August 1981 Council Minutes
The Council met on 18 August 1981, at 5:00 PM in Room 2P56 of the Forbes Quadrangle of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA. Members present were R.G. Ayoub, R.G. Bartle, Hyman Bass, Frank T. Birtel, Andrew M. Gleason, Ronald L. Graham, Paul R. Halmos, Alan J. Hoffman, Meyer Jerison, Linda Keen, Peter D. Lax, Lee Lorch, Richard S. Millman, Everett Pitcher, Marian B. Pour-El, Daniel Wagner, R.O. Wells, Jr., and Lawrence A. Zalcman. Also present were L.K. Durst, R. Hahn, E. Heiser, W.J. LeVeque, and John L. Selfridge. Professor Gail Young was present by invitation with the privilege of the floor. President Gleason was in the chair. MINUTES: 1.1 MINUTES OF 15 MAY 1981: The named minutes had been distributed by mail. Two errors were observed. First, Robert G. Bartle was present, but his presence was not recorded. Second, a line was omitted in copying the resolution on disassociation from discriminatory practices in minute 7.1. The third line should have words added as underlined so that it reads: ...mathematics in the USSR, on unfair CONDUCT of admission examinations in several Universities in ... With these two corrections, the minutes were approved. COMMITTEE AND BOARDS 4.1 AUTHORIZATION OF POWER TO THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS OF MATHEMATICIANS: Professor Gail Young presented a request from the Committee for authorization to react quickly in extraordinary circumstances without prior approval of the Council, but with the express approval of the President of the Society. The request is stated precisely in a motion in the attached communication from the Committee. The report, although labeled "draft", has the approval of the Committee. The motion presented by the Committee was amened by the addition of words in two places in the second sentence so that it reads: In extraordinary cases in which delay might result in irreparable damage to a mathematician whose human rights are in process of violation, the Committee on Human Rights of Mathematicians is authorized to send a statement of protest, or a request for delay or such other statement as circumstances dictate without prior approval of the Council. Such a statement must be approved by a majority of the Committee and by the President of the AMS in advance of transmittal or by two-thirds of the Committee and by the EC in the absence of the President. The Committee is authorized to take such action only in cases where it is satisfied that the affected person is indeed a mathematician. In amended form the motion was passed. 4.1a PARDONS: Professor Lee Lorch asked Professor Young about the issue of pardons for Americans who have served prison terms for what may in the final analysis have been their political views. Professor Young stated that it had not been discussed by the Committee on Human Rights during his tenure in 1981. [The only recent record of the issue discovered by the Secretary is a motion which was considered at the Council meeting of 10 April 1980 and was postponed indefinitely. See item 8.3 Amnesty and Reparations in the minutes of that date. E.P.] 4.2 VIKTOR BRAILOVSKY: The Committee on Human Rights of Mathematicians proposed that the Council request the President to write a letter, with copies suitably distributed, in aid of Viktor Brailovsky. A summary history of his case and status as of several months ago, as produced by the Committee of Concerned Scientists, is attached. The Secretary called attention to the following resolution of the Council of 6 January 1981: When official, semiofficial, or similar relevant material, on a human rights case is available and when supplying it to the Human Rights Committee and Council would not delay unduly or prejudicially equitable consideration of the case, such material shall be included in any packet presented for action or information to the Committee or Council. The attached information concerning Brilovsky was all that was in the hands of the Secretary. There was a motion by Professor Lorch to refer the request back to the Committee and to call the attention of the Committee to the quoted resolution of 6 January 1981. The motion was defeated. There was then a motion requesting the President to write the letter as requested, provided the President is convinced that Brailovsky is a mathematician. The motion was amended to include the provision that the President shall first be convinced that the standards of the Council have been met. The motion as amended was passed. 4.3 THE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AID: The Council considered for the agenda the following item which was not on the agenda as distributed: The BT has recommended that the Committee on Legal Aid, which is a committee of the Council, be transferred to a committee of the Trustees. Accordingly, the Secretary moves that the Council approve the discharge of the Committee on Legal Aid, with the understanding that the same committee will be established as a committee of the BT. The reference is item 7.15 of the EC/BT minutes of 1-2 May 1981. Rather than accept it, the Council scheduled it for the agenda of January 1982. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 7.1 ACTION SUPPORTING DISSIDENTS, JEWS AND MINORITIES: Minute 7.2 from the meeting of 15 May 1981, records the receipt of a proposal from Professor Raymond Ayoub, attached to those minutes, which the Council agreed to consider at the current meeting. Professor Ayoub requested that the proposal be withdrawn. However, he invited individuals to consider the suggestions that he has made. 7.2 NOMINATIONS: The Council had declared its intention of nominating for the positions of vice-president or member-at-large those persons on whose behalf petitions carrying at least fifty valid signatures are presented. There were two such proposed candidates for the position of member-at-large namely Vadim Komkov John W. The Council nominated them for member-at-large in the 1981 election. 