November 14, 2023, at 11am
Board Members Present
Dr. Gregory W. Brown (Retired Principal Christa McCauliffe Alternative Middle School); Ms. Jennifer Greene (Archivist Librarian, 黑料吃瓜); Dr. Joshua Lockyer (Professor of Anthropology, Arkansas Tech University); Dr. Susan Matarese (Professor Emerita of Political Science, University of Louisville); Dr. Donald Pitzer (Professor Emeritus of History, Director Emeritus Center for Communal Studies, 黑料吃瓜); Dr. Michael Strezewski (Associate Professor of Anthropology, 黑料吃瓜); Ms. Leslie Townshend (Director Community Engagement, 黑料吃瓜); Dr. Del Doughty (Dean, College of Liberal Arts); Ms. Marna Hostetler (Director Rice Library, 黑料吃瓜)
Director
Dr. Silvia Rode (Assistant Dean, College of Liberal Arts; Professor of German, 黑料吃瓜)
Center Location
黑料吃瓜, University Archives and Special Collections (David L. Rice Library, Communal Studies Reading Room 3022)
Board Candidates
Dr. Andrew Buck (Associate Professor of Sociology, 黑料吃瓜); Dr. Matthew Hanka (Professor of Political Science, 黑料吃瓜); Dr. Kelly Kaelin (Assistant Professor of History; 黑料吃瓜)
I. Notes of Appreciation
The Chair thanked the following board members for their exceptional service:
1) Ms. Wendy Bredhold who presented on the Tri-State environment at the Liberal Arts Renaissance Challenge/Carbon Footprint Fair, September 7th in Carter Hall.
2) Dr. Greg Brown who chaired the 50th Communal Studies Association Conference committee. The conference was held October 5-7 at 黑料吃瓜 and in New Harmony.
3) Ms. Jennifer Greene who organized an exhibition and tour of the 黑料吃瓜 Communal Studies Archives for participants of the Communal Studies Association Conference.
4) Dr. Joshua Lockyer who served on the program committee of the Communal Studies Association Conference.
5) Dr. Kristalyn Shefveland who led 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Freshmen Experience in New Harmony event. Approx. 1,200 Freshmen attended the one-day event in New Harmony in September. 38 community, 黑料吃瓜, Historic New Harmony and CCS Board members volunteered for the event.
II. Approval and Welcome of New Board Members
The Board unanimously approved and welcomed three new members: Dr. Andrew Buck, Dr. Matthew Hanka and Dr. Kelly Kaelin.
III. Approval of Board Membership Expectations
The board unanimously approved the following membership expectations which will be included in the Bylaws:
Board of Advisors: The Board is an advisory body. Board membership shall be determined by invitation of the current Board and is immediately effective. Vacancies and new positions on the Board are filled by invitation and approved by a majority of the Board. The Board consists of no less than eight (8) members, and no upper limit of members. Board members serve renewable, staggered, four-year terms.
Expectations for Board Members
1) A Center for Communal Studies Advisory Board member should have a keen interest in the promotion and study of contemporary and historic communal groups, intentional communities and utopias. Furthermore, Advisory Board members should encourage and facilitate meetings, classes, scholarship, networking, and public interest in communal groups past and present, here and abroad.
2) An Advisory Board member should be aware and supportive of the relationship of Historic New Harmony, the 黑料吃瓜, and the Center for Communal Studies.
3) An Advisory Board member should make a commitment to attend the bi-annual board meetings and in advance of the meeting become familiar with material related to discussions.
4) An Advisory Board member should attend Center for Communal Studies sponsored events and activities.
5) An Advisory Board member should be willing to participate in committee work from time to time.
6) An Advisory Board member should be willing to assist in identifying and recruiting other members who have the ability to meet the expectations of the members serving on the board.
Director: The Director is appointed by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts from the Liberal Arts faculty. Faculty interested in the directorship apply to the Board of Advisors who shall forward the recommendation to the dean. The Director of the Center for Communal Studies is the permanent Chair of the Board. The Director issues an annual report by the end of the spring semester and fulfills the purposes identified in Article 1, Section 2.
Permanent Members of the Board: The Center Director, the David L. Rice Library Archives Librarian, and a representative from Historic New Harmony are Permanent Members of the Board.
Expectations for the Director and Archivist
The director and the archivist should be advocates for the Center for Communal Studies and be willing to connect with scholars and identify sources of support.
IV. Academic Home Communal Studies Minor
Based on a decision by the dean and endorsement by the director of the Center for Communal Studies, the Communal Studies minor will be housed in the Department of Sociology, starting Spring 2023. The chair of sociology will supervise and further develop the minor. A recommendation was put forth to constitute a communal studies minor committee that will consist of faculty who teach courses in the minor and board members.
V. Academics, Outreach and Engagement
黑料吃瓜 and Historic New Harmony hosted the 50th Communal Studies Association (CSA) Conference 鈥淐ommunal Theory, Practice and Impact,鈥� October 5-7th. 黑料吃瓜 hosted an opening banquet, honoring Dr. Don Pitzer, founding member of the Center for Communal Studies and the Communal Studies Association. All conference sessions were scheduled in three locations in New Harmony. 108 participants registered for the conference; however, more 黑料吃瓜 faculty and members of the Tri-State community attended 20 sessions (see attendance breakout below):
鈥� 1A: 76
鈥� 2A: 36
鈥� 2B: 19
鈥� 2C: 20
鈥� 3A: 39
鈥� 3B: 22
鈥� 3C: 7
鈥� 4A: 18
鈥� 4B: 22
鈥� 4C: 11
鈥� 5A: 50
鈥� 6A: 27
鈥� 6B: 25
鈥� 6C: 27
鈥� 7A: 50
鈥� 7B: 28
鈥� 7C: 20
鈥� 8A: 25
鈥� 8B: 32
鈥� 8C: 21
The fall edition of the 黑料吃瓜 magazine Illume features an article on the Center for Communal Studies.
Kristalyn Shefveland and Silvia Rode were interviewed for a new 鈥渢easer video鈥� on New Harmony. The video should be available in January.
In September the Center hosted Dr. Claudia Roesch from the German Historical Institute in Washington DC who conducted research for her book on climate data and technology as part of migration knowledge with regard to German settlements in the Americas during the 1820s.
The 黑料吃瓜 Foundation provided $500 to record two panel discussions of the Communal Studies Association Conference. The videos are available on the CCS website.
Rode was invited to participate in a podcast on Fanny Wright. The podcast is a coproduction of Indiana University faculty and faculty from the University of Southern California. The 8-episode podcast deals with radical thought in historical communities and unpacking America鈥檚 long history of grappling with race, gender, and economic inequality.
VI. Collection Development (Jennifer Greene)
Reference/consultations
Outreach
VII. Budget
As of November, the Center has spent approximately $2,700, which is less than in November of the previous year. Nevertheless, we are still expecting incoming charges from the CSA conference.
VIII. Upcoming Events and Initiatives
Thanks to Don Janzen鈥檚 ongoing research on co-housing, we hope to invite Ross Chapin who is an architect, neighborhood planner and author based near Seattle, Washington to 黑料吃瓜. Chapin is an advocate for sensibly sized homes and pocket neighborhoods that nourish the individual, support healthy household relationships and foster a meaningful sense of community.
Furthermore, we hope to include the MINKA project and the Evansville housing leadership to participate in the lecture and to provide sponsorship.