Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting of

The South-Central Renaissance Conference, 3 March 2005

Present: Donald Stump, Past President; Raymond Frontain, President; Christine Getz, Vice President; Norman Land, 2005 Program Chair; David Reinheimer, Editor, Discoveries; Jill Carrington, Scott Howard, Marina della Putta Johnston, Paul Parrish, Members at Large; Sean Benson, Secretary-Treasurer. Irving Kelter attended by invitation on behalf to report on planning for the 2006 meeting.

Absent: Tita French Baumlin, Editor, EIRC; Maurice Hunt, Member at Large.

The following minutes are keyed to the agenda as brought forward by President Frontain. Given the wide-ranging discussions that occurred throughout this meeting, some of the ensuing materials are presented out of their actual order.

1. Approval of Minutes. President Frontain called the meeting to order at 6:47 p.m. Motion to approve last year’s minutes was made, seconded, and passed. Citing the lengthy agenda, President Frontain requested that reports be kept brief.

2. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. Sean Benson reported on the organization’s continued financial growth, noting that SCRC’s finances are at an all-time high, currently over $30,000. Though participation at the conference this year was down to some extent,[1] we are continuing our expanded dues-schedule as well as the voluntary contributions by SCRC members. SCRC is also the beneficiary of substantial underwriting by Southwest and Southeast Missouri State Universities, The Ohio State University, Pepperdine University, and Malone College. Given the improvement in various financial markets, our interest income should double this year to over $700.

President Frontain raised the issue of the amount of money SCRC should keep in reserve, and what we would like to do with what now appears to be a comfortable surplus of funds. After considerable discussion, Scott Howard made a motion to investigate the cost of supporting our continued and potential expanded publication of Explorations; seconded by Don Stump, the motion passed.

3. Explorations Editor’s Report. Reporting on the editor’s behalf, President Frontain noted the Board’s appreciation for Tita Baumlin’s superb leadership of Explorations during her eleven-year tenure. This past year, Tita Baumlin had requested an additional $500 per issue ($1000 per year) as compensation for her editorial assistant, Angelia Northrip. After discussion, Christine Getz made a motion that we may, if necessary, increase the additional amount up to $1000 per issue ($2000/year). The precise amount will be determined in consultation with Tita Baumlin. As amended, the motion, which had already been made and seconded electronically, passed.

The Board also discussed seeking a new editor in light of Tita Baumlin’s wish to step down from her position when a suitable replacement can be found. The SCRC Publications Committee will continue to study the potential costs of expanded publication of Explorations as well as seek a host institution and editor for the journal.

4. Discoveries Editor’s Report.Reporting on the editor’s behalf, President Frontain began by noting Phoebe Spinrad’s extraordinary dedication to the news and notes publication. President Frontain had asked Jim and Tita Baumlin to purchase a gift for Phoebe Spinrad as an expression of the Board’s gratitude for her unflagging service to SCRC and Discoveries. President Frontain also made a motion to formally recognize Phoebe Spinrad as “editor emerita” of Discoveries; the motion was seconded and passed with unanimous acclamation.

Next, David Reinheimer discussed his sense of direction for Discoveries, and indicated his wish that Discoveries become exclusively an electronic journal (i.e., no print copies). He related that the cost of electronic publication will be much less than that of a print run, and the electronic version will be easier to archive as well. He also suggested that the digital format might be particularly attractive to a new generation of scholars. Following his comments, there was also discussion as to whether Discoveries ought to continue to have copyright remain with the authors of essays in the journal. No formal action was taken at this time.

Several board members discussed the need for Discoveries to be distinct in content from Explorations, and to use a name for the journal that will appropriately indicate its focus. President Frontain suggested Discoveries in Renaissance Culture.

5. Report of the Martz Prize Committee Chair. After noting that Frank Ardolino’s essay was a worthy choice for this year’s award, Christine Getz discussed both the scarcity of submissions (seven this year) as well as the complete absence of submissions from disciplines other than literary studies. In light of these continuing problems with the Martz Prize, the Board reaffirmed its decision last year to discontinue the Martz Prize contest; instead, it will be replaced by an invited lectureship. Jill Carrington made a motion that the new Louis L. Martz Lectureship rotate among the various affiliate societies, and that next year, 2006, the $1,000 stipend be designated for the QEIS to select a speaker. Seconded by Paul Parrish, the motion passed. (In effect, we will be using the $1,000 to fund a third plenary session.)

