The SAA Council held a hybrid meeting in Anaheim, CA on August 24th. The Council has a few announcements to share:
- Ratified Council interim actions, including:
- Approving the reappointment of Carli Lowe, Elected Director of the Foundation Board of Directors, for the term from August 2025 to August 2028.
- Approving the appointment of Angela Fritz and Silvan Elliot Maxwell, Elected Directors of the Foundation Board of Directors, for terms from August 2025 to August 2028.
- Ratified Executive Committee interim actions, including (0825-II-D-ExecComInterim):
- Approving statements from the SAA Statements Working Group in favor of robust appropriations for the NHPRC (SAA Statement on FY2026 NHPRC Funding) and in support of NARA (SAA Calls on Members to Advocate for Robust NARA Funding).
- Endorsing the opposition to bill H.R.4072, the “Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act” (Pro Codes Act).
- Approving nominations to the Secretary of State for service on the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation (HAC).
- Declining a financial/sponsorship partnership with the National Museum of American Religion.
- Approved the May 2025 Council meeting minutes and ratified the February 2025 Council meeting minutes (May minutes to be shared soon; February minutes: 0825-II-A).
- Discussed and approved a revised dues model, with dues increases effective for renewals on or after January 1, 2026. Increasing dues were deemed necessary by the Council due to the Society’s budget deficit and significant inflation in operating expenses. The dues' structure will continue to be tiered based on income, and more information about the revised model will be shared soon.
- Approved SAA’s FY2026 budget.
- Approved pausing and re-envisioning the Membership Funding and Pathways for Diverse Archives Workers Task Force; the goals identified in the charge will be considered as part of SAA’s upcoming strategic planning cycle (to begin in November 2025). (0825-IV-A)
- Approved recommendations put forth by the 2025 Nominating Committee focused on improved management of the nominations process; efforts to increase SAA election turnout; and pausing the requirement that candidates submit a diversity statement. The diversity statement candidate requirement will be paused for one year while Council works with the SAA Diversity Committee to consider alternative wording or statements that continue the spirit of DEI by addressing underlying issues of power and context, while mitigating concerns or limitations that candidates may experience. (0825-IV-B)
- Approved a request from the Standards Committee to assign maintenance responsibility for the Best Practices for Volunteers in Archives to the SAA Archives Management Section. (0825-V-A-1-Standards)
- Approved the Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation (PINAR) as an SAA standard. (0825-V-A-2)
- Approved changes to the SAA Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics requested by the Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct. (0825-V-B)
- Approved a request from the Section Health Assessment Working Group (SHAWG) to pause any additional section transitions through fall 2026, while SHAWG completes its charge. During that year, sections will be expected to adhere to the following minimal governance requirements: holding an Annual Business Meeting; submitting an annual report; maintaining their standing rules; working with their Council liaison to ensure that standing rules are up-to-date and realistic; being responsive to Council. (0825-V-C)
- The America250 Task Force provided an update about their forthcoming profession-wide initiative to solicit one digitized document from every archive's repository across the US and territories to be displayed on an online platform. (0825-VI-F)
The next Council Meeting will be held November 17–19. Agenda items and reports are due by October 13 to saagovernance@archivists.org. You can register for that meeting here.
Please note that in an effort to give Council members enough time to review the documents before a Council meeting, documents will be due 5 weeks before a Council meeting. Documents received after posted deadlines will either be moved to the next Council meeting or considered as an interim action after the scheduled Council meeting.
View the agenda and materials from the August meeting: https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/0825-I-A-Agenda.docx
Meeting minutes will be available via the SAA website.
If you have questions about these Council actions, contact SAA President Derek Mosley (president@archivists.org), Chief Executive Officer Jacqualine Price Osafo (SAACEO@archivists.org), or SAA's Governance team (saagovernance@archivists.org).
-------------------------------------------
------------------------------
SAA Headquarters
Society of American Archivists
Chicago IL
saahq@archivists.org------------------------------