Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
Members Present: R. A. Sawyer – Chairman, S. A. Goudsmit, W. W. Havens, Jr., R. B. Lindsay, Vincent E. Parker, S. L. Quimby
Absent: Mary E. Warga
Guest: Elmer Hutchisson – Director Emeritus
AIP Staff Present: H. W. Koch, Wallace Waterfall, Mary M. Johnson (G. F. Gilbert – Treasurer was absent because of illness)
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.
1. Minutes
Upon motion made and carried, the minutes of the meeting of June 9, 1967, were approved as distributed.
2. Confirmation of Salary Adjustment for Treasurer
The Secretary stated that last July it became apparent that the Treasurer’s salary should be adjusted to bring it into line with the compensation being paid to new executives. Members of the Executive Committee were polled by telephone and all (except Mr. Havens who was unavailable) approved a proposed increase. Upon motion made and passed without dissent, the Executive Committee confirmed this increase, retroactive to July 1, 1967. (Details are set out in the official copy of these minutes.)
From $20,000 per year to $23,000 per year.
3. Lease of Space for Washington Office in Joseph Henry Building
The Secretary reported that the Institute had signed a 3-year lease with the National Academy of Sciences for space in the Joseph Henry Building to house our Washington Office. We had been renting space in the American Chemical Society building, through OSA, but ACS is taking over the whole building for their own use. We will pay $6.00 per square foot, compared with the $5.00 we had been paying, and the total yearly rent will amount to $1,929 for 321 square feet. The new address of the Washington Office, as of October 1, is: Suite 835, 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037.
4. Final Action on AIP Revised Retirement Plan
The Secretary reported that the Revised Pension Plan adopted June 10, 1965, by this Executive Committee had been approved by the Internal Revenue Service on July 31, 1967, with certain further amendments to Sections 4-5, 4-6 (c), 6-5, and the additional of Section 5-7, and with certain amendments to the recital and to Section 2 of the Trust Agreement, dated October 29, 1957, with Bankers Trust Company under the Plan. To officially approve these amendments, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service, a motion was made, seconded and passed, without dissenting vote, to adopt the following resolutions:
RESOLVED, that as a First Amendment thereto the American Institute of Physics Revised Retirement Plan, adopted June 10, 1965, (the same being an amendment to the American Institute of Physics Amended Pension Plan) be amended by adding a Section 5-7 and amending Sections 4-5, 4-6 (c) and 6-5 to read as set forth in copy of the Revised Retirement Plan attached to the official minutes of this meeting.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that as a Second Amendment thereto, the Trust Agreement with Bankers Trust Company dated October 29, 1957, entered into under the American Institute of Physics Amended Retirement Plan, now known as the Revised Retirement Plan be and it hereby is amended pursuant to Section 14 of said Trust Agreement by amending the recital to said Trust Agreement, now reading as follows:
“WHEREAS, the Institute has heretofore adopted an Amended Retirement Plan, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Plan’ (a copy of which is attached) for the benefit of the Members and their beneficiaries as therein defined,”
To read as follows:
“WHEREAS, the Institute adopted on October 20, 1957, an Amended Retirement Plan, for the benefit of the Members and their beneficiaries as therein defined, and on June 10, 1965, amended said Plan, as previously amended December 14, 1957, March 23, 1958, and September 27, 1961, to read as set forth in a Revised Retirement Plan, and on October 3, 1967, adopted a First Amendment to said Revised Retirement Plan so that said Revised Retirement Plan, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Plan’, reads as set forth in the attached copy,”
and by amending Section 2 of said Trust Agreement, now reading as follows:
“Section 2. The Trustee shall maintain a separate account for each Member of the Plan in each Trust Fund. Upon the transfer of a sum of money to the Trustee the Pension Committee shall certify to the Trustee what part thereof is to be credited to each Member’s Account, pursuant to section 3-6 of the Plan.”
to read as follows:
“Section 2. The Trustee has a separate account for each Member of the Plan in Trust Fund ‘A’ and in Trust Fund ‘B’ as of January 1, 1965, and shall maintain said accounts until such time as there are no Members who were members on January 1, 1965. From and after January 1, 1965, the Pension Committee shall maintain any other separate accounts for each Member under Trust Fund ‘A’ and Trust Fund ‘B’ necessary for carrying out the provisions of the Plan.”
FURTHER RESOLVED, that said First Amendment to the American Institute of Physics Revised Retirement Plan and said Second Amendment to the Trust Agreement thereunder with Bankers Trust Company be made effective as of January 1, 1965.
The Secretary reported further that, at the time the Revised Pension Plan went into effect, we incurred a contingent liability of approximately $120,000 for past service benefits. Each year a certain number of people resign from the Institute and from the Plan, and there is a forfeiture which is normally used to decrease the Institute’s payments for the following year. Since the new Plan went into effect we have been applying these forfeitures to the past service liability and the Pension Committee, which met on September 13, 1967, has approved this action. The following motion was then made by Mr. Quimby, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Executive Committee approve the application of forfeitures toward reduction of the past service liability which was assumed under the Revised Retirement Plan.
