May 1974 Council Minutes
MAY 12, 1974 MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL
The Council met in the Keyboard Room of the Holiday Inn in DeKalb on
Sunday, May 12, 1974 at 2:00 PM. Members present were H. Bass, P. Bateman,
A. Beck, L. Bers, W. Browder, C. Curtis, S. Eilenberg, R. Fossum, M. Golomb,
M. Gray, P. Halmos, L. Lorch, s. Mac Lane, E. Moise, C. Morawetz, P. Moster,
b. Osofsky, R. Pitcher, J. Scanlon, D. Stone, O. Taussky-Todd. Also present
were G. Walker, L. Durst, R. Hahn, and H. Mac Donald. President Mac Lane was
in the chair.
The minutes of January l4, 1974 had been distributed by mail and were
offered for approval with the following corrections and clarification:
P. l, Par. l Add the name of M. Protter to the list of members present.
P. 9, Par. 3. Add the italicized words:
The Council considered the problem and the issues and passed to the
next item of business WITHOUT TAKING ANY ACTION.
P. 9, PAR. 5 Recast the next to last sentence with the changed text in
italics:
On the third point there were amendments and amendments to amendments
so that the motion finally read: AND THIRD THAT THE CANDIDATE BE ALLOWED TO
MAKE A STATEMENT OF AT MOST 100 WORDS ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER WITHOUT
RESTRICTION. IN ADDITION, THE CANDIDATE IS TO be asked to list up to five of
her or his research papers.
P. ll, L. l6-l8 Add the italicized words:
Then Prof. Lipman Bers offered a resolution on the same subject but
with a different wording that was admitted BY THE PRECIDING OFFICER.
At the request of Prof. Lorch, the wording of P. 8, L. 22 was altered in
the italicized words to read:
PROFESSOR LEE LORCH moved that the Executive1 Director be instructed to...
Professor Lorch further requested that p. ll, L. l8, be further amended by
the addition of the italicized word to read:
It was passed UNANIMOUSLY subject to ...
With these corrections the minutes were approved.
Minutes of the EB/BT of January l7, l974 were received and are attached
for information.
Minutes of the BT, Business by Mail dated May 2, l974 were received and
are attached for information.
Minutes of the EC/BT, Business by Mail dated May 3, 1974 were received and
are attached for information.
President Mac Lane called the attention of the Council to the attached
extract from the APS News and commented on this route to Society influence in
formation of National policy.
The Federation of American Scientists has distributed the attached
Professional Bulletin, which was received by the Council.
The attached letter from Prof. Gerald Porter was received. It is a
reaction to the recent motion passed by this Council cancelling the reciprocity
agreement with the South African Mathematical Society. The attached letter
from Prof. N.J.H. Heideman, Secretary of the South African Mathematical Society
was received.
A report of a meeting of the Committee of Scientific Society Presidents
was received and is attached.
President Mac Lane distributed the attached memorandum entitled THE
WASHINGTON SCENE. He stated his intent of referring questions (1) and (2)
therein to the Committee on Relations with Government for a report at the next
meeting of the Council. He entertained a suggestion by Prof. Gray that a
member of that Committee be from the Washington, DC area. No disposition was
made of item (3) of the memorandum.
Associate Secretary Walter Gottschalk asked for Council approval of the
dates Sunday and Monday, March 23-24, 1975, for a symposium in applied
mathematics, and Tuesday and Wednesday, March 25-26, 1988, for a meeting in New
York. It was noted that Passover is March 27 (i.e. sundown March 26) and that
Good Friday is March 28. The Council approved.
The EC responded to a problem referred to it by the Council of August 2l,
1973 by recommending that the Society continue with a dues structure based on
annual professional income of the member. Their report, but not the
attachments to the report, is attached. The Council approved the
recommendation.
The Colloquium Editorial Committee made three recommendations for future
Colloquium Lecturers, namely:
I.M. Singer January l976
William Browder August l976
Jurgen K. Moser August l976
Each had agreed to accept if invited. The Council agreed to issue the
invitations.
