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This page describes the responsibilities of the Board and Committees of SCS as of 2023, reflecting major governance changes that went into effect beginning January 1, 2017 and that are still ongoing. As of January 2023 the appointed equity advisor, graduate student, and contingent faculty board members are elected offices. You can read job descriptions for the new positions, which appear on the 2022 election slate, in this document. Also, as of January 2023, a new SCS Data Committee is managing and directing data collections efforts for the Society.

For the foreseeable future, all committee and board meetings, including those that take place at the annual meeting will be virtual or hybrid.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors oversees all Society activities. The vice presidents of its six divisions (see below) are all members of the Board as are the President, President-Elect, immediate Past President, two Financial Trustees (the senior of whom is the VP for Resources), six Directors-at-large, and the graduate student and contingent faculty directors, and director with special responsibility for equity. Each of these directors and officers is elected by the membership. The Executive Director, who is appointed by the Directors, is a non-voting members of the Board and acts as Secretary. The Board meets in person / via zoom regularly three times each year: for 3 to 4 hours at the beginning and the end of each annual meeting in January and for a total of 6 hours in September of each year. In addition, the Board meets by for 2-3 hours each June to review a proposed budget for the next fiscal year and to conduct other pressing business. Recently the board has also had a number of extraordinary meetings to discuss the annual meeting, which has become challenging during the pandemic. All board meetings will be virtual or hybrid for the foreseeable future. The VPs and financial trustees have particular portfolios of responsibilities. The six Directors-at -large do not have particular responsibilities as regards the Society's divisions but may be asked to serve on ad hoc committees. They also conduct with program committee members the first round of abstract review for the annual meeting.

Committees on Governance and Administration

  • Executive Committee is a subset of the board that can be convened as necessary by the President in order to address matters that require an urgent response.
  • Nominating Committee is elected by the membership to compile a slate of candidates for all elected positions of the SCS. Two new members are elected each year to serve three-year terms, and members serve as co-chairs of the Committee in the final year of their terms. The immediate Past President serves a one-year term on the Committee. The Committee prepares a ranked list of potential candidates for each office and committee where vacancies are scheduled to occur, and the co-chairs then ask the preferred members listed whether they are willing to run. It meets in person twice during the year, for a full day in October or November, and for 4 to 6 hours at the very beginning of each annual meeting, i.e., on the day (usually a Thursday) before sessions begin. Committee meetings are likely to be virtual or hybrid for the foreseeable future. Usually the committee's work is finished by February or March athough it can extend further into the spring.

Resources Division

  • Finance Committee is responsible for establishing and overseeing the annual budget of the Society, and supervising its investments. Committee members monitor the Society's bank accounts and invested funds and regularly advise the Executive Director on Society policy and practice. It meets in person (or virtually) in May, for 2 to 3 hours at each annual meeting, and with the SCS auditor in the late Fall or early winter. The Senior Financial Trustee chairs the financial committee. Both financial trustees have signatory authority on all the Society's bank and investment accounts.
  • Membership Committee develops strategies and materials that will recruit new members of the Society and encourage the continued participation of current members. Recently the committee has been particularly engaged in encouraging the participation of K-12 teachers. The Committee conducts much of its business via e-mail and also meets in person at the annual meeting. The membership committee also works with a network of "legates" in each state of the US. The legates provide a link between SCS and classicists at every level and statewide and local Classics organizations.
  • Annual Fund Committee helps to develop appeals for annual fundraising campaigns, and participates in the identification of potential donors and, where appropriate, the solicitation of contributions. The Committee meets by conference call several times during each year and for two hours in person at each annual meeting. Committee members volunteer to draft annual giving campaign letters and sometimes to thank donors and follow up with lapsed donors.

Communications and Outreach Division

The Communications and Outreach Division is responsible for promoting a wider public understanding and appreciation of Classics. Its goal is to strengthen the SCS's ability to communicate with a broadly constituted audience.

