August 1987 Council Minutes
The Council met in the Mill Creek and Cottonwood Rooms of the Cottonwood
Marriott Hotel in Salt Lake City at 5:00 PM on 4 August 1987. Members present
were S. Armentrout, R. A. Askey, R. G. Douglas, R. M. Fossum, M. Hochster, E.
Isaacson, (deputy for W. Gautschi), M. A. Montgomery, G. D. Mostow, L. Ness, F.
P. Peterson, E. Pitcher, M. Rieggel, H. Rossi, O. Taussky-Todd, J. Taylor, R.
F. Williams, and C. Wood. Also present were R. G. Bartle, M. Foulkes, R.
Hahn, K. Hoffman, M. Lane, W. J. LeVeque, J. Maxwell, and J. Voytuk. The
privilege of the floor was granted at various times to C. Davis, L. Garnett, L.
Lorch, M. Shub, and W. Thurston.
MINUTES:
1.1 MINUTES OF 25 APRIL 1987: One error had been called to the attention of
the Secretary. Linda Rothschild did not attend the meeting. Linda Keen was
present and had the privilege of the floor. With this correction, the minutes,
which had been distributed by mail, were approved. However, Prof. Williams
stated his opinion that minute 8.1 in the minutes of the executive session did
not fully represent the views expressed by the Council.
COMMITTEES AND BOARDS
4.l EDITORIAL BOARD APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE: The EC considered a proposal that
journal editors be appointed by a committee elected by the membership rather
than elected by the membership in uncontested elections. The Secretary stated
his opinion that he had not formulated the proposal to the satisfaction of all
concerned, particularly Irwin Kra, who had been commissioned with the Secretary
to prepare the agendum but had been unavailable, and moved that it be referred
again to the EC. The motion passed. It was agreed that editorial committees
should be consulted.
4.2 AMENDMENT TO BYLAWS ON LIFE MEMBERSHIP: The EC/BT recommended a change in
the bylaws concerning life membership as shown here.
Amendment to Article IX, Section ll of the bylaws. Changes are in upper case.
Article IX
Dues and Privileges of Members
Section ll. Any person who has attained the age of 62 and has been a member
for at least twenty years may become a life member by making a single payment
equal to five times the dues of an ordinary member for the coming year. Insofar
as there is more than one level of dues for ordinary membership, it is the
highest such dues that shall be used in calculation, WITH THE EXCEPTION FOR
MEMBERS BY RECIPROCITY NOTED IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH. A life member is
subsequently relieved of the obligation of paying dues. The status and
privileges are those of ordinary members. (This section does not affect
those persons who became life members before October 25, 194l. They remain
life members with the status and privileges of ordinary members. When the
class of them is empty, this parenthetical remark is to be removed.)
A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY BY RECIPROCITY WHO HAS REACHED THE AGE OF 62, HAS BEEN
A MEMBER FOR AT LEAST 20 YEARS, HAS BEEN A MEMBER BY RECIPROCITY FOR AT LEAST
l5 OF THOSE 20 YEARS AND ASSERTS THE INTENTION OF CONTINUING TO BE A MEMBER BY
RECIPROCITY MAY PURCHASE A LIFE MEMBERSHIP BY A ONE-TIME PAYMENT OF A SPECIAL
RATE ESTABLISHED BY THE COUNCIL, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE TRUSTEES.
The amendment was recommended by the Council and was ordered to be placed on a
mail ballot to the membership.
The Secretary proposed that the payment by members in the defined class be five
halves of the higher level of dues for ordinary members in the coming year.
The Trustees had given advance approval of this figure. The Council approved.
4.3 INDEMNIFICATION: Directors and Officers insurance protects these
individuals from financial loss from suits related to the performance of their
duties. The cost of such insurance has increased enormously. The insurance
has been continued but is under study. The EC/BT recommended that the bylaws
be amended by the addition of the following article, prepared by the corporate
attorney.
