC discussed the status of SEEJ. The USPS has negotiated with Jerry Ervin for
SEEJ to make up the issues we have missed so that SEEJ doesn't lose its bulk mailing
priveleges. Jerry Ervin and Jerry Janecek have agreed to a schedule for the publication
of new issues of SEEJ at the rate of one every two months starting February 2002 for 3
years or until SEEJ is all caught up with its publishing schedule, at which time SEEJ can
go back to the regular pattern of 4 issues per year.
The EC discussed the possibility of electronic dissemination beyond JSTOR but
decided against dissemination of more recent issues of SEEJ at this time.
The EC endorsed a resolution of gratitude to Jerry Janecek for taking SEEJ on and
providing such an important service to the profession.
Past President Frank Miller reported on AATSEEL Awards:
Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Post-Secondary Level: Thomas Garza, U. of
Texas – Austin
Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Secondary Level: Judith Wobst, Amherst
Regional Middle and High School
Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship: Caryl Emerson, Princeton
University
Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Profession: Alex Rudd, List Manager and
Systems Operator, SEELANGS.
Past President Frank Miller reported on Publication Awards on behalf of Kevin Platt,
chair of the Publications Committee:
Award for Best Contribution in Language Pedagogy: Olga Kagan, Benjamin Rifkin,
Susan Bauckus, eds. The Learning and Teaching of Slavic Languages and
Cultures. Bloomington, IN: Slavica Publishers, 2000.
Best Book in Literature / Cultural Scholarship: Eliot Borenstein. Men without Women:
Masculinity and Revolution in Russian Fiction, 1917-1929. Durham, NC: Duke
University Press, 2000.
Best Book in Linguistics: Sue Brown. Syntax of Negation in Russian: A Minimalist
Approach. Stanford, CA: Center for the Study of Language and Information,
1999.
Best Translation into English: Daniel Weissbort. Selected Poems of Nikolay
Zabolotsky. Manchester: Carcanet, 1999.
The new nominations and elections committee will consist of Past President Frank
Miller (chair), and outgoing Vice-Presidents Laura Janda and Jim Sweigert. They will
recruit nominations for AATSEEL awards and nominations for offices (two vice
presidents and one president-elect).
The EC endorsed Publications Committee Chair Kevin Platt's recommendation to
change the timing of deadlines for consideration of publication awards (in what period of
time a book must be published in order to be eligible for an award in a given year.)
These recommendations are appended to this summary.
The EC confirmed the following policy on awards: Common practice up until now has
been that members of the Publications Committee have recused themselves when
there is a potential conflict of interest in the review of a nominated work for a publication
prize (as happened again this year). The Executive Council endorses this practice for
the future as our standard policy on publication awards. Members of the Executive
Council are eliminated from consideration for all other awards (i.e., awards other than
publication awards) during the period of their service to the Association.
The EC commended the Publications Committee for maintaining an awards jury that is
diverse in its composition with regards to years of service to the profession, academic
rank, and area of expertise.
The EC recommended that the Publications Committee set up a separate jury for the
review of works nominated for the best prize in translation; that is, that this jury should
include individuals with expertise in translation. The jury reviewing works nominated for
the translation prize may overlap in composition with the jury reviewing works
nominated for the prize in literary and cultural studies.
The EC will recruit a new committee chair for the Technology Committee. This
committee is charged with, among other things, selecting a website for the annual
website award.
The EC members will individually write Alex Rudd to congratulate him for his award and
thank him for his service to the profession.
Report from ACTR: Jim Sweigert reported that ACTR is hiring a marketing expert to
promote the teaching of Russian and Slavic languages at the high school and university
levels. The EC was informed that work is ongoing to develop an AP test in Russian;
ACTR is looking for sites to pilot test the new AP exam in Russian. (Several EC
members serve on the ACTR AP committee.)
Report from Committee on Testing and Professional Development: Ben Rifkin has
stepped down as chair of this committee. The new chair is Richard Robin. The
committee sponsored several events at the 2001 AATSEEL Conference and plans are
underway for events at the 2002 conference.
Future conferences: AATSEEL 2002 Conference will be held in New York at the
Marriott Marquis on Times Square with room rates at $130 single, $140 double, exactly
the rate that MLA got at one of its sites, the Hilton.
Conference Program Committee Chair Karen Evans-Romaine reported on the
AATSEEL 2001 Conference. She noted that the program committee is receiving more
and more requests for sophisticated technological support. Given that rental costs are
rising, the EC decided that AATSEEL will NOT provide live internet connections for
anyone presenting at the AATSEEL conference. Participants are recommended to
download from the internet the interesting webpages they wish to demonstrate and to
show them from a "canned" version. AATSEEL conference participants are encouraged
to bring their own a/v equipment, but we will continue to provide such equipment when
a/v requests are made by the deadline set by the Conference Program Committee. The
EC commended Karen Evans-Romaine and the entire program committee for a job well
done.
