MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING -- C.L.A.G.S.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1990 AT ALISA SOLOMON‘'S

Committee members present: Don Mengay, Alisa Solomon, Randy

Trumbach, Joe Wittreich, Sam Phillips, Marty Duberman, Seymour

Kleinberg, Esther Katz, Ellen Zaltzberg, Cheryl Clarke, Jim

oe (secretary), Amanda Prosse, Jay Harper. Also present: Eli
al.

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE: Joe and Esther reported that the committee
recommended hiring Eli Zal as development director effective
April 1 @ 8 hrs,;wk. Eli summarized his ideas for CLAGS
fundraising, including three major projects the first year. The
Executive Committee voted to hire Eli, with the understanding
that he reports to the Executive Committee and its fundraising
subcommittee, not to the Executive Director of CLAGS.

NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Joe introduced the two delegates to the
Executive Committee from the Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual Student group
at the Graduate Center; they reported on the status and Z
activities of their group and spoke about how they see their role
on the Committee. Committee voted to give two voting slots to
graduate student representatives, instead of the one slot
originally contemplated, in order to permit gender parity in
their representation. The students will investigate doing a
fundraiser and informational meeting about CLAGS for all CUNY
grad students. The student representatives are:

Amanda Prosse. Jay Harper

PUBLICITY COMMITTEE: Jim reported that CUNY's publication office
is willing to do a brochure for CLAGS, but will be of little help
in our newsletter. Alisa and Jay said they had some access and
expertise with Macintosh desktop systems and would meet with Jim
and Sandy to see if we can publish a newsletter that way as soon
as CLAGS gets CUNY Board approval. Sandy suggested adding a
"short history of CLAGS" to the Newsletter for those unfamiliar
with the group's background. Alisa has pitched Richard Goldstein
(Voice) on a piece about CLAGS, and Marty pitched Robin Pogrebin
(The Observer) and knows that Time is also interested, via the
CUNY public relations office (Rita); Jim will contact these
people when an approval date is set.

APPROVAL DELAY AT CUNY BOARD: CUNY has postponed action on our
approval for several months with vague explanations. It was
agreed that Sam will check the status of our proposal with the
Academic Affairs Committee at 80th Street, and will report to Joe
and Marty by Wednesday 2-13; these three will decide whom to con-
tact and how to register our dissatisfaction with the delays and
request an informational meeting. Ellen will check with Marjorie
Hill at the Mayor's Office about possible political help.

[continued ]


CLAGS 2-10-91 p. 2

PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Don and Randy reported that the May 9th
“Homosexuality and Postmodernism" panel is set, to be run in
conjunction with the Graduate Center English Dept. as a two-day
event. Jim and Sandy will include it in upcoming newsletter.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Joe reported that Allen Ginsberg and Paul
Monette have agreed to serve on this committee. Other names are
on the agenda of the next Fundraising Committee meeting.

ABSENCES BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Due to lack of attendance and
participation, Geroge Chauncey and Blanche Cook are to be removed
from the Executive Committee. Randy will tell George that he
will be welcome back when schedule permits; Esther will contact
Blanche and tell her that she is "off the hook" but we hope we
can call on her for the Advisory Committee. Ellen will contact
Miriam Lavandier to ask whether she is still willing,able to
participate.

Question was raised of finding replacement board members,
who at this point should be two women for gender balance. Don
spoke about his concern for representation of the many Asians at
CUNY; Sandy will ask Margo Machida for leads, Don will ask the
Asian student group at Baruch, and Marty or Seymour will contact
Vivian Ng at Hunter.

1992 GAY STUDIES CONFERENCE: John DeCecco in San Francisco had
already expressed the same interest as CLAGS in hosting the 1992
annual national conference, but Randy and Don reported that he
would be willing to defer until 1993. Meanwhile, Jim will
contact Diana Fuss at Princeton about how CLAGS should proceed to
"put our dibs" on the 1992 conference, since there is no central
body that controls its location.

