December 14, 1978

Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

Members Present: P. M. Morse – Chairman, R. T. Beyer, W. W. Havens Jr., H. W. Koch, Sidney Millman, J. W. Quinn, A. A. Strassenburg

Absent: L. M. Branscomb, C. B. Duke

Nonvoting Participants: J. A. Burton (APS), M. T. Shaw (SOR)

AIP Staff: H. William Koch, Director; Sidney Millman, Secretary; G. F. Gilbert, Treasurer; R. H. Marks, Associate Director for Publishing; Lewis Slack, Associate Director for General Activities; D. M. Lasky, Assistant to the Director; M. M. Johnson, Assistant to the Secretary

Chairman Morse called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.

1. Minutes

Millman informed the Executive Committee that the minutes of the 21 November meeting had not yet been prepared. He expected to have the minutes of that meeting, as well as those of the present meeting, available in time for approval at the 22 February meeting of the Executive Committee.

2. Resignation of Ivan R. King

Millman reported the resignation of Ivan R. King of the American Astronomical Society from the Governing Board, effective 7 January 1979. AAS will appoint another representative to the Board soon after 1 January.

3. Consideration of the Proposed 1979 Budget

1. Introductory Comments by H. W. Koch

2. Fiscal Operations

   Gilbert called attention to his handout on “Approval of Parallel 1978 Computer Costs to be Borne by AIP” and suggested that costs incurred in rental and maintenance of equipment in the Data Processing Division as a result of the parallel operation should properly be charged to AIP General Expense. The following motion was made by Quinn, seconded by Havens, and passed without dissent:

   MOVED that the parallel cost for 1978 of rental and maintenance of equipment of the Data Processing Division, amounting to $13,000, be charged to AIP General Expense.

3. Publishing Branch Operations

   Marks called attention to the current practice of deferring for three months the composition costs incurred in our operation at 800 Second Avenue. APS had, in the past, expressed a preference for not deferring such charges and the composition costs at Woodbury are accordingly handled on a "cash" basis. It is now proposed to have all of our composition costs on a cash basis. This means that AIP will have to absorb the deferred expense incurred in October, November and December of 1978 in the 1978 calendar year.

   The following motion was made by Havens, seconded by Quinn, and passed without dissent:

   MOVED that AIP discontinue the practice of deferring 3 months’ expenses of composition performed at 800 Second Avenue and absorb these expenses incurred during the last quarter of 1978 in the 1978 calendar year.

   Marks continued his discussion on the highlights of the Publishing Branch operation and noted that AIP has held subscription prices constant for three years, but we will have to anticipate some price increases in 1980. He also recommended that microfilm prices be increased from 1 ¼ cents to 1 ½ cents per page to keep production expenses at about 50% of sales.

   The following motion was made by Havens, seconded by Beyer, and passed without dissent:

   MOVED that the price for microfilm be increased to the highest of the following: printed copy journal subscription price, or one and one-half cents per page, or $25 a roll minimum.

   Marks observed also that the Soviet journals, except for the four newer ones, continue to produce satisfactory income despite inflation, but we will need an increase for 1980 to maintain the financial health of this program.

   Marks stated that the Physics Today budget is predicated on an increase in the advertising page rate from $1,480 to $1,625 with corresponding increases in fractional and color page rates. The increases would probably go into effect by 1 April 1979. The following motion was made by Havens and passed without dissent:

   MOVED that the recommended increases in the Physics Today advertising page rate from $1,480 to $1,625 per page, with corresponding increases in fractional and color page rates, be approved.

4. General Activities Branch

   Slack noted that the budget provides for the completion of the sample membership survey which had just gotten started, as well as for the beginning of the full membership survey toward the end of 1979. Havens observed that the decision to proceed with the full membership survey would have to await the approval of the Executive Committee, following a report of favorable experience with the sample survey.

5. Increased Fringe Benefits for AIP Employees

   Following a recommendation by Gilbert to improve the fringe benefits of AIP employees in two respects, the following two actions were taken by the Executive Committee.

   1. A motion was made by Quinn, seconded by Havens, and passed without dissent:

      MOVED that AIP be authorized to provide for increased major medical benefits to a maximum of $250,000 with a deductible of $100 per year.

   2. A motion was made by Havens, seconded by Beyer, and passed with Strassenburg abstaining:

      MOVED that AIP be authorized to increase life insurance benefits to one and one-half times annual salary from the present one times salary formula.

6. Approval of Budget

   After a further brief general discussion on the 1979 AIP budget, the following motion was made by Havens and passed unanimously:

   MOVED that the proposed budget for 1979 be adopted.

4. Participation in ANSI

Millman reviewed briefly his experience of the first year as the AIP Organizational representative to the American National Standards Institute, and pointed to the need for deciding on the continuation of AIP’s membership in ANSI. The following motion was made by Havens, seconded by Beyer and passed:

MOVED that AIP’s membership in ANSI be continued for another year, and that someone from the Publications Division be designated as the AIP representative to replace Millman.

