Executive Meeting (2000)

Meeting called to order at 21:20.

Present: Frans De Bruyn, Marie Laure Girou Swiderski, Mark Phillips, Betty Schellenberg, Alex Sokalski, Marianne Henn, Thierry Belleguic, April London, John Baird

1. Minutes of the previous meeting adopted as presented (Schellenberg/Sokalski)

2. Conference President's Report

John Baird reported on preparations for this year's meeting. Fortified by 60 members of ECSSS, 167 members of CSECS/SCEDHS have registered for the 2000 meeting in Toronto, for a total paid-up registration of 227. In addition to the three distinguished speakers of the plenary sessions, 180 papers are on the program, one-third of these by graduate students. Thanks are due to all who supported and encouraged the organizing committee, and to the University officials who contributed so generously to the costs. Special thanks are due to Victoria University, and to the University of Toronto Library and the Fisher Library for the splendid book exhibit.

3. President's Report

The President thanked John Baird for his hard work in preparing this year's conference. She noted that the Society is currently doing very well, with membership and participation at near record levels and with a strong financial position. She thanked her colleagues on the Executive for their collaboration during her term as President.

4. Secretary-Treasurer's Report

Frans De Bruyn presented a consolidated statement of income and expenses for the year (Oct. 1999-Oct. 2000) and a balance sheet of the Society's current assets and liabilities. Currently the Society's net worth, once liabilities (production costs for Lumen 97 and 99, and travel grants owing to this year's conference participants) are taken into account, stands at approximately $43,000, a significant improvement over last year. These figures include the Lumen accounts currently managed by Alex Sokalski. Reasons for this dramatic improvement include increases in donations and interest earnings, and the publication of the last three issues of Lumen (vols. 16-18) at a cost less than that budgeted.

On the membership front, this year's figures show the Society maintaining the strong growth it enjoyed last year. Our membership stands currently at 205, and the Secretary-Treasurer estimates that this figure will grow to about 225 by year's end. There is some cause for concern in the figures for memberships in Quebec, which stand currently at 23. We have 29 members from outside Canada, which represents a significant 14% of the total.

5. Lumen: Managing Editor's Report

Alex Sokalski reported that we are now pretty well caught up on the publication schedule of Lumen. In the past year, volumes 16 (Victoria), 17 (London), and 18 (Edmonton) have appeared. Alex reported $740.40 in net profits on the sale of Lumen over the last year, which has been deposited in the Lumen account. It was agreed to transfer a further $2,165.00 to the Society's mutual fund account, leaving some $1,000.00 in the Lumen account.

6. Future of Lumen

In view of the late hour, it was decided to postpone discussion of this issue until lunchtime on Thursday. See the continuation below.

7. Bulletin: Editors' Report

The Bulletin has been operating smoothly, and there have been no expenditures this year owing to the move to an electronic format. Some concern was expressed about the circulation of the Bulletin to members without e-mail connections. The Secretary-Treasurer will determine which members continue to require paper copies of the Bulletin.

8. Future Conferences

CSECS will meet in Saskatoon in 2001 (Ray Stephanson), in Quebec City in 2002 (Peter Sabor), and in Vancouver in 2003 (hosted by Nicholas Hudson of UBC). It was noted that CSECS hasn't met in Atlantic Canada for a number of years; efforts will be made to find a venue in Atlantic Canada in upcoming years.

9. New Executive Positions

The Executive has come up with a nomination for each of the Executive positions that are vacant this fall. The open positions and nominees are as follows: President (Benoît Melançon), English-language Bulletin editor (Kathleen James-Cavan), French language and literature representative (Thierry Belleguic), and Art, Music, and Theatre representative (Paul Rice). There was a brief discussion of ways in which the nomination process can be made more open in future. It was agreed to publicize the positions open for election well before future meetings so that members would have time to come up with appropriate nominations.

10. Madoff Prize

The Madoff Prize winners for 1998 (Edmonton Meeting) are Hélène Cussac (Université de Clermont-Ferrand II) and Ellie Kennedy (Queen's University). For 1999 (Montreal meeting), the winners are Adam Budd (University of Toronto) and Ugo Dionne (Université de Paris III). The Executive voted its congratulations to these winners.

11. ISECS, ASECS, HSSFC and Other Organizations

April London reported that she has attended HSSCF meetings as an observer but that no issues pertinent to our Society have come up. Benoît Melançon was unable to attend this year's meeting of the ISECS Executive. Peter Sabor attended the ASECS affiliates meeting in Philadelphia this spring. Frans De Bruyn will represent CSECS at the ASECS affiliates meeting in New Orleans in the spring of 2001.

12. Other Business

No other business was reported.

Meeting adjourned at 22:45, to reconvene at noon on Thursday.

6. Future of Lumen

Discussion of this item was resumed on Thursday at lunch time. Frans De Bruyn's report on the future of Lumen, which had been previously circulated, was formally tabled. After much discussion, it was agreed to strike an ad hoc committee, composed of John Baird, Philip Knee, Benoît Melançon, and Mark Phillips, to study the issue and to come up with recommendations for action to be implemented next year in Saskatoon. In the meantime, Alex Sokalski agreed to stay on for one further year as Managing Editor of Lumen.

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m., Thursday.

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