| BACK TO MINUTES Pi Kappa Delta National Council Minutes NCA Meetings: November 21-22, 2003 Miami, Florida _____________________________________________________ November 21, 2003 The meeting was called to order by President Susan Millsap. All council members were present except David Ray. Scott Jensen also participated in this meeting. Local Host and Tournament Director’s Report Scott Jensen presented the tournament director’s report for the 2004 Honorary which will be held on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Scott is in the process of finalizing all committees and assignments. He then reported that all planning is going well, although he expects a problem with room availability for the 12:00 Friday round. This problem appears to be unavoidable due to the academic schedule of the host school. He reported that MTSU is instituting new policies regarding room usage, including a requirement that there be a “building monitor” in each building. These “monitors” will be provided by MTSU. Scott reported that the biggest problem he foresees is with judges. There is not a large pool of local judges, thus it will be critical that schools cover their entry and even and bring judges that can be hired if at all possible. Scott suggested that the Council consider modifying the 2006 tournament to return to a full Friday schedule. He also stressed the importance of continuing to promote the 2004 event to ensure the largest possible attendance. Scott substituted for his wife Gina and provided the local host report for the 2005 event in St. Louis. Scott indicated that Webster is establishing a University Steering Committee to help coordinate local arrangements. He has also begun securing computers and is investigating options for a shuttle bus. The shuttle will be a local host expense and will likely operate on a “flat charge” system. He is also investigating food options and securing volunteers to serve as local hosts/hostesses. Scott is also busy planning the province reception which will likely have a “sports theme.” Council members gave Tina Wheeler suggestions for sports themes. Plans are also underway for a career fair. Webster will shoot a video which can be shown at the banquet and may offer a photo CD for all attendees. He is also working to secure local judges and financial sponsorship. Scott announced a special room arrangement with the Sheraton for the 2004 Summer Council meeting. Rooms are already reserved for July 7-10 at a flat rate of $45. The Sheraton will also provide a complimentary dinner to assist decision-makers in selecting menus for convention functions. Constitution Revision Committee Report Michael Bartanen, Chair of the Constitutional Revision Committee, submitted a report to Susan Millsap which she presented to Council. Michael’s committee made three recommendations: (1) a substantive change to section 354.1 which specifies voting procedure for national Council members; (2) a stylistic change inserting the word “will” for the word “shall” throughout the constitution; and (3) development of by-laws for tournament and convention procedures, awards and their criteria, and criteria for site selection. The substantive change (section 354.1) is designed to streamline the voting process for National Council members by eliminating a second vote in the case that more than five candidates are nominated. Under the proposal, chapters would vote for five members in preferential order, ranking all others six and the top three vote getters would be elected. After extensive discussion, the Council agreed that the substantive change for section 354.1 was appropriate and workable. The Council also agreed that the stylistic change did not require extensive deliberation. Finally, the Council noted that we already have tournament procedure by-laws, that awards criteria have been recently developed by Glenda Treadaway, and that it was not appropriate to elevate site selection details to constitutional status. Based on this discussion the Council took the following actions: Unanimously endorsed the revision to 354.1, unanimously rejected the committee’s third recommendation on by- laws, and unanimously endorsed the proposed word change. The Council will draft these recommendations and append them to the recommendations from the committee as part of the voting delegates’ guide which will be distributed at the convention. President’s Report Susan Millsap presented information regarding local arrangements for the 2004 tournament. She indicated that we will need to assist the local host in preparing the logistical arrangements for the Readers Theatre competition. In addition, she indicate that our block of rooms at the tournament motel is moving quickly and that we will receive comp rooms based on the standard 1:50 ratio. Susan also summarized activities regarding a number of issues. She reported that progress is being made on many action items generated at the summer meeting. A written agreement between Ripon College and PKD regarding the Hall of Fame has been drafted and will be sent immediately to the President of Ripon for