Philosophy of Education Society Business Meeting
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, St. Louis Missouri
March 27, 2011
Presiding, Eamonn Callan
Cris Mayo moved approval, Audrey Thompson seconded , approved unanimously
Eamonn: Board approved unanimously to plan two to three years out for conference instead of one. We’ve gotten good contracts with Lonna Smith. Perhaps may get even better negotiating further out.
We will also investigate the possibility of having conference at centers rather than hotels. PES GB experience is attractive. Perhaps a university site, perhaps not as alluring as Oxford in the spring. We might be able to find conference centers. We’ll investigate. Proposal from executive board is initiated by Eamonn.
Request for volunteers to to form ad hoc committee to investigate alternative sites: Chris Higgins, Cris Mayo, Harvey Shapiro, Kurt Stemhagen
Discussion of size of program committee. Used to be 5-6, this year approximately 18. Perhaps this is made necessary by current academic loads, etc. Perhaps too much workload for a small number of people. Value of diverse methodological approaches and philosophical styles within the Society. Downside to having so many on committee is ineligibility of members to contribute a paper. Makes sense with four or five but not with 18 people out of the running. We want the best scholars to be on the committee, to rule them out of submitting damages the quality of the program. Have to trust the program chair to conduct an impartial referee process.
Proposal to amend bylaws to allow committee members to submit papers. Eamonn moved. Second by Walter Okshevsky.
Discussion. Discussion of effect on identifying respondents. Susan Laird, Gert Biesta, Daniel Vokey, Walter Okshevsky discussed tradition of committee members serving as respondents. Frank Margonis: Possible effect that more slots will be taken up by senior members? Eamonn: The president and program chair should get diversity of seniority and graduate students to serve on program committee. Randall Curren: Because we’ve gotten busier it’s harder to recruit senior people to be on the committee.
Barbara Stengel: Call the question. Passed unanimously.
2010-2011 Membership as of March 21, 2011: 233
Conference pre-registration as of March 21, 2011: 110
2008-09 327 1998-99 527
2007-08 491 1997-98 459
2006-07 412 1996-97 441
2005-06 465 1995-96 465
2004-05 447 1994-95 358
2003-04 477 1993-94 322
2002-03 445 1992-93 310
2001-02 459 1991-92 279
2000-01 479 1990-91 250
It is difficult to tell at this point what membership will be for 2010-2011. A fairly significant number of people renew their membership during on-site registration. However, I do not anticipate we will reach last year’s number. So we continue to see a decline in membership. We attributed the precipitous drop from 07-08 to 08-09 to the financial meltdown, but that was just a guess. Since then we’ve seen small declines. I lead every Update with a report from the Executive Director that includes a reminder to pay dues as well as a link to do so. Early in the fall, I sent personalized e-mails to those whose memberships had expired over the previous three years. The response was modest. We usually get a good number of people who renew in July, then there are modest responses to the Updates and individual reminders, but membership really rises just before the conference. We’ve had some technical glitches with the e-Register system, which may have dissuaded a few people from joining or renewing. The problems have been repaired.
The Executive Director could send out repeated individual reminders. Perhaps that would boost numbers a bit, but if people are not renewing after four reminders, then I wonder how effective that would be. In might be possible to involve the Membership Committee more actively in this effort. I would welcome suggestions.
Finances
Funds |
April 06 |
April 07 |
March 08 |
April 09 |
April 10 |
March 11 |
Kneller |
$77,353 |
$80,811 |
$84,425 |
$56,364 |
$79,480 |
$83,520 |
Legacy |
$21,079 |
$21,059 |
$21,614 |
$17,576 |
$22,153 |
$23,555 |
Operational |
$48,063 |
$53,704 |
$73,908 |
$61,958 |
$61,571 |
$46,359 |
Total |
$146,496 |
$155,574 |
$179,942 |
$135,898 |
$163,214 |
$153,434 |
The on-going recovery in the financial markets has helped our investments back to the point they were at in March 2008, just before the crash. We haven’t gained as much as the markets have in general because our portfolio is conservative/moderately conservative. We have 31% in equity (stocks) and 51% in fixed income investments in the Kneller Fund. The Legacy fund is 12% equity, 82% fixed income. The remainder is in cash (mostly the operational fund). We gained 7.84% last year, and have gained 1.5% from January to March 2011. We don’t make as much on the up side, but hopefully we won’t lose as much on any down side in the future. The level of our operational fund reflects the decline in membership, increases in expenditures (two new numbers of Educational Theory each year), and loses from last year’s conference. However, we are in satisfactory shape there. For several years we brought in more revenue than we were spending. Sasha Sidorkin invested what we didn’t need for operating expenses. So, despite losses last year, we still have some of that excess.
