Philosophy of Education
General Business Meeting
Sunday, March 18, 2007
5:05 -6:30pm
About 40 members present
1.&n= bsp; Call to Order – Susan Laird
2.&n= bsp; Approval of minutes of 2006 Business Meeting – Sasha Sidorkin
· Mayo Moved, Huston seconded, approved by consensus.
3.&n= bsp; Announcements
· Executive Board and COPA Election Results: <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Kathy Hytten is elected to the Exec= utive Board, Hee Soon Bai was elected to COPA — Sasha Sidorkin
Susan Laird
This has been a full and exciting year thanks to=
the
good humor, devoted and clever service of so many of you. Especially tremendous thanks are d=
ue to
Deron Boyles for his generosity and grace through uncommonly difficult
challenges as Hospitality Chair.
This year the corporate hospitality industry has been recovering from
severe losses to wars abroad and a record number of hurricanes here by
unloading real estate, franchising their hotels, and then bearing down hard=
on
their franchisees, who in the squeeze are desperately trying to meet their
obligations by altering their protocols, complicating their contracts, and
adding countless new fees.
Unfortunately we did not discover until too late the severity of this
situation or its particular acuteness for the Starwood group that owns
Sheraton, whose debt load (if official reports online can be trusted) seems=
to
be comparatively high within the industry as a whole. With government regulation of corp=
orate
activities severely reduced, small non-profit organizations like ours are
especially vulnerable in this climate of crisis. As naïve volunteers, we acted=
from
one mistaken understanding that has proved costly, as Sasha will later expl=
ain
in more detail, not only in dollars but also in hours. My thanks to Deron, Sasha, and eve=
ry
single member of the Executive Board for collaborative and committed servic=
e in
the heat of the moment and to all of you who as members have borne the rise=
in
our conference registration fees that was necessary for the PES to weather =
this
storm without taking our hotel to court.
Michael Katz in unlikely to toot his own horn, b=
ut as
president-elect he has undertaken extensive self-education, travel, and
investigation around this hotel business for the coming year, generous with=
his
time and money to a degree we would be unreasonable to expect from most fut=
ure
presidents. We all owe him our
thanks for these uncommon voluntary labors.
I want to suggest that after 2008, PES should co=
nsider
meeting at university or other non-profit conference centers or else hire a
professional conference coordinator who is savvy about the volatile financi=
al
context that frames hotels’ relations with their contractors. This unregulated context of volati=
lity
makes the quick obsolescence of hand-me-down manuals to hospitality chairs
likely. For example, I recall=
that
in 2005 we confronted labor disputes at our hotel that caused much quandary=
at
the eleventh hour before the conference; these are symptomatic of the same
underlying issues. After our
difficulties this year, I have not only read financial and litigation repor=
ts
posted on the Internet concerning various corporate hotels, I have also tra=
cked
down the several colleagues in my college who have been organizing conferen=
ces
this year too. Not one of them
failed to produce a grizzly “contract” story something like our=
s,
and a couple of them offered stories much worse. One had to shop for a new conferen=
ce
hotel at the eleventh hour because the hotel was sold and thereby released =
from
its contract with the organization.
Meanwhile, however, online I have found that many universities in
excellent locations have conference centers that we might consider as sites=
for
our conferences after 2008. They will not necessarily be cheaper, and some =
may be
operated by hospitality corporations, but I hope that universities might be
less likely than the federal government just to look the other way at funny
business. We would have moved=
from
this hotel to Emory’s conference center for this conference if Deron =
had
not found it already booked. I
think it’s time to plan ahead and take our hospitality dollars to
universities instead of multi-national corporations scrambling to avoid
buyouts.
Aside from this harsh lesson, we have enjoyed
extraordinary sponsorship this year.