Article XIV: Any person who at any time serves or has served as a Trustee or
Officer of the Society, or as a member of the Council, or, at the request of
the Society, as a Director or Officer of another corporation, whether for
profit or not for profit, shall be indemnified by the Society and be reimbursed
against and for expenses actually and necessarily incurred by him or her in
connection with the defense or reasonable settlement of any action, suit,
legal or administrative proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative
or investigative, threatened, pending or completed, to which he or she is
made a party by reason of being or having been such Trustee, Officer or
Director or Council member, except in relation to matters as to which he or
she shall be adjudged in such action, suit or proceeding to be liable for
negligence or misconduct in the performance of his or her official duties.
Such rights of indemnification and reimbursement shall also extend to the
personal representatives of any such person, and shall be in addition to and
not in substitution for any other rights to which such person or his or her
personal representatives may now or hereafter be entitled by virtue of the
provisions of applicable law or of any other agreement or vote of the BT,
or otherwise.
The amendment was recommended by the Council and was ordered to be placed on
a mail ballot to the membership.
4.4 BULLETIN AS A PRIVILEGE. The Council had been considering for some time
the possibility of allowing a member to check a box on the dues bill in order
not to receive the BULLETIN and to receive a dues reduction. Unable itself to
resolve the problem, the Council referred the matter back to the EC and BT.
The EC/BT recommended that the bylaws be amended by the addition of a section
to Article IX as follows. Again changes are in upper case.
Section 9. An ordinary or contributing member shall receive the Notices and
Bulletin as privileges of membership during each year for which his dues have
been discharged, WITH THE FOLLOWING EXCEPTION. A DUES-PAYING MEMBER MAY ELECT
NOT TO RECEIVE THE BULLETIN AND TO HAVE A REDUCTION IN DUES BY AN AMOUNT TO BE
SET BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
The figure that had been mentioned as a dues reduction was $10 but that may be
unrealistically large. The marginal cost of the BULLETIN for a year is $2.93
for printing, handling, and postage. The first year that the bylaw could
become effective is 1989.
Should it be approved, the reduction recommended by the Trustees would be $5.
The Council contemplated the small size of the proposed reduction and the
argument presented by Prof. Askey that an organization devoted to research in
mathematics should offer some mathematics to its membership and did not
recommend the amendment.
4.5 UNIVERSITY LECTURE SERIES: The Secretary inquired of a number of
departments whether they have distinguished lecture series and whether they
would be interested in having an outlet for the publication of resulting books.
As a consequence of favorable responses, the Committee to Monitor Problems in
Communication recommended that a book series with a title such as Distinguished
Lecture Series be established. The title would be in small type for formal
identification purposes and the name of the institution and the lecture series
in large type to emphasize the latter. It was understood that an editorial
committee would be appointed. The Council approved the new book series.
4.6 REPRINTS: The Committee on Publication, supported by the Committee to
Monitor Problems in Communication, recommended that the Society establish a
new book series possibly called AMS Reprints for the purpose of publishing
certain books that have been allowed to go out of print by other publishers.
The Committee further recommended the establishment of a standing selection
committee concerned with acquisitions. The Council approved.
4.7 HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS: The EC, acting with the advice of the Committee on
Publication (a Trustees' Committee) recommended that the Council adopt an
affirmative policy toward the history of mathematics. On p. 627 of the June
1987 NOTICES is a solicitation for historical material and for manuscripts.
The EC recommended that the ad hoc committee on the history of mathematics
(a subcommittee of the Committee on Publication) be made into a standing
committee. The charge would be to encourage the publication of historical
material by the Society. The Committee might be expected to prepare an
article for the NOTICES with that intent for review by the Council. The
Council approved the recommendation.
The Executive Committee recommended that an ad hoc committee for the study of
forming a center for the history of mathematics be established. The Council
approved the recommendation with the understanding that the existing
committee handle it.
4.8 JAPANESE TRANSLATION JOURNAL: The EC/BT recommended that the Council
approve in principle the establishment of a journal for the publication of
translations of the Japanese journal SUGAKU. The Council approved.