The Secretary said that, in addition, we are paying ten per cent per year on this contingent liability and should have it paid off in five or six years.
5. Income from Exhibits at APS-AAPT Meetings
The Director reported that our income from exhibits at the joint meeting held in January and February this year was $20,988. The Secretary said he had explained in a letter written several years ago to the Treasurers of APS and AAPT how income and expense in connection with the joint meetings were being handled and invited objections. None were received. The Institute has always been willing to charge reasonable meeting expenses against exhibit income and, in response to a question, the Secretary said the cost of projectionists could be so charged if requested by the Societies.
6. Corporate Associates
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To be Elected
The Director reported that the Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. had requested to become a Corporate Associate of the Institute for 1967 at the minimum dues rate of $500. Upon motion made and passed without dissent, they were so elected.
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Status Report
The Director reported that we now have 157 Corporate Associates with a net income of $130,578 for 1967.
7. Savings Account for Friends of the Niels Bohr Library Fund
The Secretary stated that we currently have a special purpose fund called Friends of the Niels Bohr Library Fund, the principal purpose of which is the purchase of books. As of June 30, 1967, there was $6,837.25 in this account. The year-end balance has been between $5,000 and $7,000 for several years and we should like to invest it in a savings account after provision is made for a cash balance to cover outstanding book purchase orders. The following motion was made by Mr. Parker, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the staff be authorized to open a savings account in the name of Friends of the Niels Bohr Library Fund.
8. Gifts to the Institute
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Stewart S. MacDermott
The Secretary recalled that in June 1966 he had reported to the Executive Committee receipt of a notice that the Institute had been named as a contingent beneficiary in the will of Stewart S. MacDermott. Nothing further was heard until this past June when we received a letter from the Chemical Bank New York Trust Company asking whether we would accept the remainder interest in this estate. The Secretary said he called the trustee and learned that the remainder interest would amount to about $4,000 or $5,000 per year, and would, upon the death of one of the primary beneficiaries, come to AIP —
“for subsidizing (1) lectureship with (2) publication upon a subject directly or indirectly connected with fundamental theory. Either (1) or (2) may be of a semi-popular nature but at least one of them shall contain a complete mathematical exposition of the subject. The appointee shall be a man of recognized authority in the field selected, and ‘publication’ shall mean either in a journal of a recognized scientific society or independent publication and distribution by the American Institute of Physics, Inc. itself.”
The Secretary stated that we propose to accept this bequest under the conditions stipulated if there were no objections. There were none.
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Mrs. W. F. Meggers
The Secretary recalled that The Meggers Trust Fund had been established at the Institute last year by the family of the late W. F. Meggers. He reported that, at the request of Mrs. Meggers, royalty payments in the amount of $833.32 due Mr. Meggers from The Welch Scientific Company had been contributed to the Fund on August 14, 1967.
9. Member Rates on AIP Journals Applicable to Not More than One Copy
The Secretary reported that Mr. Uszak is setting up programs for our new magnetic tape system and would like assurance that Society members will not be permitted to subscribe to several copies of any one journal at the member rate. The following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that a member may subscribe to only one copy of any journal published by the Institute at the member rate.
It was the consensus that some exceptions may be necessary and can be dealt with individually.
10. Gracing of Journals
Past practice has been to send one or more issues of journals to subscribers after the expiration of their subscriptions. This is known as “gracing” and is justified when collection of dues and crediting of payments is slow. However, it is no longer necessary with our present system.
Mr. Quimby said that Mr. Uszak had asked him if APS would consent to no gracing of their journals. He stated that, if he could tell the APS Council that AIP has adopted a “no gracing” policy for its own journals, such a policy would probably be approved by APS for its journals. The following motion was then made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that there shall be no grace period for AIP-owned journals.
11. Report on Meeting of Committee on Physics and Society
The Director reported that a meeting of the subject Committee had been held on October 2, and he read the following statement which that Committee had endorsed:
“We believe that the continued upgrading of physics teaching, particularly in high schools, is one of the most pressing problems facing American physics today.”
The Director said that, inasmuch as this Committee is advisory to the Governing Board, any statement which the Committee endorses should have formal approval before it is used as a statement of AIP position. The following motion was made by Mr. Parker, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Executive Committee approve endorsement of the above statement by the Committee on Physics and Society.
12. Science Writing Award
The Director reported that a proposal had been submitted to the United States Steel Foundation requesting a grant of $2,500 for support of an AIP-U.S. Steel Science Writing Award. Although the grant states that it carries no commitment beyond the present, we hope that it will become an annual award. We propose to give a cash prize to the science writer of the best published article of the year. The prize would be $1,500 and the balance is to cover administrative and other costs. (This grant was received on October 27, 1967.)
13. Appointment of Director as Adjunct Professor at Queens College
The Director reported that he had received an invitation to serve as an Adjunct Professor on the staff of Queens College. He said he would like to accept the appointment, without remuneration, and with the understanding that it will not infringe upon his duties as Director of the Institute. There were no objections.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.