Prof. Jacob Feldman, a member of the Editorial Committee of the
PROCEEDINGS, had arranged to take leave from his academic position during the
fall of l974. He expressed a wish to take temporary leave from his editorial
duties. For the Editorial Committee he nominated Chandler Davis as a
substitute and indicated Davis' tentative willingness to serve. The Council
elected Davis a member of the Editorial Committee and of the Council to replace
Feldman.
The Committee on Employment of Mathematicians in Two-Year Colleges, a
joint committee with the MAA presented the attached preliminary report. The
Council discussed substantive matters related to the report and voted to
receive the report with thanks to the committee and to instruct the Secretary
to transmit the essence of the discussion to the Committee.
The Council considered the proposition of endorsing the report. Moise
remarked that new Ph.D.'s in mathematics may not have been skilled to teach in
two year colleges and Stone suggested that there may be a need for a program
for Ph.D.'s to that end. Lorch thought that the word "requests" in Par. l, L.
8 of the report should be replaced by "needs" [emphasizing that the colleges
may not be asking for what they really need] and thought that emphasis for
education and training of graduate students should be changed to teaching
and from research. Curtis expressed concern that there was no mention of
various master's programs in the report, inasmuch as at many two-year colleges
the master's degree is used as the qualifying degree for teaching. He thought
that the Ph.D. was overemphasized in the report. Bers suggested that
replacement of "Ph.D.'s" by "mathematicians" in Par. 2, L. 8 would accomplish
the change in emphasis. Curtis subsequently concurred. Morawetz noted that
part of the problem is connected with an apparent desire by two-year colleges
for the products of schools of education. Gray said that the Society should
take two-year colleges more seriously, that the Society was guilty of elitism
and adopted a patronizing attitude toward two-year colleges. Golomb inquired
whether any member of the Committee had taught at a two-year college and was
informed that Hinman and Osner do so now and that Sachs had been president of
a similarly situated four-year community college. Moreover, Auslander had just
completed a year of teaching in a two-year community college. Harking back to
the point made by Curtis and Bers, Browder stated his opinion that two year
colleges should upgrade themselves by including more research mathematicians
with Ph.D. degrees. Neither he nor Bers concurred with the suggestion of
Mac Lane that Par. 2, L. 8 could appropriately read "M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s. Bers
thought that we should try to train Ph.D.'s who would be useful in two year
colleges and even in high schools and should encourage two year colleges to
appoint such persons. Moise remarked that there is a scarcity [of
mathematicians at the two-year college level] and that the possibility of
furnishing too much to colleges at this level is remote. Curtis stated what
seemed to be the consensus that the Committee should be informed of the concern
over the emphasis on the Ph.D. and of the fact that questions over kinds of
master's programs were raised. [The consensus was on the word "inform" rather
than on the remainder of the sentence.] At the same time there seemed to be
consensus, voiced by Eilenberg, that one really wants Ph.D.'s in this program.
The Council received the attached report from Prof. Alice Schafer,
Chairman of the Committee on Postdoctoral Fellowships. In particular, it was
noted that Fred G. Abramson and James Li-Ming Wang were offered fellowships,
which they accepted. In response to a recommendation the Council voted to
recommend to the Trustees, first, that the fellowships be funded at $9,500 each
with an additional $500 each for expenses, and, second, that the fellowship
program be continued for another year with continuation of the matching formula
for the subsidy.
The Committee on Summer Institutes, with Louis Auslander as Chairman,
presented the attached report on the organization and charge to the Committee.
The Council approved. Prof. Browder moved that the list of past summer
institutes be published in the NOTICES. The motion passed.
The same Committee recommended a Summer Institute for l975 on the subject
of Functions of Several Complex Variables, with Robert C. Gunning and Hugo
Rossi as co-chairmen and co-editors. The proposal was approved by the Council.
The AMS-SIAM Joint Committee on Applied Mathematics proposed a symposium
for April l975 on the topic of nonlinear programming, with Richard Cottle as
chairman of the organizing committee. A letter from Richard C. DiPrima,
Chairman of the Committee, descriptive of the proposed symposium is attached.
