MINUTES OF THE SECOND 2003 COUNCIL MEETING

Summary of the motions and key items discussed at the

SECOND 2003 COUNCIL MEETING OF THE

MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

for posting on the MSA website

Attending:
Douglas Rumble, III, President
Rodney Ewing, Past President — absent
Michael Carpenter, Vice-president
James Blencoe, Treasurer
David Jenkins, Secretary
Craig Manning, Councillor
Kathryn Nagy, Councillor
Nancy Ross, Councillor — absent
Peter Heaney, Councillor
Rebecca Lange, Councillor — absent
Barb Dutrow, Councillor
J. Alex Speer, MSA Executive Director

Note: Motions and council action items are presented in italics; SoC = Sense of Council, S = Second

The Second meeting of the 2003 Council of the Mineralogical Society of America was held in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education building at the University of Georgia, Athens Georgia, June 7, 2003.

ITEMS

1. Call to Order

President Rumble called the meeting to order at 8:40 AM, Saturday, June 7, 2003, and introduced the members of council. He briefly reviewed the agenda.

2. Secretary’s report

P. Heaney moved to accept the minutes of the Third 2002 Council Meeting, First 2003 Council Meeting, and 2002 Annual Business Meeting. S = K. Nagy. Motion passed unanimously.

3. Reports with no action items or questions

B. Dutrow moved to accept the reports of the Nominating Committee for Officers, Benefactors Committee, American Mineralogist Editorial Office and Editors, Best Paper Award Committees (2000 and 2002), Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry and Monograph Series Editor, Lattice Editor, Handbook of Mineralogy Editor, Short Course Committee, Database sub-committee of Outreach Committee, Lecture Program Administrator, Roebling Medal committee, MSA Award Committee, Distinguished Public Service Award Committee, Nominating Committee for Fellows, Crystallographic Research Grant Committee, Mineralogy/Petrology Grant Committee, MSA Representative to AGI, CMS, GIA, IMA, and ICDD, and the Special Interest Group on Mineral Structures and Pegmatite which have no action items or questions. S = M. Carpenter. Motion passed unanimously.

4. Review of Executive Committee Actions

D. Rumble noted the following issues that were dealt with (primarily by e-mail) by the Executive Committee:

(a) An Investment Policy Statement was developed to accompany the transfer of MSA funds in December, 2002, to Wachovia Financial Management.

(b) Bradley Hacker, Jill Dill Pasteris, and David Vaughan were approved as the speakers for the 2003-2004 MSA Distinguished Lecture Program.

(c) Additional items noted included the promotion of Ms. A. Hunter to Administrative Assistant level II, page limitations as a way of cutting costs for publication of RiMG volumes, approval of the list of officer nominees for 2003, appointment of Christine Clark to the Outreach (Database) Committee, appointment of Michael Holdaway as chair of the Financial Advisory Committee, appointment of J. G. Liou as chair of the Nominating Committee for Fellows, acceptance of the resignation of Johan de Villiers as chair of the Industrial Mineralogy Special Interest group, and that the Dana Medal presentation this year will be moved to the GSA Annual meeting in Seattle, Washington.

It was the SoC that MSA should ask recipients of the Dana Medal (and other award winners) if (a) they will agree to accept the award and deliver the lecture at the venue MSA has chosen and (b) if the medalist or awardee does not want to choose a citationist, that MSA would choose one in consultation with the honoree, as is current practice.

(d) D. Rumble reviewed the request by Elsevier that American Mineralogist participate in the virtual journal "Experimental Petrology", edited by Don Dingwell.

(e) D. Rumble also mentioned that Christian Chopin from the European Journal of Mineralogy and Ecole Normal Superiere has proposed the idea of a virtual journal of Environmental Mineralogy.

5. Treasurer’s Report.

J. Blencoe briefly reviewed the criteria that are used in establishing the MSA membership dues and subscription rates for the Amer. Mineral..

