2019 October 22 meeting minutes

NJSAA Minutes

October 22, 2019, 3pm, Pane Room, Alexander Library

Attendees: Kim Adams, Maxine Lurie, Christie Lutz, Tara Maharjan, Laura Poll, Michele Rotunda, Gary Saretzky, Julia Telonidis, Bob Vietrogoski

Treasurer (Bob Vietrogoski for Dick Waldron): No report.

Maxine Lurie Distinguished Service Award Committee (Gary Saretzky): Maxine received the award on October 12 at Monmouth County Archives and History Day. Discussion ensued on how to handle nominations moving forward. Maxine suggested an open call as well as having committee members nominate. Once the committee has the criteria for the award moving forward, Tara Maharjan has the webpage, including a list of winners, ready to go.

Membership (Tara Maharjan): 38 members in good standing. Bob noted concern with low membership; Tara noted the numbers are a bit skewed right now (in light of the handoff of Membership from Karl Niederer to Tara, and Tara’s implementation of a different system). Bob suggested looking at who has been “mia” before striking anyone with unpaid dues from membership list. Discussion ensued on recruiting and reaching people.

Website/Facebook Page (Tara Maharjan): 220 Facebook followers.

Committee on Author Awards (Laura Poll for Deborah Mercer): 11 submissions. Winners: James Gigantino for William Livingston’s American Revolution in the scholarly area; Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills for If These Stones Could Talk: African American presence in the Hopewell Valley, Sourland Mountain and Surrounding Regions of New Jersey in the popular area. The winners are invited to present at the December 5 meeting.

Committee on the Roger McDonough Librarian/Archivist Award (Bob Vietrogoski): Ellen Callahan received this year’s award at Monmouth County Archives and History Day on October 12. A New Jersey Historical Commission representative and chair are needed for the committee.

Committee on Teaching Awards (Others for Raymond Frey): No report. There were no nominations, so no award was given this year.

Stellhorn Award Committee – for Undergraduate Papers (Bob Vietrogoski for Dick Waldron): 11 nominations. The 2019 recipients are Perry Arrasmith, Harvard University, “A Senator’s Resolve and the Destiny of Two Nations: A Reappraisal of New Jersey’s Theodore Frelinghuysen’s Role in the Cherokee Removal Debate of 1830” and Jordan B. Antebi, Princeton University, “Bridging the Divide: Citizen Participation Versus Urban Renewal, and the Struggle for Community in Trenton, New Jersey.” The winners will be invited to present at the April 2020 meeting.

Graduate Student Papers Award (Bob Vietrogoski for Paul Israel): No report. It was announced that there was two submissions, and it was the winner.

Student Research Grant Award (Bob Vietrogoski): Melissa Ziobro has agreed to chair the committee. Gary Saretzky and Kim Adams agreed to be a committee member.

Future Meetings (Laura Poll): The next meeting is December 5 and will feature Author Award winners. The February meeting will feature Robert McGreevey of The College of New Jersey speaking on “Borderline Citizens: The United States, Puerto Rico, and the Politics of Colonial Migration.” Note that the lecture will begin at 4:45pm. Laura and Tara Maharjan will work on scheduling the February and April meetings.

New Business: Bob suggested that NJSAA look at expanding committee memberships. This would help ease the transition when people need to step down as well as build in capacity. It should be emphasized that one’s presence at meetings is not required to serve on a committee. Bob will take the first step of contacting committee chairs to make sure their information is up to date. We should aim for five people per committee.

Meeting adjourned at 4:10pm.

Following the Business Meeting, W. Bradford Fay presented his documentary, “Farming in the Millstone Valley, Past and Present.”

Minutes respectfully submitted by Christie Lutz.