The Council approved the proposed subject and Chairman and also approved Prof.
Cottle as editor if he is willing.
The Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences asked the following
question:
Question: What is the attitude of a suitable governing body of your
organization toward plans in which individual members would be accepted,
but would have no voice in the governance of the Conference Board, at
least until after a suitable time lapse and a full review by member
organizations?
A report of a CBMS Committee on Individual Members is attached. Prof. Charles
W. Curtis made a motion that the Council does not support the idea of
individual membership in the Conference Board. The motion passed.
A planning committee from AMS, MAA, and SIAM presented its final report,
proposing that the three organizations establish a Joint Projects Committee for
Mathematics with an organization and charge detailed in Section V of the
report. The report differs somewhat from a previous draft that was submitted
to the Council in January 1974 and was approved with an amendment by the
Council. There have been editorial changes, substantive changes in the
direction of greater precision, and amplification particularly in the addition
of a new Section VI, called Discussion, between Section V and the old Section
VI. Having received the report, the Council approved the structure of JPCM and
the charge to it as described in Section V. President Mac Lane offered for
information a proposal for a mini-study titled "Long-run Development of Math-
ematical Ideas." It is an example of a project that might well be undertaken
by JPBM, which would have the authority to proceed on such a project without
necessarily seeking approval of the project itself from the parent
organizations. Council members should be aware that, at the time of the
meeting, the proposal did not have the approval of COSPUP (Committee on Science
and Public Policy) or the parent body, the National Academy of Science, even
though it is written as proposal to them.
The report of the Treasurer and the Auditor's opinion were presented by
the Executive Director for information and are attached.
Several items were handled in executive session, beginning at 5:10 PM, and
are reported in summary here.
Three candidates for Steele Prizes were proposed by the selection committee
and approved by the Council. The names of the recipients are confidential
until the time of the award in January l975.
The Nominating Committee, consisting of Steve Armentrout, Chairman, David
M. Goldschmidt, J.J. Kohn, B.J. Pettis, and David A. Sanchez, presented the
attached slate, it being the slate presented in a written report and completed
by telephone reports to the Secretary.
Following extended discussion and debate, the names on the slate were
nominated for the respective positions. It was understood that the names of
Stephen Smale, Louis N. Howard, and Richard W. Beals would be used in that
order to bring the number of candidates for member-at-large up to l0 if the
nominations by petition did not do so and that the name of George D. Mostow
was an alternate.
The Chairman of the Nominating Committee and the Secretary were empowered
to fill any vacancies in the slate that might appear prior to the distribution
of the ballots.
A motion was passed that the names of the members of the Nominating
Committee be published each year in the NOTICES with an invitation to members
to write their suggestions to the Committee.
The Council nominated Frank L. Spitzer and Joseph B. Keller to be
representatives of the Society to the Division of Mathematical Sciences of the
National Research Council.
The Council considered two related problems, one of whether and how to
secure translation rights of Russian publications and the other of whether and
how to release reprinting rights of Society publications. Because of a later
request from Prof. Browder, the discussion is recorded in as much detail as can
be recovered.
There was an ad hoc committee consisting of R. Boas, Chairman, W.
Browder, E. Hewitt, J. Schwartz, and D. Stone appointed to consider and report.
Browder was replaced relatively early by R. Kirby. The principal part of the
recommendation from the Committee was as follows:
The Committee recommends that the AMS try to obtain an agreement to
exchange combined translation and reproduction rights to AMS journals
for combined translation and reproduction rights to Soviet journals,
preferably on the basis of total number of pages produced per year
(i.e., nominal number of pages times edition size). Moreover, the
AMS should try to get the Soviets to cancel their arrangements with
Plenum Press for the journals the AMS wants. The AMS should be guided
by the principle of increasing rather than decreasing the flow of
information in both directions.
Presumably the same principles should apply to books.
