ASC EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

November 22, 2003
Adam’s Mark Hotel
Denver, Colorado

MINUTES

Attending: Donna Bishop, Todd Clear, Frank Cullen, Finn Esbensen, Chris Eskridge, Rosemary Gartner, Julie Horney, John Laub, Daniel Nagin, Raymond Paternoster, Henry Pontell, Rick Rosenfeld, Larry Sherman, Michael Tonry, Chris Uggen, John Wright

Also: Rosemary Barberet, Amanda Burgess Proctor (Division on Women and Crime Ambassador), Denise Gottfredson, Nancy Grosselfinger, Sarah Hall, Lindsey Jackson, Jerome McKean, Sally Simpson, Cindy Smith, Jeffery Walker

Meeting called to order at 12:07

Introductions

1. Welcome of New Board Members

Donna Bishop, John Wright, Ray Paternoster, Jim Lynch, Julie Horney, Bob Meier

2. Denver Meeting Report

Approximately 2,250 attended the Denver meetings. The procedures for evaluating sessions were discussed. Board members reported positive feedback from members on the overall organization of the meetings and on the plenaries, presidential sessions, and poster sessions in particular. Negative feedback from members included comments about difficulty finding some rooms in the tower section of the Adam’s MarkHotel and one complaint that Powerpoint was not available for presentations.

3. Sage Publications Presentation

Representatives from Sage Publications are seeking permission to include ASC content in their collections. The presentation emphasized the functions of the collection and the potential benefits to the ASC and the research community.

a.Features and functions of the collection highlighted during the presentation included the following: members could search on a keyword and link directly to the relevant abstract or full text in PDF format; users could browse individual journals by issue and obtain submission information about the journal.

b.Potential benefits to the ASC highlighted during the presentation included the following: our journals would gain a large number of potential new users; the ASC would gain increased incremental revenue; Sage would guarantee that ASC would not lose subscription revenue or compromise existing institutional relationships; Sage would assure that our journals remain under the complete ownership and control of the ASC; and, our journals are likely to gain increased manuscript submissions, growth in citations, and additional marketing. ASC journals would be the flagship of the most comprehensive research database dedicated to criminology, joining 18 journals (some of which are archived as far back as 1982), and other participating societies (including the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences).

c.Following the presentation, the terms of the Sage proposal were distributed to Board members. Frank Cullen referred the issue to the publications committee.

4. Division Reports

a. Division of Critical Criminology – Jeffery Walker

b. Division of Corrections and sentencing – Cindy Smith

c. Division of International Criminology - Rosemary Barbaret provided details about the membership, its dues structure, and its journal. She also requested that ASC ambassadors provide lengthier reports, that United Nations consultative status be listed on ASC letterhead.

d.Division on People of Color and Crime – Jerry McKean (for Stephanie Bush-Baskette)

e.Division of Women and Crime – no representative attending

5. Committee Reports/Business

a. Awards Committee – Hindelang Award Criteria

i. Changes to award criteria are By-Laws, requiring two votes by the Board. The Board unanimously accepted the motion that the Hindelang Award is “to be given annually for a book published within three calendar years preceding the year in which the award is made.” This change is to take effect in 2005. 

b. Constitution and By-Laws Committee – recommendation from committee.

i. The Board discussed limiting the terms of ASC officers and whether to pass such limits as part of a constitutional amendment, a change to the By-Laws, or a change to an ASC policy.

ii. The Board passed a Policy proposed by the Constitution and By-Laws Committee to limit the term of Service on the Executive Board to two terms for Executive Secretary, Treasurer, and Editor and one term for other Board positions. These limits will not extend to those who must leave office before serving the duration of their term or to those appointed to serve a partial term.

c. Publications and Proposals for Criminology – Candace Kruttschnitt

Several publishers are offering to publish ASC journals for us, including Sage, Kluwer, and Blackwell. Candace Kruttschnitt discussed the Blackwell and Kluwer proposals, describing digitization of back issues, full-text online availability, and the positive experiences of the Law and Society Review. Board members expressed some concern about signing an exclusive agreement with a publisher, our current printing contract and the price implications for individual members and institutions. Frank Cullen, Henry Pontell, and Chris Eskridge agreed to map out the relevant criteria, solicit proposals from each publisher, and seek competitors to ensure that the ASC receives the most favorable terms possible.

d. Ethics Statement

The Board discussed the issue of an ASC code of ethics and the procedures for handling ethical violations. Ray Paternoster and Todd Clear explained how allegations of ethical violations are considered in ASC journals. Several Board members expressed concern about the difficulty of enforcing any statement or policy we might make. A motion to do nothing about the code of ethics this year was passed (11 to 0, with 1 abstention).

6. CRIMINOLOGY report – Ray Paternoster

a. Of 118 manuscripts submitted, 3 were returned without review, 73 percent were rejected, 18 percent were invited to revise and resubmit, and 9 percent were conditionally accepted. Ray Paternoster noted that he strives to provide authors with decisions within 90 days of submission.

b. Because it costs approximately $10 per manuscript in mailing costs and Criminology processes approximately 300 manuscripts per year, Ray Paternoster advised consideration of an electronic submission and review process. Managing Editor Sara Bacon described the web-based submission system at www.criminology.umd.edu. Members would register online and create a unique identifier and password to submit papers, upload them, and convert them to pdf files for review. Reviewers would be sent email requesting their evaluations and those who decline will not have access to the paper. This system would assist the editor in tracking manuscripts and result in considerable savings. Authors would continue to receive hard copies of decision letters in the mail. Processing of manuscripts would begin upon receipt of the $10 submission fee.

c. The Board considered a motion to allow for electronic submission and review of Criminology manuscripts, with comments sent electronically and as hard copy. The motion passed unanimously.

d. Publication of back issues of Criminology – The Board discussed the delay in the May, August, and November 2003 issues of Criminology and the current stage of production of each issue. The Board did not wish to delay the February 2004 issue, but expressed a preference to avoid publishing the February 2004 issue until the 2003 issues are delivered.

7. Nashville Meeting

Submissions for the 2004 Nashville meeting will be online, with a deadline of March 15, 2004. The Board unanimously accepted a motion to set March 15 as the submission deadline for the annual meetings.

8. The midyear meeting will be held April 16th at3 pm and April 17th at 8 am at the Nashville Renaissance Hotel.

9. Old Business – none.

10. New Business – none.

Meeting adjourned at 3:15.