RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL AND
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETINGS 1994-2014
1994
- A motion to amend the constitution to change the word “chairman” to “chair” was passed by the Executive Council and then by a 2/3 vote of the assembly on March 19.
1995
- In order to support the increased costs of word processing, copying, and mailing, and to keep costs as low as possible for students, the membership approved an increase in dues. The new dues structure is:
Life membership: $100
Income over $40,000: $10
Income under $40,000: $5
Student: $3
- The membership voted to maintain the current conference schedule, that is Thursday evening through Saturday.
- The membership also endorsed the idea of an informal roommate service, run through the local arrangements committee each year. Faculty who are willing to pay for the full cost of a room but share the room with a needy student or visitor from abroad should let the local arrangements committee know.
1996
- In order to minimize the problem of no-shows by panel participants, the SCSS Executive Council would like to ask all panel chairs to maintain contact with the members of their panel, to solicit copies of the papers for the chair and discussant at least two weeks before the conference, and to check and make sure that the paper-giver is planning to attend. If an unforeseen circumstance prevents a panelist from attending the conference, he/she is responsible for finding a suitable replacement.
1997
- There was a discussion of the attendance problems some faculty members have experienced due to budget cuts for scholarly conferences. It was agreed that the SCSS president will send a letter of support to any member who requests one and feels such a letter might be useful in convincing a Dean or Department chair of the importance of these conferences both for scholarly development and for teaching enhancement.
- Further it was agreed that the Program chair should be more deliberate in inviting different people to serve as chairs and discussants in order to increase attendance at the conferences. Of course the Program chair should seek the assistance of the panel organizers and participants in this endeavor.
- We agreed to send out a special notice of the student paper contest in late October to remind you and your students of the January 15 deadline. Graduate papers, term papers, seminar papers, and chapters from master’s theses or Ph.D. dissertations are acceptable as long as they were written during the previous calendar year under the supervision of SCSS members.
1999
- The Executive Council agreed to clarify the procedures for hosting a conference, and Larry Holmes has appointed an ad hoc committee chaired by Teddy Uldricks to prepare a document outlining the responsibilities of a local arrangements chair.
- The Council also discussed the creation of a standardized registration form. These materials, when completed, will be added to the SCSS web site.
- The Executive Council also agreed that the members of the Awards Committee will be listed in Beartracks so members can send nominations to the committee.
- The business meeting passed a motion, moved from the floor, that the student paper award be increased to $250 beginning next year.
2001
- The Executive Council and the Annual Business Meeting approved changes in our constitution to facilitate our application for non-profit status. We are waiting for final approval of our application. SCSS is grateful to Michael Newcity (Duke University) and former president Don Raleigh for their hard work in this area.
2002
- The Southern Conference on Slavic Studies has been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. This designation under tax law 501(c)3 allows individuals to claim a tax deduction for donations to SCSS.
- In order to conform to IRS regulations we have changed our reporting system to the calendar year (rather than using our meeting in March as the reporting point).
2005
- The Executive Council voted to drop the “Saturday Beach Party” as a formal obligation for the local arrangements committee. As airlines no longer require a Saturday night stay, fewer members are attending those events. Nevertheless, the beach party, in all its various guises, has become a tradition and will now be considered a local option for the host institution.
2006
- The Executive Council has approved a dues increase starting in 2007. The proposal calls for: income over $40,000 to increase from $10 to $20, income under $40,000 to increase from $5 to $10, student dues to increase from $3 to $5, and life membership to increase from $100 to $200. These increases will offset the increase in postal rates and the costs of printing and mailing Beartracks. This proposal will be brought to a vote at the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, March 25, 2006.
2007
- New dues structure approved by the Annual Business Meeting: Income over $40,000: $20; Income under $40000: $10; Students: $5; Life: $200.
2008
- At the Council of Regional Affiliates meeting, we learned that the AAASS Board of Directors has decided to cut the Board representation of the Regional Affiliates from two seats to one.
- We (Council of Regional Affiliates) decided to choose one of our members to serve for a three-year term to provide some continuity.
2011
- After lively discussion, another motion to amend the constitution to give the president and president- elect 2 year terms instead of the current 1 year term was passed with the required 2/3 majority.
2012
- We have a new email listserv that will allow members to discuss issues related to Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies in the southern United States. All current members for whom we had up-to-date information have been added to the list.