The Executive Director noted that, prior to Russian adherence to the
international copyright agreement, the Society had translated Russian journals
and the Russians had reprinted and distributed Society (and other journals,
with no permission or payment in either direction. The Russians admit to
distribution to the "Warsaw block" but the real distribution is wider. He
stated that, following Russian adherence to the copyright law, the Society had
an interest in exclusive translation and distribution rights of Russian mathe-
matical journals and in restricting distribution of reprinted Society journals.
It appeared that Plenum Press had secured for 1973 and perhaps later years the
translation rights to Izvestija and to all sections of Doklady. They had been
translating some of the sections of Doklady for several years, but not the
geology, physics and mathematics sections. During negotiation, Plenum granted
the Society the rights for l973 only, including the right to translate and
distribute certain material already in fact translated. Negotiation with
Russian agencies ultimately yielded an offer to exchange reprinting and
distribution rights within the Soviet Union of a list of Society journals
for translation and distribution rights of a list of Russian journals,
including Izvestija and the mathematics section of Doklady. It was not clear
[it has subsequently become clear. E.P.] that the agreement with Plenum Press
covering the last two journals was cancelled. The President and Secretary
advised immediate acceptance of the offer by the Executive Director.
The agreement appears to be on a year to year renewable basis. [The
cancellation with Plenum amy cover only 1974.]
Prof. Browder noted that his position on the general problem was stated in
an article in the NOTICES, 2l, P. l92, for June l974. His position is that one
should deal with the Russians on the basis of equality. Translation right and
reprinting rights are unlike things and should not be traded. One should not
give a gift to the Russians, and reprinting rights are a gift. Gifts should be
made on the basis of need, not present here. Translation on the other hand is
a new project involving the translation itself, editorial work, composition,
etc., making it a new project, incomparable with reprinting. He proposed a
motion that the Society offer to exchange reprinting rights of Society journals
for camera copy of translated Russian journals, page for page. The motion was
never seconded, though it was discussed. A principal difficulty, noted by
Stone, is that the numbers of pages will usually be unequal.
The subscription income to the Society corresponding to Russian reprints
of Society journals was estimated at $l60,000. In estimating the loss from not
selling these copies one should subtract printing and postage costs but there
still remains a large amount of money. On the other hand, Society production
of Izvestija and Doklady has been carried on with a surplus.
Prof. Eilenberg noted that a commercial publisher might well do a less
satisfactory job of translation and sell for higher prices. Browder remarked
that our surplus from translations comes out of the pockets of Western
mathematicians while the gift of reprint rights also comes from the same
pockets. Prof. Bass noted that the Russians profit from the fact that most
Russian mathematicians can read English and that the Society profits from the
fact that English has become a university scientific language. Prof. Beck
supports Eilenberg's position. Prof. Bers noted that the demoralizing effect
of translations because people are encouraged to rely on them instead of
learning mathematical Russian.
There was a motion to accept the report of the Boas committee as a Society
position. there was an amendment proposed by Browder to interpret
reproduction rights for Soviet journals to mean distribution rights in all
territory outside the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact countries, and Albania. He
emphasized that he was striving toward equality. The fact that such rights
might have little or not value to the Society was explored. the Executive
Director noted that the cost of our photocopying and printing alone would be
higher than the Russian subscription price of their journals. The amendment
lost and the main motion passed.
A selection committee consisting of Irving Kaplansky, Chairman, Walter
Feit, and Alex Heller, proposed two candidates for Cole Prizes. The Council
approved. The names are confidential until the time of the award in January
l975.
The Council had adjourned for dinner from 6:30 to 7:45 during executive
session. It returned to open session at 8:30 PM.
Prof. Jane Cronin Scanlon reported to the council for the Committee on
Legal Aid. The report, consisting of a proposed set of operating procedures
for the committee, is attached. The Council in committee of the whole used the
report of the committee as a base from which to frame a set of operating pro-
cedures. Upon reconvening, the Council adopted a resolution of thanks to the
Committee and recommended the following set of operating procedures to the
Trustees.
OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR THE LEGAL AID COMMITTEE
I. RELATION WITH THE COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM, TENURE, AND EMPLOYMENT
SECURITY.
