ACSP Annual Business Meeting

Saturday, October 25, 2003

Amelia Island Plantation Resort, FL

(Draft: December 12, 2003)

ROLL CALL: School representatives recorded their presence on entering the room.

Full Member Schools Present: Arizona State University, California Polytechnic State University-Pomona, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, Clemson University, Cornell University, East Carolina University, Eastern Washington University, Florida State University, Iowa State University, Jackson State University, MIT, Michigan State University, New York University, Portland State University, Rutgers University, Texas A&M University, SUNY-Buffalo, University of Arizona, University of California,-Berkeley, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Illinois-Urbana, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of New Orleans, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rhode Island, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Wayne State University.

Affiliate Member Schools Present: University of Utah.

Corresponding Members Schools Present: None.

Full Member Schools Not Present: Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, Auburn University, Ball State University, Boston University, California State University-Chico, California State University-Northridge, Cleveland State University, Columbia University, Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Hunter College of CUNY, Indiana University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kansas State University, Miami University, Michigan State University, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Morgan State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, Rutgers University-Cook College, Saint Louis University, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, Southwest Missouri State University, Temple University (Ambler College), Texas Southern University, Tufts University, SUNY-Albany, University of Akron, University of Alabama, University of California-Irvine, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Delaware, University of Florida, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Unive3rsity of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Louisville, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Massachusetts, University of Memphis, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina, University of Puerto Rico, University of Southern Maine, University of Tennessee, University of Texas-Arlington, University of Texas-Austin, University of Toledo, University of Virginia, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Commonwealth University.

Affiliate Member Schools Not Present: All except University of Utah.

Corresponding Members Schools Not Present: All.

____________________________________________________________________________

CALL TO ORDER: By President Wim Wiewel at 1:00 p.m.

Motion: To adopt the agenda. Passed unanimously.

Motion: Approval of the Minutes of the Business Meeting held in Baltimore, November 22, 2002. Passed unanimously.

Announcements

· Installation of New Board Members and Officers: Wim Wiewel

Officers: Mickey Lauria, Vice President/President Elect; Tom Clark, Treasurer;

Patricia Pollack, Secretary

Regional Representatives: Barry Nocks, Southeast; Ken Reardon, Northeast; Joyce Levine, South Central.

· Recognition: Wim Wiewel

Special recognition was accorded Barbara Becker for her on-going efforts to overcome the University of Arizona’s decision to eliminate its School of Planning. Presidential Service Citations were given to several including Kristen Kepnick, Administrative Assistant to the President.

Past President’s Report: Wim Wiewel

	Wim first addressed the recent debate over the chairmanship of the PAB. Under current rules the PAB elects its chair then submits this name for final approval to the Presidents of both the AICP and the ACSP. He/she serves for but one year. But Sam Casella, past President of AICP refused to approve Fritz Steiner’s re-election as Chair. Sam had favored Roger Hedrick. Wim resisted, seeking the advice of the Governing Board. Later negotiations soon after the spring 2003 meeting of the Governing Board in Denver, however, produced a favorable result. And Fritz Steiner was installed for yet another term. It has been agreed that the chairpersonship shall rotate from term to term, between AICP and ACSP. But this outcome may be over-ridden by a simple majority of the PAB. This simple majority though, is precisely that required for election in the first place. Wim also noted that a number of potentially controversial changes in PAB criteria have surfaced recently. But in the face of these various proposals, Wim noted that any revision to the official Accreditation Document must proceed through a well defined set of actions, commencing with an initial proposal to the PAB, and proceed to 30-day reviews by the presidents of both the ACSP and the AICP. The “planning community” thereafter must assess the proposal and the Presidents’ comments. The PAB then receives these appraisals and must decide whether to forward recommended amendments to the AICP Commission and the ACSP Governing Board. If both entities are supportive, the PAB then would forward the proposal to the APA Board. Finally the PAB receives the APA Board’s recommendation and votes itself on whether or not to adopt the proposal and revise the Accreditation Document. Clearly, the path is arduous and radical departures will face tough scrutiny.
	Wim then offered a brief summary of progress realized during his term of office in attaining each of the four major objectives that he had placed before us at the start of his term: (1) promote global awareness, (2) increase planning’s visibility, (3) promote diversity, and (4) strengthen ties to the profession. A synopsis of the progress appears in his written report “ACSP Presidency, 2001-2003”. Global awareness has indeed been heightened as a result of the important work of the President’s special Planning Globally Task Force. Thirty-three people volunteered to serve on this Task Force, and it has sought to continue as a standing committee of the organization in future years. This body, he noted, was never intended to eclipse the Association’s Global Planning Educators’ Interest Group (GPEIG), but rather to aid in fashioning policy and implementing suggestions of the GPEIG. Hi original charge to the Task Force, he noted, was to help planners to broaden the arsenal of tools available for domestic planning, to sensitize planning students to planning matters outside the United States, to expand the horizons of the professoriate, to attune domestic planning and planners to the broad array of global concerns having domestic impacts, and finally help to foster within the discipline theories and methods that are more conversant with global realities and global diversity.
	Regarding the second item on his Presidential agenda, he noted the important work of the Strategic Communications Committee and the Committee on the Academy and the Profession, accomplishments of individual faculty members in winning public recognition of their work (e.g. Gary Hack’s work with Daniel Liebeskind on the World Trade Tower project in New York), and the four topics he will feature in his ten-minute address to the APA in Denver (March, 2003). These four included: planning curricula, joint (ACSP/APA) public relations, fund-raising for applied research, and collaborations in continuing education. Wim made mention of an “Education Summit” recently convened by the APA in Chicago to which the ACSP officers and the PAB chairperson were invited. Wim found the session cordial and supportive, with most at APA expressing firm support for the educational stance of our Planning Programs. He also noted that the ACSP will be meeting in the moths ahead, with the APA staff, in order to prepare for our two organizations’ parallel events in October, 2004, in Portland, Oregon. Regarding the third, he noted the report of the Diversity Committee. The Committee also has commenced discussions with APA regarding the creation of internships for minority students within larger planning agencies. Still, progress has been limited and considerably more must be done in the years ahead.
	And regarding the fourth, he noted his role as co-editor (with Garrit Knaap) of the EPA-sponsored book on university-community collaborations. Seventy chapters have been proposed of which just 12-15 will be selected. Ten-thousand dollars received for this work flowed as general overhead into ACSP coffers. At the same time he observed the persistence of the challenges we must face head-on in crafting a workable and positive relation with the APA. These past two years, he noted, found us at loggerheads with both APA and AICP leaders over the operation and direction of the PAB. But now these issues seem to have been resolved in a manner that will allow us to enter into fruitful collaborations with APA, while maintaining the integrity of our own organization, the ACSP. One recent event, the APA’s Education Summit, offered to all an opportunity to recraft our relationship. Today, new joint committees are being formed to move forward initiatives related to curriculum, education, and public relations.
	And looking to the future, Wim observed that we are but a volunteer organization, and that we will be well-advised in the future to do those things very well that are at the core of our work—our conference, JPER, and oversight of the education of planners. We must chose our targets with great care, achieve focus, and mete our scarce collective energies while in no way jeopardizing our core responsibilities.
	At the close of Wim’s remarks those in attendance stood to express their heartfelt thanks for his exceptional service to ACSP.

