August 1984 Council Minutes
The Council met on 15 August 1984, in Dad's Room of the Erb Memorial Union in Eugene, Oregon at 5:05 P.M. Members present were S. Armentrout, H. Bass, T. H. Brvlawski, M.G. Crandall, P.A. Fillmore. P.R. Halmos, M. Hochster, I. Kaplansky, I. Kra, J.W. Milnor, A. Odlvzko, F.P. Peterson, E. Pitcher, J.B. Robinson, H. Rossi, L.P. Rothschild. J.T. Schwartz, L. Steen, O. Taussky Todd, and J.E. Taylor. Also present were L.K. Durst, R. Hahn, W.J. LeVeque, J. P. Mesirov and W.B. Woolf. F. Browder and K. Hoffman were present by invitation. President Robinson was in the chair. MINUTES: 1.1 MINUTES: The minutes of the meeting of 5 April 1984 were approved. 1.2 MINUTES OF BUSINESS BY MAIL OF 3 OCTOBER 1983: The Secretary had observed an omission on his part in that the minute of 3 October 1983 was not approved by the Council in January 1984. It was approved. COMMITTEES AND BOARDS 4.1 SIZE OF THE COUNCIL: The EC notes that the Council is of such size that its meetings are sometimes unwieldy. The EC considered ways of improving the ambience of Council meetings, such as the use of a smaller meeting room, other seating arrangements, and the use of several microphones. The EC also suggested that it might be prudent to reduce the size of the Council. Without making any recommendation, the EC requested the Secretary to bring the following plan for a change in the bylaws to the attention of the Council as one way of accomplishing a reduction in size. The Chairman of each Publication Committee is a voting member of the Council. At any meeting of the Council the Chairman may designate a deputy as a voting member in his place. The Associate Secretary in charge of the meeting at which the Council meets is a voting member of the Council. In the event of his potential absence, he will ask the Secretary to designate a deputy as voting member. At a Council meeting separate from a scientific meeting, the Secretary will designate the voting Associate Secretary. The members of the EC are voting members of the Council. The Chairman of the Science Policy Committee is a voting member of the Council. Discussion of the plan emphasized the effect of the proposed change not only on the size and cost, but also on the composition and thus the voting and operation of the Council. The Council viewed the proposal with favor and requested the Secretary to draft the appropriate amendment to the bylaws for examination by the Council. 4.2 SCIENCE POLICY COMMITTEE; The report of Chairman Felix Browder is attached. 4.3 INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN-ORLOV AND SHCHARANSKY. The Committee on Hunman Rights of Mathematicians recommended that the Council authorize the listing of the Society as a supporter of the campaign. There is an attachment of background information consisting of a letter from Chandler Davis, the Chairman of CHRM, with an attachment from the Compaign. The following extract from the charge to the CHRM was deemed pertinent. A foreign mathematician, for the purpose of the Committee, is a person residing outside the U.S. and professionally engaged in mathematical science (like pure mathematics, applied mathematics, mathematical statistics, computing science, and operations research) or trained for such activity. The purpose of this rule is to limit the activities of the Committee to cases in which our members may be presumed to have a feeling of genuine professional identification with the alleged victim. It was noted that Shcharansky fits, but Orlov does not. However, a majority of the Committee favored a simple position of support rather than any qualified partial support. A motion by Professor Hochster to list the Society as a supporter of the campaign was passed. 4.4 COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEE. The Council changed the composition of the Committee so that the President and the President Elect, if any, are members of the Committee. 4.5 COMMITTEE ON PRIZES: Upon recommendation of the EC and BT the Committee was discharged with thanks. 4.6 NOMINATIONS (in Executive Session). The Council followed the recommendations of the Nominating Committee in naming Judith D. Sally as the second candidate, unopposed, for a three year term on the Committee to Monitor Problems in Communication in the election of 1984. The Council learned that there were no candidates proposed by petition for the offices of vice-president or member-at-large. The Council then followed the recommendation of the Nominating Committee in nominating: Neal I. Koblitz Cora S. Sadosky David A. Vogan, Jr. as three additional candidates for five places as member-at-large of the Council in the election of 1984. 4.7 See 1.85 Council minutes, Item 1.1. OFFICERS 5.1 NOMINATING COMMITTEE; The candidates for the Nominating Committee of 1985-86 named by President Julia B. Robinson are: Meyer Jerison William B. Johnson Vera S. Pless Mary Ellen Rudin Michael Shub Stephen G. Simpson William T. Trotter, Jr. Raymond O. Wells, Jr. One of the continuing members, Harold M. Stark, was named Chairman. 5.2 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. A slightly edited version of the report is attached. (It was actually presented much earlier in the meeting.) OLD BUSINESS 8.1 SUMMER MEETINGS; The Council of 5 April 1984, agreed that the decision about holding future joint Summer Meetings with the MAA should be made after the Summer Meeting of 1985, at which point one can hope to judge whether the recent increase in registration fees is fiscally effective. It was noted that there will be no Summer Meeting in 1986 (because of ICM 86) and that the Centennial occurs in 1988. The first meeting possibly affected in the decision is the isolated one of 1987. The MAA requested that the AMS decision with respect to 1987 (but not the long range decision) be made in the fall of 1984 rather than 1985. Were there not to be such a joint meeting, the MAA wished lead time to make its own plans. Accordingly, the Secretary proposed that the decision about holding a Summer Meeting 1987 be referred to the EC/BT with power, for