4.9 EDITORIAL DUTIES: Following a recent incident of inattention to editorial
duties, the Secretary floated a proposal to the editors of the BULLETIN,
MATHEMATICS OF COMPUTATION, PROCEEDINGS and TRANSACTIONS. It applied to the
last two, but not to the surprise of the Secretary, not to the first two. The
EC/BT recommended that the Council enact the following procedures:
1. Every editor of the PROCEEDINGS and the TRANSACTIONS should keep
a log showing receipt of papers and progress in processing them. A photocopy
should be submitted at regular intervals to the Providence office.
2. When a person is asked to be a candidate for editor, the acceptance
consists of signing a statement to follow established procedures, in particular
recognizing item l above.
The purpose of these principles is to protect contributors of papers from delay
in processing and from loss of papers. It allows the Providence office to keep
track at all times of the volume of material in the pipeline. The Council
approved the principles.
4.l0 CANADIAN OBSERVER: Informal conversations with representatives of the
Canadian Mathematical Society revealed that it might be useful to have a
observer from the CMS accredited at Council meetings. The Secretary had
already informed the President of CMS that trhe presence of one or two
representatives of CMS is welcome in the that these are open meetings. The
EC/BT recommended that this arrangements, if agreeble to CMS, be formalized.
The Council approved.
4.11 APPLIED MATHEMATICS: The ad hoc Committee on Applied Mathematics was
charged "to discuss possible ways to continue to provide meaningful support
of applied mathematics." Two principal recommendations of the committee were
"that applications of mathematics should regularly be the subject of invited
hour addresses and AMS-sponsored conference" and that the AMS "co-sponsor
sessions on topics involving applications of mathematics within regular
meetings of other societies." The EC/BT recommended that the Council endorse
both principles and the Council did so.
The first recommendation is carried out by continuing reminders of committees
to select speakers by the Associate Secretaries and Secretary. An instance of
the second is already at hand. The program on Some Mathematical Questions in
Biology has been a feature of meetings of AAAS for years. Recently, it has
seemed desirable to relocate this program to rotate among some societies of
quantitative biology who are interested. The Council approved.
Note: Item 4.ll was in fact handled at a later point in the meeting after 9.1.
4.12 REFERENDUM: The Council of 25 April 1987 ordered a referendum in January
1988 following the Annual Meeting. It proposed that the Council of August 1987
adopt the specific wording of the motions on the referendum, which is to be
concerned with "the substance of the two motions concerning issues of federal
funding of research in mathematics."
The EC recommended that the referendum contain five motions as follows:
Motion l. Many scientists consider SDI (commonly referred to as Star Wars)
incapable of achieving its stated goals and dangerously destabilizing.
Participation by universities and professional organizations lends a spurious
scientific legitimacy to it. Therefore, the AMS will lend no support to the
Star Wars program. In particular, no one acting as a representative of the
AMS shall participate in efforts to obtain funding for Star Wars research or
to mediate between agencies granting Star Wars research money and those
seeking to apply for it.
Motion 2. The AMS is concerned about the increasing militarization of support
for mathematics research. There is a tendency to distribute this support
through narrowly focused (mission-oriented) programs which circumvent normal
peer review procedures. This tendency, unless checked, may skew and ultimately
injure mathematics in the United States. Therefore, those representing the AMS
are requested to direct their efforts towards increasing the fraction of
non-military funding for mathematics research, as well as towards increasing
total research support.
Motion 3. Most seminal research in mathematics comes from individuals and
small informal collaborations, not from large teams. The dangerously low level
of Federal funding for individual investigators documented in the 1984 David
Report has recovered only slightly, and many of our best mathematicians are
currently unable to find funding for research. Therefore, we urge that the
Federal funding agencies not allow the recent trend toward large teams and
big projects to compromise the strength through diversity of mathematics,
and we urge that these agencies increase the number of individual investigators
to the levels recommended in the David Report.
