President's Column Spring 2009

Meg Wilkes Karraker, President

2008-2010

May 8, 2009

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

First, Alpha Kappa Delta would not be able to accomplish her mission nearly so well without the dedicated individuals who serve so competently and graciously.  In an addendum to this letter, I extend sincere thanks to some of the officers, council members, and significant others who pitched in to keep AKD moving forward during this year of transition.

 

Our new Executive Office has embraced the challenge of becoming a more effective and efficient organization.  To date, their extra-ordinary accomplishments include:

·                     Securing sufficient space and staff for a new office at Le Moyne College

·                     Reinstating AKD’s incorporation status

·                     Resolving a tax liability claim (in our favor!)

 

Secretary-treasurer Jeff Chin and his staff continue to review policies and practices to:

·                     Reduce paper and postage through more web-based management

·                     Decrease processing time for applications and orders

·                     Overhaul the webpage for quicker access to information and forms

·                     Consider the viability of electronic payment options for chapters

·                     Revise all forms to make them more user-friendly

·                     Research merchandise and product offerings based on members’ interest

 

All the while, that office continues to manage the routine business of AKD, including to date:

·                     7 new charters

·                     3323 new lifetime memberships

·                     $17,799.76 distributed to 23 chapters in support of student travel

·                     $9,950.00  distributed to 24 chapters in support of speaker honoraria

·                     $1,000.00 distributed to 1 chapter in support of a symposium

 

In addition to the inevitable challenges related to a new Secretary-treasurer’s office with a new organizational structure (and a new president!), AKD and her chapters face a new requirement from the United States Internal Revenue Service.  When I learned that each chapter in organizations like ours is now required to secure a tax identification number, knowing that is one more task on the shoulders of our chapter representatives, I sought advice from my university’s controller.  He and AKD’s own CPA confirmed: This is a requirement, not an option.  Failure to comply would cost AKD her non-profit tax status.  So, very sincere thanks to each and every chapter representative who, on top of their other tasks, has persevered with this new requirement.

 

Moving forward, at our 2009 Council meeting in San Francisco, we will be considering

·                     Redrawing the regional boundaries to better reflect geographic distribution of chapters

·                     Revising informational documents to bring actual practices closer into line with stated policies

·                     Bringing on board the next Editor for AKD’s increasingly well-regarded journal, Sociological Inquiry.

 

And I’ve saved some of the very best news for last!  Cecilia Menjivar, Cowden Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Arizona State University has accepted our invitation to deliver the AKD Distinguished Lecture at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association.  Menjivar is the author of Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America (University of California Press, 2000), now it its 3^rd Printing and winner of the 2001 American Sociological Association Family Section William J. Goode Outstanding Book Award.  I hope you and your colleagues will join AKD officers and council for what promises to be an engaging and provocative lecture, as well as a time to honor our student paper award winners. The lecture will be on Saturday, August 8 from 4:30-6:10.

 

See you in San Francisco!

 

President

KUDOS!

 

The everyday work of AKD is accomplished largely behind the scenes, by officers, council members, staff, and noteworthy others who extend themselves over and over again on behalf of the Society.  At the risk of missing more than a few of the fine people who make AKD hum …

 

As mentioned above, one of the first tasks of the new Secretary-treasurer was to secure our incorporation status and to resolve a long-standing issue regarding claims of tax liability.  Past-president Ken Davidson advised, referred, and guided the Secretary-treasurer’s office through that labyrinth, which stretched across three states.  Whew!

 

Nominations are secured and elections for AKD’s Executive and Council positions are managed by the committees of the same names.  Thanks to Alice Fothergill and Patricia Hoffman, who served on and to Christine Oakley who chaired the Nominations Committee for 2008-2009, as well as to Raquel Bergen and Patricia Hoffman who serve on and to Christine Oakley who again chairs the Nominations Committee for 2009-2010. 

 

Our Secretary-treasurer’s office coordinates between the Nominations Committee and the Elections Committee.  Thanks to Boyd Littrell and his colleagues at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, for their work on this year’s elections.

 

The results of the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Paper Competitions will be announced and awards presented in San Francisco immediately before the Distinguished Lecture.  The Undergraduate committee was composed of Morton Ender and Boyd Littrell and chair Raquel Bergen.  The Graduate committee was composed of Catherine Harris and Rebecca Overmyer-Valaquez and chair Patricia Hoffman. 

 

The selection of our Distinguished Lecturer was led by Vice-president Mike Wise, with committee members Past-president Sharon Araji, President-elect Joe Healey, Region I representative Judy Van Wyk and Region V Representative Rebecca Erickson.

 

And those are just some of the important set of tasks that must be accomplished on a routine basis by the Council.  In addition, special thanks are due to Catherine Harris and Mike Wise, for their continued work to develop a set of concrete proposals regarding possible ‘redistricting’ the regions of AKD. 

 

The following individuals volunteered to promote AKD at our regional meetings: Sharon Arnold and Marianne Goodfellow and an army of their students at the Eastern; Chantelle Frazier and Meg Wilkes Karraker at the Midwest; Mary Ann Davis at the Southwestern; Sharon Araji, Patricia Hoffman, and Christine Oakley at the Pacific; Dennis McSeveney, Mike Wise, and Joe Healey at the Southern; and Mary Senter at the Northcentral.  Bethany Titus will represent AKD at the Association of Black Sociologists’ meeting.  Our apologies to anyone who staffed an AKD table at the regionals whose names we never received. 

 

Most kindly, immediate past Secretary-treasurer Marc Matre has continued to provide consultation on an as-needed basis, for which we are all most grateful!

 

And, to the staff of Sociological Inquiry located at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro – Julie Capone, Adrian Good, book review editor Gwen Hunnicutt, and editor Steve Kroll-Smith, - what can we say?  This primary asset of AKD just gets better and better!  We’ll miss you when the editorial office turns over to the next editor, but know you’ll leave the journal in the best shape ever.

Email: AKD@lemoyne.edu

Fax: (315) 445-6029

Voice: (315) 445-5452