Membership dues appear to be adequate to cover expenses per member. Expenses per member include the Yearbook ($19.11), Educational Theory ($35), and incidentals (Executive Director travel/room, Program Chair room $8 based on last year’s expenses) for a total of around $62 per member based on last year’s membership. The average dues paid per member last year was $71. With the $5/member increase in membership approved last year and scheduled to go into effect with the 2011-2012 membership year, dues should be sufficient to cover member-related expenses and perhaps generate a small excess. I think it is important that we maintain a modest financial cushion to protect ourselves in the event of unforeseen expenses.
Conference expenses need to be watched carefully. We lost $7250 last year. This was due to the lack of anticipated sponsorships (we received no donations at all) and higher than budgeted food and beverage expenses in San Francisco. F&B is our largest expense, more than $21,000 in San Francisco, or $118 per person who attended last year. Our average conference registration paid last year was about $95/person. We can save money by choosing cheaper cities (Our F&B in St. Louis should be about $4000 less than San Francisco) and perhaps by cutting back on what we provide. Continental breakfasts in St. Louis will cost us from $19-$23/person. Cutting that expense and allowing people to get their own breakfasts would save us about $9,000 from this year’s conference expenses. Any hotel, however, will demand a guaranteed minimum for F&B. We could cut breakfasts and increase slightly our expenditures on receptions to meet the minimum. We should consider raising conference registration costs in the future. I know of no other conference that provides so much in F&B and where registration rates are so low. We cannot afford to continue this.
Lonna Smith once again assisted us in negotiating the contract for the St. Louis conference and has already assisted us with the Pittsburgh conference as well. We pay her a token $500 for her services and half of whatever points/rewards plan the hotel has. This is far below what a professional conference planner would charge.
Discussion
Eamonn Callan: Members should think of themselves as ambassadors of the society, we should promote it to students, graduate students, colleagues, etc. , the idea of supporting the community.
Gert Biesta: Will talk to Paul Smeyers, membership committee chair, to create a membership task force. Need to change the story of what it means to be a member: pay an amount to get Ed Theory, etc. We should emphasize that being a member means we support PES as a “real utopia as something that supports the field. It is a question of citizenship and solidarity.
Claudia Ruitenberg: In minutes Ron Glass noted last year we may be too narrowly construing philosophy of education. Reach out to those who theorize but don’t see themselves as philosophers.
Michael Katz: Sometimes the membership committee doesn’t strategize. We need to reach out to regional societies, international societies, wherever there are potential candidates.
Andrea Boyea: Noticed that some universities are no longer represented here. Can we contact departments where foundations taught to solicit membership.
David Waddington: We should require people to pay membership before people submit their papers.
Amy Shuffleton: Declining membership connected to declining jobs. More general advocacy on behalf of the profession.
Debby Seltzer: I am an “Intermittent attendee.”Iit has to do with the structure of the program. Such a paucity of slots in the program. Limited opportunity for discussion. Move to alternative sessions good, but don’t provide opportunities for robust interaction. Low travel budgets, just watching people read papers that they can later download makes attendance a lower priority for students. Structural problems for getting people here. More inclusive of perspectives outside of philosophy of education. Most are not just philosophers of education.
Randy Curren: Problem is holding people once they come here. Grad students come but they get jobs outside philosophy of education.
