Committees

The Governance Committee has the authority and responsibility to oversee the administration of all aspects of the Association, including: a. administering policies concerning the Association's publications and other Association business. b. fostering affiliations with other learned societies. c. collecting and disbursing funds acquired from dues, publications, etc. d. nominating candidates for the Governance Committee. e. creating other ad hoc or standing committees as necessary, and in accordance with the provisions of Article III Section 8 herein. f. communicating with members and maintenance of the Association's web site and other aspects of its presence on the internet. g. developing guidelines and requirements for membership in the Association. h. drafting nominating and election procedures for approval by the voting membership. i. developing policies for issues regarding governance of the APT as they arise, subject to approval by the voting membership.

The Governance Committee (GC) charges the Standing Committee on Academic Freedom (SCAF) to advise it on matters pertaining to academic freedom. Specifically, we charge the SCAF with providing guidance to the GC regarding the Association’s issuance of statements on public issues, pursuant to the Policy on APT statements (as passed by the GC in 2022). SCAF will develop (and continuously review) criteria for vetting such statements and recommending whether they should be passed on to the GC for adoption. We also charge SCAF with creating programs and facilitating discussion of matters relating to academic freedom and undertaking other activities in support of members affected by violations of their academic freedom. The GC encourages SCAF to constitute and conduct itself however will best enable it to meet this responsibility.

The GC charges the SCEDI to investigate several issues relevant to the Association’s ongoing commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The GC encourages the Standing Committee to constitute and conduct itself however will best address the disproportionate service burdens experienced by many women and faculty of color. At this stage, the GC asks the Committee to: (a) address the motion passed by the Association at the 2016 business meeting, regarding the collection of demographic data from proposals and conference attendees and to consider whether and how to also collect that data from the membership at large; (b) identify potential innovations to the program itself that could further the Association’s goal of creating a more diverse and inclusive conference (including, for example, expanding the pedagogy session to include a discussion of decolonizing and diversifying syllabi, or the formation of a panel on institutional transformation that would deal with issues such as tenure and promotion procedures and the insecurity of employment experienced by many of our members, tenure track and contingent); (c) consider innovations that could appear in a document for future Program Chairs, with suggestions for constructing panels in ways that build a more diverse and inclusive program.

The GC charges the SCMPD to propose ways to revise and expand the Association’s ongoing efforts to promote the professional development and support of its members working at a diverse set of institutions in various academic positions. For instance: the committee might consider how to develop a system to match early career scholars with more senior colleagues at different institutions on the basis of shared professional interest and experience. The committee might also explore the possibility of developing conference workshops devoted to a range of topics reflecting the diverse interests of members at any stage in their career (e.g. grant writing, job market for senior scholars, publishing advice, etc.).