Barb Stengel, Jeff Milligan, and their committee and subcommittees h=
ave
handsomely compensated for the hotel hassles with a fine program that has
conserved our most rigorous standards and best conference traditions, honor=
ed
two of our great elders, integrally involved our distinguished guests, given
attention to books by PES authors, mentored new members, invited discussion=
of
work-in-progress, and reached out both locally and globally. Thank you, all—and especially
Sasha for his gentle, efficient leadership.
4.&n= bsp; Executive Director’s Report – Sasha Sidorkin
Membership
1989-90--239
1990-91--250
1991-92--279
1992-93--310
1993-94--322
1994-95--358
1995-96--465
1996-97--441
1997-98--459
1998-99--527
1999-00--522
2000-01--479
2001-02--459
2002-03--445
2003-04--477
2004-05--447
2005-06--465
2006-07--412
The number may not be accurate because of the database conversion. The stats wi= ll be better next year.
Conference Registration
104 people pre-registered.
New on-line registration system
There were many errors and problems with the database; Ii is better now. The syst= em significantly reduces manual work, and minimizes mailing costs. Most people seem to use it with ease, but suggestions are welcome.
Financial Status
Here is the snapshot of our assets:
|
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>April 30, 2004 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>April 30, 2005 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>April 19, 2006 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>March 12, 2007 |
|
|
<= span style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>OPERATIONAL FUND |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>32,997.40 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>53,131.19 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'> 48,063.60 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>53,704 |
|
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;color:black'>KNELLER LECTURE |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>70,328.42 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>75,550.91 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'> 77,353.36 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>80,811 |
|
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>LEGACY FUND |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>17,850.98 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>20,355.15 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'> 21,079.73 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>21,059 |
|
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>TOTAL |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'><=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>121,176.8 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'><=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>149,037.25 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'><=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>145,492.11 |
<=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'><=
span
style=3D'mso-bookmark:OLE_LINK2'>155,574 |
We have switched our broker from Morgan St= anley to Meryl Lynch. We have a better service now, and more flexibility with for= eign deposits.
&nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp;
Sheraton
has negotiated with Deron, and assured him that Food and Beverage numbers w=
ill
be negotiable. However, they refused to renegotiate once the contract was
signed. We have not noticed the higher than usual amount for F&B in the
contract; all efforts to renegotiate failed. As the officer of the Society =
who
actually signed the contract, I accept full responsibility for the error. A=
s a
result of the error, the Executive Board had to raise registration fees and
provide more than usual food for the conference. We welcome member’s
input on whether we keep the higher registration fees in exchange for better
food. Part of the cost was of=
fset
by generous institutional contributions, especially by the
5.&n= bsp; Call for Reports from Committee Chairs, as needed. =
· Hospitality Committee – No report
· Program Committee
Program Chair R= eport
I begin with a long list of acknowledgements and thank yous:
The
Program Committee worked smoothly and well (and quickly!) to make the entire
review process remarkably simple. I
thank Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Heesoon Bai, Megan Boler, David Carr, John
Covaleskie, Paul Farber, Charles Howell, Kathy Hytten, Huey-li Li, Jeffrey
Ayala Milligan, and adjunct member James Stillwaggon who served as special
reviewer on all alternative session and work in progress proposals.<=
/p>
Jeff
Milligan was a "dog with a bone" in reviewing alternative session
proposals, working with me to identify and develop other sessions and putti=
ng
together an "embedded conference" that helps to make clear the