COLLOQUIUM: Randy reported that Haworth Press (publishers of
Journal of Homosexuality) are willing to publish our Colloquium
proceedings or papers as an occasional series, of which they
would bear the cost. Jonathan Katz may be working with the Press
on this, so we need to discuss the idea with him. The committee
agreed to empower Randy to continue discussions with Katz and
John DeCecco of the Journal.

* * * NEXT MEETING: * * *
SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 11:00 A.M.

AT JOE WITTREICH'S:



OE

C.L.A.G.S. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING -- 9/30/90

Present: Marty Duberman, Randy Trumbach, Seymour Kleinberg, Jim
Saslow, Esther Katz, Alisa Solomon, Ellen Zaltzberg.

1. NEW MEMBERS: The following new members were elected to the
Executive Committee: Joseph Wittreich (Grad. Center), Blanche
Cook (Staten Island), Alisa Solomon (Baruch), Sandy Langer
(Queens).

2. ADVISORY BOARD: The Executive Committee named Ellen Zaltzberg,
Seymour Kleinberg, and Esther Katz to the Advisory Board and
asked them to attend meetings of the Executive Committee.

3. ADDING NEW MEMBERS TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: The Committee voted
to ask the following individuals to join the Executive Committee:
Miriam Levandier (Ellen will make the request contact), Cheryl
Clarke (Marty), Sam Philips (Marty), and Don Menge (Randy). IF
any of these turn us down, new names can be considered at nexst
meeting.

4. PAUL MONETTE: Committee voted to support Joe Wittreich's
request to co-sponsor an appearance at the Graduate Center by
author Paul Monette in late November/early December. We will
provide one-half of his honorarium, $150. Jim will handle
liaison with Joe and with the student gay/lesbian group at the
Graduate Center, and will expore whether Joe's office can send a
mailing about the event to our CLAGS list.

5. ALLAN BERUBE: We will co-sponsor lecture by historian Allan
Berube at N.Y.U. (Main Bldg., Washington Sq.) on Thursday,
October 18, 8:00; cost to us $200. Jim will contact George
Chauncey at NYU about getting a mailing sent to our list.

6. TREASURER: Marty would like to be replaced as de facto
Treasurer; we will ask new board members if anyone is willing.

7. COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS: Executive Committee will delegate
administration of most programs and administrative functions to a
series of committees; each board member is expected to serve on
at least one committee.

LIST OF COMMITTEES AND MEMBERS to date (absent board members
please note vacancies!):

PUBLIC PROGRAMS: Randy T.; Don M.?

PUBLICITY/NEWSLETTER: Jim S.

CURRICULUM: Alisa S., Ellen Z.

ADVISORY BOARD (to select/ask more members):

COLLOQUIUM: Seymour K.; he wants a female co-chair: Blanche?
Sandy?

FUNDRAISING: Esther K.

SCHOLARLY DIRECTORY: Seymour, who also wants a female co-chair.

7. NEXT MEETING: Sunday, November 11, 11:00 a.m. at Marty
Dubernan' s a Coffee and Bagels! Main agenda:
long-range planning for programs and policy 1991-92, budget
allocations.



CLAGS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

SUNDAY, NOV. 11, 1990 --— 11:00 A.M. --

Executive Committee members present: Don Menge, Sam Phillips,
Randy Trumbach, Cassandra (Sandy) Langer, Miriam Levandier, Jim
Saslow, Martin Duberman, Alisa Solomon, Joe Wittreich.

Advisory Board members present: Ellen Zaltzberg, Esther Katz,
Seymour Kleinberg, Cheryl Clarke.

New Committee and Advisory Board members were introduced, and a
brief summary was given of the status of our application for
institutionalization at CUNY, which is due for Board of Trustees
action in December.

COMMITTEE REPORT: PUBLIC PROGRAMS:
Don: has possible speakers for a spring '91 panel on
postmodernism and gay/lesbian studies. Would like us to pay
airfare. Tabled until discussion of year's priorities.
Joe: CLAGS will cosponsor a

READING BY PAUL MONETTE
at CUNY GRADUATE CENTER on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 6:00 P.M.
ROOM 207 (33 W. 42nd ST)

Jim has been in contact with new gay/lesbian grad students'
association at the Center, who are eager to coordinate with
CLAGS, and urged all Committee and board members to attend this
event to show interest and solidarity with the CUNY students, who
will be sponsoring a small reception after the reading.