John Covaleskie: PES is the scholarly community for those who are single philosophers/foundations scholars in teacher ed programs, etc.
Amy Shuffleton: Study of why people keep coming and others don’t.
Cris Mayo: Spencer grant could help us to see where philosophy of education is going on where we are not aware of it. Revise website.
Discussion of survey conducted by Eamonn Callan:
Eamonn: 150 responses. High level of satisfaction with conference status quo. Rather conservative response.
Debby Seltzer: The people who remained are the people who responded.
Discussion of Educational Theory. Conference theme didn’t work out this year, but we hope it will work out over the next couple of years. No problem filling 6th issue.
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION SOCIETY
ACCOUNT SUMMARY
JANUARY - DECEMBER 2010
Account Balance as of January 1, 2010 $4,388.87
Expenses
Salary for grad assistant $ 6,645.42 w/ benefits
Postage $ 253.26
Office Expenses (copy chrgs & labels) $ 78.24
Total Expenses $ 6,976.92
Income
Received payments for PES $8,057.31
Account balance as of December 31, 2010 $5,469.26
Revenue to Executive Director for the 2010 issue as of March 18, 2011* $3,971.25
2010 Yearbook Total Expenses through March 2011
683 copies at 432 pp each, Cushing-Malloy printing $ 5 ,558.20
Packaging/handling for copies shipped direct from Printer $ 6 73.70
*Shipping (of books only, by Cushing-Malloy and through UIUC) (estimated) $ 2 ,500.00
Graduate Assistantship $ 6 ,645.42
Joyce Atkinson 110 hours @ $20.00/hr $ 2 ,200.00
TOTAL (printing, shipping, and labor) $ 17,577.32
Approximate per book cost $ 25.74
Comparison of Printing/Shipping/Labor Costs
Less Approx. Library Revenues for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Yearbooks
2007 2008 2009 2010
GA Salary $ 4,966.17 $ 5,114.40 $ 5,314.93 $ 6,645.42
Project Management $ 2,160.00 $ 2 ,000.00 $ 2,000.00 $ 2,200.00
Printing & Packaging $ 7,559.48 $ 7 ,062.94 $ 6,613.50 $ 6,231.90
*Postage & C-M mailing (2010 is estimated) $ 2,523.75 $ 2 ,853.29 $ 2,644.29 $ 2,500.00
**Revenue for PES Yearbook $ (5,789.50) $ ( 5,676.00) $ (5,277.50) $ (4,873.25)
Office Expenses $ 41.24 $ 4 .40 $ 72.00 $ 78.24
Totals $ 11,461.14 $ 11,359.03 $ 11,367.22 $ 12,782.31
*This includes payments already received (by check and credit card). There are also 12 Pending Invoices (totaling $499.00),
and 6 Prepaid Invoices (totaling $403.00), and we expect these orders to be renewed. Our total anticipated revenue at this
point is $4873.25.
** Over the past 2 years, library and agent orders have declined by about 10-15 books per year. An increase in shipping
charges in 2008 (from $8 to $10 to Canada, and from $8 to $18 for all other international) likely masked some revenue
decline between 2007 and 2008, but you can see the trend is in declining Yearbook revenues annually.
* This is a projection of the shipping costs for the 2010 Yearbook. The final cost for shipping by the printer is $2,062.42. We
have not yet completed shipping books from our office. We expect the total shipping cost to be under $2,500.
5/7/117:31 AMGroups:EdTheory:PES YEARBOOK:PES Reports:Manuscript Reports:2010 ET Review Analysis.XLS
Educational Theory
Review Analysis 2010
Conditional
Accept Accept Reject Total
Status Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Pending 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00%
Open Submissions - Reviewed 13 11.50% 19 16.81% 53 46.90% 85 75.22%
Open Submissions - Not Reviewed 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 13 11.50% 13 11.50%
*Symposia Manuscripts - Solicited 15 13.27% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 15 13.27%
Totals 13 11.50% 19 16.81% 66 58.41% 113 100.00%
* The manuscripts solicited for symposium sets are not factored into the totals for the acceptance and rejection rates.