consideration and signing. The national office continues to work to streamline forms and procedures to increase the efficiency and ease of our customer service. Work is underway to develop methods to identify and maintain contact with alumni. Plans are also underway for the summer 2004 meeting which will be held in St. Louis. Overall, Susan stressed the importance of maintaining contact among Council members and with Provinces. Editor’s Report Nina Jo Moore presented the Editor’s report. She reported that the winter 2003 issue of the Forensic was mailed out with the August dues statements. Scott Jensen was the guest editor of that thematic issue which focused on the metaphor of “family.” She indicated that the names of 2001-2003 Council members were printed with that issue to ensure archival accuracy. Obtaining enough quality submissions remains an ongoing concern. Although the review process is not complete, seven articles are being reviewed and none have so far received enthusiastic endorsement from reviewers. She informed Council of her decision to not print articles unless they are of acceptable quality. The Council endorsed her action. Nina Jo plans to have the Summer Issue complete within the next few weeks. Logistics of printing this issue could change due to staff changes at Ripon Printers. Nina Jo will continue to monitor the effect of the staff change on our arrangement with the printer. The first issue of The Key is on-line. Although Nina Jo was not able to include art with this issue, the process of moving to the on-line distribution was fairly smooth. She reported that the deadline for Council member contributions to the next Key will be March 31, 2004. In addition to the normal Council articles, Nina Jo requested that all Provinces which hold tournaments send in their result so that they can be reported in that issue. Any Province Officers with questions about the process should contact Nina Jo Moore as soon as possible. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report Bill Hill presented the Secretary-Treasurer’s report. Overall, the organization is very good financial condition. Thus far, 65 chapters have paid their 2003-04 dues and 41 new members have joined Pi Kappa Delta. The organization has a total net worth of $54,704.41 which is substantially improved over the net worth at this time last year. The Council discussed the problems associated with keeping inactive schools and schools not current in their dues payments on the organizational mailing list. All agreed that chapters who are not current in their dues should not receive additional mailings until becoming current. The Council also authorized ordering PKD magnets which will bear the phone number and email address of the national office and the PKD web site maintained at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. Past President’s Report Glenda Treadaway presented the Past-President’s report. Glenda indicated that three of the four recipients for the 2003 standing awards will be present at the general business meeting tomorrow. She then indicated that next year PKD will only have 6 panels allocated at the NCA convention. NCA is reconfiguring the panels are allocated, including doing a cross check between membership lists for affiliate organizations and NCA to determine the number of panels that will be allocated. The Council discussed the potential problems this creates for PKD, noting that it is very difficult to maintain a current, and complete membership list for the organization. Glenda suggested that Chapters and provinces discuss the potential problems affiliate organizations such as PKD might experience under the new NCA scheme. Glenda reported that the call for papers and panels for the 2004 NCA convention will be December 190, 2003. Glenda is working on two separate projects related to awards. First she has prepared a rough draft of the procedures for standing awards. The Council discussed the current process and agreed with Glenda’s suggestion that decision-making continue with the awards committee as currently constituted. Second, she is going to prepare (in consultation with David Ray) procedures to govern the selection of the Hall of Fame members. Glenda’s intent is to codify what has largely been practiced simply through tradition. She hopes to have both sets of awards procedures ready for final Council consideration at the 2004 summer meeting. President-Elect’s Report Sandra Alspach presented the President-Elect’s report. She indicated that Central Michigan University has submitted a bid to host the 2007 convention and tournament and that Boise State University has offered to serve as a back-up site. She reported that the logistics for Central Michigan would be favorable and that the University is fully supportive of the bid. Sandra reported that she has no bids for the 2006 tournament. She has solicited bids, but with little interest expressed from those canvassed. Two members, Gary Horn and Tony Allison have agreed to work on the Foundation Committee. Both Tony and Gary were involved in formation of the original