decision when they meet jointly in November 1984. The Council concurred in the proposal of the Secretary with the request to the EC/BT that if the decision is not clear cut and almost unanimous, then it be referred to the Council of January 1985. As background information on the general subject of summer meetings, the attached letter from Associate Secretary Raymond Ayoub was distributed. NEW BUSINESS 9.1 RESOLUTION OF THANKS: INFANTE. The President and Secretary introduced the following resolution: The Council of the AMS notes with gratitude the three years of service of Ettore F. Infante (known to us as Jim) as Director of the Division of the Mathematical Sciences of the National Science Foundation. During that period the mathematical has benefited from his wisdom and his initiation and direction of policy. The Society wishes him well in his new position of Dean of Science & Engineering at the University of Minnesota. The Secretary is directed to convey these sentiments to Dr. Infante and to publicize them suitably. The resolution was passed. 9.2 RESOLUTION OF THANKS: DURST. The Secretary observed that the present meeting is the last to be attended by Lincoln Durst in his capacity as Deputy Executive Director, inasmuch as, he retires at the end of 1984. He proposed a resolution of commendation and thanks to Lincoln Durst for his service to the Society and of good wishes for his future. The resolution passed by acclamation. 9.3 RESOLUTION OF THANKS: DAVID. The following resolution was introduced by President Elect Irving Kaplansky and others. Upon the publication of the report of the Committee on Resources for the Mathematical Sciences (the David Committee) the Council of the American Mathematical Society would like to express its gratitude to Dr. Edward E. David, Jr. for his selfless and unstinting effort on behalf of the mathematical sciences research community. The Council directs the Secretary to communicate this resolution to the membership of the Society, to the member societies in the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, to Dr. David, and otherwise to disseminate it. The resolution was passed. 9.4 RESOLUTION OF THANKS: HOFFMAN. Professor Felix Browder proposed a resolution of thanks to Kenneth Hoffman for his tireless efforts as Executive Director of the David Committee in the preparation of the Committee report and for the excellent results of his work. The resolution passed by acclamation. 9.5 REPORT OF DAVID COMMITTEE: The report of the ad hoc committee of the National Research Council on Resources for the Mathematical Sciences was distributed to the Council separate from the agenda and was reprinted in the NOTICES for February, August, and October. Following consensus in the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics, the following resolution was introduced: The Council of the American Mathematical Society endorses the conclusions in the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Resources for the Mathematical Sciences of the National Research Council entitled Renewing U.S. Mathematics as an appraisal of the state of affairs and as a basis for action in the mathematical community in which the Society will play its proper role. The resolution was passed. 9.6 OPENNESS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: The American Association for the Advancement of Science passed the attached resolution in which certain action is urged upon its affiliates, of which the AMS is one. The Council endorsed the AAAS position. 9.7 COST CONTROL FOR GRANTS TO ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS: Professor Serge Lang requested Council endorsement of the recommendations of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (the Grace Report). Several pages from the report are attached. Critical statements, according to Lang, are those that he has marked on pp. 93, 95, 97, 98, 101. He asked for a resolution in somewhat the following form. The Council of the American Mathematical Society endorses the report of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (the Grace Report), particularly the portions concerned with the establishment of the authority of a university to allocate funds among related projects, the approval of fixed obligation grants, and the approval of fixed rates for the administrative components of indirect costs. An extract from the report [the item called Box 10 in the attachments] stating these positions in more detail is attached to this resolution and is incorporated in it by this reference. The Council took the position that the report should not be instantly endorsed out of context, but should be sent to the Science Policy Committee for possible study of the issues. INFORMATION AND RECORD 2.1 EC/BT MINUTES. The minutes of the EC and BT of 10-13 May 1984 were distributed by mail and are attached. 2.2 CHANDLER DAVIS; President Julia Robinson appealed to Rhode Island Representative Claudine Schneider to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives to expunge the citation of Chandler Davis for contempt of Congress in 1954. She was assured that her request is under consideration. A brief history of US v. Davis, prepared by the Secretary as an attachment to minutes 8.4 of 22 August 1982, is reproduced as an attachment. 2.3 REVIEW OF SOCIETY ACTIVITIES. The EC, on instruction by the Council, conducts a cyclic review of the activities of the Society. The topic for the year 1984 is meetings. See the EC/BT minutes of 10-13 MAY 1984, item 5.5. Members of the Council may contribute to the discussion by writing to the Secretary prior to 15 September 1984. 2.4 LETTER FROM MONTY J. STRAUSS. The attached letter was addressed to the Council. No action was requested. 2.5 COMMITTEE TO MONITOR PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATION. During the discussion of nominations, there was an inquiry about the work of the Committee, for which the attachment is a partial response. Following a brief executive session (see 4.6) the Council adjourned at 6:45 pm. August 15, 1984. Everett Pitcher, Secretary.