The annual meeting of the National Council, open to all faculty advisors, was held on Sunday, December 28, 1997, at 11:30 in Conference Room B, Sheraton Centre,Toronto, Canada. President Maurice W. Conner presided.
1. The meeting was called to order at 11:30 by President Conner. All members of the National Council were present except Professor Inge Halpert who could not attend due to family problems.
2. The minutes of the meeting held the previous year in Washington, D.C. (December 28, 1996) were approved as distributed in the Spring Mailing, 1997. They will appear in the next regular issue of the Bulletin.
3. The Secretary-Treasurer gave the Treasurer's Report for information.
4. The President reported on Invested Funds administered by Dr. Richard Seymour.
5. President Conner made the following information available: In 1997 a total of 107 chapters held at least one initiation (116 in 1996). A total of 776 new members were initiated (826 last year). The Society has a total of 232 chapters. Of these, 132 are active and 100 are inactive. During the past year the following chapter reactivated: Sigma Epsilon Phi, Hunter College, New York. The issue of reactivation remains a constant concern to the National Council. Two new chapaters were added to the membership: Lambda Gamma, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Faculty advisor: Teresa Reber; Lambda Delta, John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH. Faculty advisor: Birgit Jensen.
6. The members of the scholarship commttee this past year were: George Koenig (SUNY Oswego), Chair, Geoffrey Orth (Longwood College), and Pamela Saur (Lamar University). The total number of completed applications was 10 (as opposed to 11 last year): 7 were in the Graduating Senior group, 3 were in the Sophomore/Junior group. The winner and runner-up in the first category made aplication to DAAD. The winner and runner-up in the first category were Erica Doerhoff (Vanderbilt University) and Theo van Joolen (San Diego State University). The winner and runner-up in the Sophomore/Junior category were Leila Amirhamzeh (Drew University) and Mikro Widenhorn (Drew University).
7. The next annual meeting will be held in San Francisco in conjunction with
the 1998 annual meeting of the Modern Language Association. The topics for the
1998 meeting will be:
1. "Teaching and Learning German"
2. "Problems in Germanic Linguistics"
Individuals interested in presenting a paper should contact the Secretary-Treasurer as soon as possible. Anyone wishing to present a paper need not be a chapter advisor or member of Delta Phi Alpha; however, all must be bona fide members of the MLA as of April 1, 1998. Abstracts of proposed papers shold be sent to the Secretary-Treasurer by March 23, 1998.
8. President Conner reported on the winners of Incentive Grants for the past year. A total of seven awards were made totaling $1,550. The following chapters received awards:
1. Alpha Chapter (Wofford College), $100. Support of Oktoberfest celebration.
2. Zeta Theta (San Diego State University, $300. L.A. County Art Excursion.
3. Delta Chi (Wake Forest Universtiy), $300. Software Purchase.
4. Epsilon Xi (Texas Tech University), $200. Lecture Series.
5. Kappa Omicron (University of Northern Colorado), $300. Lecture Series.
6. Kappa Xi (Northern Arizona University), $200. Faust Performance.
7. Theta Pi (University of Texas, Arlington), $150. Austrian Culture Day.
OLD BUSINESS
1. The status of the Delta Phi Alphan was discussed. Professor Ed Fichtner could not attend the meeting, but sent a report with the Secretary-Treasurer. The overwhelming number of addresses (over 2,000) to be added to the database slowed publication of the first issue. If all goes well, this first issue should appear by March, 1998. Chapter reports sent to the Secretary-Treasurer were forwarded to Dr. Fichtner for inclusion in the Delta Phi Alphan.
2. The National Council agreed to continue the Incentive Grant program. Applications for awards, which will total between $100-$300 each, will be sent out in the Spring Mailing. Chapters which received awards this past year must wait a year before becoming eligible to apply for further awards.
NEW BUSINESS
1. An annual stipend for the National Secretary-Treasurer was proposed by President Conner. By unanimous vote, the Council voted to approve this stipend.
2. Professor emeritus, Richard Seymour, previous Secretary-Treasurer of the Society and Administrator of Invested Funds, requested that a successor be found to take over this office. Professor Maurice Conner agreed to assume these duties.
3. The National Secretary-Treasurer reported on the results of the recent election of officers to the National Council. These officers will serve from January 1, 1998-December 31, 1999. The members of the Nominating Committee this year were: Professor Edward Fichtner (Emeritus, Queens College, CUNY), Chair, Professor Frank R. Hugus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Professor Elizabeth Mittman, Michigan State University. The following slate of officers was unanimously elected by ballots sent to all faculty advisors at active Delta Phi Alpha chapters:
National President: Michael Schulz, New York University
National First Vice-President: Wolff von Schmitt, University of Utah
National Second Vice-President: Frank R. Hugus, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst
National Secretary-Treasurer: John Reynolds, Longwood College
4. The National Council agreed to provide certificates to the runner-up scholarship contestants in the annual scholarship competition. The National Secretary-Treasurer will design such certificates.
5. A discussion of the eligibility regulations for Delta Phi Alpha scholarships was postponed until a later date.
6. Professor John Reynolds, National Secretary-Treasurer, thanked Professor Maurice Conner for his outstanding leadership of the Honor Society during his terms of office.
7. Adjournment. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:40.