foundation. as a member of the original committee, thus bringing a historical perspective to the newly constituted committee. Her goals are to use the foundation as a depository for contributions and make the foundation a viable agent to manage grants. There is no report from the Information specialists at Ferris who are working to retrieve old data from PKD files. This effort is intended to help create a useable alumni database. Sandra proposed creation of a “Centennial Committee” but due to time consideration discussion was postponed until the 2004 Summer meeting. Charter and Standards Tom Hubener presented the Charter and Standards Committee report. Tom reported that four chapters (Carson-Newman, Grove City, Louisiana tech, and University of the Pacific) have reactivated their membership. In addition, five institutions (Lord Fairfax Community College, Drury University, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Asbury College, and Kent state Tuscarawas) have solicited application materials. One new school, Lincoln University (PA), has completed the charter process and one, University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, has applied for inactive status. The Charter and Standards Committee have been selected. Members include Jeff Hobbs, Eddie Skaggs, Amy Veuleman, Dan Shabot, and Tony Chowning. Tom presented a draft of a survey instrument designed to assess perceptions about PKD. The Council briefly reviewed the instrument and made minor suggestions. Tom will make final revisions and proposes to distribute the instrument via a random sample. Professional Development Shannon Dyer presented the professional development report. Due to time constraints, she distributed copies of the “Call for Papers and Panels” for the 2005 Development Conference and asked Council members to review it over night. She proposes two panels for this conference, one focusing on “Saving the Forensic Program” and the other on “The Top Ten Concerns of PKD.” The deadline for submissions will be November 31, 2004. The Council endorsed the themes of the panels and engaged in some discussion about ways to enhance participation. One suggestion was to link the development conference with NCA. Shannon also presented “A Call for Papers” for the 2004 Pi Kappa Delta Undergraduate Forensic Scholars Competition. This newly established event will be held in conjunction with PKD Division Activities at the NCA Convention in Chicago. Shannon outlined the purposes of the competition, the parameters for paper submissions, and the submission deadline—February 16, 2004. The Council heartily endorsed implementation of this activity. Due to time constraints, the meeting was adjourned with a second meeting scheduled for Saturday November 22, 2003. ________________________________________________________ Saturday November 22, 2003 Student Representatives Tina Wheeler and Tomeka Robinson presented the Student Representatives Reports. Tomeka reported on the roundtable discussion which was held September 6, 2003 at McNeese State University. Students from McNeese and Webster met to discuss various issues about PKD, including ways to promote more student involvement. Specific topics included: agenda for the student caucus, debate elimination rounds at the national Tournament, ways to promote PKD, and the student reception planned for NCA. Tomeka also reported on the Lower Mississippi Province Tournament which was held October 17-19, 2003. This tournament was modeled after the national tournament. Coaches and students met to discuss various issues including attendance at the national tournament, financial support for forensic programs, and debate elimination rounds. Like the student discussion at McNeese, there was a split between those who favored debate elimination rounds and those who opposed. Tomeka discussed options for the Student Mixer at the national convention. The province tournament had a mixer based on the theme “Pick your Decade” which was very successful. She suggested that this might be an appropriate theme for the national convention. The Council endorsed her suggestion. The student representatives will plan the mixer in conjunction with local host, Gina Jensen. Tina Wheeler provided an update of planning related to the National Convention and Tournament. She indicated that work on the student database continues and that an email account for the student message board has been opened. The URL is studentsofpkd@hotmail.com. Tina has been working closely with Gina and Scott Jensen to plan the local activities for the convention and tournament. At this point, they contemplate offering a “Game Night” focused around a variety of sports themes and activities. Tina is contacting local businesses to obtain prize donations. Tina reported that she continues to work on a convention themes. She solicited suggestions for the Council and was given two-three sports-related possibilities. Province Coordinator’s Report Helen Karchner presented the Province Coordinator’s report. Helen provided a brief summary of province tournaments, including the Heartland tournament