B. Dutrow moved to adopt the membership and subscription rates for 2004 as proposed by the Treasurer, which sets the 2004 membership dues at $55/yr for regular members $5/yr for students, and the membership subscription rate for the paper version of the American Mineralogist at $40/yr (which includes on-line access to Amer. Mineral.). Institutional subscription rates are set at $625/yr for domestic and $650/yr for foreign subscribers . Both professional and student members can gain electronic access (only) to the journal for $10/yr. S = P. Heaney. Motion passed unanimously.

6. Report on Membership and Subscription Rates and Financial Affairs

A. Speer reviewed and discussed several items relating to the membership and financial affairs of the society. These included (a) reporting the membership statistics for the society, which has a total membership of 1923 as of March, 31, 2003, and the institutional subscriptions, which stand at 791 as of the same date, (b) reporting that book sales are strong, (c) reviewing the status of the society's funds, (d) reporting that placing the funds into the investment firm of Wachovia Securities has worked well, and (e) discussing the cost of various aspects of publishing the American Mineralogist in view of possibly joining the electronic publishing consortium GeoScience World.

A coffee break was taken from 10:00 — 10:20 AM.

7. Report of the Committee on Committees

M. Carpenter reviewed the process by which the list of committee nominees was selected by the Committee on Committees. Discussion ensued on various issues, including the status of the Arts Council.

It was the SoC that Chuck Weiss and John Rakovan should be thanked for their service on the Arts Council, to notify them that Council will retire the committee from active duty, and to preserve the Arts Council for future use when the need arises.

M. Carpenter reviewed the Special Interest Groups and noted that Johan de Villiers resigned from the Industrial Mineralogy special interest group.

C. Manning moved to abolish the Industrial Mineralogy Special Interest Group in view of the recent resignation of the chair of this interest group. S = P. Heaney. Motion passed unanimously.

8. Report from the Publications Director

(a) M. Carpenter reviewed the deliberations that occurred among the MSA Executive Committee members and Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (RiMG) Series Editor search committee concerning the search for an individual to replace Paul Ribbe, who is retiring as Series Editor.

B. Dutrow moved to appoint Jodi J. Rosso as the new Series Editor of the Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry series. S = J. Blencoe. Motion passed unanimously.

(b) Discussion ensued on the number of RiMG volumes that MSA should publish per year and the financial implications that these publications have for the society.

It is the SoC that council should consider both the scientific aspects and the page length of any proposed RiMG volume.

It is the SoC that there be no formal limit on the number of RiMG volumes that are published per year, but that the number of volumes and the total number of pages that are being published be subject to the approval of the RiMG Series Editor and Council.

B. Dutrow moved that the Treasurer should be appointed as a member of the Short Course Committee to consider the financial aspects and underlying costs of publishing the RiMG volumes. S = P. Heaney. Motion passed unanimously.

M. Carpenter moved that all proposals for RiMG volumes should specify the approximate number of pages in their preliminary proposal. S = B. Dutrow. Motion passed unanimously.

B. Dutrow moved to appoint Jodi J. Russo as Editor of the MSA Monograph Series with the understanding that A. Speer and the Publications Director are available for discussions of new proposals before reporting to Council for decision. S = B. Dutrow. Motion passed unanimously.

Council recessed for a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:10 PM.

9. MSA Representative to the International Mineralogical Association (IMA)

Council confirmed the appointment of Charles Prewitt as MSA Representative to the IMA to succeed Charles Burnham.

10. Distinguished Lecture Program Coordinator

D. Rumble recommended that the Committee on Committees, in cooperation with Helen Lang, be charged with the responsibility of finding a new Lecture Program Coordinator when Helen Lang's term is complete.

11. Financial Advisory Committee (FAC)

Council discussed the activities of the FAC.

C. Manning moved to change the term of service for members of the Financial Advisory Committee from six to three years. Members would be eligible for re-appointed to additional terms if approved by council. S = B. Dutrow. Motion passed unanimously.

12. Report of the Vice-President on the status of MSA Committees

M. Carpenter reviewed the results of his contacts with committee chairs after assuming the position of Vice President. M. Carpenter suggested that the next Vice President be urged to contact the chairs of all of the committees as it proved to be a good experience.

