E-Bulletin
September 2010


American Academy of Religion
In This Issue

Colleagues:

Greetings from the American Academy of Religion! I hope this finds you well and excited about our upcoming Annual Meeting. It’s hard to believe the meeting is just four weeks away!

This month’s e-bulletin contains a number of items, including important announcements about our 2010 Annual Meeting in Atlanta. In addition, I would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming vote on proposed AAR bylaws changes at our Annual Business Meeting; vote in our current officer elections; and, if you are a nontenure-track faculty member or graduate student, invite you to take a survey developed by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce. Finally, please don’t hesitate to nominate a wonderful teacher on your campus that you feel should be recognized by the academy for his or her excellence.

With every good wish in this academic year and with thanks for your participation in the work of our Academy, I remain

Sincerely yours


Jack Fitzmier
Executive Director

NOTICE OF AAR BYLAWS CHANGES

Please read this important announcement regarding our Academy’s governance structures.

After careful consideration, the AAR Board has voted unanimously to recommend for membership approval a new set of AAR bylaws. The recommendation follows a thorough review by the Governance Task Force appointed by the Board in 2007. Your Board of Directors strongly encourages the membership to ratify these proposed bylaws.

Click here to review an important letter from our most recent Presidents. The letter briefly reports on the work of the AAR Governance Task Force and provides a rationale for the changes the Board is proposing. There are also links to the full text of the Governance Task Force Report, a copy of the proposed bylaws, and helpful FAQs. Also included are the members of the 2009 and 2010 Board of Directors that have unanimously endorsed these proposed changes.

I hope you will take time to read the Presidents’ letter, review the accompanying materials and, at the Annual Business Meeting during the 2010 Annual Meeting, vote to support these important changes to our Academy. The Annual Business Meeting will be on Sunday, October 31, 7:30 AM–8:45 AM, in the Hyatt Regency–Dunwoody.

ANNUAL MEETING NEWS

Registration Deadline

September 30 is the deadline for Annual Meeting registration at the Advanced rate. After this date, Annual Meeting registration rates increase to the Regular registration rate. Hotels are still available with the specially discounted hotel room rates. You must be registered to secure housing. Check the Annual Meeting Program Planner for all the details, and register and book housing online.

Rooms Are Selling Fast — Reserve Your Room at a Headquarters Hotel Today!

Reserve a room at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Hotel or the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel before they sell out! You won’t find a better deal that offers such close proximity to Annual Meeting sessions and more opportunity for those great “hall networking meetings” that make the Annual Meeting so special. What are the advantages of the AAR hotels?
  • Stay at a first-class hotel for a specially-negotiated low rate.
  • Be at the center of the action. Staying at the Hyatt or Marriott means you are only an elevator ride or a skywalk jaunt from a can’t-miss session, the exhibit hall, or the Job Center.
  • Rely on the AAR “seal of approval.” All hotels have been inspected by the AAR staff for quality and accessibility.
  • Networking opportunities are easier and enjoyable.
  • Hotels are located right next to a MARTA public transit stop (Peachtree Center) — only a $2.75 ride from the airport!
  • Your support helps the AAR keep Annual Meeting registration costs low. Hotels offer the AAR deals on the meeting room costs based on the number of hotel reservations. Staying at an official hotel helps the AAR provide its many services at such low cost during the Annual Meeting.

Act now! Guaranteed room rates expire on October 8.

Annual Meeting Program Book

Check out the Online Annual Meeting Program Book! The print Program Book will be included in the tote bag at the Annual Meeting, which will be available onsite in the registration area of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta.

Help to Green our Annual Meeting

The AAR is making it easy for members to purchase Renewable Energy Credits when traveling to the Annual Meeting. By simply clicking a box on the online registration page, members can choose to give $15 to NativeEnergy. The AAR’s Sustainability Task Force selected NativeEnergy because of its commitment to reducing greenhouse gases while supporting its sustainability projects. NativeEnergy helps you to assist Native American, farmer-owned, community-based renewable energy projects that create social, economic, and environmental benefits. These projects will displace electricity from fossil fuels and reduce other greenhouse gas emissions on your behalf, making up for the CO2 emissions you can’t avoid. We encourage you to make this inexpensive commitment to helping make our meetings more environmentally friendly. The AAR will collect the funds and purchase the offsets immediately before the Annual Meeting.

Women’s Mentoring Lunch

Register today for the Women’s Mentoring Luncheon at the Annual Meeting! Meet with senior women scholars in the field to ask your questions and hear how others have faced the challenges of navigating academe. Lunch is provided with your $10 registration.

Nurturing the Next Generation of Scholars Workshop at the Annual Meeting

Sponsored by the American Academy of Religion and The Fund for Theological Education, this two-part workshop is designed for students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups who are considering the pursuit of a PhD or ThD in religion, theology, or biblical studies. The goals of this workshop are to introduce prospective graduate students to the professional guilds, provide opportunities for participants to dialogue with distinguished faculty and current graduate students, provide useful information on the graduate application process, and increase the pipeline for future faculty of color in the guild. Students who participate in this workshop will be preselected from an application pool. More information and the application materials can be found here or e-mail doctoralinfo@fteleaders.org.

Annual Meeting Job Center Registration

Annual Meeting Job Center preregistration is currently open for candidates and employers. Preregistration will close October 11. Register early to receive full benefits. For more information, click here.

Additional Meetings

If you have a meeting, reception, or other event that you plan to hold at the Annual Meeting, time is running out to get onto the Annual Meeting Program! Please complete the online Additional Meeting Request form and your meeting information will be published in the Online Program Book.

Other Annual Meeting Announcements

Childcare registration for the Annual Meeting is now open! KiddieCorp childcare is a service subsidized by the AAR for members with families attending the Annual Meeting.

Need a roommate? See who else is looking to share on the AAR Roommate Finder. Or you can Look Who’s Coming to the Meeting to see if your friends and colleagues are attending.
 
Check the Annual Meeting pages frequently to see news about AAR programming, Additional Meetings, things to do in Atlanta, and much more!

AAR ELECTIONS

By now, you should have received notice of the electronic ballot for the 2010 AAR elections. The Vice President position is to be filled during this election. You can view the candidates’ bios and statements here. The successful candidate will take office at the conclusion of the 2010 Annual Meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to influence the governance of the AAR, so please cast your vote for the candidate now. Elections are open September 20–October 18, 2010.

If you have not yet received a link to the ballot, please notify us via e-mail at nominations@aarweb.org. Be sure to include your full name and the e-mail address to which you would like the link to the ballot sent.

COALITION ON THE ACADEMIC WORKFORCE (CAW)

The AAR is a member of the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW), a group of higher education associations, disciplinary associations, and faculty organizations committed to addressing issues associated with faculty working conditions and their effect on college and university students in the United States. 

Recently the CAW has been focusing on contingent, adjunct, and part-time teachers and researchers. These are colleagues who are off the tenure-track, including faculty members employed either full- or part-time, graduate students remunerated as teaching assistants or employed in other roles, and researchers and post-doctoral fellows. 

As a part of its advocacy effort, the CAW has developed a survey regarding course assignments, salaries, benefits, and general working conditions of contingent faculty members and instructors. We invite all AAR members employed off the tenure-track to take the survey, which will be available until November 30. CAW’s website, featuring a link to the survey, is located here.

AAR AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE DEADLINE APPROACHING

The Teaching and Learning Committee seeks nominations for the AAR Award for Excellence in Teaching. Nominations of winners of campus awards, or any other awards, are encouraged. Procedures for the nomination process are outlined on the AAR website. The deadline for nominations is October 1.
 
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