News: 2012 Mid-winter Directors Meeting

The President of the Association, Stuart Curran, called the meeting of January 27, 2012 to order at 12:00 p.m. at the Penn Club in New York City. In attendance and constituting a quorum were William T. Buice III, Doucet Devin Fischer, Neil Fraistat, Robert A. Hartley, Steven E. Jones, Anthony D. Knerr, Alice J. Levine, Marsha Manns, Leslie Morris, David H. Stam, Gerald Wachs, Susan J. Wolfson, and Sarah M. Zimmerman. Sonia Hofkosh was present as a guest. The meeting began with approval of the minutes of the 2011 Annual Directors Meeting, followed by the regular reports.

Treasurer’s Report and Membership Report

(Robert A. Hartley) The Treasurer reported that the Association had received a payment from JSTOR.

He advised the Directors that the membership numbers for the current year should be read with their timing in mind since this year’s meeting occurred earlier than in the previous year. He reported that both individual and institutional subscriptions declined, with the percentage of loss in both categories higher than in previous years. He noted that the downward trend has continued. The Treasurer speculated on two possible influences: a slow decline in membership and subscriptions has taken place for ten to fifteen years, and the present year’s numbers should be read within that context. The second likely influence is an economic downturn that has placed pressure on both institutions and individuals. He mentioned that members have been sent multiple renewal notices. A Director asked whether similar institutions are experiencing comparable declines, and another Director answered in the affirmative. The President noted that the disciplinary field has changed dramatically, and that these professional shifts might also be affecting membership. Specifically, many of the scholarly periodicals associated with institutions like the KSAA have titles that suggest that they focus on canonical writers, even if their scope extends well beyond them. Another Director noted that international members are also challenged by the fees they have to pay to renew their membership. It was suggested that perhaps the KSAA should emphasize what it has to offer its members, including the Pforzheimer Grants and the annual Keats-Shelley Dinner, in addition to the Keats-Shelley Journal. Questions were raised about the appropriateness of membership rates and whether they were adequate to the services offered to members. In response, Directors mentioned the Mentoring Program and the Grants Program. It was observed that mentees are required, and contributors to the Journal are encouraged, to join. A question was raised about allowing members to pay by credit card, but it was pointed out that this would not pay for the Association since companies charge both a percentage and a monthly fee. One Director suggested that contributors, or even submitters, to the Journal should be required to join.

Questions were raised about the KSAA website, including where it is housed, the possible need to fund it, and how it is updated. Directors suggested additional means of publicizing the Association, including the possibility of sponsoring workshops at established conferences in the field of British Romanticism. It was suggested that the Association might offer bursaries to graduate students to attend the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism (NASSR) conference. Another Director pointed out that the Association could organize events around the country, in addition to New York City. The discussion concluded with the notion that the Association needs to forge working relationships with professional organizations such as NASSR and the International Conference on Romanticism (ICR).

President’s Report and Report on the Mentoring Program

(Stuart Curran) The President offered a brief eulogy for Arnold Markley, observing that he had succumbed to leukemia after fighting with the kind of nobility that amazed and humbled those who knew him. The President then went on to say that the Mentoring Program that Markley had run had been passed on to Lucy Morrison. He noted that Morrison had written to past mentors about whether they were willing to continue and suggested that she would soon have an announcement on that issue. The President mentioned that both mentors and their protégés are supposed to be Association members.

The President then turned...