Executive Committee
Sheryl B. Vogt (chair), Kate Cruikshank (ACSC Secretary), Phil Duncan (ACSC Treasurer), Sean Kelly, Frank Mackaman, Betsy Pittman, Ray Smock
Ex Officio Members: Richard Hunt, Karen Paul, Robin Reeder

The Executive Committee, which includes its three elected officers, is the governing body of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. The ACSC President serves as chair and appoints four members to the Committee. Three Ex Officio members represent the following institutions: Center for Legislative Archives, US Senate Historical Office, US House Office of Information and Preservation.

The Executive Committee administers the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. It appoints and oversees all ACSC working groups, committees and task forces, although it relies on recommendations of the Strategic Planning Group for standing committee and task force structure, charges, and ongoing work to ensure that goals are being met and support the ACSC mission. The Executive Committee approves the annual budget and oversees the financial management of the Association. The Executive Committee submits bylaws to the membership for approval and solicits officer nominations from the membership, selects a slate of candidates, oversees elections, and reports results. The Executive Committee appoints a Program Committee for each annual meeting of the Association. All committees and task forces, through their respective chairs, will prepare reports for review by the Executive Committee that will be presented to the membership at the annual meeting and subsequently posted on the website.

Association of Centers for the Study of Congress
Executive Committee, Committees and Task Forces 2009

Working Group activities of the Executive Committee:

Strategic Planning Sheryl B. Vogt (chair), Richard Hunt, Frank Mackaman, Karen Paul, Ray Smock

The ACSC President will chair the Strategic Planning Group. All Strategic Planning Group-produced plans, goals, and recommendations will have final approval by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Association. The Strategic Planning Group (SPG) will set short and long-term goals for the Association in the context of writing a Strategic Plan and regularly assessing the work of committees and task forces and the programs and progress of the Association in light of current congressional scholarship and archival activities. The SPG will recommend the establishment and dissolution of committees and task forces as necessary for fulfilling the Association’s short-term goals. It will draft charges and serve as liaison to the committees and task forces to assure that their work is on task and supports the overarching goals of the Association. The SPG will identify, investigate, and recommend overarching Association projects for member institution participation and benefit. The SPG will report to the Executive Committee directly and report on its work to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting. The degree of member interest, participation, and financial and administrative resources will determine the Association’s ability to undertake successful projects.

Membership Kate Cruikshank (chair), Phil Duncan, Sean Kelly

The Membership Group will assess membership in terms of appropriate support for the Association and its activities and representation from likely institutional sources and professions of individual members. Based on its findings, the group will create a plan for strategic boosting of membership. If warranted, it may recommend to the Executive Committee targeted solicitation of members or increases in the dues structure.

Congressional Archives Almanac Richard Hunt (chair), Karen Paul, Robin Reeder

The Congressional Archives Almanac Group will provide annually a brief report on the state of congressional papers and records. The Almanac report will be shared with ACSC membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

C-SPAN Ray Smock (chair), Frank Mackaman, Sheryl B. Vogt

The C-SPAN Group will investigate possible coverage of ACSC annual meeting sessions by C-SPAN. How ACSC can contribute to C-SPAN-3, devoted to history programming broadly construed, will also be explored. The group will provide current information to the membership via the website and at the annual meeting of C-SPAN initiatives and potential opportunities for collaboration with member institutions.

Publications Karen Paul (chair), Kate Cruikshank, Betsy Pittman

The Publications Group will oversee the transcribing and editing of the annual meeting proceedings for publication on the ACSC website. The group will liaison with committees and task forces producing publications and supervise the production and any contracts involved with such publications. The group also may advise the Executive Committee of potential and prospective ACSC publications.

COMMITTEES

Scholarships and Awards Committee
Julia Collins (chair), Bernard Forrester, Robin Reeder, Ben Rogers, Lori Schwartz

The Committee will establish qualifications, procedures, timelines, and forms for applications and evaluation, publicize awards as appropriate, request funding as necessary for awards and ads, and serve as panel to select recipients. As funding is available, additional awards will be determined by the Executive Committee, and the Scholarships and Awards Committee may recommend funding areas. In addition to creating award notices and advertising, the Committee will report to the Executive Committee on request and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting. Current awards are the Raymond Smock Award of $1000 to a first-time attendee of an ACSC annual meeting by a Member Institution’s staff member, and the Richard Baker Graduate Student Research Travel Grant of $1000 to support research on Congress.

In 2011, in order to mark the 25^th Anniversary of the Congressional Papers Roundtable and recognize its spectacular role in promoting the preservation and use of congressional collections by providing a forum for sustained discussion and problem solving and for continually devising ways to meet new challenges, the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress hereby creates an annual scholarship of up to $500 to support someone to attend the annual CPR pre-conference meeting at the Society of American Archivists. 

