Annual ANHS Executive Council Meeting 2014October 17, 2014. 6 – 9 pm Brocah Pub, Madison, WI

Called to order at 6:14Present: Jessica Vantine-Birkenholz, John Metz, Teri Allendorf, Mary Cameron, Keshav Bhattarai , Jana Fortier, Bill Fisher, Sienna Craig, Steve Folmer, Geoff Childs, Sya Buryn KedziorAbsent: Mark Turin, Debarti Sen, Paul KaranSecretary: Sya Buryn Kedzior

1. Approval of minutes March and September 2014 - unanimous

2. Review of 2014 – Mary Cameron Record year for ANHS – both in terms of income and spending; leaving a projected

negative net balance of ~$2k HIMALAYA is on track for semi-annual regular production and open-access launch Budget: more income than usual this year, but also more expenditures; Minimal revenue

from Yale conference; Member recruitment efforts: Mary contacted lapsed members; Steve contacted

prospective members; we want to keep the members and contacts on Wild Apricot below 500 – if it is above that number, then $100/mo rather than $50/mo.

Bookkeeper: Judith is doing a terrific job, but is expensive, considering the amount of Wild Apricot entering and fixing of old records, but she charges in 1-hour allotments, so please don’t CC her, or contact Mary or Steve first if you need to reach out to her for something

Institutional Members: We have fewer institutional members than comparable groups/counterparts

3. Goals and Objectives 2015a. KRC sustainability:

Ongoing academic programs: Monohari has identified two (2) we might be able to work with.

Jana: How is word about rooms being circulated, because they seem to be underused; perhaps we could but photos on the internet.

John: There is an opportunity to work with Madison for Nepal Study Abroad, but insurance issues are key and may be expensive.

Mary: We could also look into possibility of language study and support of graduate fieldwork though CAORC

KRC could receive memberships in Nepal, because Nepalis have difficulty getting the money here (and could pay through KRC)

Perhaps we could consider decreased fees or institutional/embassy support from Nepal; Twice, the US embassy in Kathmandu supported summer programs, provided we spend it locally. Discussion of $10k request from Embassy – Teri will meet with Manohari and Susan from Embassy public Affairs.

Jana: Should Heather, as head of grants committee be in on this? Heather: Teri and I will talk.

1

Keshav – What do I do if I go to Kathmandu? Mary: COARC invoiced us for 3k – We didn’t know there was an annual

membership, but we did get $12k grant in 2011; We are the poorest of the COARC overseas research centers; Mary is requesting an exemption for one year because we just had startup costs, will try to milk for two years.

Depending on what grant committee wants to do: traditional language programs or Department of State workshops; could also ask for partial salary or rent. Mary will also ask COARC about Hindi funding from Dept of State since it is one of their “critical” languages. Mary will circulate info on these grants and other opportunities/embassies/programs/regional conferences. Department of Education grant is coming up again soon, we will try again after applying in 2012.

b. Institutional Memberships: Mary: Did email invitation develop any new institutional memberships? Heather: Can we create a list of prospective institutional members? Mary: Yes, Steve has it. The personal touch works, and this is what we need to do

– to reach out. Geoff: The way we increased by 10 members before was to identify someone you

know in a program (Area studies works well), very successful the first time around.

Mary: Toronto should have been a member, for example, but we can add a lot more to it. But, do ask your own institutions. Even 10 new institutional members would produce $3k.

c. Journal Fund: See below

d. Book Prize: See below

4. Treasurer’s report – Bill Fishera. 2015 budget – review; VOTE to approve after items 5-7 votes completed, or hold to

Dec 2014 Bill: Seconds what Mary said about Judith; Our accounts are in better shape than

they have every been so we can actually see where the money is going. 2013 was record on both accounts, but not surprising given the year we had. If

you look at assets, as per last tele-meeting, we wrote off old assets. $27k in bank accounts, so even with losses there is some money in the bank. For 2015 proposed budget, projecting without overly questioning revenue/

expense lines, projected total revenue of $41,743 and total expenses of $33,995. This doesn’t include everything, but is significantly less than the $60k from 2013. But, the assets will reduce as we make decisions in today’s meeting.

Heather: we made $90 (total) on the processing fee (for fellowship application); Is it worth it, considering the trouble?

Mary: Significantly less fees this year (easily 70%), usually more. Perhaps many applicants were members, who do not pay fee.

