April 1, 2025—The SAA Council met February 11 and 12 for its winter meeting. The Council has a few announcements to share:
- Council approved the November Council meeting minutes. (II.A)
- Ratified the SAA Council approval of joining the National Humanities Alliance (NHA) with its strong record of legislative advocacy that aligns with the interests of SAA and its archivists. (II.B)
- Ratified the SAA Council appointment of Audra Eagle Yun, Ricky Punzalan, and Christina Zamon to serve on the Committee on the Selection of SAA Fellows. (II.B)
- Council ratified SAA Executive Committee interim actions (II.C), which include the following:
- Issuing a statement regarding the Public Archives Resiliency Act.
- SAA’s statement in response to the Wall Street Journal article to what Dr. Colleen Shogan stated. Affirming that archivists are professionals bound by SAA’s Code of Ethics guiding archival engagement.
- Signing onto a letter in support of not attaching the Pro Codes Act to “must-pass” legislation.
- Issuing a joint letter with the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), and the Regional Archival Associations Consortium (RAAC) to present key recommendations for Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) reauthorization language aimed at enhancing the capacity and sustainability of our nation's archival institutions.
- The Society received 186 proposals for sessions and 41 proposals for poster sessions for ARCHIVES*RECORDS 2025. This is compared to 147 proposals and 23 poster sessions received in 2024. Make your reservation for the Annual Meeting early—the hotel link went live March 15. (III.B)
- Council approved amendments to the standing rules of the Committee on Public Policy (IV.A) and the Diverse Sexuality and Gender Section. (IV.B)
- Council discussed the revisions proposed by the Governance Manual Subcommittee to update the SAA Governance Manual (IV.C) and add a parliamentary position.
- Council and Foundation President discussed ethical investment and requested that the SAA and SAA Foundation’s Finance Committees investigate fund options and the potential financial implications of moving from a conventional to an ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investment plan. The SAA Council and Foundation will re-evaluate the investment strategy after the Finance Committees and the Society's Financial Advisors provide recommendations.
- Council evaluated the SAA Strategic Plan to determine work completed, work to be continued, and work to be paused. (VI.A)
The spring Council Meeting will be held on May 12 and 15, 2025. Agenda items and reports are due by April 14 to saagovernance@archivists.org. You can register for that meeting here.
Please note that in an effort to give Council members enough time to review the documents before a Council meeting, documents will be due 5 weeks before a Council meeting. Documents received after posted deadlines will either be moved to the next Council meeting or considered as an interim action after the scheduled Council meeting.
View the agenda and materials from the Winter meeting: https://www2.archivists.org/groups/saa-council/february-11-12-2025-council-meeting-agenda
Meeting minutes will be available via the SAA website.
If you have questions about these Council actions, contact SAA President Derek Mosley (president@archivists.org), Chief Executive Officer Jacqualine Price Osafo (SAACEO@archivists.org), or SAA's Governance team (saagovernance@archivists.org).