The Council thinks that there should be no overlap in the functions of
these two committees. The Legal Aid Committee has a strictly financial
function. It should not initiate any investigations but should consider a
case only when CAFTES so recommends. It may at that point conduct further
investigations of a case to decide whether legal aid is to be recommended.
II. CRITERIA TO BE USED FOR RECOMMENDING A LOAN
The Council can envision two rather distinct sets of circumstances in
which the Committee may recommend legal aid in the form of a loan. First,
would be a case in which a mathematician seems to have suffered a real
injustice and in which it seems that he would be unable to pursue legal justice
without a loan from the Society. Second, would be a case in which an
appropriate judicial decision could be of general benefit to mathematicians.
In this connection, the Council reaffirms the following policy, embodied in a
resolution of the Business Meeting of January l6, 1974:
This meeting declares its categorical opposition to discrimination
againnst mathematicians in matters of hiring, promotion, termination,
tenure, and salary on the basis of race, sex, politics, religion,
ethnic origin, age or other non-professional characteristics.
This meeting calls upon the administration of the Society to assist
victims of such discrimination by measures which may include, in
addition to moral support, grants or loans in support of lawsuits.
Similar aid may be offered to mathematicians who, in their professional
capacity, have been victims of arbitrary administrative actions for
which a legal remedy can be found. Any such financial aid should be
given with due regard to fiscal prudence; it should begin on a small
experimental basis, and the financial aspects of the situation should
be examined, after two or three years, with a view to the formulation
of a permanent policy.
III. NATURE OF THE LOAN
Loans could be recommended for mathematicians whether or not members of
the Society. The loan limit should be $2000, except that it may be higher when
suitable security is provided. The rate of interest shall be determined by the
AMS BT and shall be lowest prevailing rate charged by reputable financial
institutions for a secured loan. Loans will normally be repaid in monthly
installments over a period of up to three years, but special arrangements may
be made. In suitable cases the Committee may recommend to the BT a waiver of
repayment.
IV. PROCEDURES
The Society will prepare loan application forms which are to be submitted
to the Legal Aid Committee. The applicant may submit a loan form at any time
but the LAC wil not act on a loan application until such time as CAFTES
recommends the case to them. The LAC will then decide on a recommendation to
the BT with an information copy to the Council.
The Committee on a Research-Expository Journal presented the attached
report, in which the establishment of such a journal is recommended, the
coverage is delineated the editorial function is described, and the financial
problem is considered. The Council passed a motion to recommend the
establishment of the journal to the Trustees. In so doing, the Council
recognized that subsequent to the approval of the Trustees there are essential
procedural steps.
The Committee to Select the Gibbs Lecturer for l975 and l976, of which
William H. Reid is Chairman, recommended Prof. Fritz John as the lecturer for
l975 and stated that he had signified his willingness to accept if invited.
The Council then passed a motion to issue the invitation to Prof. John.
The Council received the request of Prof. Fred Brauer to be relieved of
his duties as Editor of the PROCEEDINGS during the last four months of l974.
the Editorial Committee recommended Richard K. Miller as replacement. The
Council noted that Prof. Miller is a candidate for a four year term as Editor
effective in January l975 and elected him to replace Brauer during the latter
part of l974.
Prof. Lee Lorch offered a motion, subsequently amended by consent,
requesting the President to appoint a committee on Emergency Employment
Problems and to request the Committee to make an interim report to the next
meeting of the Council. The exact formulation of the charge was to be left
in the hands of the President, who was to consult with several interested
parties. The motion passed.
The Council received a resolution fro Prof. Lipman Bers as follows:
The members of the Council of the AMS, having taken cognizance of the
activities of the International Defense Committee of Mathematicians
on behalf of the Soviet mathematicians Shikhanovich and Plyushch,
express their full solidarity with the Committee and its demands.
We call on the Soviet authorities to agree with the requests of the
International Defense Committee and we express our firm conviction
that harsh treatment of mathematicians for policitcal reasons does
great harm to the cause of scientific cooperation between nations.
