ATTW Bulletin

Guests : Linda Bathgate, Kelli Cargile Cook, Sam Dragga, Marj Rush Hovde, Carol Johnson, Susan Lang, Lu Rehling, Michael Salvo, Concetta Seminara-Kennedy, Elizabeth Tebeaux, Sean Williams

Bill Karis called the meeting to order at 8:20 a.m.

Bill Hart-Davidson moved to approve the minutes from the March 23, 2006 executive committee meeting. Ann Blakeslee seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Old Business

ATTW Website: Susan Lang reported on the ATTW website update.
1. The website managers plan to take the updated website live on May 1, 2007 .
2. Susan requested that the board give feedback on the website.
3. The ATTW Bulletin will be on the website and will not be mailed separately to members.
4. The ATTW annual bibliography will now appear on the website, not in the Technical Communication Quarterly .
5. Membership requests will be handled by the chair of the Membership Committee, not by the website managers.
6. The URL of the website will remain the same.
Fundraiser Position: Bill Karis discussed the status of the fundraiser position. He commented on the exceptional fundraising work of Teresa Hunt, who died in 2006.

Because of Teresa Hunts' death, the planned constitutional amendment to create an official fundraising position and add that position to the executive committee was placed on hold during late 2006 and early 2007.

Action Item: Ann Blakeslee, Bill Karis, Stuart Selber, and Brenda Sims will develop a description for the fundraising position and will write the constitutional amendment to create the position.

Action Item: Stuart Selber will find a member to serve as ATTW fundraiser.

New Business

Transition from LEA to Taylor & Francis Publishers: Linda Bathgate, former ATTW/LEA liaison, introduced Concetta Seminara-Kennedy, the new ATTW/Taylor & Francis liaison. Concetta reported on the changes as LEA becomes part of Taylor & Francis:
1. The journal office will now be located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania .
2. ATTW's primary contact at Taylor & Francis is now Concetta.
3. Concetta provided Taylor & Francis's plan for marketing the journal.
4. Concetta encouraged the executive committee members to send suggestions related to the partnership and the marketing.
ATTW Fellows Award in Historical Research : Elizabeth Tebeaux proposed an ATTW Fellows Award in Historical Research honoring Teresa Hunt. The award would have the following requirements and guidelines:
1. The award will be under the direction and administration of the ATTW Fellows.
2. The award will be given every three years.
3. Between award periods, the award administrator, selected by the Fellows, will receive and catalog nominations for the award. A call for nominations will appear on the ATTW website and in other venues.
4. A committee of the ATTW Fellows will judge the nominations. The committee will consist of three Fellows, including the award administrator. Each committee member will review the nominations, rank them, and return rankings to the award administrator.
5. The award committee will discuss nominations via email and/or telephone.
6. The administrator will inform the winner, who will receive a framed certificate and a monetary award. The award will be presented at the annual ATTW meeting.
7. The award will have the following criteria:
  1. The nomination must have been published during the three-year period covered by the award.
  2. The publication, book or monograph, or article must focus on the history of pragmatic discourse and further the knowledge in this area. For example, publications may include any area related to pragmatic discourse. Article on theory and philosophy must aid researchers in understanding the history of pragmatic discourse.
  3. Nominees should submit three copies of the work.

Consent Item: The executive committee endorsed the ATTW Fellows Award for Excellence in Historical Research Honoring Teresa Hunt.

ATTW Fellows: Sam Dragga, Elizabeth Tebeaux, and Carolyn Rude, representing the ATTW Fellows, recommended and offered the following:
1. The TCQ editorial board should consist of scholars active in the field.
2. The Fellows suggested ways to help and encourage ATTW.

Action Item: The Executive Secretary will send a copy of the minutes to the ATTW Bulletin editor and to the website managers. The ATTW Bulletin editor and website managers will post the minutes, so the membership can view them.

Open Positions in ATTW: Bill Karis reported on the following open positions in the organization: Conference Coordinator, Fundraiser, MLA Liaison, and Research Committee Chair.

Action Item: Carolyn Rude moved and Ann Blakeslee seconded: For the 2008 conference, the Vice President will serve as the conference coordinator. The Executive Committee will revisit the Conference Coordinator position at the 2008 Board meeting. Motion passed.

Consent Items: The Executive Committee endorsed Dave Clark as the new Chair of the Research Committee and thanked Clay Spinuzzi for his work as Chair. Stuart Selber will put out a call for an MLA Liaison.

U.S. Department of Labor: Bill Karis reported on a request from the U.S. Department of Labor. The labor department is requesting assistance with their Occupational Information Network.

Reports

The Executive Committee received the following reports:

Treasurer's Report: Ann Blakeslee gave the financial report.

Action Item: Ann Blakeslee moved and Kelli Cargile-Cook seconded that the reception and business meeting at the annual conference would be moved to a CCCC SIG and open to all members and guests; the cost for the reception would be taken out of the ATTW conference registration fee. The motion passed.

Action Item: Ann Blakeslee moved and Brenda Sims seconded that an exploratory committee study the feasibility of a research grant funded by ATTW. The committee will consist of Ann Blakeslee, Kelli Cargile-Cook, Sean Williams, Mark Zachry, Rachel Spilka, and Dave Clark. The motion passed.

Consent Item: Michael Salvo will write a recommendation to the Conference Planning Committee about registration fees for graduate students and about travel awards for graduate-student presentations.

TCQ Report: Mark Zachry, Editor of TCQ , reported on the state of the journal.

Consent Item: Mark Zachry will propose a list of the duties of the editorial board.

MLA Liaison Report : Denise Tillery

Membership Report : Sean Williams

ATTW Bulletin Report: Marj Rush Hovde

Fundraising Report : Bill Karis who took on the fundraising after the death of Teresa Hunt.

The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Brenda Sims, Executive Committee

These minutes will be presented to the Executive Committee for approval in March 2008.