In response to concerns about the timing of pre-conference events, the EC agreed to
schedule the annual pre-conference meeting of the Conference Program Committee for
27 December from 5 to 7 pm (as currently scheduled), but to change the Executive
Council Meeting for 27 December from 2 to 5 pm to 7 to 10 pm. In 2002 the EC
meeting on 27 December will be from 7 to 10 pm. The pre-conference workshop (see
below) will be scheduled for 28 December from 8 to 10 am. At this time the EC agreed
that AATSEEL should sponsor coffee and donuts at the exhibit hall from 8 to 10 am to
welcome conference participants to the conference and draw them into the exhibit hall
right away. The 30 December meeting of the EC will remain at 7 – 10 am.
The EC voted to consider outsourcing some clerical tasks to management companies.
Executive Director Jerry Ervin and incoming Executive Director Kathleen Dillon will get
information about such options and bring it to the EC's attention.
The EC reviewed rates and fees, considering the proposal from Executive Director Jerry
Ervin, and approved the following schedule.
Subscription Rates for 2003
SEEJ Only – N. America $ 60
SEEJ Only – Outside N. America 75
Newsletter Only – N. America 35
Newsletter Only – Outside N. America 50
Comprehensive: SEEJ + NL + Memb. Dir. – N. America 80
Comprehensive: SEEJ + NL + Memb. Dir. – Outside N. America 95
Membership Rates for 2003
Affiliate (Newsletter only) (NLO) $ 30
Students & Independent Scholars 30
(note change of name of category from students and unemployed)
Retired & emeritus (EME) 30
Secondary school teachers (SST) 35
Instructors, Lecturers (I&L) 40
Assist Profs (ASI) 45
Non-academic members (NAM) 45
Assoc Profs (ASO) 55
Full Profs & Admins (FPR) 65
Sustaining members (SUS) 100
Joint membership (JOI)
The fee for the higher-ranking member (see above) +15
Mail to address outside N. America
Any membership or subscription category +15
Benefactor/Life Member (LIFE) 750
Conference Registration Fees for 2002
PREREGISTRATION
Members
Students $ 40
Others 70
Non-Members
Students 55
Others 90
LATE & ON-SITE REGISTRATION
Members
Students 55
Others 90
Non-Members
Students 70
Others 105
MLA Courtesy Rate (Available On-Site Only) 45
Conference Program Committee Chair Karen Evans-Romaine, incoming Executive
Director Kathleen Dillon, President-Elect Ben Rifkin and Vice President Harlow
Robinson agreed to serve on a committee to look into ways to track the academic rank
of members in order to determine the nature of participation in annual conferences.
Outgoing vice president Laura Janda agreed to organize the pre-conference workshop
for 2002 (scheduled for 12/28 from 8 to 10 am / see above), with concurrent sessions
on at least some of the following topics
writing abstracts (for the AATSEEL Conference and possibly for other purposes)
interviewing for jobs
writing c.v. and cover letters (researching the targeted institution)
how to do a job talk (on a campus visit)
expectations for tenure / different for each institution
grantsmanship
working with administrative staff
how to conduct interviews (for faculty on hiring committees)
The EC agreed that interviewers should be reminded of the MLA guidelines for
interviewing in the October Newsletter and that they can get interview space at
AATSEEL, but that they must request such space by the deadline.
Recommendations for Changes in Eligibility Rules for Publication Prizes
(submitted by Publications Committee Chair Kevin Platt, endorsed by EC – December
2001)
The Publications Committee of AATSEEL, with the approval of the Executive
Council, has voted to institute the following changes in the eligibility
and administration of the AATSEEL book prizes. For fuller explanation of
these changes and of the eligibility requirements for the prizes in
general, please refer to the Publication Committee webpage at
http://pages.pomona.edu/~kplatt/aatseel.htm.
A: Beginning in the coming year, the deadline for nominations of books for
the AATSEEL book prizes will be April 1.
Rationale: In the past, nominations have been due by June 1. This has
necessitated that jury considerations and voting take place in the summer
months, when it is difficult to make contact with members of the committee.
This change will make the administration of jury voting for the prizes
smoother.
B: Beginning in the coming year, eligibility for the prizes in linguistics,
literary/cultural criticism, and translation will extend to books published
in the preceding two calendar years (2000-2001 in this case), but will not
include those published in the current year (2002). For the prize in
language pedagogy eligibility will extend for the preceding three calendar
years, but not the current year.
Rationale: In the past, eligibility for all prizes has extended to books
published in a three year period including the year in which the
competition takes place (books considered for this year's prizes were
published in 1999, 2000 and 2001). This has given an unfair advantage to
books published early in the year, which have in effect been eligible for a
year longer than books published late in the year. It has also made it
difficult for jury members to examine some nominated books, which are not
available in time for the committee's deliberations. This change will
address these issues. Further, the reduction of the eligibility window from
three years to two for all prizes except that for pedagogy reflects the
well-established nature of these prizes, which ensures that books are
nominated in timely manner. The prize for pedagogy is only in its second
year, and needs more time to come into its own.