Summary of the motions
and key items discussed at the
THIRD 2000 COUNCIL MEETING
MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
for posting on the MSA Website
Attending:
William Carlson, President
John M. Ferry, Past-President
Cornelis (Kase) Klein, Vice-President
Brooks Hanson, Treasurer
David M. Jenkins, Secretary
David L. Bish, Councillor
Michael A. Carpenter, Councillor
Mark S. Ghiorso, Councillor - absent
Robert W. Luth, Councillor
Jeffrey E. Post, Councillor
Sorena S. Sorensen, Councillor
J. Alex Speer, MSA Administrator
visitors:
James Blencoe, MSA Treasurer elect
Robert Dymek, Co-Editor, American Mineralogist
Rodney Ewing, Vice-president elect
Kathryn Nagy, Councillor elect
Paul Ribbe, RiMG Series Editor
Andrea Koziol, Lattice editor (starting 2001)
John Brady, Co-editor, Geological Materials Research
Note: Motions and council action items are presented in italics;
SoC = Sense of Council, S = Second
The Third meeting of the 2000 Council of the Mineralogical Society of
America was held in the Reno Hilton Hotel, Reno, Nevada, November 12, 2000.
ITEMS
1. Call to Order
William Carlson called the meeting to order at 8:00 AM, Sunday, November
12, 2000, and welcomed those in attendance.
2. Reports with no action items or questions
R. Luth moved to accept the reports of the Reviews in Mineralogy
& Geochemistry and Monographs editor, The Lattice editor, the K-12
Outreach Committee, MSA Lecture Committee, Representatives to the Clay
Minerals Society, Gemological Institute of America, the IMA and ICDD representatives,
and reports from the chairs of the Mineral Structure, Planetary Materials,
and Teaching Mineralogy Special Interest groups; which contain no actions
or questions. S = S. Sorensen. Motion passed unanimously.
3. Secretary's report
S. Sorensen moved to accept the 2nd 2000 minutes as
amended. S = R. Luth. Motion passed unanimously.
4. Awards and Medal Recommendations for 2001 forwarded to council as motions:
(a) Roebling Medal
The committee recommends that Peter J. Wyllie be the next recipient
of the Roebling Medal. Motion passed unanimously
(b) Distinguished Public Service Award
The committee recommends that Jeffrey E. Post be the next recipient
of the Roebling Medal. Motion passed unanimously
(c) Mid-Career Award (Dana Medal) for 2002
The committee recommends that Michael F. Hochella, Jr. be the next
recipient of the Mid-Career Award (Dana Medal). Motion passed unanimously.
(d) MSA Award
The committee recommends that Peter C. Burns be the next recipient
of the MSA Award. Motion passed unanimously.
(e) Fellows
W. Carlson reviewed the Nominating Committee for Fellows actions.
The committee recommends the following eight individuals be appointed
as Fellows of the society: Michael B. Baker, Jay D. Bass, Patrick R. L.
Browne, Anastasia Chopelas, Patricia M. Dove, Thomas W. Sisson, Takamitsu
Yamanaka, and Michael E. Zolensky. The motion passed unanimously.
(f) Kraus Crystallographic Research Grant
The committee recommends that Steven D. Jacobsen receive the Kraus
Crystalloraphic Research grant award for his study of "Elasticity of single-crystal
(Mg,Fe)O and a new method for generating GHz-frequency shear waves" .
Motion passed unanimously.
(g) Mineralogy/Petrology Research Award
The committee recommends that Carlotta B. Chernoff, for the study
of the "Distribution of trace metal contents in black shales and their
metamorphic equivalents" and Kaye Sawyer Savage, for the study of "Efflorescent
uptake of trace oxyanions: effect on crystal structure and distribution"
receive Mineralogy/Petrology Research Grants. Motion passed unanimously.
(h) Exemplary Associate Editor Award
The co-editors recommend Glenn Waychunas for the Exemplary Associate
Editor Award. Motion passed unanimously.
(i) Best Paper Award
The committee recommends the paper by G. Morin, J. D. Ostergren,
F. Juillot, P. Ildefonse, G. Calas, and G. E. Brown entitled "XAFS determination
of the chemical form of lead in smelter-contaminated soils and mine tailings:
Importance of adsorption processes" American Mineralogist, 84, 420-434
(1999) be given the Best Paper Award for 1999. Motion passed unanimously.