Motion 4. Many advances in science and technology come from fundamental
mathematics which has been developed with applications in mind. In recognition
of the U.S. stake in the general excellence of mathematics, agencies which fund
research in mathematics should also fund a balanced proportion of basic
research.
Motion 5. Funding agencies in the mathematical sciences should solicit
proposals openly and broadly. They should assure that proposals are judged on
grounds of scientific merit by a diversified group of expert scientists.
Motion l and 2 are exactly the motions that the January Business Meeting
scheduled for the August Business Meeting.
Ken Hoffman reviewed Motions 3, 4, 5 subsequent to their approval by the EC
and had some suggestions for wording. He said that "[m]y concerns are not with
the content but with the tone, and perspective, as these will be judged by
those outside the AMS." Here follow the three motions edited as he suggests.
Changes are in capitals.
Motion 3'. Most seminal research in mathematics comes from individuals and
small informal collaborations, not from large teams. The SERIOUSLY low level
of Federal funding for individual investigators documented in the 1984 David
Report has recovered only slightly, and many of our best mathematicians are
currently unable to find funding for research. Therefore, we urge that the
Federal funding agencies not allow the recent trend toward large teams and
big projects to compromise the strength through diversity of mathematics.
We urge that IN THEIR CONTINUED ATTEMPTS TO BRING MATHEMATICS FUNDING INTO
BALANCE WITH THAT FOR RELATED FIELDS these agencies MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO
increase the numbers of individual investigators to the levels recommended
in the David Report.
Motion 4'. Many advances in science and technology come from fundamental
mathematics which has been developed without applications in mind. In
recognition of the U.S. stake in the general excellence of mathematics,
WE URGE agencies which fund research in mathematics TO also fund a balanced
proportion of basic research.
Motion 5'. WE URGE funding agencies in the mathematical sciences TO solicit
proposals openly and broadly AND TO ASSURE THAT REVIEWS OF SCIENTIFIC MERIT
ARE CONDUCTED by a diversified group of expert scientists.
Hugo Rossi moved and there was a second that the referendum be conducted
immediately after the Council Meeting of January 1988, that there be free
discussion of the issues in the NOTICES and at the January meeting, that there
be no other documents distributed with the referendum (see remarks below)
and that the motions on the referendum be motions l, 2, 3', 4', 5' above.
Jean Taylor moved to amend by replacing motions l and 2 by motions l' and 2'.
This was accepted as a friendly amendment.
Here is the text of Motions l' and 2', which differ slightly from Motions l
and 2.
Motion 1'. Many scientists consider SDI (commonly referred to as Star Wars)
incapable of achieving its stated goals and dangerously destabilizing.
Participation by universities and professional organizations lends a spurious
scientific legitimacy to it. Therefore, the AMS will lend no support to the
Star Wars program. In particular, persons representing the AMS shall make
no efforts to obtain funding for Star Wars research or to mediate between
agencies granting Star Wars funds and people seeking these funds.
Motion 2'. The AMS is concerned about the large proportion of military funding
of mathematics research. There is a tendency to distribute this support
through narrowly focused (mission oriented) programs and to circumvent peer
review procedures. This situation may skew and ultimately injure mathematics
in the United States. Therefore those representing the AMS are requested to
direct their efforts towards increasing the fraction of non-military funding
for mathematics research, as well as towards increasing total research support.
Jean Taylor moved and there was a second that motions 3', 4', 5' be eliminated
from the referendum but be considered directly by the Council. This amendment
failed.
Ronald Douglas moved that the ballot on the amendment offer three choices on
each motion, namely approve, do not approve, and abstain. This was
incorporated as a friendly amendment.
Richard Askey moved and it was seconded tha there be only two choices on each
motion, namely approve and disapprove. The amendment failed.
The main motion passed.
There was repeated discussion about variants of the wording "other documents".
On one restatement of the motion, the wording was that there should be no other
enclosures. Again it was said that the referendum should not include anything
else. Again it was said that there should not be any accompanying material.