John: Policy is that EC members cannot apply for that grant? Mary: No. John: I think that we should. Mary will put this on a future agenda.

2

Heather: What is the $10k on language training for? Mary: Actually it is $5k in projected revenue from having the language programs. Steve: But you’re asking why you think we’ll get 5k? Jana: estimates should be based on prior year’s income, so we should remove from projections. Mary: But then we’d be approving budget with negative net. Bill: We don’t want to take it on face value, but the budget references expectations from Manohari that he can produce $5k for us.. Heather: So, this is a goal? Bill: Yes, and we should be alert to it throughout the year.

Mary: We also did not reflect an increase in membership dues in the projected budget. Notes are on the budget that explain Menohari’s projections. So, membership is a conservative number. If you want to commit to raising institutional membership , then we can add that as well. HEATERH: This is a good way to set goals for ourselves. MARY: Should we add institutional members to #7? GEOFF: No, language training is a different issue than inst membership, which we should include in budget.

Mary will be asking embassy for $10k. Heather: Do you think $250 is appropriate amount for Bista prize? Jessica: Yes.

Heather: I like to see more for students. Mary: it used to be only $100, so this represents an increase.

Mary: The KRC expenses also came very late in the year, so it created an unexpected deficit. More questions on the budget? No.

5. HIMALAYA – Sienna Craig and Mark Turina. Open access beginning Jan 1, 2015 / vol. 34(2) or 35(1)

Sienna: We’ve been online since vol. 33(1), but what’s happening now is the question of increasing membership dues to offset the expenses of layout, etc. Things are a little more expensive than hoped, each issue should now only cost us $500 (for cover alone).

b. $20 fee for print copy Now, without the cost of printing and mailing, the journal should cost us $2k per

issue. $3.50-5 per journal to print, plus $3-5 to mail, so about $20 per person to print and mail. It will actually cost more, but that is an amount that we are comfortable proposing to change.

Mark is pursuing subventions from UBC, so we are not reliant on Dartmouth. Next journal steps: We are in the midst of laying out vol. 34(2), in keeping with

moving away from photos of people and into other media. Already hard at work on 35(1), which may come out in June, rather than May, because of Dartmouth invoicing at the end of the fiscal year.

What we’ve asked from Mary and ANHS is to use 2015 as experiment, if ANHS could contribution $1k per issue ($2k per year) toward the issue while the subvention lasts. If we can do $20 for print copy we should be well on our way to covering costs of not just production.

Vol. 35 will be an omnibus issue with interesting content. Still getting interesting proposals for special issues and could use more proposals for omnibus issues. If you hear a good paper that would be a good fit for journal please give them flyer.

3

We are trying to have one thing in the hard copy of the journal that is launched more extensively online in a photo essay.

Heather: The 20 is in addition? Sienna: Yes. Heather: Could someone write and request a single journal then? Sienna: No, too difficult to track. Members will receive a few copies before being asked for the $20, so perhaps members will decide to keep paying for the print issue.

Heather: Can we create a new membership category that includes $20 fee/year, rather than having it be an add-on? Teri: What about $20/volume? We’ll cover all costs, and discourage people from getting the print issue. Sienna: Now, we are printing with print-on-demand press, so the cost of printing does not change with number of copies. We still need gratis copies for authors. $20 gives cushion for gratis copies. We could increase this to $20 per journal to provide that cushion. Geoff: I would no go higher than $20 since this is what we discussed with the membership. Heather: Will institutional members receive the print copy? Sienna: Yes, so that is an additional cost. Library subscriptions are $110 per year or issue (outside U.S.; $95 in U.S.), and those need hard copies as well, otherwise with open access they would no longer pay. So, no matter what, we would print 100 copies per journal.

Heather: Proposes to increase $25 per year for fee. Mary: $3,600 in subscriptions goes to association operating budget, but that needs

to change. Jana: EBSCO puts it online? Sienna: No, Macalester hosts through Digital Commons.

Sienna: We’re looking at $4,500-4,700 per issue for everything. The bill will come in 2015. Sienna: Journal coffers can get vol. 34(1) out the door; We would like to make the change by late spring. Mary: Could vol. 34(2) be the first? Sienna: No, it is still going to cost us $2000 at least. If we ask members at this meeting to create a new category of membership with print subscription in January then we start to produce revenue before vol. 35(1). Mary: Yes, we have a lot of members renewing here at the end of 2014. Sienna: So, members who just renewed or joined would continue to get print copy for next year. The change would be effective on their renewal date. Bill: We need to think about increasing the membership fee, so that people who opt out opt out of higher fee, and not old fee with fewer services.