Discussion followed as to how best to notify scholars from other fields. President Frontain suggested that the secretary is in the best position to maintain a master list of list serves used by board members. Sean Benson agreed to maintain the list and will circulate to the board members announcements and calls for papers so that board members can distribute this information to their respective list serves.

6. Report of the 2005 Program Chair. After noting the number and variety of papers submitted to this year’s conference (94 speakers in 37 sessions), Norman Land talked about some of the challenges he faced in coordinating the meeting with the Renaissance Conference of Southern California. Discussion followed as to the future of such joint conference ventures. Norman Land suggested that if we have a joint conference in the future, we might want to insist on the adoption of a single program chair so as to have better coordination among the groups.

The one-year policy of abstracts only for the conference seems to have worked well; there was, nonetheless, considerable discussion as to whether to adopt this procedure permanently. Norman Land made a motion that we require 400-500 word abstracts in lieu of completed papers; these abstracts will be due by December 1 of each year. David Reinheimer seconded the motion, which then passed.

Arlen Nydam will be asked to add an abstract submission form to the web page: one 100-word abstract for the program; another 400-500-word abstract to the program chair.

7. Report for the 2006 Conference in Houston. On behalf of Maurice Hunt, Irving Kelter reported on “Exploring the Renaissance 2006” in Houston, March 9-11 at the Warwick Hotel in the heart of the Museum District. The 2006 conference is being hosted by the University of St. Thomas with the support of Baylor University. Paul J. Alpers (Berkeley) has accepted an invitation to present the William B. Hunter Lecture.

8. Archivist’s Report. On behalf of David Hart, President Frontain invited ideas for archiving SCRC papers. He reported that the Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas has declined to archive SCRC materials. In addition, he asked for members of the board who would be willing to make inquiries about potential archiving at their respective institutions.

9. Report of the Nominations Committee. As chair of the Nominations Committee, Donald Stump brought forth the names of Don Dickson (Texas A & M University) and Thomas Herron (Hampden-Sydney College) for three-year terms as board members, and Megan Conway (Louisiana State University at Shreveport) for a two-year appointment. Raymond Frontain also brought forward the name of Christopher Baker (Armstrong Atlantic State University) as the 2007 Program Chair.

10. Report from the Publications Committee. On behalf of Jim Baumlin, Donald Stump reported on the progress to date, noting that JSTOR has deferred a decision on archiving Explorations. There was discussion concerning a proposal from Ebbsco to do the same, though the cost seems relatively high. There was also discussion as to Jim Baumlin’s discussion with the Arizona Medieval and Renaissance Center to publish special issues of Explorations. The board authorized Jim Baumlin to continue his negotiations. After considerable discussion, Christine Getz made a motion for the Publications Committee to bring forth a proposal as well as a budget concerning the expanded publication of Explorations. Seconded by Paul Parrish, the motion passed.

11. Protocol for Allying with Other Organizations. President Frontain mentioned that we have been approached by smaller groups that would like to join our annual conferences. David Reinheimer suggested that we ask for proposals from prospective groups, and Donald Stump suggested that we also make any such approval contingent on a 3-year probationary period. The SCRC Vice President will be the designated liaison to the auxiliary groups.

The board reached consensus not to adopt a more formal policy at this time, but to treat each application on a case-by-case basis.

12. Board Representation for Auxiliary Organizations. After considerable late-night discussion, President Frontain suggested that those who make nominations to the board make a reasonable attempt to include representation from the various disciplines and organizations reflected in our membership. Discussion also focused on the need to have web links to our affiliate groups; it was noted that our website already contains many such links.

13. Planning for 2008 and Beyond. President Frontain mentioned that Chapman University in Anaheim has expressed interest in hosting us for 2008.

At 11:03 p.m., President Frontain moved to adjourn. Seconded by all, the motion carried.