Beginning with next year's 2018-2019 cycle,  SCMS's membership year will shift from September 1 through July 31 to July 1 through June 30. The intent of the change is to align SCMS's membership year with its fiscal year and Board terms. Additionally, by separating the membership renewal deadline from the conference proposal deadline, both which have historically fallen on August 31, we hope to create smoother membership renewal and proposal submission periods, alleviating some of the last minute stress and crunch of having two key deadlines falling on the same date.

As we transition to the new membership year scheduled to begin next year on  July 1, 2018,  we will prorate your rate for the 2017-2018 year so that you will only be charged for ten months: September 1 through June 30.

SCMS temporary memberships will be eliminated at the end of this membership cycle. The decision was well considered from a variety of angles over the course of the last year by both the Board of Directors and the Home Office staff.

A special thank you and acknowledgement to those members who donated to the Travel Grant Fund and the SCMS General Fund this year. Your generosity generated $2,496 additional funds for Travel Grants and Waivers, which directly impacted the ability of several of our members to attend the conference!  For a breakdown of the awards, please click here .

SCMS's membership numbers rose slightly from 2971 one year ago to 3026 as of February 28. While we experienced small drops in the categories of institutional and Mexico and international members, we experienced increases in the categories of U.S. and Canada.  You can view the complete list here . 

Over the last twelve years, the Society has worked to grow its reserve account.  What began in the late 1990s as a small savings account, was transitioned in 2005 to a Vanguard Investment Account.  SCMS has been able to set aside a portion of its Cinema Journal revenue annually so that now, the balance and interest equate to one year of operating expenses held in reserve.  You might ask why we need the reserve.  The answer is that we have it in place to protect SCMS in the event of any unforeseen events such as the 2009 SARS pandemic that necessitated the cancellation of the Tokyo conference, or a possible financial downturn in the economy which could potentially affect our membership enrollment and conference attendance.  It is the minimum needed to ensure the Society's solvency for the future.

 

However, because the Society's expenses have increased over the past few years, we can no longer expect to regularly deposit all or a portion of journal revenues into the reserve account.  We are currently just meeting our annual financial obligations with earned income from that year.  To use simple terms, we are currently living from "paycheck to paycheck."  So, while we may be financially stable for the long-term, until we have increased income, we are restricted from growing any further as an organization, which includes providing additional services for our members.

 

The Board and the Home Office will soon begin strategizing on the creation of a big-picture development plan to increase cash flow and strengthen SCMS's overall financial health.  Further, the Board has approved the addition of three new membership categories and rates, all scheduled to take effect with the next membership cycle.  All are discussed in the meeting recap section.  Finally, what was created in 2015 as a Board ad hoc committee on investments will become a new standing Investments Committee on July 1.  More information on the Investment Committee, its mission, and the Vanguard reserve account investment portfolio are included as the last items in the recap.

In 2015, the Board appointed an ad hoc investment committee for the purposes of reviewing SCMS's reserve account portfolio to assess its performance. As of July 1, the group will become a standing committee.  As established by the Board, the Investment Committee  will consist of newly-elected Treasurer Bambi Haggins, past-Treasurer, Amanda Ann Klein, Executive Director, Jill Simpson, Financial Analyst, Bruce Brasell, and member-at-large, Jim Castonguay.  You may read more on its mission here.

In 2005, SCMS established a reserve account with Vanguard. We started small and have been able to slowly grow the reserve over the last twelve years to its current balance of just over one million dollars. That equates to a one year rainy day fund of operating costs for the Society, and is in keeping with the practices of other scholarly societies. All of the funds in our reserve have been in the same low risk/low yield 100% bond account for the last 12 years.

The ad hoc investment committee researched options for diversifying the portfolio for well over a year. In October 2016, the board voted to take 20% of our current reserve and invest it in a riskier funds.  In consideration of the committee's recommendation, the board voted to go with an S&P 500 Index Fund (500 Index Admiral Shares)  . The S&P 500 is considered a fine benchmark and the companies in the index are probably the most liquid in the world. It is an average of the 500 safest stocks and is considered a "4" risk. 

The Investment Committee will be closely monitoring the portfolio's performance.

EPISODE 36: I DON'T THINK I HAVE THE OPTION TO REMAIN SILENT

In this episode, we talk to media studies researchers and teachers involved in protest, organizing, and public scholarship initiatives following the presidential election of 2016. Speaking with Carol Vernallis, Amanda Ann Klein, Chuck Tryon, Jorie Lagerwey, Jason Ruiz, we address a range of issues, from preparations for a Protecting the Commons workshop at SCMS 2017, to Console-ing Passions 2017 as a response to the political situation in North Carolina including HB2 and Moral Mondays, organizing local town halls, public scholarship and working abroad, the sanctuary campus movement, and pedagogical responsibilities. Throughout we feature audio excerpts (some submitted by listeners) from the Women's March, town hall protests, and other events from recent weeks.

Listen here: http://www.aca-media.org

It is with sadness that SCMS notes the March 2017 passing of Brian Henderson at age 75. Professor Henderson was faculty and former chair in the Department of Media Study at the University of Buffalo, State University of New York. He joined the faculty at UB in 1974 at the inception of the Center for Media Study. Henderson retired in 2010. Henderson achieved international recognition for his scholarship in film theory including canonical works such as A Critique of Film Theory (Dutton, 1980). Henderson was a significant contributor to Film Quarterly and co-edited (with Ann Martin) the collection, Film Quarterly: Forty Years-A Selection (University of California Press, 1999). 

For further tributes to Brian Henderson, please see:  https://filmquarterly.org/2017/3/07/in-memoriam-brian-henderson/  and

https://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/working/obituaries.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/briefs/2017/03/obit-brian-henderson.detail.html .