The Southwestern Historical Association

Minutes & Treasurer's Report

of the Annual Business Meeting for the Year 2002

held at New Orleans

on 29 March 2002

The Annual Business Meeting of the Southwestern Historical Association (SwHA) was called to order at 4:05 p.m. by President Melodie Andrews (Mankato State).  The President started by thanking the following for their assistance during her presidential year and in the years leading up to it:  Ingrid Westmoreland (Southeastern Oklahoma State), Janet Schmelzer (Tarleton State), Stephen J Stillwell jr (UTArlington), Barbara Ganson (Florida Atlantic), Michael L Collins (Midwestern State - TX), Edward Weller (San Jacinto), the late F Bullitt Lowry (North Texas), and all past officers of the SwHA.

Andrews then called upon the Secretary-Treasurer to read the minutes and present the financial report.  This was done and both reports were approved as presented.  During the Treasurer's Report, it was pointed out that the SwHA receives $7.00 for each member of the Southwestern Social Science Association (SSSA) that lists history as a primary, secondary, or tertiary affiliation.  The SwHA also receives the same amount for each registrant.  As 571 of the 926 registrants at the Fort Worth meeting in 2001 had not given an affiliation on their registration forms, there was money that the SSSA could not distribute.   A formula for its distribution had been proposed by the SSSA's Budget and Financial Policies Committee and approved by the SSSA's Executive Council.  All members of the SwHA where requested to make sure that they were properly registered.

President's Report:

• Audio-visual equipment is handled through the SSSA and MUST be ordered in advance of the conference.  The SwHA does not pay for a/v equipment for its member.  There was a general discussion on some ideas concerning the need for such equipment particularly by the younger generation of scholars.
• The SSSA Membership Committee will be sponsoring several special sessions at next year's conference on Teaching & Learning.  There will be a separate Call For Papers for these sessions - check the SSSA website.
• The locations of the next several conferences are San Antonio (2003), Corpus Christi (2004), and New Orleans (2005).  The conferences will be Wednesday to Saturday.  Those in San Antonio and New Orleans will be held in the week between Palm Sunday and Easter because of advantageous room rates at that time.
• Next year's theme is "Taking Stock:  The State of the Art in the Social Sciences."
• Nominations are needed for the SSSA Distinguished Service Award.
• Members are encouraged to volunteer for SSSA committees.
• The changes in the SSSA constitution were approved.
• Blackwell is selling the SSSA mailing list to academic direct marketers.  You can opt out by checking the appropriate box on the membership form.

Program Chair's Report:

Ganson announced that she was pleased with the number of papers on the Borderlands and Latin America.  The number of panels and participants was up considerably this year.  The Call For Papers was carried on the AHA website and in Perspectives.  It was also in several other journals for the first time and on H-Net.

Ganson concluded with thanks to Andrews.

General Business & Announcements:

Glenn Melancon (Southeastern Oklahoma State) distributed promotional material on the Red River Valley Historical Journal.  He also reviewed the operations at the end of the second year of publication.  Weller moved, and it was seconded, and adopted that the SwHA continue its support of the journal by contributing $1000 per year for each of the next three years to its operating budget.

Gordon Bakken (California State-Fullerton) of the SSSA Membership Committee reviewed the special sessions on teaching and learning that Andrews had mentioned in her report and called on the members present to bring in new members to the organization.

Cary D Wintz (Texas Southern) discussed the book exhibit at the conference.  There was a decline in participation of exhibitors because of the economy and the events of last fall.  He encouraged us all to go to the exhibits and to talk with those exhibitors present.  He also suggested that when publisher representatives visit us at our offices, we tell them how important the exhibits are to us.

Vaughan B Baker Simpson (Southwestern Louisiana) nominated on behalf of the European / Asian Section of the SwHA - Melancon as 1st vice-president to complete the term of the deceased Bullitt Lowry.  His nomination was approved by acclamation.

Ganson nominated on behalf of the Latin American / African Section of the SwHA - Charles Macune (California State-Northridge) as 3rd vice-president.  His nomination was approved by acclamation.

Marsha L Frey (Kansas State), current President of Phi Alpha Theta thanked all chapter advisors, particularly, the late Bullitt Lowry.  She was then joined by Ben Procter (Texas Christian) and J Howell Smith (Wake Forest) to present the awards for student papers.

There were no Ben Procter Prizes for the Best Phi Alpha Theta Papers in Latin American / African / Asian History given.

The winners of the Ben Procter Prizes for the Best Phi Alpha Theta Papers in European History were:

• 1st Place:  Charles E Closmann (Houston) for "Restoring Peasants to the Soil:  The Impact of National Socialist Ideology on Wastewater Treatment in Hamburg, Germany."
• 2nd Place:  no award given.
• 3rd Place:  no award given.  

The winners of the Ben Procter Prizes for the Best Phi Alpha Theta Papers in U S History were:

• 1st Place:  Kathryn V Birdwell (Stephen F Austin State) for "Reconstructing Citizenship, Deconstructing Justice:  Gender Implications of the Fourteenth Amendment."
• 2nd Place:  Alexandra Kindell (Iowa State) for "George Washington's Image in Nineteenth Century Agriculture."
• 3rd Place {TIE}  Adrienne Sadovsky (Oklahoma State) for "The New Western History and Public History:  'The West as America' Exhibit" &
  Mary Jo O'Rear (Texas A&M - Kingsville) for "The September Storm:  Corpus Christi and the 1919 Hurricane."

The all conference paper prizes were then announced.

• Ganson announced that the winner in the Latin American / African History Section was Matt D Childs (Florida State) for "African Ethnic Associations in the New World:  The Cuban Cabildos de Nación, 1790-1820."
• No representative of the Walter R Craddock European / Asian History Prize committee was present, so no announcement was made.  {It was later announced that the winner was Guoqiang Zheng (Angelo State) for "Chinese Communist Policy Changes Toward Tibet, 1949-1960 - Revisited."}
• Howard Beeth (Texas Southern) announced the winner in the U S History paper competition was Liping Bu (Alma) for "International House Movement:  Liberal Visions in a Conservative Aggression Age."
  An Honourable Mention was given to William Thomas Allison (Weber State) for "The Question of Jurisdiction for Military Justice in Vietnam."

New Business:

Andrews called upon Procter to say a few words about our late colleague, Bullitt Lowry.  Procter gave an eloquent speech and then presented the Edward L Byrd jr Award for Service to the SwHA to Sharon K Lowry.  Dr. Lowry responded and announced a graduate scholarship at the University of North Texas that was taking contributions in the name of her late husband.

Procter moved and it was seconded and approved that a motion of appreciation go to the previous Secretary-Treasurer Sarah C Neitzel (retired).

A call for papers for the National Council on Public History Conference was made.  

Stillwell moved and Weller seconded a resolution to raise the prize amount on the three all conference awards from $100 to $250.

Andrews then postponed all remaining items until the next meeting and issued an invitation to the SwHA reception.  She turned the meeting over to the incoming president.  Ganson adjourned the meeting at 5:27 p.m.

signed Stephen J Stillwell jr (UTArlington)

     Page last reviewed 9 July 2004.