The meeting was held on October 25th at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, site of the 1997 PAA meeting. Aside from the conflict with Easter weekend, Board members are satisfied that the location will be appropriate. Criteria for meeting location selection were reviewed and approved, with highest priority given to accessibility of the site. Presidentelect Karen Mason said that she will continue with no more than 13 concurrent sessions, with two poster sessions, and will hold the alumni night party on Thursday rather than Friday, as that is Good Friday. There will be awards for the posters, and as in New Orleans the prizes will be affixed to the posters themselves rather than announced at the presidential address.
Jim Weed announced that the association has hired Stephanie Dudley to be the Executive Secretary. She comes to us from the National Bar Association, is a certified meeting planner, and will begin her duties on November 18th. Jim Weed and the personnel committee were commended for their hard work in screening and interviewing many candidates. Jen Suter and Jennifer Hauber were thanked for their assistance in keeping the office functioning through a complex changeover.
Jim Weed announced that new interpretations of CDC rules will not permit him to continue as the SecretaryTreasurer of PAA. Doug Massey and he reviewed possible other candidates. Elizabeth Hervey Stephen, of Georgetown University indicated that she would be willing to take on the position, and the board unanimously approved her selection and named her to replace Jim Weed as SecretaryTreasurer effective October 26th.
There were several very close races in the Board elections. A total of 1001 ballots were submitted--a turnout rate of about 35%. Had more members voted, the elections might not have been so close.
The Chair of the PAA Finance Committee, Phil Morgan, projected a modest year-end surplus, and recommended no fee increase this year. However, next year there are no new sources of income anticipated, and rent and office maintenance expenses are expected to increase at a steady rate.
Foundation funding for travel for members from developing countries to participate at PAA meetings will continue. President Massey has named Sonalde Desai (sdesai@bss1.umd.edu) to chair a committee to make travel awards for members wishing to attend the October 1997 IUSSP meetings in Beijing.
President-elect Mason asked that the Board review the kinds and numbers of awards presented at the annual meetings. As our membership ages, it is to be expected that there will be more requests for memorials. She asked that the Board consider whether scholarships or some other route might be more appropriate. President Massey will name an ad hoc committee of three to establish a consistent awards policy including ways to memorialize individuals.
The editor of Demography, Robert Mare, requested that he be allowed to waive the submission fee for other authors besides students, who are currently exempted from paying the fee. The Board voted also to exempt residents of developing countries who are not employed by an international organization, as well as limited other hardship cases, at the editor's discretion.
PAA has signed an agreement with JSTOR (a Melloninitiated project) to put back issues of the journal (up to 5 years from the current date) into electronically readable files.
Anne Harrison Clark reported on the state of the Congress (see her regular column). PAA, in cooperation with other interested parties, has been very successful in garnering congressional support for the NIH, and has helped to secure substantial budget increases with leadership from Congressman Porter's office. The Public Affairs Committee will be watching the results of the election closely, as it could bring substantial changes in key committee assignments. The Board voted to extend Anne HarrisonClark's contract through the year 2002, provided that the Association of Population Centers also agrees to extend its portion of the contract. Her position is funded as a cooperative agreement between the PAA and the APC whereby all costs are divided evenly between the two organizations.