connections between our work and that of K-12 educators. John
Covaleskie reviewed work in progress proposals as well as many paper session
proposals to develop a collection of seven interesting work in progress
sessions. His work to
inaugurate this new feature of the program was thorough, intelligent, gener=
ous
in spirit and much appreciated. Joyce
Atkinson was a pleasure to work with as we implemented OJS for review for t=
he
first time. She and Liz
Jackson were both quick to respond to questions and pleas for help from me =
or
from the membership. Jo=
yce's
clear grasp of the OJS system and of
the needs of a Program Chair enabled her to anticipate what I needed; she s=
aved
me time and confusion, and I thank her. President
Susan Laird invited me to Chair the Program Committee with a mandate to
"democratize" the program while maintaining high standards of
quality. The Presidenti=
al
Honors Project, the embedded conference and work in progress sessions were =
her
ideas that Jeff, John, the membership and I have put into place. I acknowledge the vision, her vision, that guided the work t=
hat we
have done. Susan
Birden, with the support of Wendy Kohli, employed skills in cross-cultural
communication, contract negotiation, and event management to pull off the P=
residential
Honors Project centered on Jane Roland Martin's work. Every detail was checked and
rechecked and I thank her. Many
thanks to those accomplished members of the society who served as mentors f=
or
our inaugural work in progress sessions: Nick Burbules, Bob Floden, Fran
Schrag, Susan Verducci. Barbara Houston, Frank Margonis, and Jim Garrison. =
Nance
Cunningham took on the position of Book Exhibit Coordinator and took it
seriously, breaking new ground with "Meet the Author" and "B=
ook
Chat" sessions offered along with the display of books. She has operated with care a=
nd
efficiency and her fine work must be recognized. Sasha
Sidorkin and Deron Boyles have always had my respect and affection. Now I just plain love them.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We have kept constant virtual
company over the past six months and they have responded to every query and
request with wit and competence. &nbs=
p;
I cannot thank them enough.
The statistical report for the 2007 conference program is as follows:
There are a total of 150 discrete persons listed on the program in one role or another. This sug= gests that President Laird's effort to "democratize" the program, and engage more individuals in active program roles, was successful.
The Committee made full use of OJS in the process of review. Most aspects of the program = worked well and efficiently. Relatively few members (or reviewers) ran into trouble and those iss= ues were generally resolved efficiently by Joyce Atkinson and Liz Jackson.
If there are instances of "system failure," i.e. if folks did not receive acknowledgements or notifications, please pass that information on to me (<= /span>Barbara.stengel@millersville.edu) or Joyce Atkinson (Atkinson@uiuc.edu).
Several potential policy questions arose in the process of review for the conference. These are submitted to the Executive Board for consideration and possible action:
1) Does PES need a policy regarding just one paper submission? Regarding number of slots on program for any individual?
2)&n= bsp; Should we use OJS exclusively? Should that be the prerogative/decision of the Program Chair? Should we arrange for altern= atives to OJS submissions for members who request it?
3)&n= bsp; Should alternative sessions be blind review?=
4)&n= bsp; Are the WIP sessions a useful innovation and should they be continued?
5)&n= bsp; Do we want to expand "Book Chats" and oth= er Book Display related programming?
The efforts attempted this year continue the expansion of the program begun ear= lier when we decided to include alternative sessions. This expansion does place a greater workload on the Program Chair, no matter how much assistance s/he has. Also, we run the r= isk of diluting audiences and/or wearying the attendees when we pack the program a= s we did this year. I recomm= end that we pay attention to session attendance, overall attendance, and "visitors" attendance (for the evening program) to determine the impact of what seem on the face to be useful innovations.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Stengel
2007 Program Chair and Yearbook Editor
· COPA – Covaleskie: The committee met a= nd will put together a proposal for the next years, which will include politic= al actions, advocacy for the profession. The proposal will invigorate COPAR= 17;s role to represent the voice of the profession.
· COSW – No report
· Membership Committee – Paul Smeyers: We would like to discuss our ideas with the Executive Board first.
· Jobs for Philosophers – no report
6.&n= bsp; New Business
· Educational Theory/Yearbook and Yearbook Proposal – Nick Burbules.