  • Communications Committee is responsible for the web presence and social media of the Society. Committee members post to the SCS social media accounts and solicit and edit articles for the SCS blog. They also work with SCS staff on communications initiatives and moderation of comments on social media accounts in accordance with the social media policy. The committee meets at the annual meeting and remotely at other times of year.
  • Committee on Public Information and Media Relations promotes a broad appreciation and understanding of the Greek and Roman world and is responsible for selecting the Forum Prize winner in the Fall of each year. The committee meets at the annual meeting.
  • Committee on Classics in the Community fosters classics and ancient studies in the broader community and is responsible for the Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities initiative. The committee meets at the annual meeting. It generally conducts business via email at other times of year. There are three deadlines for the grant initiative, in February, May, and October. Generally reading and ranking of proposals takes place during the 30 days following each deadline.
  • Outreach Prize Committee reviews nominations for and selects the winner of a prize that recognizes an outstanding work of an SCS member or members that makes an aspect of classical antiquity available and attractive to a non-specialist audience. The project or event to be considered must have been developed entirely or in part within ten years of the nomination deadline; candidates for the prize must currently be SCS members. The Committee conducts all its work in the Fall by e-mail and (if necessary) by a virtual meeting.

Education Division

The Education Division of the Society is responsible for all of the Society's activities in the fields of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education.

  • K-12 Education Committee consists of appointed members who serve as a central resource of information and activity responsive to the educational concerns of teachers and scholars in the K-12 sector. Its members serve ex officio on the Joint Committee (with ACL) on the Classics in American Education (JCCAE - see below) and advises the Vice President of the Education Division on the projects and activities of the other standing committees of the division. The Committee on K-12 Education and the JCCAE meet together for 2 to 3 hours at each annual meeting and frequently organizes a panel at the annual meeting. Committee members frequently work on standards and informational resources.
  • College and University Education Committee consists of appointed members who serve as a central resource of information and activity responsive to the educational concerns of teachers and scholars in all types of higher education institutions from community colleges to PhD-granting departments. The committee meets in person at the annual meeting and remotely at other times of the year.
  • Graduate Student Committee has been a standing committee since 2018. It makes recommendations about issues that concern graduate students, including the curriculum and preparation for a variety of teaching, research, and other careers. The Vice President for Education and one member of the College and University Education Committee serve as ex officio on the committee. The committee frequently organizes a panel at the annual meeting, and has organized, with AIA's Graduate Student group, two annual lectures by a graduate student in 2020 and 2021. The committee meets at the annual meeting.
  • Coffin Traveling Fellowship Committee selects an outstanding secondary school Greek and/or Latin teacher to receive a fellowship to study in classical lands (not limited to Greece and Italy). The Committee conducts all its work in the early Spring by e-mail and (if necessary) at a virtual meeting.
  • Committee on Awards for Excellence in Teaching of the Classics reviews nominations and selects up to three recipients annually of the Society's collegiate teaching award. The Committee conducts its work in the Fall and if necessary by conference call. Work on reviewing and revising application and nomination guidelines may take place over the summer.
  • Joint Committee (with ACL) on the Classics in American Education (JCCAE) works to improve communication and cooperation among all levels of Classics teachers. One subcommittee selects up to two winners of the Society's award for excellence in precollegiate teaching each Fall, and another subcommittee selects 4 to 6 winners of SCS Pedagogy Awards each spring. All award selections are made by e-mail and (if necessary) at a virtual meeting. In addition to meeting at the annual meeting as described above, JCCAE meets at the Institute of the American Classical League in June.
  • Pearson Fellowship Committee oversees the annual selection process and award of the Pearson Fellowship which enables an outstanding student who majored in Classics or a related field in a North American college or university to study for a year in a university in the United Kingdom. The Committee reviews applications for the Fellowship in early November of each year, longer writing samples for short-listed candidates in December, and meets in person with its 4 top-ranked candidates virtually in January. Recently these fellowship interviews have occurred outside the dates of the annual meeting.
  • Koenen Fellowship Committee has three members, one appointed by the American Society of Papryologists. The committee works by email in the spring to adjudicate applications for the Koenen Fellowship award for training in papyrology.
  • Gruen Prize Committee has five members, appointed by the President, at the recommendation of the Vice President for Education and the Committee for Diversity in the Profession. The committee will be responsible for selecting each year the best student essay on race, ethnicity, and cutlural exchange in the ancient Mediterranean. The review and voting period falls in the Fall of each year.

