Minutes of the Business Meeting of
The South-Central Renaissance Conference
11 March 2006

SCRC President Christine Getz called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. President Getz moved to approve last year's minutes as amended; seconded, the motion passed.

Sean Benson, SCRC secretary-treasurer, reported on the organization's finances, noting that our current net worth is over $29,316, an amount almost equal to last year's total. He reported on the continuing financial stability of SCRC. Secretary Benson also noted that the organization is moving towards electronic distribution of most SCRC materials, including membership renewal forms and conference registration materials. He encouraged members to enroll their email addresses at the web site: www.scrc.us.com

Interest income doubled this year to over $800, an encouraging sign, and should continue to be a solid source of income for the Conference. He also reported that the board moved to grant a maximum of four graduate student travel awards each year in equal amounts of $250 per award. Unused monies will roll over to next year's awards.

Secretary Benson also noted that the board adopted a two-tier fee structure for invited lectures: $750 for speakers from North America, $1000 for speakers outside North America, the exact amount to be determined according to the availability of funds as determined by the SCRC treasurer. The board also voted to waive conference registration fees and dues payments for invited lecturers.

Next, David Reinheimer, editor of Discoveries, reported that the transition to an electronic-only format is now complete. He noted that submissions to the journal last year came exclusively from scholars of British literature, and he issued an invitation for those in other disciplines to submit their work as well. Finally, he noted the presence of George Klawitter, book review editor for Discoveries, and encouraged those interested in reviewing books to contact Prof. Klawitter.

President Getz announced that Frances Malpezzi is the new editor of EIRC. The announcement was greeted with acclamation. Prof. Malpezzi then issued an invitation for essays to the journal, and noted that Paul Parrish and Norman Land will be guest editing forthcoming issues of EIRC, one devoted to the works of John Shawcross, the other to art history.

President Getz announced the slate of candidates for the board and other SCRC positions: Norman Land (U of Missouri-Columbia) for SCRC President; Maurice Hunt (Baylor University) for Vice President; Jill Carrington (Stephen F. Austin University) for 2008 Program Chair; and Martha Oberle (Frederick Community College) and Jake Blevins (McNeese State University) for three-year terms on the board. Paul Parrish made a motion to accept the slate of candidates; Catherine Cox seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Next, President Getz announced that the executive board had voted to make Margaret Flansburg a "Lifetime Member" of SCRC. The membership applauded and congratulated Professor Flansburg, who was in attendance.

President Getz then announce that next year's conference is scheduled for March 8-10, 2007 at the St. Antony Hotel in downtown San Antonio, and will be sponsored by Our Lady of the Lake University. President Getz noted that Patricia Garcia, who was married this weekend and therefore could not be with us, is the local arrangements host.

Christopher Baker, 2007 program chair, then issued an invitation for papers at next year's meeting. He noted that our affiliates will again be joining us in San Antonio and sponsoring multiple sessions.

Catherine Cox asked if the program for the conference could possibly be posted earlier next year. President Getz responded that the organization strove to post the program by January 1st and noted the logistical difficulties of posting it earlier. Tom Herron asked if the Hunter Lecture could be moved to Friday. In the course of discussion, it was noted that the invited lectures were purposely staggered so as to offer one each day of our conferences.

Finally, President Getz stated her goal of having future conference sites determined four years in advance, and noted our current shortcoming in this area. She issued an appeal for members to consider additional sites and to make inquiries as to the possibility of hosting a future SCRC conference at their institution.

Hearing no further business, President Getz declared the meeting adjourned at 8:33 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sean Benson
SCRC Secretary-Treasurer