Philosophy of Education Society Yearbook Propo=
sal
<= o:p>
Our proposal is to significantly change the current approach to PES Yearbook development and production. This publication has had a hybrid identity for = the past 15 years or so — it is part straight proceedings of the PES annu= al conference, part refereed publication representing some of the best work in= the field for the year. We suggest separating these two identities as follows:<= o:p>
Moving to an entirely online Proceedings would have a number of benefits:
There are also potential drawbacks:
Again, there are benefits and drawbacks. The
benefits include the following:
<= o:p>
Some drawbacks include:
<= o:p>
We
raise this issue for discussion in part because we see a trend that cannot
continue indefinitely: production costs are increasing, circulation is limi=
ted
and seems to be very gradually dropping off, and the precarious circulation
situation suggests that there are sharp limits to increasing the charge for=
the
book in its current form. In part, this issue has become particularly appar=
ent
to us as changes in our staff and our procedures with Educational Theory have made managing certain tasks related to =
Yearbook production and distributi=
on
more challenging for us to absorb. Our goal is to explore with you ways we
might minimize these problems while enhancing the visibility, accessibility,
and prestige of the publications associated with the Society.
· Discussion:
--Rud: Please expl= ain how this would change the job of the program chair.
--Nick: It will re= duce the value of responses a little bit. However, it will produce a second publication, and the Program Chair can claim an edited volume editorship
--AG Rud: How much= will it extend the work of the program committee?
--Nick: The commit= tee may finish at the conference, but the Chair will act as an editor of the ed= ited value.
--Kal Alston: One = of the benefits of the proceeding is to limit the length of the publication is to manage the session length. Without the limitations people will go over.
--Nick: I only mea= nt to say the overall length of the proceeding is unlimited; we may still want to limit length of papers.
-- Kal Alston: I w= orry about the status and weight of the responses. It has a bit more weight on CV’s. It is not just a record of oral response, but has more value. F= rom the point of view of a pre-tenured faculty, it might be a problem
--Nick: We may sti= ll call the on-line publication “The Yearbook,” we don’t nee= d to call it Proceedings. It will keep the publication of the response, but it w= ill increase the value of the main paper.
--D.C. Phillips: Sometimes responses are better than the papers. Also, we cannot claim the conference represents the best work in the field. Referees are not necessar= ily experts in the specialization areas of authors. Some papers that make it through PES conference, would not make it into the refereed journal, becaus= e a wider body of reviewers is available to journals.
--Linda Stone: I d= o many promotion reviews. This looks like we are giving another credit for the same paper. I suggest the task force makes sure this is clarified for external audiences, and triple-counting does not occur.
--David Hansen: Th= anks for the good proposal; I recommend the committee to holds to the principle = of reflecting the face-to-face nature of the dialogue.
-- Susan Birden
--Michael Katz: On= e of the challenges of picking a responder is to find the right match. Responses make a big difference, if they are selected corrected.
--?? One of the po= ssibilities is for respondent and the author to co-author.
--Nick: I would encourage or enforce serious revisions for the printed publications.=
--Deron: There is a legal question of copyright and an ethical issue of double-counting. Second point: we can simply raise the membership dues.
--The benefit of h= aving a printed book is diminishing, because it is already available online. To t= he second point: we have a spectrum of choices: from going totally on-line, to keeping exactly what we have now and continue the subsidy of the Yearbook. =
--Claudia Ruitenbe= rg: In evaluating time and money expenditures, the publishing of the response does matter. The copy-editing is important, and it improves a credibility of the publication. There are other ways of cost decrease.
-- Nick: I am not proposing this because of monetary considerations.
-- ?? Research sho= ws that use of printed publications decrease, while on-line ones increase; tha= t is the general trend. There is the cost of storage of hard copies. It is not a simple matter.
· Other: Changes in Bylaws. AG Rude moved, Kal= Alston seconded, passed unanimously
7.&n= bsp; Resolutions. Insert resolutions. Ann Diller.
8.&n= bsp; Passing of the Gavel - from Susan Laird to Michael = Katz
9.&n= bsp; Announcements
· Announcement of President-Elect – Mich= ael Katz: David Hansen is a Mensch
Meeting adjourn= ed about 6:30 PM.