The requetss of the International Defense Committee, to which the motion
refers are attached, together with other information.
In a similar matter, Prof. Anatole Beck wished to inform the Council of
the "strange case of Prof. Georgiou" and asks that the Society "Make some
inquiry into the case, to determine whether things are as here represented."
An account from an unidentified writer is attached.
Prof. Lorch wished the case of Prof. Galo Gomez, formerly the Vice-rector
of the University of Concepcion to Chile to be considered.
A letter from President MacLane bearing on these questions is attached.
For consideration of these three points, the Council dissolved into a
committee of the whole. During the discussion, Prof. Bers and others drafted
a statement similar to his resolution that some members of the Council signed
as individual Council members.
When the Council reconvened, the resolution of Bers was withdrawn. The
Council instructed the Secretary to write a letter of inquiry to the ambassador
from Greece about the location and the state of health of Prof. Georgiou and a
similarf letter to the ambassador from Chile about Prof. Gomez.
The Council received the attached letter from Prof. Irving Segal. While
recognizing the seriousness of the problem that he describes, the council
decided to do nothing about the matter at this time.
Separate from the letter of Prof. Segal, the Council passed a motion by
Prof. Hyman Bass that the Executive Committee consider the possibility of
invoting V.I. Arnol'd to address a meeting of the Society on the occasion of
his visit to North America for the International Congress. It was recognized
that the first available meeting is on October 26, 1974 in Middletown and that
a sutiable temporary location for Arnol'd for at least two months should be
found. Further, it was noted that there might be difficulties over a visa for
Arnol'd. It was suggestged that copies of the invitation go to other bodies
such as the Organizing Committee of the Congress or the International Math.
Union.
Prof. Serge Lang asked that the council consider "the substance of the
question of charging royalty fees to publishing firms for collected works."
this is a part of the more general question of whether and how the Society
should chargbe for reprinting of material copyrighted by the Society. The
background of the problem follows:
l. Copyright of Society publications appears to have begun in l945.
2. The responsibility for deciding whether and how much to charge for
reprinting of copyrighted material lodges with the Trustees. The Council
cannot decide but they can recommend to the Trustees. In making such
decision, the Trustees act in joint meeting with the EC of the Council.
3. the Trustees established a general policy at their meeting of
December l7-18, 1964 by endorsing a statement of the American
Association of University Presses. In so doing, they were following
a recommendation of the Council Committee on Printing and Publishing.
The entire statement is attached. The operative statement may be "that
it is reasonable to charge fees for the use of our material in textbooks,
anthologies, books of readings, and certain periodicals.
4. Within the last 10 years (perhaps much longer) the full Council has
made no recommendation on the subject of fees or royalties for reprint
rights. The issue has come up twice in the Council since l964. From
April 4, 1969 there is the following minute.
Armand Borel asked that the Council consider a policy on charges for
reprint rights of journal papers. His letter is attached. The
Executive Director supplied a copy of the policy under which charges
are currently set.
[The "attached" letter is not attached here]
The Council took no action.
The current excursion into the problem arose in the following way. The
Council considered Society cooperation with the MIT press on the publication
of the series MATHEMATICIANS OF OUR TIMES at the meeting of January 2l, 1970.
There was extended discussion both of the primary issue and of a secondary one
of permisison to reprint and the cost of permission. The Council formulated a
resolution but by deliberate intent did not act on it. The last half of the
minutes if reproduced.
The main motion was made at different times in different worings, of
which the last version was as follows. Prof. Rota moved that the
President appoint a "watchdog" publication committee for the series
called MATHEMATICIANS OF OUR TIME, to be published by the MIT Press
under the auspices of [interpreted to mean with the cooperation of]
American Mathematical Society. Prof. Herstein moved to amend the
motion to shelve the recommendation of the EC and to recommend to the
BT that they automatically give permission to reprint from Society
journals in collected or selected works when in their judgement, the
project is a serious one. He further moved that the permission be
free. The amendment passed. However, by general consent the Council
accepted a proposal by Prof. MacLane that the Council pass to the
next order of business. The main motion, as amended, did not come
to a vote.