Professional Matters Division

The Professional Matters Division is charged with overseeing the social, ethical, and professional contexts of the discipline of Classics. Its goal is the promotion of equity in all aspects of the profession.

  • Committee on Professional Matters oversees all activities of the Division, including but not limited to promulgation of ethical standards, collection and interpretation of data, proposal of remedies for professional inequities, support for programs under threat, and development of policies and procedures for handling professional grievances, subject to the approval of the Directors. The committee is made up of ex officio members who are the chairs of other committee in the division.
  • Committee on Professional Ethics, consisting of elected members, considers grievances and complaints pertinent to the SCS Statement on Professional Ethics with a view toward providing informal and formal resolution of specific disputes within the Society and outside it, according to policies and procedures established by the Board of Directors. The Committee meets at the annual meeting and remotely when and if there are professional ethics matters to discuss. However, the Committee does not consider complaints and issues that occur at the annual meeting itself, as those are handled in accordance with the Joint AIA-SCS meeting policy by an annual meeting ombuds, a joint onsite rapid response team, and a joint committee if formal complaints occur subsequent to the meeting.
  • Committee on Career Planning and Development. The Committee oversees the operation of the Placement Service, monitors current hiring procedures, and suggests modifications and improvements when necessary. It also reviews complaints lodged by individuals or institutions concerning violations of Placement Service guidelines. the committee also works on career planning initiatives that will be of assistance to graduate students and faculty who may be moving to employment outside the academy. It meets for about two hours during each annual meeting and conducts other business by e-mail.
  • Committee on Gender and Sexuality in the Profession promotes awareness of issues regarding gender and sexuality in its broadest sense; serves as an advocated for equity; and seeks to develop resources and provide remedies for ills resulting from historical patterns of discrimination. The committee meets at the annual meeting and remotely at other times.
  • Committee on Diversity in the Profession seeks to increase participation in the field of Classics by underrepresented groups. It also oversees the annual selection process for the Minority Scholarships in Classics and Classical Archaeology. The committee meets at the annual meeting and remotely at other times.
  • Committee on Contingent Faculty advises on the situation of the growing number of contingent faculty and advocates for all non-tenure-track faculty. The committee meets at the annual meeting and remotely at other times.
  • Data Committee: This new committee as of 2023, with nine members, is overseeing and managing data collection for the Society. In its first year, the committee is laying the groundwork for data collection and completing some pilot projects.
  • Director of Classics Advisory Service provides (a) assistance to institutions conducting external program reviews (primarily by providing names of potential outside reviewers); (b) (in cooperation with the Executive Director and other officers) timely support for departments or programs whose future is threatened; and (c) general support and advice on strengthening programs in Classics. The Director conducts the Service’s business by e-mail and zoom and is an ex officio member of the Committee on Professional Matters.

Program Division

The Program Division is responsible for the Annual Meeting which the Society holds jointly with the Archaeological Institute of America.