13. Investment Policy Statement

D. Rumble directed council’s attention to the Investment Policy Statement that was adopted by the Executive Committee on December 12, 2002 and noted that the MSA funds have been transferred to Wachovia.

14. Best Paper Award

A. Speer reviewed the history and current status of the two current MSA Best Paper Award committees.

15. Third 2003 Council meeting

K. Nagy moved to have the Third 2003 Council meeting on Saturday, November 1, 2003, at Seattle Washington in conjunction with the annual Geological Society of America Meeting. The MSA Management Committee would be held Friday afternoon or evening on October 31, 2003. S = D. Jenkins. Motion passed unanimously.

16. Report of the MSA Meetings Coordinator

(a) Discussion ensued on the topic of travel expenses and whether or not the Second 2004 Council meeting should be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in conjunction with the Goldschmidt Conference.

(b) Council considered the Meeting Coordinator’s list of nominees for the purpose of identifying a person who would be an additional MSA organizer to the 2004 Goldschmidt Conference in Copenhagen.

(c) D. Rumble drew council’s attention to the Planetary Materials Interest Group concern about the location and timing of the spring meetings.

17. Publication of the book Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology by Tony Philpotts

M. Carpenter reviewed the request from Tony Philpotts to publish the book Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology.

K. Nagy moved that MSA should not publish the book Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology by Tony Philpotts. S = P. Heaney. Motion passed unanimously.

18. AllenTrack system for reviewing and submitting manuscripts

Discussion ensued by council on the status of manuscript reviewing and submission using the AllenTrack system.

19. Establishing a policy on the spend-out limit for the Roebling Fund.

D. Rumble introduced the topic of establishing a spend-out limit for the Roebling Fund by reviewing the fiscal policy used by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Discussion ensued on current spending practices and whether or not monthly monitoring and adjustment of the investment fund spending limits should be made.

It is the SoC that D. Rumble, J. Blencoe, and A. Speer should be charged with devising a system to monitor the total dollar value of each investment Fund on a monthly basis to provide information to council to help make future fiscal decisions.

20. Relocation of the MSA Business Office

A. Speer reviewed the current status of the Business Office (located at 1015 18^th Street, NE, Suite 601, Washington, DC) and that the lease expires in August, 2005.

It is the SoC that the Executive Director, J. Alex Speer, is encouraged to consider all possibilities, including remaining at the same location, relocating within Washington DC, or moving outside of Washington, DC, regarding the location of the MSA Business Office at the end of its current lease.

21. GeoScience World and GeoInformatics Workshop

(a) A. Speer discussed the economic aspects of the developing electronic publishing consortium known as GeoScience World (GSW).

(b) A. Speer discussed a National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop on GeoInformatics which he attended on behalf of GSW. The main outcome from the workshop was that societies and associations will be a part of the GeoInformatics community

22. Multi-society Magazine of Mineralogy and Geochemistry

Council briefly considered the progress report submitted by past-President R. Ewing on the status of the multi-society magazine of mineralogy and geochemistry.

23. Funding for Short Courses

B. Dutrow wished to make formal recognition of the efforts made by Alex Speer at securing funding from DOE for supporting workshops.

24. Paul Ribbe’s retirement as RiMG Series Editor

Council discussed what might be done to mark the occasion of the retirement of Paul Ribbe as RiMG Series Editor.

It was the SoC that P. Heaney should look into organizing a special symposium in honor of Paul Ribbe, and that council should consider giving him a gift to commemorate his service to MSA as former RiMG Series Editor.

25. Conflict of Interest Policy and Disclosure Form

Council briefly considered establishing a conflict of interest policy and disclosure form for MSA councilors and officers.

It is the SoC that A. Speer should draft a Conflict of Interest Policy and Disclosure Form that would be included in the handbook for new councilors and officers for consideration at the fall council meeting.

26. Thanks from Kathryn Nagy

K. Nagy thanked council for holding its 2^nd 2003 meeting in conjunction with the Clay Minerals Society meeting in Athens, Georgia.

27. Adjournment

B. Dutrow moved that the 2nd 2003 Council meeting be adjourned. S = M. Carpenter. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

David M. Jenkins, MSA Secretary