Mary: How much should membership go up then? Jessica: How do we present this? Presenting it as an opt-out is different than

additional service. Sienna: There is no difference in mailing fees if 100 members vs 200 in per-issue

mailing costs if members choose to mail print copy. Vol. 34(2) is already accounted for in budget. Bill: So, for the next two (2) months fees from anyone who pays for the print journal would be income? Sienna: Yes, and then we would pay the bill in 2015. Now, no one is paying for their printing and shipping, that way at least some people would be paying for their printing/shipping.

Mary: Proposing for vote that effective November 1st, we institute “print additional” option of $25/year for print copy.

4

Geoff: Motion – For renewal membership, print copy of HIMALAYA is not automatic, but we create an option for $25/year print membership – UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

Mary: Calculating potential new income from this vote – estimate 140 members x $25 = $3,500 income for 2015 budget

Sienna: We need to figure out how this gets apportioned to HIMALAYA. c. Journal fund

Mary: Do we increase 2015 budget for journal expenses? Sienna: $7k previous estimate incorrect, now $4,500-4,700. Mary: $7k estimate

based on 2013 costs, minus printing and mailing. Sienna: Now we know $4,500-$4700 expense per issue, so the estimate on the

2015 budget should be closer to 9k. MARY: Add $8,000 into journal expenses for 2015 to reflect lower costs of

printing and mailing. PROPOSAL TO AMEND BUDGET EXPENSE BY $3,500 income for 2014 for

40 members. VOTE: Cessation of automatic print copy by Jan 1.

i. How much from $10K savings for initial investment in journal fund? $2K? Mary: We need to start saving for the journal if Dartmouth and others

don’t continue to fund. We want to roll over some money into a journal fund or investment account.

Heather: Is this in addition to $25 membership funds? Yes. Teri: Is this common practice among other institutions and journals?

Mary: No, their membership fees are higher. Geoff: So, $12k would build up by $25 by the end of subvention, which is

enough for 2-3 issues. Heather: Should we perhaps approve (i) [journal fund] and hold off on (ii) [monthly contribution] until we see the $25 charge? Sienna: We cant think of the $25 as revenue.

JANA: What about advertisements (WWF or SIT.cornell)? We don’t want to be commercial, but perhaps [certain advertisements would be considerable]. Mary: Eventually, it would be good to have the journal self-sustain and feed funds into to association. Sienna: What do we want journal to be in next iterations? All EC members, not just editors, should be looking for more revenue. Mary: Is there any way to pay less? Sienna: No, someone still has to design it, program it, do layout & the artwork. Still costs, costs for different things online than in print, but still costs, and these costs cant go away.

ii. How much monthly contribution? $100/month? Example: initial 2K + 100/monthly @ 5% for 5 years, compounded quarterly = $9333 Heather: What percentage of our members are international? 25%? What

is better $2k investment or commitment to 100/mo Sienna: We need to start a fund. We could wait until May meeting to see

what budget looks like, but this needs to happen soon. Bill: We are voting to take $2k from savings, plus $100/mo from savings

to invest. This is in addition to the $3,500 income from journal. In time, $10k would be there at the end of 5 years. Subvention runs out in 2.5

5

years. If none other is forthcoming... it is not enough to keep journal sustainable. Grants, ads, etc is all necessary. The investment just buys a bit of extra time.

Geoff: We need to crunch numbers and see what we need. Bill: There is no point in delaying the investment, it will make it harder in

six months. Teri: But the funds are not tied to the journal, it is just an investment fund

that could be used for something else. Sienna: Commitment from the association to fund the journal is important,

even if it won’t cover all of the costs. Heather: Part of the vote must be to revisit the fund question every year. Geoff MOTIONS: Provide a journal fund with an initial $2k plus

another $100/mo to fund the journal and on an annual basis we will review the monthly amount of the fund and the purpose of its use.

VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL6. Membership Committee – Steve Folmar (Wild Apricot review)

a. Totals Mary: Normally we review memberships, but we are running out of time... Steve: 347 members (Wild Apricot count), 15 institutions (Not Wash U and

listing Carolina twice); US faculty = 114, Students in U.S. = 73, Members outside the U.S. = 80, “Independents” = 33... probably not entire membership reflected in these numbers.

