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Regional Chapters Committee
Report from the Regional Chapters Committee 1997
Jennifer Tebbe, Chair, reported on behalf of the Regional Chapters’ Committee: Lynn Adrian, Thomas Blues, James Farrell, Ellen Garvey, Sherry Lee Linkon, Richard Masteller, Bernard Mergen, Bruce A. Ronda, Pamela Steinle (substituting for Scot Guenter through June 1998), Louise Stevenson, Richard Tuerk, and Mari Yoshihara.
The Regional Chapters’ Committee has focused on the issue of regional boundaries. The newly revived New York Metropolitan ASA (NYMASA) regional chapter, under the leadership of Past President Sarah Chinn and current President Ellen Garvey, has developed a proposal for presentation to the ASA National Council to enlarge their boundaries. This proposal is in keeping with a recommendation made by the Task Force on Regional Chapters in 1985, which said that annexations would be considered a favored way of making regional activities accessible to members residing in dormant chapters. The boundaries previously assigned to the New York Metro ASA chapter include New York City, Long Island, and part of southern New Jersey. NYMASA has found that many attending recent chapter events and expressing interest in future chapter plans have come from areas outside these current boundaries, i.e., north of New York city and further into New Jersey. Thus, the New York Metro region requested that the Regional Chapters’ Committee consider a proposal for extending their boundaries to incorporate new zip code ranges still within commuting distance. They seek to expand “further upstate in New York—up the Hudson to approximately Hudson, though short of Albany, west out to Liberty but short of Binghamton, and further south and west in New Jersey, down to Princeton.“ The Regional Chapters’ Chair posted New York’s request on the Committee’s listserv for discussion. No objections were raised and the Committee formally endorsed New York’s expansion, enabling NYMASA to present the proposal to the ASA National Council for the annual business meeting in Washington, DC, October 29, 1997.
The Great Lakes ASA (GLASA) chapter has also expressed interest in expanding their boundaries to areas in western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. GLASA would follow the same procedures as New York Metro in developing a formal proposal and presenting it to the Regional Chapters’ Committee for endorsement to the ASA National Council.
In response to the ASA Program Committee’s request that the Regional Chapters’ Committee host a session at the 1996 Annual Meeting, the Regional Chapters’ Committee voted to sponsor an annual session on the theory, or concept, of regionalism. The Committee directed the region in which the annual ASA meeting was being held to co-sponsor the session. For the 1997 ASA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, the Chesapeake Region has organized “The Chesapeake in Early America: Beyond Old Boundaries.“ For the 1998 Annual Meeting of the ASA in Seattle, Washington, the Pacific Northwest Chapter ASA will be responsibility for co-sponsoring the chapters’ session.
In July 1997, Jeff Finlay (Administrator, American Studies Crossroads Project), with the assistance of Sara Cantwell, created a web page for the Regional Chapters’ Committee on Crossroads, linking members to the regional chapters. This resource for both individual chapters and for the American Studies community at large may be accessed at . Jeff and Sara asked regional chapter representatives for feedback about the page and for updated materials to include on the site (e.g., summaries of each region’s background, upcoming events or conferences, newsletters, and contact information for the regional chapter representative). Several regions have responded and their materials are posted on the Crossroads web page. In addition, those regions that have developed their own home pages have established links to the Crossroads Regional Chapters’ web page.
The Handbook for Regional Chapters of the ASA is updated on an annual basis. Previously, the deadline for each region to submit updated information for their regions has been June 1. Because many regions conduct such business as elections for new officers and board or council members during the summer months, the deadline for submission of materials was changed to September 30, after consultation with John Stephens. This change has resulted in a 100% submission return from the active individual chapters for the 1997-1998 Handbook. Thanks to Margo Lambert, the ASA Regional Handbook Coordinator in the ASA Washington, DC office, the 1997-1998 edition of the Handbook will appear later this year. The home page on Crossroads currently has a link to the 1996 Handbook and will incorporate the 1997 updates submitted by the individual regions this year.
At the Regional Chapters’ Annual Business Meeting in Washington, DC, on November 1, 1997, Jeff Finlay and Margo Lambert will make presentations about the Crossroads Project and regional chapters’ web site and the Handbook for Regional Chapters of the ASA. We will continue to work with the Crossroads Project in developing the chapters’ web site, individual chapters’ home pages, and the Regional Handbook, as important ways to share information about activities both for members within the regions, and for members of the broader international American Studies community.
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