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Minutes of the Annual Business Meeting
of the Society for Armenian Studies
October 20, 2000 at UCLA in Los Angeles
1. Attendance. Present were: Dr. Dennis Papazian,
President; Dr. George Bournoutian, Vice-President; Dr. Peter Cowe, Secretary;
Mr. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Dr. Robert H. Hewsen, Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian,
and Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, and around 21 members and guests.
The meeting was called to order by the President, Dr.
Dennis Papazian, at 7 p.m.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the 1999 Annual Meeting.
The minutes of last year?s, the 1999 Annual Business
Meeting, had been approved by the Executive Council at its last phone meeting
and published in the Newsletter.
3. Membership Report
Dr. Dennis Papazian reported that the Society had lost
five regular members and gained five supporting members over the year,
the current figure standing at 222 (134 regular members, 23 retired, 19
students, 45 supporting, and 1 institutional).
Records showed that 27 members had not paid dues for
three years, 59 for two years, and 52 for this year. The Executive Council
had determined to contact those who had not paid for three years to solicit
their dues.
4. Financial Report
For fuller details see the Financial Report circulated.
Dr. Dennis Papazian reported that the SAS cash in hand
as of 10/17/00 was $4,057.13. The amount was deceptively low because 2000
dues notices had only recently been sent out, and so the end of year balance
should stand at about $7,000.
Moreover, Journal expenses ($12, 610.60) were particularly
high because two numbers (10-11) had been published this year. Dr. Papazian
noted that this was the last year that half the expenses for Journal postage
and staff support could be met by the Armenian Research Center at Dearborn.
The Newsletter had again been partially subvented by
the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno, for which thanks were given.
5. Election Report
Dr. Dennis Papazian reported that the Nominations Committee
(Dr. Levon Marashlian, Dr. Levon Avdoyan, and Mr. Aram Arkun) had encountered
difficulties in locating candidates to fill the three Executive Committee
positions about to fall vacant (those of Dr. Bournoutian, Dr. Papazian,
and Dr. Russell).
The following members finally agreed to stand for election:
Dr. Houri Berberian, Dr. Levon Chorbajian, Mr. Barlow Der Mugrdechian,
and Dr. James R. Russell. Consequently, the ballots had just been sent
out.
6. Ethics Committee Report
Dr. Dennis Papazian reviewed the Executive Council?s
decision to create an ethics committee, as already set out in the Newsletter,
and circulated additional copies for members? perusal. There have
been no appeals to the Ethics Committee thus far.
7. Proposed By-Law Amendments
Dr. Dennis Papazian brought before the membership the
proposal to introduce two changes into the current By-Laws.
The first would help clarify the specific point at which
an officer?s term expires, as set out in 7.1.
7.1 The Executive Council proposed that the following
should be added to Article V, Section 2: ?The term of an Officer of the
Executive Council shall be considered to end immediately after the annual
membership meeting in the final year of the term of office, but not until
their successor is elected and takes office at the first Executive Council
meeting following the annual meeting.?
The amendment was unanimously approved.
The second amendment pertained to the procedure for effecting
a change in the Society?s By-Laws.
7.2 The Executive Council proposed that the final
sentence in Article IX be changed from:
?Amendments may also be proposed by the Executive Council
at the Membership meeting, and adopted by majority vote of members in attendance.?
To:
?Amendments may also be proposed by the Executive Council
at the Membership meeting, and adopted by a two-thirds vote of members
in attendance.?
After a lengthy discussion a consensus was reached in
interpreting the current By-Laws to mean that any proposal to change
the By-Laws must be put to a postal ballot. Thus the membership at large,
not the annual business meeting was acknowledged as the final arbiter.
Consequently, Dr. Ralph Setian moved that the By-Laws
be retained without change on this point, seconded by Dr. George Bournoutian.
The motion was carried.
8. Journal Report
Dr. Dennis Papazian submitted his resignation as editor
of the Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies following the publication
this year of volumes 10 and 11. He has seen six volumes of JSAS through
the press. He solicited recommendations from the floor of suitable
candidates who might be approached to assume the responsibility.
Dr. Papazian appealed to the Society to garner increased
subsidies for the Journal, as an annual subvention of $3,000-4,000 was
required to cover production costs.
Discussion: It was suggested that appeal be made to the Lincy Foundation and Cafesjian Foundation.
9. Secretariat Report
Dr. Dennis Papazian reported that the Armenian Research
Center at the University of Michigan, Dearborn was not in a position to
continue to act as the Society?s Secretariat and broached the topic of
finding another venue.
Discussion: The possibility of relocating the secretariat
to California State University, Fresno was raised. In the ensuing deliberation
on the function and responsibilities of the secretariat Mr. Barlow Der
Mugrdechian re-addressed the question of producing a SAS procedures manual
to clarify the role of the secretariat and officers of the Executive Committee
in order to ease the transition to new personnel.
10. Nominations Committee
Miss Gia Aivazian, Dr. R. Hrair Dekmejian, and Dr. Ralph
G. Setian accepted nomination from the floor for the 2001 nominations committee
and were approved by acclamation.
11. Nominations From the Floor
For the 2001 Executive Committee election, the following
were nominated from the floor and accepted nomination: Mr. Garabet
K. Moumdjian and Dr. Victoria Rowe. Two guests present, Dr. Bert Vaux and
Dr. Christina Maranci, also accepted nomination after agreeing to become
members. Their sponsors paid their membership dues immediately. Their
applications will be considered at the next Executive Council meeting.
12. Newsletter Report
Mr. Barlow Der Mugrdechian noted that three issues of
the Newsletter, each of twelve pages, had been published this year at a
total cost of $1,821.02. These issues had also been mounted on the
World Wide Web, and were accessible via the Fresno State Armenian Studies
Program website.
Mr. Der Mugrdechian gave notice that next year would
be his last as Newsletter editor, so that the search for a replacement
could begin. At the prompting of Dr. Dekmejian all present joined
in a vote of thanks to Mr. Der Mugrdechian in recognition of his excellent
service to the Society as Newsletter editor.
13. New Business
13.1 Retirees? Dues. Dr. Dennis Papazian proposed the Society consider raising the annual dues for retired members from $15 to $25. It was moved formally by Dr. George Bournoutian, seconded by Dr. Levon Marashlian, and approved.
13.2 Roster of Members
After discussing the pros and cons of producing an online
roster, it was agreed that the current secretariat would produce one final
printed version within the next few months.
13.3. Panels
The following suggestions were made from the floor for
possible panels at MESA or other scholarly conferences over the next year:
.1) Issues relating to Armenian Identity (possibly alphabet/translation/nationhood)
.2) Topics relating to the Armenian Alphabet
.3) The Modern Politics of the Armenian Genocide (e.g.
as relating to U.S. Foreign Policy; Kurdish and Greek perspectives.)
.4) The Situation of the Armenians of Jerusalem
.5) Post-Soviet Armenian Literature
.6) The Comparative Experience of Diaspora (in conjunction
with Iranians, etc.)
14. Hospitality
The president, Dr. Dennis Papazian, offered the Society?s
grateful thanks to Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian for his kind hospitality
in taking care of the local arrangements for the annual business meeting
and providing an appropriate venue and refreshments.
15. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted,
S. P. Cowe, Secretary