Average Time to Decision: 58 days
Educational Theory
Review Analysis 2009
Conditional
Accept Accept Reject Total
Status Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Pending 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00%
Open Submissions - Reviewed 21 19.44% 2 1.85% 64 59.26% 87 80.56%
Open Submissions - Not Reviewed 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 6 5.56% 6 5.56%
*Symposia Manuscripts - Solicited 15 13.89% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 15 13.89%
Totals 21 19.44% 2 1.85% 70 64.82% 108 100.00%
* The manuscripts solicited for symposium sets are not factored into the totals for the acceptance and rejection rates.
Average Time to Decision: 56 days
2009* 2008 2007 2006
VOLUME 59 VOLUME 58 VOLUME 57 VOLUME 56
INCOME:
Subscription $ 131,125.00 $ 182,449.00 $ 158,543.00 $ 129,704.00
Consortia Revenue $ 6 ,469.00 $ 7,131.00 $ 8,738.00 $ 6,895.00
Member Revenue $ 8 ,384.00 $ 9,840.00 $ 1 0,960.00 $ 1 1,165.00
Other:
Back Issue/Single Issue $ 317.00 $ 595.00 $ 99.00 $ 587.00
Offprints $ - $ - $ 325.00 $ -
Advertising $ 250.00 $ - $ - $ 100.00
Rights & Permissions $ 7 ,033.00 $ 6,254.00 $ 8,763.00 $ 5,520.00
Total Income: $ 153,578.00 $ 206,269.00 $ 187,428.00 $ 153,971.00
EXPENSES:
Production $ 1 6,393.00 $ 1 6,303.00 $ 1 8,010.00 $ 1 8,317.00
Distribution & Fulfillment $ 7 ,808.00 $ 8,856.00 $ 8,907.00 $ 9,258.00
Marketing $ 2 ,596.00 $ 3,584.00 $ 3,393.00 $ 3,903.00
Electronic Deliverables $ 3 ,247.00 $ 3,157.00 $ 3,104.00 $ 2,862.00
Total Expenses: $ 3 0,044.00 $ 3 1,900.00 $ 3 3,414.00 $ 3 4,340.00
NET INCOME: $ 123,124.00 $ 174,369.00 $ 154,014.00 $ 119,631.00
AMOUNT DUE TO EDTH
$ 5 7,375.00 $ 8 2,265.00 $ 7 1,527.00 $ 5 4,233.00
Less excess page charges $ - $ - $ - $ -
$ 5 7,375.00 $ 82,265.00 $ 71,527.00 $ 54,233.00
Educational Theory
Statement of Income from Wiley-Blackwell
Total amount
due to EDTH:
*We do not yet have the Wiley-Blackwell income breakdown for 2010 (volume 60).
Representatives have indicated that the amount to Ed Theory for 2010 will be
approximately $73,478.
50% of Surplus excluding
member revenue
Discussion
Discussion of Yearbook production and costs. Print yearbook is losing money. Move to fully online version of Yearbook?
Claudia Ruitenberg: We agreed to phase this out at an earlier meeting over three years back in Montreal.
Gert Biesta: So the next issue will be fully on line.
Chris Higgins: We are not analyzing downloads, but there is interest and real interest in going back to 1945.
Audrey Thompson: Could use money that would have gone to printing from membership fees could be used to put back issues on line.
Program Committee: Rob Kunzman reported the theme issue received a small number of submission. None of them made it to the program. Thanked the program committee. Applause. Suggestion to do more rigorous expectation for alternative session proposals. Not enough information to make good decisions on. Suggest longer proposals, 1000 words.
Michael Katz: Should request abstracts.
Hospitality Committee: Anne Newman thanked Lonna Smith for negotiating this contract. And for the welcome reception Thursday night. Thanked her committee. Applause.
COPA: Ann Chinnery reported that instead of meeting on program had informal meeting to review mission of COPA. Especially to keep society alive between meetings. Sugggest significant revision of the website. Attract new members, hub of information. David Waddington and colleagues have volunteered to help in this process. Ron Glass’ term as chair has ended. Will elect new chair.