Not only is there a general policy that fees shall be charged for reprinting of
copyrighted articles, but also the other policy is applied in the actual
charging of fees. A summary of the number of instances and the amounts charged
in recent years is attached.
The financial considerations that concern the Trustees in part are as
follows. The current publications of the Society tend to run at a deficit. The
deficit is recovered from several sources, including dues, contributions for
page charges, related secondary ventures such as indexes, sale of back numbers,
and fees and royalties for reprinting. The last is one of the smaller items of
recovery.
In considering the matter, President MacLane described a compromise with
the MIT Press that had been tentatively reached by the Executive Director in
conference with the Editor in Chief of the Press. The Press had paid the
Society its fee for the reprinted copyrighted material in the entire printing
of the first volume of Zariski's works. The MIT Press had been paying Zariski
royalties only on copies sold but had collected from him an amount equal to the
entire fee to the Society. The compromise was to consist of paying the AMS
its fee only on the basis of copies sold and of not deducting from Zariski's
royalties at all. However, the official position subsequently taken by the
MIT Press was a proposal that the AMS be paid only on the basis of copies sold,
without reference to Zariski's position. The Council was displeased with this
turn of events and passed a resolution instructing the Executive Director to
cease negoitation with the MIT Press and to stand firm on the existing con-
tractual terms. The Council further voted on a motion by Prof. Osofsky to
table the discussion of the general question of royalty fees.
The Association for Women in Mathematics, INC. asked that such of their
meetings as take place concurrently with Society meetings be listed in the
introductory prose of the meeting announcements and programs. A letter to this
effect from Prof. Alice T. Schafer, President of AWM, is attached. The details
of the meetings have been listed in the hour-by-hour calendar but not in the
introductory prose. The Council considered such a request in January l974 but
did not accede. Prof. Schafer observed that the organization has now been
granted tax exempt status, noted that the Society has declared its intent "to
encourage the study of mathematics by women by presenting a more positive image
of mathematics and the role of women in it", and asked that the request be
considered for AWm separate from any similar request by another organization.
The Council agreed to list the AWm meetings as requested.
The Council passed a motion by Prof. Mary Gray that the Council hold a
meeting in the fall of l974.
The Council passed a resolution by Prof. Gray authorizing the President to
appoint a committee to study and report on how best to carry out the terms of a
resolution that was passed at the Business Meeting of January 27, 1974, and
that was worded as follows:
This meeting views with alarm the present practice at many institutions
of increasing class sizes and teaching loads, and otherwise saving
money at the expense of educational quality and scholarly research.
The Council and officers of the Society are called upon to seek means
to reverse this unhealthy tendency.
A suggestion from Prof. Gray is attached, in which she proposes a set of
guidelines on teaching loads and class sizes.
The Council enterntained a resolution by Prof. Beck, Golomb, Gray and
Lorch as follows:
Effective immediately and until further notice, all members of the
Council and BT shall, during their terms of office, be sent without
extra charge the NOTICES of the Ams by first class surface mail if
resident in Canada or the U.S. and by air mail otherwise.
The motion was passed. However, when the information was forthcoming that an
individual member of the Society could have such service by payment of a
service charge the resolution was reconsiderd and failed.
The Council received a resolution from Prof. Beck, Gray and Lorch as
follows:
l. The AMS shall not hold meetings at hotels where facilities are
administered or designated in such a fashion as to suggest discrimination.
2. The Society shall inform the Biltmore Hotel, NY, where April
meetings have often been held of this policy and of the fact that this
policy will preclude holding meetings there until at least such time as
the facilities there now designated as "Men's Grill" are renamed (an
administered) in a non-discriminating fashion.
3. The Society office shall prepare a check-list for the guidance
of local arrangements committees. This check-list shall be prepared after
soliciting suggestions via a request in the next issue of the NOTICES and
shall be approved by Council.
On a motion from Prof. Bers, this resolution was tabled.
The Council adjourned at l2:30 AM.
Everett Pitcher, Secretary
May l2, l974
