Anthropology News • January 2009 10 ASSOCIATION BUSINESS A SSOCIATION BUSINESS Strengthening Our Association A Year in Review SETHA LOW AAA PRESIDENT AAA’s activities are as diverse as our members. As president, my goals have included increasing transparency and democratic practices because I think it is crucial for us to know what we do as an organization and how our members, sections, leader- ship and staff work together to support each other, the association and anthro- pology as a discipline. Throughout 2008, I have tried to keep the association’s lines of communi- cation open through outlets such as my column in AN, the “President’s Page” at www.aaanet. org, my telephone and occasional blast emails. In this report, I’d like to share with the member- ship the scope of what the Executive Board (EB) has accomplished this year. Although many of you are familiar with the Code of Ethics changes and our new publishing contract with Wiley-Blackwell, these achievements are only part a larger set of projects. We have continued to develop our voice in advocacy, strengthen our publications, maintain financial stability, support our sections, work on our governance structure, reach out to the global community, and develop resources for members. Because it is of the utmost importance that you are aware of our activities, I am writing a rather lengthy and detailed report of our accom- plishments involving governance, bylaws, committees, sections and interest groups, as well as the annual meeting, awards, public policy and publishing. I’d like to warmly thank all Executive Board, committee and commission members and AAA staff who have put so much thought, energy and time into these activities. As with any democratic volunteer organization, our members’ diverse views and insights serve to strengthen the group as a whole. Association Governance In 2008 we established four separate temporary subcommittees of the Executive Board to: (1) explore the use of a virtual site for EB commu- nication; (2) work on ways to address member- ship issues; (3) develop, with president-elect as chair, a report documenting a new process for strategic decision-making and planning; and 2008 PRESIDENT’S REPORT (4) consider proposed revisions to the Code of Ethics in consultation with other groups as deemed appropriate. This fourth subcom- mittee reported back to the EB in August. Their proposed revision was circulated at the 2008 annual meeting and will go to a full member- ship vote in early 2009. The EB also adopted a motion to upgrade and formalize the AAA leadership orientation process and endorsed a proposal to hold a leadership and governance pilot workshop at the annual meeting. We welcomed the Section Assembly’s (SA) establishment of a review committee to evaluate proposals for new sections and interest groups, and the ongoing functioning of existing sections and interest groups, and to report the results of all such reviews to the Association Operations Committee, which in turn reports to the EB for action. We also endorsed a proposal to establish a mentor program for post-gradu- ates 3–5 years beyond their terminal degree, and we formally accepted the December 31, 2007 audited financial statements of the AAA. Bylaws Changes The EB has recommended several impor- tant bylaws changes to be voted on by the membership. As conveyed in December 2008 AN (49[9]:16), we have proposed adding a clause to grant permanent section status to the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA), Association of Indigenous Anthropologists (AIA), Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists (ALLA), Association of Senior Anthropologists (ASA), Society of Anthropologists in Community Colleges (SACC), and Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (SOLGA). We proposed allowing individual sections to have voting rights within AAA, as long as their membership does not fall below 225. It is the EB’s understanding that the calculation of section membership would be an average of the peak membership count each year for a three-year period. Following an in-depth consultation process described in detail by AAA Secretary Daniel Segal in December 2008 AN, we recommended creating the position of Section Assembly convenor as a voting member of the AAA Executive Board, and also adding two other EB positions for persons nominated from within SA and elected by a vote of the entire AAA membership. Lastly, we suggested reducing the number of undesignated seats on the EB from five to four. Committees In January 2008, the EB directed our Committee on Ethics (CoE) to draft a revised version of the AAA Code of Ethics, incorporating the prin- ciples of the Turner motion from the 2007 Annual Business Meeting and the final report of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC). The EB also asked CoE to advise them on the effects of adopting such a proposal and a working group was formed, with four additional colleagues invited as guests for these discussions. In September, the EB approved five language changes to the Code of Ethics, stemming from the working group’s recommendations. These changes updated the language in Section III.A.2, Section III.B.4 and Section III.C.2; inserted the new Section VI, concerning the dissemination of research results; and renumbered subsequent sections. They will be put to a full membership vote in early 2009 and voting results will be communicated to membership when they are available (see page 12 for details). In October, we approved an extensive review of the Code of Ethics to occur over the next two years. The Executive Board asked the Committee on Ethics to create a task force to complete this project, to consist of four representative members of CoE and four other members to be appointed by the president in consultation with the EB. These members are to be selected to broadly represent the AAA membership overall, including its major subfields. The task force is to consult extensively during this review with relevant AAA committees and commissions, the Section Assembly and the membership at large through presentations and panel discussions at annual meetings as well as through articles and reports in Anthropology News. CoE will report to the EB by November 15, 2010 and the new AAA Code of Ethics will be subject to approval by the EB before being submitted to the AAA membership for a vote. In a related but distinct matter, the EB asked the CoE to consider the advisability of setting up a permanent mode of member counseling on ethical dilemmas and what form such counseling might take. The EB also established the Committee on Labor Relations (adopting a committee charge) and renewed the CEAUSSIC mandate for a period of two years, with the charge of developing modes of dialogue with security, intelligence and military agencies in order to communicate the AAA’s perspectives on ethics and in order to better understand those agencies’ interest in anthropology. The EB adopted a change in the charge for the Resource Development Committee that would increase the number of committee members from 8 to 15. This year, two committees were up for review (each at five year intervals): the AAA Nominations Committee and Long-Range Planning Committee. We reauthorized the AAA Nominations Committee and did not reautho- rize the Long-Range Planning Committee. Instead we received their committee report with thanks. This report will be used to assist with the EB’s future strategic planning.