7.3 NOMINATIONS: The Council had declared its intention of bringing the number of nominees for member-at-large to ten if proposed nominations by petition do not do so. The nomination of Komkov and Neuberger brought the number to nine. The candidate proposed by the Nominating Committee is: Peter A. Fillmore (Dalhousie) who was then nominated by the Council. NEW BUSINESS: 8.1 CONSTITUTION OF CBMS: The Secretary proposed the following resolution: That the Council accept for the agenda two motions concerning amendment of the constitution of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. The background is as follows. The Conference Board is an outgrowth of a less formal umbrella committee which was established during WW II. The Conference Board has six constitutent member (AMS is one) and seven affiliate members, all of them being societies in the mathematical sciences. It is governed by a Council, consisting of representatives of the members and members-at-large, and a BT. It has an office in Washington with a full time Executive Dir. and a minimal staff. It operates under a Constitution adopted in 1972 and Bylaws. Its objectives include "to encourage in the broadest and most liberal manner the coordination of the activities of member organizations in the mathematical sciences." The CBMS is financed principally by dues (about 45% of budget) and contracts (about 49%). It has been losing money for at least four years and the continued operation in the current mode, based largely on "soft" money, seems untenable. It is estimated that CBMS will run out of funds early in calendar year 1982. Accordingly, the Trustees of CBMS at their meeting of 1 May 1981 passed the following set of resolutions: The Trustees recommend to the Council that [on or before] 1 Oct. 1982 CBMS be reorganized to consist of member society presidents with the following primary functions: (a) Washington representation, (b) public relations and awareness, (c) exchanging information between member groups. That an office be sought with the MAA, with no affiliation with the MAA, and be managed by an administrative officer to be employed not more than half time; minimum secretarial assistance will be used by this officer. That member society dues be limited to funds needed to supoort the administrative officer, a part-time secretary, and to pay for housing. Expenses for meetings be paid by CBMS for administrative staff and officers of CBMS, but expenses of representatives for meetings be borne by the organizations they represent. The dues apportionment formula remain the same but [for fiscal 1983] the amounts be reduced by 50% and the total dues collected be the budget ceiling for 1983. That the Council be informed that the BT is seriously recommending at the January meeting that no Council meeting be held in summer 1982, and if held, CBMS will not pay travel expenses for members-at-large. **The resolutions of the Trustees of CBMS and the proposed new constitution change CBMS into a club of thirteen organizations governed by a Council consisting of their presidents and the officers, modeled after the very successful Council of Scientific Society Presidents. The resolutions of the CBMS Trustees were considered by the CBMS Council on 9 August. The AMS representatives (Gleason and Pitcher) participated. To follow the route described in the resolutions appears to require amendment of the Constitution and changes in Bylaws. In anticipation of action by the Council of CBMS and to assist delibertions, the Trustees of CBMS prepared a draft of a new Constitution for CBMS and new Bylaws. The proposed new Constitution was modified slightly by the CBMS Council. The modified text is attached. The proposed new Bylaws were offered only as an aid to debate, as the new organization, were the Constitution to be amended, would be responsible for its own Bylaws. The parliamentary situation is as follows. An amendment to the CBMS Constitution (consisting in fact of complete replacement) has been formally proposed. The proposal calls for the next step, that the members of the Council of CBMS give written approval to proposed amendment. Hence, the following motion for this Council. I. The Council of the AMS recommends that its representatives on the Council of CBMS give written approval to the proposed amendment of the CBMS Constitution. It is reasonable to believe that the Council of CBMS will approve the amendment. The final step is to offer the new constitution to the six constituent members for their approval. Hence, the second motion for this Council. II. If the Council of the CBMS approves the proposed amendment to the Constitution of CBMS, the AMS as a constituent member of CBMS approves the amendment. When all six constituent members have approved the amendment, it becomes effective. The Council accepted motions I and II for the agenda by the requisite two-thirds vote. The Council then passed motions I and II. 8.2 FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COLLECTIVE PHENOMENA: The Council accepted the following item for the agenda by the requisite two-thirds vote. The Council requested the President to write a letter to the Organizing Committee of the Fifth International Conference on Collective Phenomena expressing the support and best wishes of the Council of the AMS and its earnest hope for a successful scientific symposium. 8.3 U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The Council did not accept for the agenda a resolution proposed by Professor Lorch concerning the composition of the U.S. National Committee. INFORMATION AND RECORD: 2.1 EC-BT MINUTES: The minutes of the EC/BT of 1-3 May 1981, were distributed by mail for information under separate cover. 2.2 SPRING MEETINGS: Somewhat at the urging of the Secretary and the Execu. Director, the EC agreed, as recorded in minute 5.5 of the EC minutes of 15 May 1981, that "unless circumstances demand it, spring meetings of the Council should no longer be held." There is no requirements by the bylaws that there be a spring meeting. It is in the category of special meetings called by the President, though the scheduling has in practice been accomplished by the EC. The Secretary had second thoughts and has been so far unable to see how to carry out the nomination and election cycle without the spring Council meeting. Both the action of the EC and the provisional opinion of the Secretary that circumstances do demand a spring Council meeting were presented for information. 2.3 PUBLIC CRYPTOGRAPHY: Attention was invited to the fact that the EC and BT will study the position taken by the National Security Agency requesting voluntary submission of papers in cryptanalysis and cryptography for prepublication review. The Council adjourned at 7:05 PM. Everett Pitcher, Secretary August 18, 1981