Vol. 40, No.4, October 2011
Printer friendly version of Newsletter
Notes from the Inside
HSS: A Review
Quick Links....
Dark Clouds Above Boerhaave Museum
-------------------------------------
Notes from the Inside
-------------------------------------
News
-------------------------------------
Conferences
-------------------------------------
Jobs and Fellowships
-------------------------------------
Member News
-------------------------------------
In Memoriam
-------------------------------------
Jobs, Conferences, Grants
This past September 12, I attended a leadership workshop sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies. Joining me in New York for this day-long affair were HSS Vice President Lynn Nyhart and HSS Vice-President Elect Angela Creager, along with the chief administrative officers and leaders of a dozen other societies. Led by consultant Katha Kissman, the workshop focused on ways in which non-profit academic societies, such as the HSS, can avoid pitfalls while planning for the future. A large part of the training dealt with society boards and their responsibilities, a topic of importance during this period of increased scrutiny of nonprofit organizations in the US. The HSS Council—our equivalent to a board of directors—is charged with guiding the Society, and Kissman provided numerous examples of how we can educate those board members regarding their responsibilities— responsibilities that will grow in importance as we look forward to the HSS centennial in 2024.
Part of this education involves information about the workings of the HSS and so I have prepared an annual report, which will be posted on the website, that outlines the main activities of the Society. In the report I describe the principal duties of the HSS, which extend far beyond the annual meeting, with a focus on the Executive Office and the activities of our many volunteers. Government guidelines require that we disclose the number of volunteer hours donated on behalf of the Society, and with over 4300 volunteer hours reported for this past fiscal year, I hope that the narrative makes obvious that the HSS runs on the work of its volunteers. I also hope that you will read the report and offer your comments. Our members' involvement is crucial to the growth and endurance of the HSS and all feedback, the good and the bad, is welcome. I am grateful that the Society has such a strong commitment from its volunteers, and that they are willing to spend large amounts of time, such as with this leadership workshop, working to better the HSS.
- Jay Malone, HSS Executive Director
Correction:
In the July 2011 issue, the "Welcome to Cleveland" piece reported that the 2011 conference would be the first HSS meeting in Cleveland. We wish to clarify that this will be the first HSS conference in the city by Lake Erie in which we are not meeting as an affiliate society in the shadow of a larger group. The HSS met in Cleveland back in 1937, 1947, and 1950 during the period in which we met with the AHA and AAAS. Our thanks to Margaret Rossiter for this clarification.