TREASURER: Marty wishes to be replaced in this post: any
volunteers?

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to discussion of CLAGS'
priorities for the upcoming first year of operation. Consensus
that the bulk of our first two years should be devoted to
institution-building; to that end, fundraising committee will
formalize list for Advisory Board and begin search for part-time,
paid development director to pursue foundations/grants. Also
agreed that we'll ask CUNY grad students' group to send a voting
representative to our meetings after Trustee approval.

Each Committee or Board member volunteered to be on one or more
subcommittees to carry out various functions necessary for the
year. Each subcommitttee agreed to meet before the next full
Executive Committee meeting. Subcommittee assignments are:
PUBLIC PROGRAMS: Randy, Don

COLLOQUIUM: Seymour; Sandy will help, and try to get Flavia Rando
to help

FUNDRAISING: Esther, Joe, Sam, Cheryl

CURRICULUM: Alisa, Ellen

PUBLICITY-NEWSLETTER: Jim, Sandy

SCHOLARLY DIRECTORY: Seymour, Marty

LIAISON (outreach to other constituencies: CUNY grad students and
other campus groups, minority communities): Miriam, Cheryl, Sandy

NEXT MEETING: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 11:00 A.M.
@ ESTHER KATZ'S,


The Graduate School and University Center
of The City University of New York

Ph.D. Program in English / Box 510
Graduate Center: 33 West 42 Street, New York, N.Y. 10036-8099
212 642-2206

MEETING OF CLAGS FUND-RAISING COMMITTEE
27 November 1990

Attending: Professor Esther Katz (New York University), Mr. Samuel
Phillips (CUNY Central Administration), Professor Joseph Wittreich
(The Graduate School, CUNY).

Excused: Professor Cheryl Clarke (Dean, Rutgers University)

In this (its first) meeting, The Fund-Raising Committee reviewed
and ordered its objectives, charted its initial goals, and
formulated certain suggestions for the Executive Committee.

It agreed that the document forwarded to the CUNY Board of Trustees
by Dean Solomon Goldstein's office will be used--at least
initially--for fund-raising purposes.

It agreed to establish two separate advisory panels: the one
national and honorific, the other regional and functional.

It recommends that initially CLAG's funds go toward (1) publicizing
the Center and (2) sponsoring Center activities on the supposition
that a record of achievements loosens purse-strings more readily
than a catalogue of promises.

It recommends further that efforts be made immediately, so long as
this involves no encroachment on any long-term commitment to
Rutgers, to bring the annual Lesbian-Gay Meeting to CUNY in the
fall of 1992. This group, which met for a long time at Yale, moved
to Harvard last fall, and next fall meets at Rutgers.

The Committee would like to list, without prioritizing, specific
projects and activities, large and small, for its fund-raising
efforts: for example, a chaired professorship--initially visiting
and rotating--in Lesbian/Gay History, Literature, Criticism and
Theory; and sponsored (perhaps named) lectures and symposia.
Moreover, the Committee notes that there may be a certain wisdom,
at the outset, in coordinating some of the early programs with

fund-raising possibilities.



C.L.A.G.S. -- EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1990 11:00 A.M. @ ESTHER KATZ'S

Present: Cheryl Clarke, Esther Katz, Seymour Kleinberg, Don
Mengay, Randy Trumbach, Jim Saslow (secretary), Joe Wittreich,
Marty Duberman. (Marty left a message for Blanche Cook re her
not having attended any meetings since agreeing to be on
Committee; Jim was directed to write her a letter asking formally
for her intentions. )

1. CUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Our proposal has gone to a Board
subcommittee, which votes on January 7 whether to put us on
agenda for board meeting on January 28. Contrary to what we had
been told in past, there is no December board meeting.

