Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 09:17:04 EDT
From: AAllan
Subject: Latest news from ACLS
The American Dialect Society is one of the sixty-plus constituent societies of
the American Council of Learned Societies. Representing ADS, I and Richard
Bailey attended the ACLS annual meeting in Philadelphia (along with colleagues
Joan Hall and Luanne von Schneidemesser, representing the Dictionary Society
of North America).
ACLS convenes colloquies on the humanities and social sciences, as well as
doling grants for research. Here's the latest e-news from ACLS headquarters. -
Allan Metcalf
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Here is a preview of the latest news on the Website of the
American Council of Learned Societies: http://www.acls.org.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1998 ACLS ANNUAL MEETING
The 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Council of Learned Societies was held
at
the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, PA on May 1-2, 1998.
Approximately 225 people attended, including members of the ACLS Board of
Directors, Delegates of Constituent Societies, members of the Conference of
Administrative Officers, representatives of Affiliate members, representatives
of Associate members, ACLS Fellowship recipients, committee members,
foundation
representatives, and distinguished invited guests.
In business sessions, the ACLS admitted the American Schools of Oriental
Research as the 61st constituent society of the ACLS; Pauline Yu, of the
University of California, Los Angeles, was elected to the Board of Directors;
and ARNOVA, Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary
Action, was admitted as an Affiliate member.
This was the first Annual Meeting over which John H. D'Arms presided. In a
conversation with ACLS constituent members, President D'Arms emphasized that
ACLS programs and activities must be connected closely to the mission of the
ACLS: to advance humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the
humanities
and related social sciences, and to maintain and strengthen relations among
the
national societies devoted to such studies.
He considered how ACLS activity in four areas--ACLS as funder, ACLS as
convenor,
ACLS as advocate, and ACLS as collaborator--might contribute to advancing that
mission. He reported on the results of his efforts to increase funds for
fellowships endowment grants totaling $9m from the Andrew W. Mellon and Ford
Foundations, received early this year, and increased support from the
institutional Associates, who have been asked to double their annual
contribution on the understanding that the incremental funds will be applied
to
the costs of a reinvigorated Fellowship Program of the ACLS. The Council's
goal
is to double the endowment devoted to fellowships and to double the funds
awarded to scholars annually. Plans call for only a modest increase in the
number of fellowships awarded but substantial increases in fellowship
stipends.
Mr. D'Arms emphasized that a series of three planning conversations held in
the
early months of his presidency have helped to suggest these immediate, and
other
longer-term, priorities for ACLS.
Both the Delegates and the Conference of Administrative Officers held
programmatic sessions addressing the broad topic "Communities and
Commonalities
in the Humanities." The Delegates focused their discussion on how the ACLS
can
best use their collective and individual talents. The Conference of
Administrative Officers heard presentations on "The Production of Ph.D.s and
the
Labor Market" and "Ph.D. Careers Outside the Academy."
ACLS constituents were also pleased to hear from William R. Ferris, Chairman
of
the National Endowment for the Humanities, who voiced his commitment to the
scholarly humanities.
In honor of Charles Homer Haskins (1870-1937), the first Chairman of the ACLS,
each year a distinguished scholar is invited to address the topic of "A Life
of
Learning." The 1998 Haskins Lecturer was Professor Yi-Fu Tuan, J. K. Wright
Professor and Vilas Professor of Geography,
University of Wisconsin, Madison. In a modest and highly illuminating talk,
Professor Tuan offered his distinctive assessment of the life and interests of
a
human geographer. The Lecture will be made available in the ACLS Occasional
Paper series.
The public session focused on "The Humanist on the Campus: Continuity and
Change." The speakers--all Fellows of the ACLS--were Denis Donoghue, Professor
of English, New York University; Lynn Hunt, Professor of History, University
of
Pennsylvania; Lucius Outlaw, Professor of Philosophy, Haverford College;
Judith
Shapiro, President, Barnard College; and Robert Weisbuch (Moderator),
President,
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The presentations will be
published as an ACLS Occasional Paper.
In his concluding comments, President D'Arms acknowledged the valuable support
the Council receives from the colleges and universities which are Associate
members of the ACLS and welcomed the Associates who were represented at the
meeting. He was also pleased to report the virtually unanimous response from
current and new Associates to increased levels of annual contributions. He
also
recognized current and former fellows of the ACLS who were in attendance.
President D'Arms asked John Wiley, Provost from the University of Wisconsin,
Madison to speak on behalf of the Associates. Mr. Wiley strongly endorsed
ACLS'
efforts with the Associates and expressed willingness to help with the effort
to
complete the campaign with the current members.
The 1999 Annual Meeting will take place on April 30-May 1, in Philadelphia.
__________________________________________________________________
*AUGUST 1 DEADLINE FOR FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARDS
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARDS FOR U.S. FACULTY AND PROFESSIONALS:
1999-2000 COMPETITION
Applications are accessible on the CIES website: http://www.cies.org.
--Over 700 grants available for lecturing or advanced research in nearly 130
countries.
--Awards range from two months to a full academic year.
--Openings exist in the arts and humanities, social sciences, natural and
applied sciences, and professional fields such as business, journalism, and
law.
--Faculty at all types of institutions and professionals outside academe are
encouraged to apply.
--Eligibility requirements include: U.S. citizenship and the Ph.D. or
comparable professional qualifications. For lecturing awards, university or
college teaching experience is expected. Most lecturing assignments are in
English, though some countries require foreign language skills.
--Applications may also be requested by e-mail: apprequest[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cies.iie.org.
For further information and application materials, contact the USIA Fulbright
Scholar Program, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 3007 Tilden
Street, N.W., Suite 5L, Washington, DC 20008-3009. Telephone: 202-686-8677.
Funding for the Fulbright Program is provided by the United States Information
Agency, on behalf of the U.S. government, and by cooperating governments and
host institutions abroad.
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