COSW: Amy Shuffleton is new chair. Many new members. Panel on masculinity attended by 20. Many new ideas for next year.
Committee on Race and Ethnicity: Troy Richardson reported that next year the committee will invite people local to Pittsburgh area. For instance, George Yancy. Grow in attendance. First session this year sponseored by committee about 20 attended. Talked about web presence on PES site, better connections with COSW and COPA.
Jobs for Philosophers of Education: Kurt Stemhagen reported that he and PJ Nelsen have been on the committee for a while. Session today with graduate students. Next year consider having panel of faculty who might have role in improving job prospects.
Elections Committee: Michael Katz thanked the members of the committee. Reported on election of new Executive Board Member: Barbara Applebaum. Reported on COPA elections: Ddavid Waddington elected to complete a term on COPA (4 years). Kathleen Knight Abowitz elected for five year term.
Michael Katz announced new President elect: Barbara Stengel.
New Executive Director: Cris Mayo.
President Eamonn Callan expressed his thanks to the outgoing Executive Director, Jeff Milligan.
Resolutions Committee:
Resolutions Committee Members are: Cris Mayo (chair), Mordechai Gordon, A. G. Rud, and Barb Stengel.
We, the resolutions committee, resolve to maintain the PES tradition of hard-hitting critique and colorful commentary. Or be light-hearted and pleasing, gracious and appreciative. Or, at least, be vaguely updated about most that goes on. Without Jeff going through his old email, we are all lost. Please keep that in mind.
Hence, embracing a complex and thoughtful patriotism toward PES about which Eamonn would be proud, we resolve to embrace the real utopia that does emerge, in moments and relationships, within PES, our beloved Brigadoon which quite frankly could exist throughout the year if all of you would just get on the interwebs.
Thus we resolve:
2) To continue our yearly tradition of honoring the memory of George F. Kneller, who made substantial intellectual contributions to the Society, and has been extraordinarily generous to the Society over the years, and has continued this generosity by leaving the Society a substantial legacy in his will. We express deep and abiding gratitude for all these contributions that will enhance the long-term health of the Society for many years to come.
3) To express our gratitude for the exemplary service of our outgoing executive director Jeff Milligan whose diligence and persistence cannot be matched and who, apparently, has better things to do with his time…and yet continues to volunteer to be helpful well beyond his three-year statute of limitations. Jeff knows much more about all of you and this organization than can be easily described and as one thinks more and more on his depth of knowledge, one can only begin to get a bit paranoid. Still, his attentive care to PES’s resources throughout these difficult years of financial turmoil has doubtlessly haunted his sleep while the rest of us snooze on unaware. We sleep because he can’t.
4) To cheer the constant and helpful presence of Linda Riggs. It is a joy to be greeted each morning by Linda’s smile. Does she sleep under the desk? Like all of us who try to get up each morning before Nick’s PBD gets posted, she always seems to be up even before the insomniacs.
5 To recognize Joyce Atkinson, managing editor of Educational Theory and the Yearbook, and to acknowledge as well the minions, specifically Nick Burbules and Chris Higgins, who help Joyce make the PES publication machine run smoothly.
6) To hail program chair, Robert Kunzman and his merry band of editorial assistants, almost too numerous to note, who grappled with the good, the not-as-good and the work in progress to bring us a veritable cornucopia of intellectual victuals. The committee includes Eric Bredo, Barry Bull, Lynn DeJonghe, Eduarto Duarte, Denise Egea-Kuehne, Fred Ellett, Kathy Hytten, Meira Levinson, Natasha Levinson, Hunter McEwan, Michael Merry, Nakia Pope, Lawrence Quill, Suzanne Rice, Suzanne Rosenblith, Shelby Sheppard, Judith Suissa, and David Waddington. They read all the papers so you don’t have to but will want to.