- The Executive Council met on Friday and made two important decisions that were reported to the Business Meeting on Saturday: first that the annual business meeting next year will be held before the banquet on Friday evening in order to increase participation and cut the costs of lunch on Saturday; also that Alice Pate has agreed to serve as webmaster of a new SCSS website which should be running fairly soon.
2013
- The Executive Council decided to enhance our Facebook Page with Lee Farrow as administrator so please join and send her your news and announcements and pictures.
- The Executive Council also decided to consolidate our two web pages into one with the home page residing at Sewanee. Please check the site for up-to-date information on SCSS (www.sewanee.edu/scss)
2014
The Executive Council and Annual Meeting reaffirmed a previous vote to stop the publication of hardcopies of Beartracks and send copies as PDF files. Members may opt out of the PDF format and receive a hard copy on request.
RESOLUTIONS ORGANIZED BY CATEGORY 1994-2014
DUES
1995
- In order to support the increased costs of word processing, copying, and mailing, and to keep costs as low as possible for students, the membership approved an increase in dues. The new dues structure is:
Life membership: $100
Income over $40,000: $10
Income under $40,000: $5
Student: $3
2006
- The Executive Council has approved a dues increase starting in 2007. The proposal calls for: income over $40,000 to increase from $10 to $20, income under $40,000 to increase from $5 to $10, student dues to increase from $3 to $5, and life membership to increase from $100 to $200. These increases will offset the increase in postal rates and the costs of printing and mailing Beartracks. This proposal will be brought to a vote at the Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, March 25, 2006.
2007
- New dues structure approved by Annual Business Meeting: Income over $40,000: $20; Income under $40000: $10; Students: $5; Life: $200.
CONFERENCE
1995
- The membership voted to maintain the current conference schedule, that is Thursday evening through Saturday.
- The membership also endorsed the idea of an informal roommate service, run through the local arrangements committee each year. Faculty who are willing to pay for the full cost of a room but share the room with a needy student or visitor from abroad should let the local arrangements committee know.
1996
- In order to minimize the problem of no-shows by panel participants, the SCSS Executive Council would like to ask all panel chairs to maintain contact with the members of their panel, to solicit copies of the papers for the chair and discussant at least two weeks before the conference, and to check and make sure that the paper-giver is planning to attend. If an unforeseen circumstance prevents a panelist from attending the conference, he/she is responsible for finding a suitable replacement.
1997
- There was a discussion of the attendance problems some faculty members have experienced due to budget cuts for scholarly conferences. It was agreed that the SCSS president will send a letter of support to any member who requests one and feels such a letter might be useful in convincing a Dean or Department chair of the importance of these conferences both for scholarly development and for teaching enhancement.
- Further it was agreed that the Program chair should be more deliberate in inviting different people to serve as chairs and discussants in order to increase attendance at the conferences. Of course the Program chair should seek the assistance of the panel organizers and participants in this endeavor.
1999
- The Executive Council agreed to clarify the procedures for hosting a conference, and Larry Holmes has appointed an Ad hoc committee chaired by Teddy Uldricks to prepare a document outlining the responsibilities of a local arrangements chair.
- The Council also discussed the creation of a standardized registration form. These materials, when completed, will be added to the SCSS web site.
2005
- The Executive Council voted to drop the “Saturday Beach Party” as a formal obligation for the local arrangements committee. As airlines no longer require a Saturday night stay, fewer members are attending those events. Nevertheless, the beach party, in all its various guises, has become a tradition and will now be considered a local option for the host institution.
CONSTITUTION CHANGES
1994
- A motion to amend the constitution to change the word “chairman” to “chair” was passed by the Executive Council and then by a 2/3 vote of the assembly on March 19.
2001
- The Executive Council and the Annual Business Meeting approved changes in our constitution to facilitate our application for non-profit status. We are waiting for final approval of our application. The entire SCSS organization is grateful to Michael Newcity (Duke University) and our former president Don Raleigh for their hard work in this area.
2002
- The Southern Conference on Slavic Studies has been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. This designation under tax law 501(c)3 allows individuals to claim a tax deduction for donations to SCSS.
- In order to conform to IRS regulations we have changed our reporting system to the calendar year (rather than using our meeting in March as the reporting point).
2011
- After lively discussion, another motion to amend the constitution to give the president and president- elect 2 year terms instead of the current 1 year term was passed with the required 2/3 majority.
2012
-The Annual Business Meeting will meet on Friday afternoon prior to the annual banquet.
