SOCIETY REFORM SCHOOL
A
Forum for/from the Loyal Opposition
This reform forum is a caucus that was
created to air issues of concern and develop strategies related to improving
the governance of the society by Fred and other members the Society. Its basic concerns are with constitutional reform (changes to
the Articles of Organization), governance matters, the
editorship of the Newsletter, the compulsory nature of subscription to
the Journal, and other changes for which we would like to lobby. See topics of discussion below (new ones can
be created for your interests).
Here is a synopsis of our concerns:
We are concerned with basically several
related issues. The first is that the Articles
of Organization, while adequate in many respects, is considerably flawed
and needs serious change. These deal with the fact
that some of the officers, who also are on the Executive Committee, are not
elected nor are their terms spelled out. The same is
true of the Trustees. These two bodies are the main
governance councils of the Society. There are other
matters of democratization, of giving the members more points of control that
are lacking in the original Articles of Organization. To
review these matters, see the report of the now expired Constitutional Review
Committee (blueberry-brain.org/SCTPLS/SCTPLS
CRC reports.htm), which while you may not agree with all the amendments it
proposed, will give you a good idea of what these problems are. Presenting these changes was hampered
by obstruction of many steps of the committee’s presentation of these issues to
the membership (improper mailing of the proposals, inability to use the
Society’s email list to discuss the amendments one-by-one, and inadequate
scheduling of their discussion at the annual business meeting in Denver).
The second basic issue relates to
governance practices by the Executive Committee and the Trustees. The problems the Constitutional Reform Committee had with
some members of the Executive Committee led to our discovery that many other
individuals, including past presidents of the Society and members of other
committees, were having difficulties with overly controlling members of the
Executive Committee. There was a time when few wanted
to be involved in the governance of the Society either as officers or as
members of various committees, but under the Holly’s presidency, many more new
members became involved, ready to take positions of responsibility, only to run
into these type of obstacles. An example
of such an obstruction included changing a Presidential report in the Society’s
Newsletter even after it left the Editor’s desk. It pains me to reveal that despite the
wonderful people who come to our conferences, and the imagination, energy, and
friendship they exhibit, that behind the scenes these governance problems are
occurring. If others are concerned, we will be
exploring a variety of strategies to either resolve these problems, or, if
necessary, even letting the rift go to the creation of an alternative
organization.
A third issue is that of the
independence of the editorship of the Society Newsletter. Bob Porter, has been embattled by members of
the Executive Committee for some time. He has fought
for the right fair reporting and respect for individual rights and freedom to
speak despite interference with his editorial prerogatives. He has served with distinction and energy and
devotion to the highest principles of the Society and fair play. The result is that he has been asked
to resign by the new President, which we view as an act of repression of
editorial independence. We will publish
his letter of resignation on this site, so you can view his concerns about this
action.
A fourth issue is that of the
compulsory subscription to the Society’s journal, Nonlinear Dynamics,
Psychology, and Life Sciences raised by Mark Filippi.
Robin has raised the issue of the
tension between the more imaginative and metaphoric interests of Society
members, and those of a more technical/scientific bent, and he and I and others
have tried to encourage a rapprochement between these lineages. However, Mark shows that they are a bone
of contention with respect to compulsory journal subscription, and
suggest that many, such as himself might prefer to not subscribe to subsidize
the Journal.
Other issues
have involved other obstructions to the attempts of other committees to pursue
projects that they have proposed to help the Society develop its goals, such as
the public relations committee. We note
that as vacancies of any kind become available, Milwaukee people seem to replace
them, and we are suggesting a change in name of the Society to the Milwaukee
Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and Life Sciences.
You have seen that these issues have come
out of the closet in the Newsletter just published. There is an editorial by the departing editor,
Robert Porter, one by Mark Filippi, and one by myself. These are just the tip of the iceberg of discontent that
has been going on behind the scenes, but which we feel now that we should bring
to the attention of the membership.
Those wishing to submit comments on these
issues in this forum may submit them to me at (frederick.d.abraham@gmail.com). Those wishing to follow the comments and progress with
reform efforts can consult this reform newsletter (blueberry-brain.org/SCTPLS/society reform
school.htm). This newsletter is not an official
activity of the SCTPLS, and is not obviated by the appointment of a new
committee to examine the Articles of Organization, which was composed by
one person who is now opposed to any change in the Articles, and others
who are friends of the authors of the original Articles. It is further necessitated by the
fear of censorship of our concerns and comments by the present governance of
the Society. It
seems paradoxical that a society whose subject is largely about change, and
which has many experts in organizational development, is so rigidly opposed to
self-reorganization.
Created 10/13/2005 by Frederick David
Abraham, updated 11/15/05 & 5/29/2011
Topics:
· Articles of Organization, report of the first
CRC (prepared and on site Feb. 2005)
· Executive
Committee & Board of Trustees (not yet developed)
· General
Governance (not yet developed)
· Strategies
for Reform (not yet developed)