However, it seemed to be agreed that this prohibition did not exclude
explanatory material including references to the NOTICES, the charter, the
bylaws, and other material that one can find in the record. The President
requested Rossi, Taylor, and Pitcher to consider and to agree upon the wording
of the presentation.
The Council considered whether to include the following statement, which was
recommended by the EC.
The Council is opposed to the promulgation by the AMS
of policy statements that are not based on mathematical
expertise or on information known principally to
mathematicians. Consequently, it declines to support
Motion l.
(Clearly l' was intended instead of l at this point in the proceedings.) The
Council decided not to include it.
The Council voted to recommend to the Business Meeting that Motions l and 2,
on the agenda of the Business Meeting, be tabled there in deference to the
referendum.
4.13 NOMINATIONS: The Secretary noted that Diana Frost Shelstad and Lawrence
Craig Evans, previously nominated for member-at-large, are no longer
candidates. Shelstad is not a member and Evans prefers not to run. The
Nominating Committee proposed the following candidates to complete the ballot.
Vice President Herbert S. Wilf
Member-at-Large Gunnar Erik Carlsson
Richard K. Guy
Rhonda J. Hughes
Robion C. Kirby
Peter B. Shalen
Committee to Monitor
Problems in Comm. Richard G. Larson
The Council nominated the proposed candidates.
Note: Item 4.l3 was handled at a later time in the meeting in executive
session.
OFFICERS
5.1 HE OR SHE: The Secretary proposed to add a note to the bylaws as follows:
In any application of these bylaws, the term "he" is to
mean "he" or "she", whichever is appropriate to that
application.
Approval was sought for this action. However, after brief discussion, the
Council decided that amendment of the bylaws to eliminate the use of "he" and
"his" was preferable and was ordered by the Council. (The Secretary
understands that this is to be done without the use of the locutions "he or
she" or "he/she".)
NEW BUSINESS
9.1 FUNDING OF CONFERENCES. Jean Taylor addressed the attached letter to the
members of the Council. A letter by W.W. Comfort is attached as is material
suplied by AED Maxwell. No action was requested.
INFORMATION AND RECORD
2.1 EC/BT MINUTES: The minutes of the EC/BT of 2l-24 May 1987 were distributed
under separate cover.
2.2 NOMINATING COMMITTEE: In addition to the four candidates for the
Nominating Committee already named (Bernard M. Dwork, Jane P. Gilman, Robert
Louis Griess, and Leonard L. Scott), there is one by petition, namely Ronald
A. DeVore. President Mostow has named three more, namely Ronald J. Diperna,
John P. Hempel, and Roger C. Alperin. The Chairman is not yet known.
2.3 NOTICES: The EC/BT have recommended to the Notices Editorial Committee
that the Notices be published ten times a year, i.e., monthly with a May-
June issue and a July-August issue. They further recommended that the current
December issue (assistantships, etc.) be made into a separate publication with
early fall distribution. A committee is reviewing the contents of the NOTICES.
2.4 GROUND TRANSPORTATION: The Agenda and Budget Committee increased the
ceiling on ground transportation for Council members attending Council meetings
from $50 to $75.
The meeting closed with an executive session at which item 4.l3 and other
matters were considered.
The Council recessed for dinner from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM and adjourned at
ll:20 PM.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
8.1 HEAD, OFFICE OF GOVERNMENTAL & PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Robert F. Williams in the
attached letter wished that the issue of tenure in the office be raised again.
The minute 8.l of the Council of 25 April 1987 is attached. Along with
suspending the limit on the term of the head, the Council asked the members
of the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics, to whom the head is responsible,
to study the problem. JPBM responded by asking its Directors Committee to
conduct the study. The Directors Committee did so. Although the Committee
had not had opportunity to report to JPBM, it arranged to release the report
to the Council. It is attached.
The motion of Professor Williams was as follows:
That the term of the Head, Office of Governmental and Public Affairs,
be limited to five years for any one person.
The Council voted to table the motion.
Everett Pitcher
4 August 1987