Developed list of 571 prospective members; a smattering of people responded. In Nepal, 5-6 want membership, but cant pay. If they pay through wild apricot, Paypal increases membership fee from $25 to $60 because of foreign funds. Manohari could collect fees and membership funds should come to us for proper recording.

Jana: Any institutional memberships in Kathmadu? Steve: I think no. Jana: Something for Manohari to work on.

b. Increase institutional memberships – set a target of additional 10 = $3000 Steve: Increasing institutional membership by 10 would increase us to 24-25

members, with $3k more income. Will send to EC spreadsheet for institutional contacts.

c. Lifelong membership - $750 or $1000. Tie to new book prize? VOTE Heather: Motions $1,500 with journal [open discussion] VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

d. Increase membership fee - $30/$50, $30/$55, or $30/$60/ VOTE Steve: To do this at the same time as journal fee may be asking a little much. Teri: We have good reasons to raise fees now, and to trickle these out is just as

problematic. Bill: There has to be a communication plan that points out how much more the

organization is doing and how much more they are getting. We would announce now that a membership increase is coming, but we are putting it off for another year.

6

Mary: We have, as the board recognized and discussed, all of these increased costs, and despite increasing expenses for forthcoming year are voting to not increase fee.

Mary: Moves we not increase fees VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

e. Decrease non-US membership from $60 to new (50, 55, or 60) -VOTE Mary: The decreased cost reflects reduced mailing fee. Sienna: Motion to decrease. Jana: Why reduce? Costs are going up and to reduce at this point, then we

foreclose future options. NO VOTE TAKEN

f. Decrease Asian fees – Institutional (0)/Faculty, Independent (22)/Student (7) rates $300/$40/$25 to $200/$40/$15 VOTE Heather: Motion to not vote [general discussion] Geoff: We can’t lose by lowering fees, we have no Asian institutional members,

and $25 is a lot for Asian students. We currently have 7 student members and 22 independent/faculty.

Mary: Manohari will work out payment in rupees. Bill: Moves that we decrease Asian fees to $200 institutional, $15 students,

and leave faculty at the same rate. VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

7. Grants and Awards – Jessica Birkenholtza. Book prize – VOTE

Jessica: DDBista: 4 submissions (plus 1 incomplete and after deadline), more contentious this year with many good submissions; Winner = Jacob

Jessica: Proposes idea of having book prize for unpublished manuscript, such as AIIS, if we can find the monies. Heather: You are looking at unpublished, we also discussed possibility of published book prize in name of distinguished author. Grants and Awards committee would need to start by raising funds.

Mary: We could approve this idea in principle and pursue funding and naming opportunities. Must be an endowment through an institution. Jana: Cathy said Cornell might, if it was in their name. Heather: Two-stage process with 2015 low funding, and spend next year trying to endow it at a higher level.

Heather: Moves that we have an ANHS book prize and will return to vote on this later.

VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL8. Communications and Grants Committee – Heather Hindman

Heather: Established a new website, despite bumps and bruises. Need from EC and membership: We’re finally able to receive information. We’re now ready to receive data (syllabi and media, posting new book releases, new articles, announcements, etc, sent to Heather). We have a forum that is public. The website is being updated regularly (daily for now).

Mary: The Grants committee will be working on securing a grant for KRC, and we all want to help in that process. CAORC has been very late in getting those announcements to me, with deadlines for the day following announcements.

7

Heather: UT-Austin is planning on hosting HSC4 Leap into the Himalayas February 26-28, 2016.

9. Conference Committee- Geoff Childs TERI, SYA and DEBRATI were members. Teri got info out for South Asia Madison conference panels; circulated available

funding. Geoff is beginning to circulate off of EC after 8 years of service. And is willing to

serve again after mandatory 2 years off. Teri will step up to Chair conference committee. Also, it is John’s last year, after 22 years of service.

10. New EC membersa. Student rep – VOTE (if for 2 years must amend constitution)

Galen Murton Steve: Motions that one member, and only one member, may be a student (not

increasing overall EC membership) VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL John: Motions that Galen Murton be nominated as student EC member VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL Pasang Sherpa has agreed to be new EC member Sienna: Motions to elect Pasang Sherpa VOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

b. Electronic voting on amendments – VOTE

Sienna: Moves to approve 2015 budget w/ all changesVOTE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL

Adjourned at 6:14

8