11 September 2010, University of East Anglia
Present: Dr Lore Arthur [Outgoing Chair], Dr Michele Schweisfurth (Incoming Chair) and members as listed in the Minute file.
- Apologies: As listed in the Minute file
- Minutes of the 2009 AGM: These were approved.
- Matters arising:
The BAICE Constitution will be uploaded to the BAICE website in due course. There are no vacancies for new members on the Executive Committee. Information about the BAICE Student Prize will also be uploaded to the website. There will be a judging panel and the evaluation criteria will be published. There is to be no increase in the membership fee.
4. Honorary Members of BAICE
It was proposed that Professor Rosalind Pritchard and Dr Rosemary Preston be awarded Honorary Membership of BAICE in recognition of their contributions to BAICE and to the field of international and comparative education. The proposal was approved. A profile of all Honorary Members will be uploaded on to the website.
5. BAICE Nominations for REF Panels
Professor Julian Elliott, University of Durham and Professor Leon Tikly, University of Bristol were proposed. Dr Caroline Dyer and Dr Michele Schweisfurth expressed interest in a sub-panel. The deadline for panel submissions is 8th October 2010 and those interested were asked to contact Dr Arthur or Dr Schweisfurth.
6. Report from the Chair
Dr Arthur reported that BAICE continues to do well financially and that Compare continues to be successful. There are many new and exciting ideas for the website. Dr Arthur had been interviewed by the ESRC who were very impressed with the research activities supported by BAICE, in particular the New Writers’ Workshops. 18 people participated in the latter at the University of East Anglia prior to the conference.
Dr Arthur expressed her thanks to the President, Professor Anne Hickling-Hudson and welcomed the President for 2010 – 2011, Professor Birgit Brock-Utne. She also welcomed Dr Nitya Rao, the new Compare co-editor who will replace Professor Anna Robinson-Pant who is relinquishing the role after 7 years. Dr Arthur herself is stepping down as Chair and will be replaced by Dr Schweisfurth. Thanks were also expressed to:
Paul Fean, Students’ Representatative for his creative input in this role, in particular, the successful student conferences organised.
Sheila Trahar, Secretary, for her practical and down-to-earth efficiency and input to the Executive Committee
Jane Anthony, Membership Secretary
Kwame Akyeampong, Website Manager
Anna Robinson-Pant, for her sense of integrity, her conscientiousness and caring approach. She has made a fantastic contribution to the development of Compare.
Dr Schweisfurth took over the meeting as the incoming Chair. She thanked Dr Arthur for her 10 years as a member of the Executive Committee, in particular for the past 2 years as Chair and her 2 years as Treasurer. Dr Schweisfurth reported that she has inherited a dynamic Executive Committee and introduced the following new members:
Dr Brendan Bartram, Secretary
Dr Paul Lynch, Membership Secretary
Dr Caroline Dyer, Vice Chair
Professor Michael Crossley and Terra Sprague will be taking over the website.
Paul Fean has agreed to remain as one of the Student Representatives until a replacement is found.
7. Report from the Treasurer
Malcolm Mercer reported that BAICE is in a strong position, financially. There has been a rise of £50, 000 in Compare royalties and a 17% rise in subscriptions. The continuing healthy financial situation has enabled BAICE to support a range of activities and to ensure that BAICE is represented at various conferences. In summary, with a surplus of almost £14,000 over last year, BAICE continues to be in an excellent position to promote work in the fields of comparative and international education both through the journal, Compare, and by supporting workshops, symposia, conferences, research and other related activities for the foreseeable future. Dr Schweisfurth thanked Malcolm Mercer for his hard work and phenomenal attention to detail.
8. Report from the Membership Secretary
Dr Paul Lynch spoke to the report in Jane Anthony’s absence. He had recruited several new student members at the conference. Dr Lynch asked that members contact him if they had not received AGM papers and drew attention to the now incorrect email address on the Membership Secretary’s report.
9. Report from the editors of Compare
Professor Robinson-Pant asked that thanks be recorded to Dr Arthur for her role in bringing BAICE and Compare closer together. She was able to report that Miriam McGregor will remain as Editorial Assistant. She announced that the 40 years of Compare Anniversary Issue had gone to press and she was predicting that the journal would be overwhelmed with articles for the conference Special Issue. Professor Robinson-Pant reported on a successful Writers’ Workshop and announced that BAICE had agreed to fund a distance-learning package to enable those unable to attend the workshops to benefit from the training. Dr Schweisfurth reported that Dr Dyer has agreed to chair the Compare Board to obviate any potential clash of interest, as Dr Schweisfurth is editor of Comparative Education.
10. Report from the Student Representatives
A successful Student Conference had been held at the University of Sussex earlier in the year. Professor Leon Tikly added that the event was an important one to hold and was well organised. In addition, he expressed the view that it was important to retain the student focus of such an event but that academic staff may want to be involved. Future developments include a student page on the BAICE website and an online discussion event. Paul Fean stated that he had found his involvement with the Executive Committee very useful and reminded the meeting that a new Student Representative was being sought to replace him. Dr Schweisfuth thanked both Student Representatives for their hard work.
11. Report on the BAICE website
Terra Sprague reported that much necessary ‘behind the scenes’ updating of the website had been completed. She invited members to inform either her or Professor Michael Crossley about the functionalities required of the new website. Dr Schweisfurth extended thanks to Dr Kwame Akyeampong for all his work on the website over the past years.
12. Any Other Business
Dr Rosemary Preston expressed surprise that reports from the Academy of Social Sciences, UKFIET and WCCCES were not on the AGM Agenda. Dr Schweisfurth responded that this issue would be discussed at the next Executive Committee meeting. In response to a proposal from Dr Preston for a seminar on ‘conceptual innovation’ leading to a Special Issue of Compare, Dr Schweisfurth reminded members that BAICE considers funding for a range of projects and that proposals could be put forward at any time.
A participant in the New Writers’ Workshop commented that it had been excellent. She proposed a ‘buddying scheme’ for people attending the conference for the first time and suggested that the New Writers’ Workshop enabled her to feel welcomed at the conference.
Dr Schweisfurth thanked the BAICE conference organisers and invited proposals for venues for the 2012 conference. She also reminded members of the importance of letting the Executive Committee know about the ways in which BAICE is working for them and how it can be improved.
13. Date of Next Meeting
The next AGM will take place at the UKFIET conference in Oxford, September 2011.