5. Procedural issues for awards committees
It was the SoC that the committee handbook wording be changed to
emphasize that award nominations should come primarily from the membership
but that nominations can come from committee members.
6. Mid-Career Award
D. Bish moved to change the name of the Mid-Career Award to the
Dana Medal. S = J. Post. Motion passed unanimously.
7. Report of the Committee on Committees
(a) Committee on Committee recommendations:
The recommendations from the Committee on Committees for Committee
Chairs and membership for 2001 were accepted unanimously.
It was noted that chairs of the Kraus and Mineralogy/Petrology Research
Grant committees normally serve two-year terms.
(b) Meetings Committee:
It was the SoC that an individual was needed to act as a meetings
coordinator to better oversee MSAís involvement in meetings. Two individuals
were identified for the Secretary to contact about taking on this responsibility.
8. Report of the Nominating Committee for Officers:
The report of the Nominating Committee for Officers for the 2001 ballot
was discussed and the nominees were ranked for the positions of Vice President
and Council members for the Secretary to contact.
9. Report of the Management Committee:
W. Carlson reviewed the method that had been established by prior
council action concerning the adjustments in the salaries of all fulltime
MSA employees. Council accepted the recommendations of the Management Committee,
including to the promotion of J. A. Speer from Administrator to Executive
Director.
There was a brief refreshment break from 10:00 to 10:15 AM
10. Treasurerís report:
B. Hanson reviewed income and expenses in 2000 as well as endowment
transfers.
B. Hanson discussed the proposed 2001 budget.
11. Report of the Short Course Committee:
The list of all pending short courses is as follows.
For 2001;
Molecular Modeling Theory and Applications in the Geosciences which
is co-sponsored with the Geochemical society, held prior to the Goldschmidt
Conference on May 19 and 20 in Roanoke, Virginia. Conveners are Randy Cygan
and Jim Kubicki.
Stable Isotope Geochemistry will be held prior to the GSA meeting
in Boston, Massachusetts. Conveners are John W. Valley and David R. Cole.
Nanocrystals in the Environment and Technology to be held prior
to the Fall AGU meeting in Davis, California. Conveners are Jillian Banfield
and Alex Navrotsky
For 2002:
Phosphates: Geochemical, Geobiological and Materials Importance
being organized by Matthew J. Kohn, John Rakovan, and John Hughes to be
held before the GSA meeting in Denver, Colorado
Plastic Deformation and Deformation Microstructures of Minerals and
Rocks to be held in conjunction with the Fall AGU meeting. Conveners
are Shun-ichiro Karato and H-R. Wenk.
For 2003:
Biomineralization co-sponsored with the Geochemical Society
and convened by Patricia Dove, James De Yoreo, and Steve Weiner
12. Financial Advisory Committee report:
Council supports the recommendations of the FAC regarding the Roebling
Fund, namely that they approve the sale of the Delafield Institutional
and Lindner Asset Allocation Funds, the purchase of $250,000 of Strong
Bond Institutional Fund, and the use of one half the balance of the proceeds
of the sale to purchase Artisan International Fund and the other half of
the balance to purchase mid- and small-cap fund(s) to be selected by the
Chair of the FAC.
It is the SoC that Council supports the actions of the FAC and affirms
the existing policy.
13. Report of the Scientific Administrator (Executive Director):
(a) 2000 Ballot results:
S. Sorensen moved that council accept the results of the 2000 election
results and allow the ballots to be destroyed. S = J. Post. Motion
passed unanimously.
(b) XRF Workshop:
It is the SoC that other (non-Philips employee) MSA members become
involved in the organization of this workshop. The Executive Director (J.
A. Speer) is asked to investigate the workshop format and to express councilís
concerns about the commercial aspects of this workshop.
(c) Time and place of 2nd 2001 council meeting:
Council accepted the recommendation that the 2nd 2001
Council meeting be held on Saturday May 19, 2001, at Roanoke, Virginia,
in conjunction with the Goldschmidt symposium.
14. M. Carpenter commented on the MSA co-sponsored short course on Mineral
Transformations held early September at Oxford, UK.
15. MSA Lecture Program report:
(a) European lecture tour:
It is the SoC that it is pre-mature to comment on the success of
the European lecture tour since it was only mid-way through its first trial
run. Council will appreciate any comments that the coordinator (Helen Lang)
or the lecturers who are touring Europe (Rhian Jones, Ian Parsons) receive
on there experiences in Europe.