Treasurer’s Report: Tom Clark

	Tom Clark, Treasurer, reviewed our continuing progress in implementing ACSP’s new financial system. He noted the important work of Donna Dodd, our Bursar, in concert with Amber Swords of Purvis Gray & Company, our accounting firm. We have made major headway in finalizing our chart of accounts and are now actively tabulating all transactions, both revenue and expenditure, in accord with this chart categories. This represents a major advance over past practices and has substantially improved our financial self-awareness.
	Tom also provided a summary of our financial position as of June 30, 2003, the end of FY03. At year end total assets amounted to $292,563.18. The bulk of these are retained in our AmSouth Money Market Account, $163,425.11, with an additional sum of $90,351.76 held in a CD with Cambridge Bank. We intend to consolidate our holdings as our various instruments reach maturity. He noted as well the pre-payment in FY03 of conference expenses totaling $24,260.72. Accounts receivable, anticipated income, totaled $2,765, and delinquent accounts are being pursued in several ways. Current liabilities at year end totaled $32,600 in deferred revenues, offsetting pre-paid expenses. Total liabilities and assets amounted to $292,340.13.
	He observed that our carry-forward is substantial—well in excess of the amount our By-laws require to be maintained as a reserve--, and that the Board might at some point wish to consider its options in managing the account. Among these would be to expand the scope of our activities, and in so doing to spend down some portion of the aggregate. Another would be to maintain the account in its current posture, anticipating a time when, for one reason or another, our main revenue generator—the Annual Conference—might fail to cover its fixed front-end expenses. He argued against any reduction in dues and capitation fees, but could see reasons for retaining current rates even as expenses mount. The result would, of course, be to draw down our carry-forward from one year to the next. He also noted that FY04 is not going to achieve the level of increase in our base as was realized during FY03 since we will not be sponsoring a domestic conference, and instead opted to co-sponsor the ACSP/AESOP Joint Congress in Leuven (July 2003) and the Administrator’s Conference on Amelia Island, Florida in October 2003. Each had been anticipated to have negligible effect on our FY04 revenue stream. It now appears that the former may yield a modest shortfall in net revenue if certain donations anticipated by AESOP from other European organizations are not forthcoming.

