SUMMARY OF THE DECEMBER 2020, ASOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
The ASOR Board held its regular winter meeting last Wednesday (December 16, 2020). The agenda was full, with many important items. The most important decision was the unanimous vote to approve the new name, “The American Society of Overseas Research).” See the notice by Sharon Herbert.
The Board also had other important discussions and votes; those items are summarized below:
- Election of new trustees and officers:
- Elected a new Treasurer: Dr. Emily Miller Bonney was elected for a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2021. Emily is a current ASOR Trustee member of ASOR’s Finance Committee, and she is Professor of Liberal Studies and Dean Pollak Library at California State Fullerton. Emily has previously worked as an attorney, with experience in financial cases.
- Appointed a new Board-elected trustee: Alex MacAllister, Regional Manager for MacAllister Machinery, was elected to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Class of 2022. A graduate of Purdue University, with a degree in organizational leadership and supervision, he also studied the ancient world and archaeology. He has traveled and studied in Turkey, Jordan, and several countries in the Mediterranean.
- Elected for another three-year term (Class of 2023), the following Board-elected Trustees: Peggy Duly, Susan Laden, W. Mark Lanier, Joe D. Seger.
- Welcomed Trustees elected by the membership and institutional representatives: Theodore Burgh (re-elected by membership), Melissa Bailey Kutner (first term, elected by membership), Carol Meyers (re-elected by institutional representatives), and Jason Ur (first term, elected by institutional representatives).
- Said thank you and farewell (for now) to outgoing trustees: Sheila Bishop, Joe Greene, Heather McKee, and Eric Welch.
- Treasurer’s Report and Financial Matters
- Received a clean audit for Fiscal Year 2020 (link).
- Reviewed the Fiscal Year Budget-to-actual, showing a $5,000 operating loss—would have been an $8,000 surplus if not for several adjusting entries for overstatements in Books from prior years.
- Established new named endowment accounts: formally approved guidelines and policies for the Herbert Mason Fund and a Board-Designated Building Fund.
- Increased ASOR’s endowment distribution rate: voted to increase distribution percentage from 3.5% to 5.0%, based on averages from the last 12 quarters. The increased distribution follows reaching a market level of $1.5 million for the Endowment for Operations.
- Reviewed and discussed new financial oversight and services provided by Todd Mann Management Group and Charity CFO.
- Discussion of the future of the Annual Meeting
- Received written and oral reports from ASOR staff and Program Committee Co-chairs, Dr. Helen Dixon and Dr. Allison Thomason. It was reported that the Virtual Annual Meeting has 1085 registrants from 39 countries and six continents.
- Reviewed finances of the Virtual Annual Meeting: Board Members discussed a report from Andy Vaughn that detailed the lower revenues and increased expenses that will likely make the VAM $70,000 unfavorable compared to the in-person meeting in San Diego. The estimate is that the VAM will be $85,000 unfavorable compared to the forecasts for a Boston Meeting.
- Discussed two components (virtual and in-person) for the 2021 Annual Meeting. The in-person component will be held in Chicago over the normal dates, and the virtual component will take place online three weeks later.
- Affirmed Annual Meeting Scholarships: It was announced and discussed that full or partial scholarships would be available for any member with a need to attend either or both components of the 2021 Annual Meeting.
- Discussion and affirmation of Carbon-neutrality Goal for Annual Meeting
- Goal of being carbon-neutral for the Annual Meeting by 2025. The Board received the recommendation from President Sharon Herbert, Executive Director Andy Vaughn, and the Program Committee that ASOR set a goal of having our Annual Meeting be carbon-neutral by 2025.
- President Herbert announced that she would form an ad hoc committee to study the topic and make recommendations for actualizing the goal.
- Board members were supportive of setting this as an aspiration goal, and several members noted the cultural environment and the natural environment face threats from adverse, human-induced climate change. It was observed that many of ASOR members make a common cause to protect both together, and that carbon-neutrality is strategically important for thinking of what ASOR should be when we enter the 2nd quarter of the 21st century.
- Discussion of ASOR Online Resources
- ASOR Board Members received a lengthy written report from Andy Vaughn that outlined extensive updates to the ASOR website for photo collections, maps, and educational resources.
- ASOR Photo Collections: Over 500 images are now available.
- ASOR Map Collection
- Educational Resources
- Board Members discussed ways to further enhance online resources. Members who have contributed images and other resources were thanked, and everyone was encouraged to recruit support for these crowd-sourced collections.
- ASOR Board Members received a lengthy written report from Andy Vaughn that outlined extensive updates to the ASOR website for photo collections, maps, and educational resources.
- Discussion of Cultural Heritage Initiatives
- Libya projects: ASOR currently has four modest grants for work in Libya. 10 colleagues from Libya participated in the VAM, and there are updates on the ASOR website. Click here to watch the presentation by Ms. Intisar Elarebi of the Libyan Department of Antiquities on “Museums in a Suitcase: Recent Successes and Future Prospects.”More presentations from the VAM by ASOR’s Libyan colleagues will be posted on the ASOR website in the upcoming weeks.
- Shepard Urgent Action Grants: the first project, the Tabira Gate Stabilization Project at Ashur, is complete. The project involved emergency construction of mudbrick to stabilize the gate as well as community outreach and health and safety measures for all who participated. Click here to read the report from the Tabira Gate Project. A second proposal is under consideration.
- Regional approach: ASOR has made several proposals for extending the initiatives in Libya to other countries in North Africa. All of the proposals include strong participation and partnership with local stakeholders and civil society groups.