2. NEW TREASURER: Joe will replace Marty in this position.
Seymour suggests we keep the cash receipts from our next public
event so as to have a petty cash fund not subject to time-
consuming bureaucratic reimbursement procedures of Grad Center
Treasurer.

3. SPRING 1991 PUBLIC PROGRAM: Report from Randy and Don. They
Suggest we pool resources with English Dept. @ CUNY Grad Center
on a 2-day conference, "From Victorian to Postmodern
Homosexualities: Literary Theory, Cultural Change, and Gay-
Lesbian Studies" (per proposal from Gerhard Joseph @ Grad Ctr.).
Planned for Thurs-Fri or Fri-Sat, May 8-9-10, 1991. Committee
agreed, and voted to allow $1,500 maximum for honororia and
travel for Eve Sedgwick, Kath Westin, and Terry Castle.

4. CUNY GRAD STUDENTS: Randy went to a meeting of the Gay,
Lesbian, and Bisexual CUNY Graduate Students. Cheryl (Outreach-
Liaison Committee) will phone the two student leaders and ask
them to send two rep's to our meetings. They are: Sarah
Boslaugh, Educational Psychology, llth Fl., CUNY - 2350 Bway
#302, NYC 10024, 212,787-7000 x302; and Alan Foster,
Environmental Psychology, 5th fl, Grad Ctr. - 120 W. 44th St.
#1003, NYC 10036, 212, 869-4189.

5. 1992 NATIONAL CONFERENCE: Joe proposed that we take on the
annual "floating" Gay Studies Conference that is scheduled for
Princeton-Rutgers in 1991. Randy will call George Chauncey and
ask how we should discuss this with the current Rutgers
organizers (also whether George wants to stay on CLAGS Exec
Committee); Cheryl will check the same with her contacts at
Rutgers.

6. 1994 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Joe reports being approached by
Eric Glunt, a CUNY grad student, about hosting a major


CLAGS 12-16-90 p. 2

international conference in NYC in June 1994, to coincide with
25th anniversary of Stonewall, the Gay Games, and the meeting of
International Lesbian and Gay Assn. Agreed that our Program
Committee will meet with Glunt and investigate this possibility.

7. FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE: Joe reported the committee's idea that
there should be two advisory boards: one honorific (big names),
one that is regional and functional. Group agreeed; Esther and
Joe will make up a wish-list of nominees for next meeting.

Committee would also like to approach potential donors for
named,endowed chairs, lecture series, etc.; it's easier to raise
money for specific projects like this from individuals and
foundations.

Joe proposed that the money in our first-year budget for a
development officer should be spent instead on publicity for
events we do, to build up public reputation and credibility for
future grants, etc. That is, first year priority is institution-
building.

All Committee members will look for names for a development
director for next year, to do fundraising, grant-writing, etc.
Marty will discuss with Eli Zal if he's interested; Alisa will
ask for names from another group she works with.

8. PUBLICITY COMMITTEE: Jim reported that the committee will make
up a four-page newsletter to be sent out immediately after the
Jan. 28th CUNY Board decision, announcing our appoval to our
mailing list, and a press release to all gay and mainstream media
about our establishment. Press release will be sent to local gay
media at end of January; out-of-town media will wait until wqe
have a location and phone at Grad Center to give out.

Question: is the group willing to spend money for
professional design, printing? Joe says to check availability of
desktop publishing at CUNY Grad Center.

Alisa will ask Richard Goldstein to assign a feature on
gay,lesbian studies at the Voice; Jim will ask The Advocate;
Marty reported that Robin Pogrebin at The Observer wants to do a
story on our establishment.

Discussion about a paid ad campaign to announce us:
Committee will inquire about ad prices in gay press, mainstream
press, and scholarly journals (to whom we will also send press
releases). Ads will include a coupon for returning contributions
in 4 price categories, $25-250. Committee will also investigate
making a new brochure (existing one is now outdated).

NEXT MEETING:

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1991 11:00 A.M.
AT ALISA SOLOMON'S:

Agenda: Committee reports, allocation of resources, advisory
committee, publicity.