Present: Karl Ameriks, Margaret Atherton, Stephen Darwall, Daniel Farrell, Richard Fumerton, Eleonore Stump, Joan Weiner. Guest: Karen Hanson, Acting Chair of the Board of Officers.
1. Call to Order: President Karl Ameriks called the meeting to order at 7:14 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes: The Minutes of the 2004 meeting, as printed in the Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 78.4 [February 2005], pp. 147-151, were approved as printed.
3. Approval of Agenda: The proposed agenda was approved by consensus.
4. Discussion with the Acting Chair: Karen Hanson reviewed the recent history of events concerning the position of Executive Director of the APA and the current situation with respect to the choice of an Interim Executive Director, the search for a new Executive Director, and the election of a new Chair of the Board of Officers. A lengthy discussion of these issues with members of the Executive Committee followed. Following the discussion, the Executive Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution, on motion by Eleonore Stump:
“The Executive Committee of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, expresses its most profound gratitude to Karen Hanson for her willingness to take on the demanding job of Acting Chair of the Board of Officers and working tirelessly, selflessly, and skillfully in discharging the duties of that office.”
5. John Dewey Lecture Proposal: Karen Hanson presented a proposal from the John Dewey Foundation to underwrite the costsof organizing a session each year at the Central Division’s annual meeting at which distinguished American philosophers would discuss their own work.
Each session is to be followed by a reception open to all those attending the meeting, to permit further informal discussion. The Dewey Foundation will provide funding for the lecturer’s travel expenses, an honorarium, and the costs of the reception. In discussion, Hanson said that the Dewey Foundation would leave the choice of philosopher for each session and the organization of the session up to the Central Division Program Committee for that year and that the session is not expected to be scheduled as a plenary session. Following discussion, the Executive Committee unanimously adopted the following motion:
“The Executive Committee of the American Philosophical Association is pleased to accept with thanks the generous offer from the John Dewey Foundation to establish a John Dewey Lecture as a regular event at Central Division annual meetings and refers the choice of a lecturer and organization of the session for 2006 to the 2006 Program Committee.”
6. Report of the 2004-2005 Nominating Committee: Past President Stephen Darwall, Chair ex officio of the 2004-2005 Nominating Committee, reported the nominees for Central Division officers to be elected in the 2005 elections as follows:
For Vice-President and President-Elect:
Ted Cohen (University of Chicago)
Alison Jaggar (University of Colorado)
Thomas McCarthy (Northwestern University)
For Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee, term 2004-2007:
Marilyn Friedman (Washington University)
Louise Antony (Ohio State University)
Daniel M. Hausman (University of Wisconsin)
For the 2005-2006 Nominating committee (4 to be elected):
Frederick Beiser (Syracuse University)
John Deigh (University of Texas–Austin)
Justin D’Arms (Ohio State University)
Marilyn Frye (Michigan State University)
Richard Grandy (Rice University)
Charles Mills (University of Illinois–Chicago)
Janet Kourany (University of Notre Dame)
Candace Vogler (University of Chicago)
7. Report on Plans for the 2006 Meeting: Secretary-Treasurer Smith reported on the state of planning for the 2006 meeting, including the tentative plan to allow electronic submission of papers, following the procedure used by the Eastern Division for its 2005 meeting (see below, Item 11).
8. Financial Report and Proposed Budget for 2005-2006: Secretary-Treasurer Smith distributed the Financial Report for 2004-2005 and proposed budget for 2005-2006 as a combined document. He noted that registration income for 2004 fell short of projections, though still much improved over 2003. He projected a budget for 2005 with revenues (including transfers from the pooled advertising revenues of the Divisions) essentially equalling expenses (the actual revenue and expenses for 2005 will not be known until after the 2005 meeting). For 2006, he again projected a budget with expenses approximately equal to revenues. After discussion, Stephen Darwall proposed that the Secretary-Treasurer’s annual stipend be increased from $6600 (at which figure it was set in 1997) to $10,000. Secretary-Treasurer Smith noted that he would of course be required to abstain from voting on this measure but expressed his opinion that this was an unnecessary expense and stated that he would not accept the increase if it were approved. With the Secretary-Treasurer not voting, the increase was approved as proposed.
9. Expansion of Graduate Student Travel Stipends: Stephen Darwall moved that the Division expand the awards of Graduate Student Travel Stipends to include all graduate students who have papers accepted for presentation at the annual meeting. In discussion, Secretary-Treasurer Smith indicated that the number of accepted papers by graduate student authors had in recent years typically been about 15 and that increasing the program to include all graduate students would therefore, at the current rate of $300 per award, add a cost of about $1500 to the Division’s annual budget. The proposal was approved unanimously.
10. Accessibility of Meetings: Secretary-Treasurer Smith called the Executive Committee’s attention to the legal obligations of the Division, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, to take all reasonable measures to make meetings accessible to attendees with disabilities. He noted that this is now a standard provision of any meeting contract. The Executive Committee directed the Secretary-Treasurer to consult with the National Office and the Secretary-Treasurers of the other two Divisions in working to assure that the annual meetings of the Division are accessible to all members.
11. Electronic Submission of Papers: On motion by Eleonore Stump, seconded by Stephen Darwall, the Executive Committee voted unanimously to permit electronic submission of papers to the annual meeting, using the system maintained by the National Office.
12. Report on Newly Affiliated Groups: Secretary-Treasurer Smith reported that he had received and approved requests for affiliation from the following groups since the 2003 meeting:
History of Early Analytic Philosophy Society
International Association for Computers and Philosophy
International Association for the Philosophy of Sport
Josiah Royce Society
Society of Humanist Philosophers
13. Proposal for 2007 and 2008 Meetings: The Executive Committee considered a proposal from the Palmer House to host the 2007 and 2008 meetings in addition to the 2006 meeting as currently contracted. The proposal included a lock of the room rate through 2007, with a small increase for 2008, and a reduction in the room block for 2006 with no reduction in contracted meeting room space (this is a benefit since it reduces the number of sleeping rooms that must be sold to avoid paying attrition charges). The Palmer House will also extend a preferential rate to the Association for the 2005 and 2006 meetings of the Board of Officers. Noting the consistent pattern of higher attendance at Chicago meetings than at other sites and the problems with low attendance in recent meetings in Minneapolis and Cleveland, the Executive Committee voted to accept the proposal.
14. Report of Actions Taken Since the 2003 Meeting: Secretary-Treasurer Smith reported that the following actions were taken by the Executive Committee through email discussion and vote since its 2003 meeting:
July 29: Discussed whether to adopt a policy concerning the deadline for submitted papers similar to the Eastern Division’s policy (absolutely no papers received with a postmark after the deadline will be considered whatever) or the Pacific Division’s policy (exceptions can be made for extreme circumstances such as natural disasters, strikes, etc.). After considerable discussion, no explicit policy was adopted and the subject was deferred for later discussion.
October 21: In response to a request from the 2005 Program Committee to extend the number of Graduate Student Travel Stipends from ten to thirteen for this year, the Executive Committee agreed by consensus to extend the number and also placed on the agenda for its 2005 meeting the question whether to adopt the policy for future years of providing a Stipend to every graduate student whose paper is accepted.
15. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Smith
Secretary-Treasurer, APA Central Division