Vice President’s Report: Chris Silver

	JPER: Chris announced the appointment of Karen Christensen and Karen Chapple, both of UC-Berkeley will serve as the new JPER Co-Editors. Karen Christensen indicates that the new editors will continue the JPER-sponsored writing workshop. Alison Labbate, of SAGE, indicates that submissions to JPER are up as are abstracting and indexing of the Journal’s articles. Sage has gone to an electronic system to facilitate interaction with authors. It has been reported that the JPER had recorded the most rapid increase in citations of all journals recently reviewed. Overall SAGE’s projected return to ACSP may be $16,370 in CY03 and $18,260 in CY04. Chris argued we will need to do more to promote institutional subscriptions, especially in member units’ campus libraries.
	Incorporation: Chris next reported that ACSP had indeed applied for incorporation this past year and did in fact secure this legal status. It then was required to reapply for the same tax exempt status it had enjoyed in past years, as a 501 (c)(3). It was successful in this regard as well. On the way to achieving this first result we had to revise our By-laws, and these revisions, he noted, had previously been approved by the organization and are now available on the ACSP web site. We are now, “ACSP, Inc.” he observed, though “ACSP” alone should suffice in most instances. Incorporation, he reminded the Board, has the effect of reducing the legal exposure of Officers and Board Members.
	Conferences. Chris Silver, who as Vice President appoints the Chair of the Conference Committee and oversees our conference in this capacity, next reviewed this past summer’s ACSP/AESOP Joint Congress in Leuven, Belgium, and preparations for others to follow

o Chris then turned to a brief overview of upcoming conferences. Portland is 2004 host. A hotel contract is now in place. Deborah Howe will serve as chair of the local host committee. Chris reported that the Governing Board has agreed that the APA and ACSP national meetings shall “co-locate” in this city, and each shall undertake to reach out to the other in its schedule of conference activities. Portland was last a host to ACSP in 1989.

o Charlestown, S.C. would follow in 2005; Fort Worth in 2006; and Milwaukee in 2007. Chris noted that Charleston was reaffirmed as the 2006 site by a close vote of 5 supporting, four opposed, at the just-concluded meeting of the ACSP Governing Board. At issue was whether or in what way the ACSP should acknowledge or endorse the national NCAA’s on-going boycott—which is also apparently supported by the South Carolina Chapter of the NAACP—of the State. For long the Confederate flag has flow atop the state house dome, along with the state and national flags. It was recently agreed, at the insistence of the NAACP to remove the confederate flag from this perch. But it was subsequently repositioned in a less conspicuous location astride a ground-level civil war memorial. The local NAACP Chapter first voiced support then opposition to this secondary placement. The national NAACP never apparently acceded to this secondary placement, still on capitol grounds.

o The next World Planning Conference is set for 2006, but the location has not yet been firmly established. Proposals were due April 30, 2003. The UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) in Mexico City, will likely emerge as the designated host, however, there remain a number of questions that have not yet been fully resolved regarding the capacity of this institution to host this event. The Governing Board, nevertheless, has voted to endorse this site in the belief these matters can be favorably resolved in the weeks ahead. The first such conference was held in Shanghai in 2001. UNAM estimates it will require $325,000 (US) to host the event. UNAM itself would apparently provide some seed money and seek to raise more contributions from other sources. But if UNAM’s latest proposal is found lacking any of the other contestants might win out in the end. Both Louis Albrecht and Johanna Looye did indeed visit UNAM recently to asses its capacities. We were reminded that ACSP’s own annual conference in Fort Worth, Texas, will proceed as usual in the fall following this July 10-16, 2006 event.

· Institutional Data Project/Guide to Planning. Sandi Rosenbloom reports that the Governing Board has agreed that we shall distribute the most recent data accumulated in the IDP to Departments on-line. Data resulting from our current questionnaire will be provided to all Departments. Work is now commencing to prepare the 12^th Edition of our Guide to Undergraduate and Graduate Education in Urban and Regional Planning (i.e. the “Guide”). In the past we have printed 12,000 copies for libraries, counselors and for sale by the APA. But now, only 500 to 800 copies will be printed, for sale via the APA’s Planner’s Press. We will concurrently email past users informing them that from now on the Guide will be available only on-line, at a designated web address. It has been determined that around one-fifth of newly enrolled students in planning programs secured needed information about the planning profession and university programs on-line. The new fee to be charged individual universities for representation of the their program(s) in the Guide shall be $650 (one program), $750 (two programs), and $850 (three programs). The fee shall be reduced by $100 if the member unit seeking an on-line presence has also responded to our request of information in support of the Institutional Data Project.

President’s Inaugural Report: Christopher Silver

Chris, in this inaugural address at the on-set of his Presidency, stressed the core purposes of the organization. Among these are our conferences, the JPER, our administrative conference, and the doctoral workshops. These, he said, must be maintained. But in addition, we must move forward, carrying on important dialogues within the ACSP itself. Better, he said, internally to fashion our positions in constructive debate before engaging our various institutional allies and other publics. Topics of critical importance in his term will be these: the nature and support of planning practice, post-graduate education for professionals in planning, mentoring of new faculty and of doctoral students, the nature and purpose of doctoral education, and the invigoration of our pursuit of diversity among both our student population and on our faculties. And we must carefully consider how best to forge new and productive ties with our colleagues in the AICP and the APA at large. The full text of Chris’ address will appear in an upcoming issue of JPER.

General Good and Welfare

Motion: To adjourn was made at 2:10 p.m. Passed!

Respectfully submitted,

Thomas Clark

Outgoing Secretary/Treasurer (and Incoming Treasurer)