ACIS Annual Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Roanoke, VA
15 May 1999

Present: Nancy Curtin, Robert Mahony, David W. Miller, Timothy Meagher, Audrey Eyler, Michael Patrick Gillespie, Cóilín Owens, Conor Johnston, Richard Bizot, Lucy McDiarmid, Guinn Batten, Charles Fanning, James Doan (ex-officio), Kathryn Conrad, Monica Brennan.
 

• The committee unanimously approved the appointment of the following officers:

Treasurer: Monica Brennan

Secretary: Kathryn Conrad

Newsletter editor: James Doan, who will be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee. The new officers then joined the meeting.
 

• Kay McKeogh of Dublin City University addressed the Committee on her institution�s initiative to begin making online distance education courses at DCU available to students in the United States. These programs are already in existence and accredited at DCU. She called for a working group to discuss the issues that might arise�funding, accreditation at US schools, etc. She hoped such courses would raise the profile of Irish studies in the US and make certain aspects of Irish studies available to institutions in the US with limited resources/faculty in Irish studies. The Committee discussed the proposal�s benefits, details, and pitfalls. President Curtin suggested that the plan and a call for members interested in the project should be published in the ACIS Newsletter.

• Limerick 2000 report: President Curtin reported that plans for the National Meeting in Limerick in 2000 are going well. She nominated the following Program Committee:

Nancy Curtin

Michael Gillespie

David Miller

Lisa Bitel

Stephen Watt

The committee was approved unanimously.
 

• President Curtin nominated the following Finance Committee:

Monica Brennan

Timothy Meagher

Cóilín Owens

The committee was approved unanimously.

• The following motion was proposed: That the Finance Committee consider spending on new initiatives. The motion was passed unanimously.

• President Curtin nominated the following Publications Committee, whose responsibilities will include reviewing the previous Publications Committee�s report, submitted by past Treasurer John Harrington, and discussing the future of ACIS publications, including the ACIS Annual:

Michael Gillespie

Guinn Batten

Charles Fanning

The committee was approved unanimously.

• President Curtin nominated the following Election Procedures Committee, whose responsibilities will include the review of the past reports, practices and traditions of the ACIS and proposal of procedures for the future:

Michael Gillespie

Lucy McDiarmid

Robert Mahony

The committee was approved unanimously.

• Pursuant to a resolution of the general business meeting President Curtin proposed a committee to review the bylaws and, if necessary, propose revisions. She recommended that Regional Representatives coordinate a review of the bylaws at regional meetings, through e-mail, etc., and to collate the responses for the Bylaw Review Committee. The Secretary will make the bylaws available to the Executive Committee in a mailing this summer. The Bylaw Review Committee will also publicize a call for review of the bylaws in the Newsletter and on the ACIS web page. The Committee will then report to the Executive Committee at the annual meeting in Limerick, at which point the Executive will discuss and revise the report to be presented eventually to the general membership for discussion and voting. She nominated the following Bylaw Review Committee:

Michael Gillespie

Nancy Curtin

Stephen Watt

The committee was approved unanimously.
 

• President Curtin proposed that the following committee revise the membership form to better reflect the profile of the ACIS membership:


Kathryn Conrad

Monica Brennan

David Miller

The committee was approved unanimously.
 

• President Curtin nominated the following Cyber-Protocol and Procedures Committee, whose responsibilities will include reporting to the Executive Committee by August 1, 1999, on suggestions for the conduct of Executive Committee business on the Internet:


Conor Johnston

Richard Bizot

Kathryn Conrad

The committee was approved unanimously.
 

• President Curtin introduced the possibility of ACIS purchasing a web site, which the Secretary will maintain. Purchasing a website would mean that ACIS would have one dedicated site and address that would not need to move or be dependent on the good will of a host university. The Executive Committee authorized the exploration of this possibility. Discussion of what might be included on this website ensued. Further suggestions should be directed to the Secretary.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathryn Conrad
Secretary, American Conference for Irish Studies