Executive Committee Meeting 
79 
meetings, already diminishing, may disappear altogether. Perhaps a reduction in 
costs could be realized by changing the “break even” circumstance from a 
minimum of 600-650 people attending to 750-800. My hope is that the theme of 
this essay will be accorded consideration by the Executive Committee. We 
should take serious note of and regard as dangerous the fact that for three years 
we have had a decline in annual meeting attendance and have had to extend the 
deadline for abstracts so to reduce the decline in abstract submission. We must 
reverse this trend. 
Summary 
1. ASB has agonized over the reality that the founding institutions of the 
Association, the larger, research universities, private and public are 
increasingly absent from representation in the membership and participation 
in the annual meetings. The agonizing should cease, since the cause is 
permanent. The highly specialized faculty and graduate students at large 
universities prefer small meetings concentrated in their specialties and in 
social association, if any, with their own kind. However, as noted in a recent 
meeting of the Executive Committee, the door should remain open—wide 
open to our colleagues at these larger institutions. 
2. The search for membership should concentrate on liberal arts 2- and 4-year 
colleges and universities where excellence in teaching, service, and research 
are still valued. These institutions are the sources of the present 
membership, but gone almost unnoticed is the fact that they are much under¬ 
represented in our association. 
3. Featured institutions and their municipalities must be made aware of the 
economic value for the region and prestige for the institution that the annual 
meeting of the Association offers. The Meetings Coordinator, and the two 
featured institution members that serve the Annual Meetings Arrangements 
Committee should convince the administration of the host institution and 
community leaders of this reality. In that recognition, the featured 
administration should conclude that an investment of space and/or funds in 
the meeting would be worthwhile. 
4. Every method possible should be advanced to reduce the cost of the annual 
meeting. No mystery resides in the offering of zero costs for meeting space 
by hotels or convention centers that exact tremendous profit from food sales 
(e.g., lunches, the Thursday social, and awards banquet). Free meeting 
space because of food and lodging sales has been the rule in the past before 
ASB had a Meetings Coordinator. However, Scott reports that venue 
providers still try to add space costs to our bill in spite of the benefits they 
derive from food and lodging sales forcing him to walk away. Usually and 
fortunately, these venue providers associate a potential great loss with the 
sight of Scott’s back as he walks away, and, accordingly, call him back. 
Author’s note: Throughout this document I have changed “Host Institution” to 
“Featured Institution” in recognition of Executive Committee’s general 
concurrence with the idea that ASB should take the first step toward a stance of 
collegiality with institutions in the vicinity of our annual meeting. Put another way, 
we are emphasizing ASB’s value to the institution rather than the institution’s 
value to ASB.” 