(b) Recommendations for European lecturers:
A list of names was provided by council members who may serve as possible
European lecturers.
(c) Lecture Program issues:
16. Request from Charles Geiger, MSA representative to the European Mineralogical
Union (EMU):
It is the SoC that MSA should be a co-sponsor of the Solid Solutions
workshop scheduled for June, 2001, in Kiel, Germany.
17. Report of the Publications Task Force:
(a) Recommendation #1 - Co-publishing with the Min. Soc. of Great
Britain and Ireland (MSGBI)
W. Carlson relayed some of the discussion which the Task Force had
on the issue of co-publishing a new journal on environmental mineralogy
with MSGBI.
A lunch break occurred from 12:32 - 1:35 PM
(a) Publication Task Force Recommendation #1 - continued after lunch
It is the SoC that MSA should pursue further discussions of possible
joint publication with the MSGBI of a Journal of Environmental Mineralogy.
(b) Recommendation #2 - On-line access to American Mineralogist:
Recommendation #2, forwarded as a motion from the Publication Task
Force, and which states: (a) that PDF files available for already published
Amer. Mineral. volumes be made available for downloading online; and that
PDF files for forthcoming articles be made available for downloading online
at the time of publication of the paper version, or at the time of final
acceptance if related technical issues can be resolved (cf. item (e) below);
(b) that individual members who have subscribed to the paper version for
2001 be allowed password-controlled, unlimited free access to download
these files; and that no attempt be made at this time to provide online
access to institutional (library) subscribers, preserving this access as
a member benefit; (c) that starting with the next round of membership renewals
(for 2002), members be allowed to choose among three options (prices reflect
current levels, may need revision in 2001): (i) membership ($50) + paper
journal ($30) + online access (free); (ii) membership ($50) + online access
($10) with no paper journal; (iii) membership only ($50); (d) that the
issue of providing "pay-per-download" access to the general public be resolved
by having J. Alex Speer, Jim Blencoe and Gordon Nord estimate costs and
benefits to determine whether offering this capability is worth the effort
and overhead involved; and that Council authorize in advance the implementation
of this capability, if the group recommends doing it, at the price they
recommend; (e) that the Publications Director (Vice President, see Recommendation
#3 below) work with the Amer. Mineral. (and GMR) Editors (and Brooks Hanson)
to address various technical issues concerning creation of a database,
digital object identifiers, cross-referencing, html vs. PDF, timing of
posting, etc., and that Council authorize in advance implementation of
the solutions decided upon by the Publication Director, was approved unanimously.
(c) Recommendation #3 - Publications management and strategy
Recommendation #3 forwarded as a motion from the Publications Task
Force to appoint the Vice President of the society as the Publications
Director, and as amended by Council to include a Publications Committee,
comprising individuals best suited to investigate and make recommendations
on the issues at hand on an as-needed basis, was approved unanimously.
18. Report from John Brady, co-editor of Geological Materials Research
(GMR):
It is the SoC that GMR should work with the Publications Director
to formulate an advisory board for consideration by the council.
19. Report of the Editors of American Mineralogist:
It is the SoC that the membership needs to be surveyed through
the Lattice or by an electronic (e-mail) survey seeking to identify possible
reasons for declining domestic manuscript submissions to the Amer. Mineral.
and Geol. Res. Materials and thereby determine what positive actions should
be taken to address this decline. Such surveys should be coordinated through
the Director of Publications.
20. Adding back issues of Amer. Mineral. to the on-line searchable database:
It was the SoC that this matter should be deferred to the Publications
Director and an appropriate task force for further consideration.
There was a brief refreshment break from 3:00 to 3:15 PM
21. Report from the President:
(a) Website:
W. Carlson noted that Nancy MacMillan stepped up to chair the K-12
Educational Outreach component of the website. The most recent report from
N. MacMillan is that the K-12 component is progressing well and should
be on-line shortly.
(b) On-line renewal:
Overall, there were few problems with online renewal.
(c) Declining membership:
The 2001 on-line membership renewal included a membership survey,
to which there were 133 responses. W. Carlson conveyed a preliminary report
of the survey to Council.
(d) Benefactors:
W. Carlson noted that the operations of the society relies heavily
on transfers from our endowment funds. A larger endowment would permit
greater activities.
22. Adjournment
S. Sorensen moved that the 3rd 2000 Council meeting be adjourned.
S = D. Bish. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned
at 4:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
David M. Jenkins, MSA Secretary