Education Committee
Christine Blackerby (chair), Janet Bunde, Nissa Dahlin-Brown, Jan Levinson, Frank Mackaman, Ryan Semmes

The Education Committee will review and disseminate to the membership information on programs that promote the study and knowledge of Congress in K-12 and academic environments, including projects that support Web resources, teacher workshops, student use of primary resources related to Congress, and promotional and instructional publications. A question for the Committee to explore is Are there developed educational programs and resources that institutional owners can share with other ACSC members? The committee will liaison with National History Day organizers and look for ways to collaborate both with the ACSC membership and with others. The Committee will report to the Executive Committee on request and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

Outreach and Public Programs Committee
Jill Severn (chair), Terry Birdwhistell, Chris Burns, Ken Kato, Dorothy H. Walker

The Outreach and Public Programs Committee will review member institutional outreach and public programs activities and identify areas for possible collaboration. Are there developed outreach and public programs and resources that institutional owners can share with other ACSC members? The Committee will recommend activities related to outreach and public programs that the Association itself may pursue to interact with scholars, potential supporters, and the general public. The Committee will provide suggested guidelines for successful collaborative outreach programming and encourage such activity among member institutions. The Committee will report to the Executive Committee on request and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

Archives Liaison and Access Committee
Kate Cruikshank (chair), Morgan Davis, Sean Kelly, Katherine Stein

The Archives Committee will serve as a liaison with groups like Congressional Papers Roundtable, Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress, House and Senate Archivists, Center for Legislative Archives, Former Members of Congress, and any other documenting or promoting study of the work of Congress to insure that ACSC is aware and current with its colleagues in this field. This could include encouraging joint programs or projects with these groups. The Archives Committee will not explore advocacy issues, which will be addressed by the Communications Committee. The Committee will also encourage the development of guidelines for collection description that will maximize research access to congressional papers collections. Initially, it will coordinate closely with the ACSC Congressional Finding Aids Database Task Force through sharing at least one common member with that task force. The Committee will report to the Executive Committee and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

Academic Liaison Committee
Sean Kelly (chair), Michael Ballard, Richard McCulley, Rebecca Johnson Melvin, Cindy Rosenthal
The Academic Liaison Committee will monitor the professional conferences and publications in the fields of history, political science, and legal studies related to the study of Congress and report at each annual meeting on trends and developments in scholarly research and resources on Congress. This ongoing review should be done with an eye to opportunities for ACSC to collaborate or provide support for such research. The Committee will investigate the potential for creating an ACSC exhibit booth to advertise the Association at appropriate professional conferences. The Committee may also recommend scholar sessions for the ACSC annual meetings or ACSC-related sessions at appropriate professional conferences.

Communications Committee
Ray Smock (chair), David McMillen, Sheryl B. Vogt, Linda Whitaker

The Communications Committee is to find ways, recommend, and carry out projects to publicize the ACSC, its mission, and its programs. Making Members of Congress aware of the Association and its relationship to the preservation of papers and records and promotion of the study and history of Congress is the primary and ongoing goal. The Committee will recommend an ACSC media spokesperson for approval to the Executive Committee and will advise the Association’s spokesperson on breaking issues. The Committee will also investigate and recommend advocacy initiatives for the Association, including legislative support such as PAHR sponsorship. The Communications Committee will identify potential stakeholders and explore advocacy collaboration with other groups, such as CPR and Former Members of Congress. The Committee will report to the Executive Committee directly and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

Web Site Committee
Sheryl B. Vogt (chair), Abby Adams Griner, Erin Sloan

The Web Site Committee will expand the ACSC Web presence and provide interactive and content rich resources as well as Members Only access for administration, dues and registration, and networking. The Committee will implement the use of the ACSC logo. Following the establishment of the new site, the Executive Committee will appoint a Webmaster. The Committee will report to the Executive Committee on request and to the general membership via the website and at the annual meeting.

TASK FORCES

Congress Week Task Force
Erin Sloan (chair), Jill Severn, Matthew Wasniewski, Linda Whitaker

The Task Force will establish a national campaign that sets aside a week in September, near the date of the ratification of the Constitution, to promote the understanding of Congress and the importance of its study. It will investigate the potential of any coordination or collaboration with Constitution Week. Congress Week will feature simultaneous programs focusing on Congress at member centers across the nation. The Task Force will identify activities and literature for the event, the inaugural of which should be September 2010, and will report to the website and at the 2011 annual meeting on the event. The Task Force should also recommend whether legislation is necessary to sustain the event beyond this Association. After two years, the work of this Task Force may be maintained by the Communications Committee.

Congressional Finding Aids Database Task Force
Betsy Pittman (chair), Mark Dionne, Rebecca Johnson Melvin, Katherine Stein

The Task Force will produce a planning grant proposal to create a searchable database of institutional finding aids related to Congress. The Task Force will include the Executive Committee and ACSC membership as necessary to insure the grant’s success. The Task Force will communicate to ACSC the progress with its work via the website and at the annual meeting.