JUCA Minutes
(San Francisco, 2010)
JUCA 2010 Business Meeting Minutes: Ninth Annual Business Meeting of Japan-U.S. Communication Association
Date & Time: Monday, Nov. 15, 2010; 2-315 p.m.
Place: Parc 55 Hotel, San Francisco, Calif.
Chair: Akira Miyahara (in place of Paul Westbrook)
Secretary: James E. Mueller
Attendance: 18
I. Akira Miyahara called the meeting to order at 2 p.m.
II. Approval of the Chicago minutes:
a. Minutes of the 2009 Chicago business meeting prepared by Makoto Saito were approved as submitted.
III. Approval and change of the new agenda.
a. The agenda was approved.
IV. Activity Report (James E. Mueller)
Conference paper submissions were low; only nine papers were submitted. Koji Fuse and Rose Campbell will work on plans to increase submissions.
The social was a success with about 35 attending. Chikako McLean was recognized for donating the room.
V. Top Student and Top Faculty Paper Awards
Top Student Paper: "Communication in Multicultural Organizations: Okinawa as Multicultural Society and Its Relation to U.S. Military Bases" by Chika Minei (California State University, San Bernardino)
Top Faculty Paper: “Use of the Personal Report of Communication Anxiety (PRCA-24) in Japanese Contexts: Reliability, Structural Integrity, and Response Validity” by Steven Renshaw (Kanda University of International Studies).
VI. Nominations and Election of New Officers
Web-Page Director: Tatsuya Imai was nominated and elected unanimously.
b. Student Representative: Josh Nelson was nominated and elected unanimously.
Other officers will continue to hold their current positions.
VII. Roles of Officers and Revision of JUCA Constitution (Koji Fuse)
a. Fuse said that Jiro Takai, who has been doing conference planning for four years, has become extremely busy and probably won't make the conference next year. Fuse said JUCA must recognize the duties of each officer, but the group has no bylaws. He said JUCA will listed the duties of each officer on the web site before the convention. b. Fuse said a major election is scheduled for next year because the terms of many officers expire. He said that in the past JUCA has had elections for the sake of holding elections, but that there are not a lot of very active members in the group. He said the founders of JUCA wanted a democratic organization but that changing officers for the sake of elections will not help the organization. He said the executive committee should discuss the issue, and that he and Takai could create a document for the executive committee to discuss.
VIII. Treasurer’s Report (Chikako McLean)
a. McLean reported income of $1,568.50 and expenses of $362.17, leaving JUCA with $1,206.33 on hand as of Nov. 13, 2010.
b. McLean said that strict enforcement of banking laws tied to Homeland Security made it impossible for her to open a JUCA bank account using her personal Social Security number. Because JUCA does not have a bank account, donors cannot write a check to JUCA. She said cash donations are preferred. The biggest problem is trying to accept institutional donations. She said she could not deposit an institutional donation from Northeastern State University. She said the administrative fees for opening an account for a nonprofit would be about $1,000. Michael Hazen said there might be a way to do it less expensively, and that if a lawyer is needed, one might work for JUCA pro bono. He said the regulations might vary depending upon the state and that he would look into the process in North Carolina.
c . McLean thanked donors for supporting JUCA.
IX. Plan for 2011 NCA (Koji Fuse and Rose Campbell)
a. Fuse noted that JUCA still has four sessions, including the business session, but could lose sessions if submissions go down. The theme of the conference is "Voice," which plays to JUCA's international strength. Fuse recommended that members create panels with other divisions. He said JUCA needed at least 20 paper submissions, and that members of the executive committee should disseminate the call for papers. He recommended offering three sessions for competitive papers.
b. Fuse asked for volunteers to review papers. Shoko Barnes, Kristen Anderson, Don Jung, Takeshi Suzuki, Michael Hazen, Max Saito and Ed McDaniel volunteered.
c. In response to a question about creating panels, Fuse explained that the conference planners will gather all of the panel proposals and send them to NCA. The two most important factors in getting a panel accepted will be international presence--one of JUCA's strengths--and collaboration with another group. Michael Hazen praised Fuse's panel at the 2010 conference. Fuse said a diverse panel helped make it successful and recommended that those who want to suggest a panel for 2011 create one with diversity and one that is tied to the conference theme.
X. Plans for Membership Promotion (Koji Fuse and Tatsuya Imai)
a. Fuse said that the respondents at JUCA sessions must make an announcement about membership, and that the chair and treasurer must be in the sessions to collect donations.
b. Fuse said JUCA has only one institutional member, Northeastern State University. He said the executive committee should discuss the status of institutional membership.
c. Fuse said JUCA should reinstate the newsletter so it can carry ads for institutional members.
XI. Other
a. Fuse noted JUCA has a new web site.