1974 Council Meeting -- SSSR
Washington Hilton Hotel
The SSSR Council convened at 9:00 a.m. on October 24, 1974, at
the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. President Paul
Pruyser presided. In attendance were: William D'Antonio, Benton
Johnson, Gillian Lindt, Richard Gorsuch, Ted Mills, Jeffrey Hadden,
Max Stackhouse, Morton King, David Moberg, Donald Capps, James
Dittes, and Phillip Hammond.
The minutes of the 1973 council meeting were accepted as they
appeared in print in the Journal.
D'Antonio announced the results of the election of new members
of the council. They were: Donald Capps and Robert Friedrichs.
They are to serve terms that expire in 1977. They replace David
Moberg and Samuel Blizzard.
D'Antonio, the Executive Secretary, paraphrased his report for
1973-74. He noted that there is currently a surplus of $33,000
in the Society's treasury though a significant portion of that
amount is owing to the subvention by the University of Connecticut
in the form of computer assistance, secretarial help, and the
like. Membership in the Society remains stable, though there
is some slight increase in the number of library subscriptions
that have been sold in recent years. This report was accepted
unanimously and with appreciation.
Treasurer Ted Mills reported in detail on the budget (elsewhere
printed in this Journal). The council was asked by Mills to continue
its policy of allowing the executive secretary, with the advice
of selected council members to invest up to one half of the surplus
in stock certificates or bonds. He also suggested that $200 per
year be added to the salaries of the executive secretary and the
administrative assistant and that a like amount be made available
to the secretary as a bonus for her contribution to the Society.
These motions were passed and his report was accepted.
The wisdom of publishing a new directory of members was discussed.
The most recent directory was printed in 1972, and it was noted
that the movement of members is considerable, so that many addresses
are now out of date. It was estimated that $1,000 would be required
to publish and distribute the new directory. It was decided that
in addition to whatever mailing address the members prefer there
be listed the member's occupational affiliation and if possible
one or more telephone numbers. The amount of $1,000 as needed
was allocated to this end.
Retiring Journal editor Johnson reported on his past year and
in general on his three years as editor. He expressed considerable
concern for the heavy workload that the editor undertakes, noting
that many scholarly Journals provide more help with copy editing,
secretarial services and so forth, even if they cannot provide
sufficient funds to relieve the editor from teaching duties.
The incoming editor, Gorsuch, then distributed to council members
an evaluation form that he is planning to use, at least tentatively,
as he sends out submitted articles for review. Some discussion
of this form ensured.
Book review editor Hadden reported. He has tried conscientiously
he said to expand the review of books in Anthropology, though
noting that this has been difficult to do. It was his belief,
he said, that the practice of including a symposium review --
that is to say, a lengthy multiple review -- of a book or sequence
of books has been well received.
Reports were heard from the council's representatives to the
CSR (Hadden) and the AAAS (Lindt). Lindt has attended one session
on recruiting women into science fields and she agrees further
to organize a religion section for the January 1976 annual meeting
of AAAS. Hadden raised the question of SSSR's continued association
with CSR. This past year the council contributed $500 to CSR,
but remained only an associate member organization. Because SSSR
has its own organizational machinery for publishing the Journal,
mailing out membership dues, etc., it does not need, as many of
CSR's constituents organizations need, the supervisory help of
the CSR. Considerable discussion ensured. No strong reasons
were expressed either in favor of continuing our affiliation or
reasons for discontinuing our affiliation. Mills then moved as
a first step that SSSR retain its affiliation. (This motion was
passed.) And second, he moved, that after the 1974 convention
expense figures are known, D'Antonio is to calculate the portion
of those monies which represent SSSR's "contribution"
to CSR and notify CSR that this will be the 1974-75 contribution.
It was further decided that if a representative of SSSR is required
for any joint planning meetings with CSR during the coming year,
such persons are to be appointed on an ad hoc basis. Pruyser
announced that Vatro Murvar will be the 1975 program chairman.
Moberg, who made the initial arrangements for the hotel in Milwaukee,
agreed to continue as local arrangements liaison.
Morton King asked that SSSR pay the clerical costs of regional
organizations to the tune of about $60 each year, thus enabling
members of the SSSR to participate regionally with related groups.
This amounts to a subvention for the costs of mailing out notifications,
and so on, to regional areas where overlapping interests prove
sufficiently great to warrant joint meetings. This motion passed.
Treasurer Mills then proposed the budget for 1974-75, a total
of $42,670.75. This budget was passed.
