Recent history, current status and future goals (2/6/10)

For the past few years, the CSFE has been in transition, identifying ways to assist its member organizations. Briefly, we have achieved the following goals during this period:

• Established a steering committee that identified officers who took necessary first steps toward getting the organization’s house in order (Jan Armstrong, Cathryn Chappel, Kathleen deMarrais, Andrea Hyde, Jaime Lewis, David McGough)
• Attended to financial and legal requirements [confirming non-profit (501c3) status, establishing a bank account, securing operating funds and other resources from institutions and individuals] (McGough)
• Updated membership information and invited member associations to identify Council delegates (Hyde)
• Created a digital and paper archive of CSFE minutes and other documents (Chappel)
• Held Fall and Spring business meetings, 2007 – 2009, as stipulated in the Constitution
• Amended by formal vote the CSFE Constitution, incorporating the name change adopted in 2000 (Armstrong and McGough).
• Invited past presidents and other senior scholars to serve as CSFE Advisors (Armstrong)
• Established an online presence for the Council (csfeonline.org)

Future Work of the Council

Next steps include:

• Communicating with member organizations about CSFE activities and decision items
• Seeking input on ways the Council can support its member organizations
• Broadening our funding base through donations, sponsorships and voluntary memberships
• Highlighting new and noteworthy publications in the field
• Reestablishing a conversation with NCATE about the Council and its work
• Seeing that out-of-date CSFE documents are removed from Internet sites
• Requesting that our member organizations and other entities link to the Council’s current web address (csfeonline.org)
• Working with the Committee on Academic Standards and Accreditation (CASA) to explore whether there is a need to revise the 1996 CSFE Standards (For more information, contact Sandra Winn Tutwiler, AESA/CASA Chair).
• Establishing a process for identifying and electing future officers.

Summing up: The CSFE has accomplished important goals in the past few years and we hope that these efforts will be of continuing benefit to member organizations as we explore options for future Council activities.

Jan Armstrong, President

David McGough, Treasurer

Cathryn Chappel, Secretary

Andrea Hyde, Membership Coordinator