  • Program Committee consists of elected members who read proposals, abstracts, and reports submitted by panel organizers, affiliated groups, and individual scholars, selects submissions for presentation at the annual meeting, and is involved in the planning of special sessions and events with the SCS office and SCS officers. It also reviews applications by groups and individuals seeking charters to issue calls for abstracts. Committee members receive submissions electronically and rate proposals online during the Spring with the work starting in April and ending in June. The Committee meets for two days in June to make final decisions on all submissions. The Committee also reviews annual meeting submission procedures and policies on a regular basis.
  • Committee on Ancient and Modern Performance promotes the performance of classical texts, both in the original and in translation. The Committee sponsors panels and workshops on new approaches to the performance of classical texts, maintains a guide to resources for the performance of classical texts and a directory of consultants who can assist others seeking to stage classical drama, and presents a reading of a play with a classical theme at the annual meeting. The Committee meets for about an hour at each annual meeting and conducts other business by e-mail during the rest of the year.
  • Local Arrangements Committee assists the SCS Office by recruiting volunteers to perform various functions at the annual meeting and by providing information about the city in which the meeting takes place.

Publications and Research Division

The Publications and Research Division has charge of all of the Society's activities in fostering scholarly research and publication and the development of scholarly materials.

  • The Committee on Publications and Research oversees the Society's involvement in scholarly projects, sets policy for the Society's publications and research programs, allocates the money budgeted for them, approves publishing contracts with authors, sets the page limit of the Transactions, monitors costs of all publications, and manages the SCS's relationships with its publishing partners: the Oxford University Press for books and the Johns Hopkins University Press for Transactions. The Committee meets for two hours at each annual meeting and conducts business via e-mail during the rest of the year.
  • Committee on Translations of Classical Authors identifies ancient works needing translations and helps to produce such works. It meets for about an hour at each annual meeting and conducts business via e-mail during the rest of the year.
  • Editors of TAPA identify unpublished articles by members of the Society or papers given by participants at the Annual Meeting that deserve to be made available to the scholarly community. The Editor examines submitted manuscripts, has them refereed, and decides to reject or publish them after weighing the recommendations of referees. In collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University Press, the Editor sees accepted articles through all phases of preparation to final publication in the journal. Two issues of the journal are published each year. The Editor is an ex officio member of the Committee on Publications and Research. The editor works closely with the editorial board.
  • Advisory Board to the American Office (AO) of l'Année philologique supervises the operations of the AO and maintains the Society's relationship with the Société Internationale de Bibliographie Classique. The Board meets for an hour at each annual meeting and conducts business via e-mail during the rest of the year.
  • TLL Fellowship Advisory Board oversees a fellowship funded in large part by the National Endowment for the Humanities that permits a scholar from the United States to work at the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae project in Munich and appoints every year the members of the selection committee (below)
  • TLL Selection Committee reviews applications in November and December and meets for five to six hours virtually in January to conduct interviews with a short list of candidates and to select the Fellow for the subsequent academic year.
  • Committee on the C.J. Goodwin Award of Merit consists of five elected members, normally of complementary scholarly interests, to evaluate books, monographs or articles by members published within a period of three years before the end of the previous calendar year, in order to identify three outstanding contributions to classical scholarship. The Committee reaches its decisions by e-mail and, if necessary, by zoom meeting. The SCS office receives nominations of books and articles and copies of books and articles for distribution to the committee. The committee members also receive eligibility lists and can select scholarly works that are eligible but not nominated. Obviously this committee involves a lot of reading. The work occurs in the spring and summer.
  • The Information Architect oversees the technical aspsects of the SCS website and collaborates with SCS office staff and contract web developers.

Delegates and Representatives

  • Representative to American Classical League. The Representative attends the League’s Institute each June and reports on its activities to the membership.
  • Delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies. The Delegate attend the annual meeting of the Council each May and reports on it to the membership. The Delegate receives all communications sent to the Board of Directors and may attend Board meetings.
  • Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the Federation Internationale des Associations d’Etudes Classiques (FIEC). The Delegate and Alternate Delegate attend the General Assembly and the Congress organized by FIEC and report on these meetings to the membership.
  • Representative to the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (TLL). The Representative attends the meeting of Commission of the TLL which takes place every three years.

For further details of individual committees, see the Society's Bylaws and Regulations.

See also the list of current board and committee members.