ASC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
Adam’s Mark Hotel
Denver, Colorado
MINUTES
Attending: Donna Bishop, Todd Clear, Frank Cullen, Finn
Esbensen, Chris Eskridge, Rosemary Gartner, Julie Horney, Candace Kruttschnitt,
John Laub, Robert Meier, Daniel Nagin, Wayne Osgood, Raymond Paternoster, Henry
Pontell, Rick Rosenfeld, Larry Sherman, Michael Tonry, Chris Uggen, John Wright
Also: Sarah Hall, Lindsay Jackson, Sally Simpson, Denise Gottfredson
Meeting called to order at
1. Sellin-Glueck Award Issue – Chris Eskridge
The Board unanimously affirmed changing the criteria of the
Sellin-Glueck Award to specify that the award be “given to those who reside
outside of the
2.
The Program Committee Chairs distributed an information sheet showing frequency distribution of the 495 sessions for the 2003 meeting by type (35 thematic, 329 regular, 45 roundtable, and 86 poster sessions), as well as a breakdown of the number of each session type by topical area. For the 2003 meetings, a survey evaluation packet was provided in each meeting room for session chairs to provide information about the attendance and quality of their sessions. Although demand was insufficient to contract for on-site daycare for the 2003 meeting, the Program Chairs also reported positive interactions with the Kiddicorps organization and recommended that this organization be considered for future meetings. The Program Chairs also recommended moving quickly toward online submission system and commended Fawn Ngo for her assistance in organizing the meetings.
3. Executive Director’s Report – Chris Eskridge
Chris Eskridge provided background on the current financial
reports, cautioning that the third quarter profit and loss statement does not
reflect printing costs for several volumes of Criminology. Chris updated the Board on funding for Criminology and Public Policy,
preparations and attendance estimates for the 2004
4. NRC Rankings – Todd Clear
The Board discussed the exclusion of Criminology and Criminal
Justice Programs from the National Research Council (NRC) rankings of graduate
programs. John Laub and Todd Clear met with NRC representatives in
5. Duncan/Lott Issue – John Laub and Chris Eskridge
The Board discussed an ongoing debate between Professor Otis
Dudley Duncan and Professor John R. Lott, Jr. regarding a 2000 article by
Professor Duncan (“Gun Use Surveys:
In Numbers We Trust?” The Criminologist
Vol. 25, No. 1 Jan/Feb. 2000 pp. 1, 3-7) and Professor Lott’s reply (The
Criminologist Vol 25, No 5 Sep/Oct
2000 pp. 1,6). When the ASC was contacted by Professor Duncan to take
further action in this matter, John Laub asked Chris Eskridge to investigate Professor
Duncan’s allegations and report to the Board. The Board identified the key areas
of disagreement and discussed procedures for further ASC investigation into claims
of academic misconduct, the status of the official newsletter as an ASC publication that is not
peer-reviewed, and the merits of prolonging this debate within the pages of The Criminologist.
Henry Pontell, representing the ASC Publications Committee, agreed to draft
a statement to the membership on the Duncan/Lott controversy for publication in
The Criminologist.
6. Committee Reports: Award Committees
a. Hindelang Award Issue. Tom Bernard, chair of the 2003 Hindelang Award Committee, asked that the Board examine the eligibility criteria for this award. The award criteria specifies that books are eligible if they were “published in the last two or three years” and that the award should be given to the book with the “most influence on criminology research.” The Board discussed the award as an outstanding book award because recently published books have not yet had an opportunity to influence criminological research. The Board unanimously passed a motion to change the Hindelang Award criteria to read as follows: “The Hindelang Award is given annually for a book, published within three (3) calendar years preceding the year in which the award is made, that makes the most outstanding contribution to research in criminology.”
b. Constitution and By-Laws (Donna Bishop) – The Board
discussed a proposal from the Constitution and By-Laws Committee that would
limit the term of Service on the Executive Board to two terms for Executive Secretary,
Treasurer, and Editor and a single term for other Board positions. By informal
custom, terms have been limited in this manner for several decades. No one has
been reelected to a previously held position and reappointment
of the Executive Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor have been limited to
two terms. After some discussion, the
matter was tabled to be discussed at the Saturday meeting on
c. Development
d. Fellows
e. Local Arrangements
f. Membership
g. Minority Affairs
h. National Policy
i. Nominations – Wayne Osgood.
The Board unanimously approved the nominations committee slate of candidates: Gary LaFree and Cathy Widom for President Elect; Denise Gottfredson and Rolf Loeber for Vice-President Elect; and, Valerie Jenness, Janet Lauritsen, Alan Lizotte, and Mark Warr for Executive Counselor.
j. Publications
Candace Kruttschnitt updated the Board on several Publication Committee matters. She reported that the journal editors would prefer that written materials about the ethics of publishing appear in The Criminologist, rather than the journals themselves. She also noted that those members of the Editorial Board with whom she communicated were generally opposed to issuing press releases for Criminology articles. Sage and Blackwell are both developing proposals that aim to provide full-text searchable electronic access to both journals, a greater library subscription base, and direct access to major abstracting services. The Board discussed the advantages and disadvantages of continuing to publish Criminology and Criminology and Public Policy ourselves and the generally positive experiences that Law and Society Review and the Law and Society Association has had with Blackwell.
k. Criminology
John Laub and Chris Eskridge updated the Board on delays in publication of the May, August, and November issues of Criminology. Rick Rosenfeld pledged to assist in expediting publication and to make University of Missouri-St. Louis faculty available in bringing these issues to press. The Board discussed several alternatives for publication and accepted the following motion: effective November 18, 2003 the Chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at University of Missouri-St. Louis be given complete authority to produce the 2003 issues of Criminology as fast as possible, by whatever means necessary, including in-house production and/or seeking assistance from other editorial offices currently producing American Society of Criminology journals. The Board commended Bob Bursik and Jennifer Bursik for their outstanding service.
l. Criminology and Public Policy – Todd Clear reported the receipt of the final large-scale grant from the National Institute of Justice, with the costs of dissemination of the journal to be paid by John Jay College of Criminal Justice for the next year.
m. Representative Report – Christy Visher.
n. Ethics Statement – returned to publication committee.
o. Student Affairs – Ruth Triplett’s report.
p. Student Awards – to be announced
7. Undergraduate Minority Fellowship – Todd Clear.
The Undergraduate Minority Fellowship Award was altered to become a $1,500 travel stipend rather than a stipend and cash award. Todd reported discussions with the Ad Hoc Minority Scholar/Mentor Prize Committee.
8. Division Reports
9. New Business
10. Dinner
John Laub thanked Vice President Candace Kruttschnitt and departing Board members Rick Rosenfeld and Wayne Osgood for their service.
Meeting adjourned at