D'Antonio then spoke of the planned membership drive to be conducted
out the executive secretary's office. His plan is to secure lists
of persons with a "science-religion" background. Discussion
followed on what else might be done, i.e., what other target populations
might be approached. Among suggestions made were, assignment
of chair people for each state, mailings to all students enrolled
in larger programs in the sociology of religion, and mailings
to students enrolled in graduate programs in religious studies.
The Executive Secretary's office has been in the process of negotiating
a contract with the SCM Press of London, England, for the right
to distribute the "Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain."
Motion "to permit the Executive Secretary to sign a one
year contract" was made and seconded. In the discussion
D'Antonio explained that SSSR would be expected to purchase a
minimum of 250 copies at $3.00 each and offer them to members
at a cost of $5.00 each. Motion was adopted.
The Council next considered the matter of future meeting sites.
D'Antonio reminded the Council that the 1975 meeting will be
held in Milwaukee, and the 1976 meeting in Philadelphia. For
1977, the Council considered St. Louis, Toronto, and Chicago.
Both Toronto and Chicago are central to the main body of SSSR
members. Much interest was expressed in Toronto, and D'Antonio
spoke highly of the city and of the Westbury Hotel which he had
visited. The major drawback to Toronto seemed to be that the
cost to members for Registration and rooms would be significantly
higher than for Chicago. The Chicago Bismarck (site of the 1971
meeting) proposed rates much lower than Toronto could offer.
The Council voted to select Chicago for 1977, with D'Antonio instructed
to check out the Bismarck and similar hotels and then to select
the one best suited to SSSR members' needs.
Council also adopted the following motion: "Persons participating
in the program at the Annual Meeting, either be members of SSSR,
or be required to become members as a condition of participation.
The membership requirement would hold only for papers accepted,
and specially invited guests of the Society would be exempt from
the requirement.
The Xerox College Publishing Company had invited SSSR to sign
a contract with them by which they would reprint JSSR articles
on request for educational purposes. They offered a royalty payment
to SSSR of $.001 per page per copy sold. Council discussed the
invitation, several members spoke out strongly against it; it
was moved, seconded and adopted that "No contract be signed
with Xerox College Publishing at this time."
Gill Lindt then offered the following motion: "SSSR revises
its royalty policy on reprints as follows: The price per page
reprinted will henceforth be $10.00, with the Society and the
author or authors each to receive $5.00."
Motion was seconded by M. King; discussion emphasized that approval
of this motion would bring SSSR policy more in line with other
professional societies. Motion was approved.
President Pruyser announced that a member of the Scholars Press
of Montana would be willing to meet with the Council to discuss
possible ways in which SSSR might become involved, beyond the
printing of the JSSR which Scholars Press now handles. It was
agreed to hold a luncheon Council meeting on Saturday, October
26th, at which time the Scholars Press representative would address
the Council.
Dave Moberg moved that a major item for the Saturday agenda be
discussion of a strategy for the selection of a successor to the
incumbent Executive Secretary. Motion approved.
President Pruyser adjourned the meeting at 12:05 noon.
The Council reconvened at noon on October 26th. D'Antonio had
invited Jack Miles of Scholars Press (University of Montana Press)
to talk to the Council regarding possible collaboration. Scholars
Press has developed quite inexpensive ways to publish dissertations
and monographs provided that the constituent scholarly associations
make decisions of worthiness. For example, both AAR and SBL sponsor
dissertation and monograph series. After considerable discussion,
the Council voted to establish a fund of $1,500 to get such a
series underway, to announce both orally and in the Journal that
members having dissertations or monographs which they would like
to see published can submit them to the SSSR, and then asked for
volunteers from Council members who were willing to serve as "first
readers" of any monographs or manuscripts submitted. No
one jumped at the chance. President Pruyser then volunteered
to read manuscripts with a "psychological" flavor, and
Secretary Hammond agreed to serve as a first reader of such manuscripts
with a more sociological flavor.
The remaining items of business for the Council in 1974 revolved
around what apparatus should be set up to recruit over the next
two years a replacement for Executive Secretary D'Antonio, he
having announced his intention of resigning effective October,
1976. A committee for such a search was named consisting of Paul
Pruyser, Bill D'Antonio, James Dittes and Gill Lindt. It was
also decided that an advertisement should be inserted in the Journal
so that any member would have the opportunity to apply for the
opening. The meeting adjourned at 1:30.