7) To express gratitude to the Sponsors of the 67th Annual Meeting: Stanford University (Missouri campus, apparently), Florida State University (of the Mississippi River, perhaps?), and Washington University (an actual local institution, pride of the Gateway, etc.). Their support insured that “Meet Me in St. Louis” would be more than fair, continue our tradition of overarching critique and creativity, as well as overflow the banks of our dykes and fill our retaining ponds with joy.
8) We continue to be astonished at our good luck in being able to rely on the expertise of Lonna Smith, whose ability to organize and negotiate our contracts with hotels has made all of our lives more worth living, all of our service to the profession somehow lighter, and our stay most definitely all the more delightful.
9) To cheer the joys of professional service to those who inhabit all our committees great and even greater, beginning with the Executive Board, so great it meets twice: Barb Stengel, Barbara Applebaum and the usual hangers on of President-past (Thompson), President-present (Callan), and President-future (Biesta). Their construction of an ideal world of collaborative communication is soon to inhabit your dreams of a deeply disturbing but philosophy of education Christmas.
10) To express greetings and gratitude to the members of the arrangements and hospitality committee, Anne Newman, Jessica Hochman, Kathy Hytten, Jennifer Logue, Bryan Warnick, and Terri Wilson, and thanks the generosity of the Ritz Carlton whose snacks made the committee’s hospitality all the more enjoyable.
11) To cheer as well the stalwart work of the Elections Committee that I swear last year was called the Nominations Committee. Michael Katz, Daniel Vokey, Shirley Pendlebury, Robert Reich, Cris Mayo, Susie Laird, and Ann Chinnery represent a keen combination of email attentiveness and swift decision making abilities.
12) To extend three cheers to all those committees who are dedicated to their named task and committed as well to ensuring that no one ever gets to sleep in: COPA (Ron Glass, David Waddington, Ann Chinnery, Kathleen Knight-Abowitz, Claudia Ruitenberg); the Committee on the Status of Women (Megan Laverty, Doris Santoro, Amy Shuffleton, Jessica Hochman, Sharon Todd); the Committee on Race and Ethnicity (Troy Richardson and as yet unnamed associates); the Membership Committee (Paul Smeyers, Kal Alston, Eduardo Duarte, Robert Floden); and Jobs for Philosophers (P.J. Nelsen, Kurt Stemhagen, and Terri Wilson).
13) To thank the Ritz Carlton Hotel staff and management, especially Meetings and Special Events Manager Jackie Gaughan, for comfortably appointed rooms, kind attention to detail and an impressive abundance of marble.
14) And finally, but with equal importance, to honor our President Eamonn Callan for his willingness to grease the wheels of the resolutions committee with suitable beverages and for his profound contribution to philosophy of education, not necessarily in that order.
PES 2011
Mar. 26, 2011
St. Louis, MO, USA
Introduction of new President Gert Biesta.
Gert Biesta: This is a historical moment. First non-north American as president. I’ve been coming since 1994. Always found PES welcoming. I hope my presidency signifies that PES is welcoming of foreigners. I’ve made an effort to go to as many committees as possible to see what’s going on. I have two priorities: First, is cosntinuity, maintaining things between meetings throughout the year. The second is transparency. We can improve how we represent the society to ourselves, especially new people. We should make the society transparent to ourselves and the outside world. I’ve meet with Barbara Stengel and Cris Mayo. This is not a one year project, but requires continuity.
The conference next year will be in Pittsburgh, March 22-26, 2012. Very nice hotel. Program chair will be Claudia Ruitenberg. We’re the only two members who can properly pronounce each other’s names. Michael Gunzenhauser will be the hospitality chair.
Ann Chinnery moved that the that the executive board give high priority to redevelopment of the PES website. Seconded by Eamonn Callan. Unanimously approved.
Ann Chinnery moved that the chair of COPA have a seat on the board. Discssed the process for amending the Constitution.
Cris Mayo: Suggested that we can informally invite the chair of COPA to the board meetings.
Frank Margonis: Can we get some clarity on the role of COPA. Discussion from Audrey Thompson.
Adjourned: 6:50 pm