5. Report on Society Presidents’ Reaction to Changing Size of Governing Board

Millman reported that all but one (AAPT) of the nine Member Society Presidents have indicated that their respective Societies would favor a decrease in the size of the Governing Board, and that his latest proposed formula, shown below, looks all right to them. AAPT has not yet acted and expects to decide at the end of January.

The meeting was recessed for luncheon at 12:40 and reconvened at 1:05 p.m.

6. Resignation of L. W. Fredrick from Nominating Committee

Morse announced that, as a result of notification by L. W. Fredrick that he will not be able to continue his activity on the AIP Nominating Committee, of which he was chairman, he (Morse) is appointing Harold F. Weaver to replace Fredrick as a member of the Committee and Robert Karplus (already a member of the Committee) as chairman.

7. Status Reports

1. Renovation of New York Headquarters Building

   Marks reported on the status of renovation and plans for occupancy of the headquarters building.

2. Computerization of Accounting

   Gilbert distributed copies of the latest report by Robert J. Moynihan on “Status of Computerization of Accounting,” and answered several questions about the current status of this activity.

3. ATEX Computer-Based Photocomposition System

   Marks reported that the Journal of Applied Physics, the Journal of Mathematical Physics, and JETP Letters are being composed by the ATEX system.

8. New NSF Indirect Cost Rate

Gilbert reported that the National Science Foundation has accepted without an audit the AIP proposed overhead rate on activities performed under NSF grants. The rate, which applies to new grants, is 28.57%. The previous rate was 22.44%.

9. 1978 Audit Timetable

Gilbert stated that the timetable for the 1978 audit is being drawn up and will be presented at the next meeting.

10. Problems in Print Order for JASA and in Production of 1979 AAS Membership Directory

Marks reported on some errors in the print order for the July and August issues of The Journal of the Acoustical Society and in the recently published directory of the American Astronomical Society. AIP has agreed to bear the costs of about $1,400 and $2,600, respectively.

11. Request for National Office Review of Proposed Revocation of AIP’s 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status

Koch reported that the AIP brief to the National IRS Office was filed on 7 December, as scheduled.

12. Resolution re Samuel A. Goudsmit and Ralph A. Sawyer

Millman reported the recent death of Samuel A. Goudsmit and the following resolution was adopted upon motion made by Havens, seconded by Strassenburg, and passed without dissent:

WHEREAS, Samuel A. Goudsmit has served as a member of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics from 1950 to 1974, and the Executive Committee from 1955 to 1969, and

WHEREAS, The Institute has formally recognized his statesmanship in science by awarding him the Karl T. Compton Gold Medal in 1974, be it

RESOLVED, That the Executive Committee of the Institute wishes to express its deep sorrow at the death of its illustrious colleague and does hereby note in its records the passing from this life of a man who was esteemed by his associates and respected by all; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to his family.

Millman also reported the death of Ralph A. Sawyer on 6 December and, upon motion made and passed without dissent, the following resolution was adopted:

WHEREAS, Ralph A. Sawyer has served as a member of the Governing Board and Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics from 1954 to l966, as Chairman of the Board from 1959 to 1971, and as Acting Director from October 1964 to March 1965 and again in 1966, and

WHEREAS, The Institute has formally recognized his statesmanship in science by awarding to him the Karl T. Compton Gold Medal in 1971, be it

RESOLVED, That the Executive Committee of the Institute wishes to express its deep sorrow at the death of its illustrious colleague and does hereby note in its records the passing from this life of a man who was esteemed by his associates And respected by all; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to his family.

13. Report on Soviet Subscriptions to AIP Journals

Gilbert distributed copies of a report presenting the trend in Soviet subscriptions to AIP and Society journals. The report listed the number of subscriptions and total sales in dollars for each journal since 1973. He also reported that AIP paid the Soviets $108,000 in July 1978 in royalties for the 1977 Soviet journals that AIP translated and distributed.

14. Status of Copyright Clearance Center

Koch reported on the fiscal status of the Copyright Clearance Center, giving a strong indication that it will become completely self-sustaining by the end of 1979. This prediction is based on the assumption that the current rate of growth will continue. The present level of operation is about 10,000 to 11,000 articles per month from 2,100 journals.

15. Plans for 22 February 1979 Executive Committee Meeting

Koch reported that, as a preparation for long-range planning, he was proposing to appoint an internal study group composed of David Kraft (chairman), David Dresia, A. W. K. Metzner, and Tom Fasio (consultant) to examine in a systematic way the entire pricing and marketing policies of AIP, and requested authorization for the expenditure of $15,000 to cover consulting services of the consultant for two months, travel funds, and administrative services. The consensus was that it is too early to engage a consultant.

The next meeting of the AIP Executive Committee will be held at AIP headquarters on 22 February 1979, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.