which will be held February 27-28, 2004. She indicated that she has been unable to get any response from the Great West regarding their tournament plans. Helen provided a list of province officers and indicated that a “Province Coordinator’s Newsletter” has been sent to province officers via email. She is exploring ways to initiate “one-on-one” alumni contact. She suggested the “Westchester Model” would be good to follow in this regard. Helen reported that Alumni Chapter Information is available on the PKD national website. Anyone who encounters difficult gaining access to the site should contact Amy Meeks at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. The URL for the website is: http://www.uamont.edu/Organizations/PiKappaDeltaNational/alumni~info.html Helen has continued to work with Flamingo Travel to discuss issues related to their work as “Official PKD Travel Agency.” She provided complete contact information for the agency representative and discussed the services they might offer. The Council endorsed the concept of formalizing such an arrangement and asked Helen to continue discussions, particularly focusing on value to be received by PKD for proving information to member chapters. Helen outlined a number of possible initiatives designed to increase Alumni membership and retention. Suggestions included considering awards for “milestone years of membership,” posting alumni names at the NCA convention, featuring professional and scholarly accomplishments of alumni and establishing a “National Alumni Network.” The Council discussed briefly the underlying issue associated with any such initiatives: how to establish the initial database, particularly one that would include previous years. Public Relations Committee Report Shannon Dyer presented the Public Relations Committee Report. She reported that some have suggested that another volume of the “History of PKD” be compiled, thus creating a two-volume set. Prospective chapter authors, print shops, and publishers are being contacted. She also indicated that a PKD brochure and new member packet is in the creation process. The format will resemble that used in the current packet which Eddie Skaggs prepared. Shannon also requested approval for a project designed to create a stock press release that would incorporate recent, relevant tournament statistics. A recruiting packet that can be sent to law schools, businesses, and graduate school recruiters is being prepared. Our goal is to have 15 such recruiters at the 2005 Convention and tournament. Shannon also recommended that all member chapters link the PKD home page to their own program or department home pages. Shannon addressed other issues including formation of an undergraduate scholar’s panel which, presumably, would be included in PKD panels at NCA. She also discussed the possibility of including top forensic papers in The Forensic and establishing a poster panel at NCA. Finally, Shannon discussed the issue of assessment of forensic programs and reiterated the importance of the community engaging in that sort of activity. General Business Meeting All Council members presented reports at the General Business meeting. Reports covered the substantive issues presented in the two previous meetings. The only new items presented were the standing awards. Glenda Treadaway presented the following awards: Nichols Award Dr. Brad Kinney Norton Award Dr. Jeffrey Hobbs Shields Award Dr. Mabry O’Donnell Derryberry Award Ms. Gina Jensen Gina Jensen was not present and Scott Jensen accepted the award for her. All other recipients were present. Motions Passed Beginning immediately, chapters who have not paid dues by the end of the fall semester will be removed from the active mailing list. Chapters on inactive status will not receive regular mailings. The secretary-treasurer is authorized to have a PKD magnet produced. The magnet will serve largely as a pr tool and should include the PKD URL, the PKD phone number, and the University of Arkansas-Monticello URL. PKD will continue to use the standard awards committee to select our standing awards. That committee will continue to be chaired by the Past-president. The Council endorses Central Michigan as the site for the 2007 convention and tournament. The Council will ask for ratification of that site at the 2005 convention. The Secretary-Treasurer is authorized to pay an award of $150 to the student who submits the “Top Undergraduate Student Paper.” Shannon is authorized to develop selection criteria and procedures. Things to Do Prepare Voting Delegates Guide that includes statements form candidates for 2005 and the Council position on constitutional amendments.(Susan and Bill) Send Constitutional amendments to chapters prior to 2005 convention. (Joyce) Develop and send absentee voting ballot for President-elect. (Bill, Joyce) Prepare letter (very positive) to chapters who have not paid dues and will be eliminated from the mailing list (Bill). Determine if it is possible to count “hits” for the on-line Key (David) Develop procedures statement for HOF (Glenda, to be reviewed by David) |
|