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ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee August 2003 |
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August 1, 2003, San Diego, California Attending Guests: Meeting Minutes Motion (Brown, Morie) To approve the Executive Committee meeting minutes for July 2002, September 2002, January 2003,and the Executive Committee conference call minutes for June, 2003. Approved unanimously Recognition of Outgoing Executive Committee Members Alain Chesnais thanked Garry Paxinos and Werner Hansmann for their service to ACM SIGGRAPH in their roles as Treasurer and Director for Education, respectively. Plaques and certificates were presented to them to thank them for their service. Internet Archive Project Brad deGraf presented a project proposal to provide bandwidth and storage for archiving ACM SIGGRAPH videos. The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that was founded to build an ‘Internet library,’ with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to build more well-rounded collections. The project to include ACM SIGGRAPH videos began with a proof of concept grant from the ACM SIGGRAPH Project Grants Committee. To see what has been done so far, go to www.archivve.org, look for the section on Moving Images, and click on SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater. Brad is asking for $15,000 and ACM SIGGRAPH volunteer help in securing permissions. This proposal will be discussed in the next ACM SIGGRAPH conference call or meeting. Conference Updates Alyn Rockwood, SIGGRAPH 2003 Chair, and Scott Owen, Conference Advisory Group Chair, reported on the SIGGRAPH 2003 conference. The total attendance was 24,332 with 4,265 full conference registrants and 1,509 Conference Select registrants for a total of 5,774 technical registrants. The committee did an excellent job controlling expenses. After the large loss in 2002, the necessary steps were taken early for SIGGRAPH 2003. Motion (Owen, Frey) That ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee issue congratulations to the SIGGRAPH 20003 committee for their technical, creative, and financial success. Approved unanimously Dena Slothower, SIGGRAPH 2004 Chair, reported that her committee had a very good week in their search for sub-committee members Exhibits look good, with Apple taking a 60X 60 booth in the front of the exhibit, Discreet doubling their space, and many companies increasing space by an average of 15%. James Mohler, SIGGRAPH 2005 Chair, reported that he had a very good week interviewing candidates for conference committee chair positions, with three or four strong candidates for each position. Chief Technical Officer Position Gudrun Enger, Director for Communications, discussed a need to have an additional volunteer to do overall planning for how all parts of the organization use siggraph.org. Action Item: Gudrun Enger to submit a proposal to the Executive Committee describing this proposed position. Trademarks Erica Johnson reported that the trademark for the new organizational logo has been applied for, and the logo will be afforded full protection. There are two similar logos already registered in the same category, but neither of these logos represents a conflict with the ACM SIGGRAPH graphic identity. Eurographics relationship and publishing Barb Helfer, Vice President, explained about sponsorship of conferences, where there is a monetary risk, and in-cooperation status, where there is no financial risk. There are some issues with publishing books for non-sponsored events. Stephen Spencer, Director for Publications, discussed the existing agreements with Eurographics and the intent to move forward with a joint sponsorship agreement that establishes rights and responsibilities in the future. Other Societies Barb Helfer summarized the existing agreements of cooperation that ACM SIGGRAPH has with other societies. Action Item: Barb Helfer to post the existing agreements on siggraph.org. Symposia Barb Helfer discussed the issues regarding small conferences co-located with our annual conference and the existing policies for these types of programs. There are many questions that need to be raised in order to put this part of the symposia program into perspective with the overall program and goals of ACM SIGGRAPH. What are we trying to achieve with these conferences, and how do they fit our strategic direction? Will any given co-located conference be mutually beneficial to everyone involved? The initial goal was to bring in groups that otherwise might not come to the SIGGRAPH annual conference. Alain gave some background and history on how the existing policy evolved. Action Item: Barb Helfer to prepare information on the existing conferences that are sponsored, co-sponsored, or in cooperation with ACM SIGGRAPH. Donations and the Organization Transfer Each SIGGRAPH conference must transfer 4.5 % of the income to the organization. The Conference Advisory Group requested that the ACM SIGRAPH Executive Committee waive this internal allocation on cash donations. This is not currently very much money. It was suggested that the issue might become larger as the SIGGRAPH conference pursues its endowment program. However, the current student volunteer endowment is exempt from these allocations. Motion (Owen, Morie) That ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee waive the income allocation on cash donations to the conference that are earmarked for a specific purpose and are under $10,000. Approved (7, 0, 1, Abstain - Helfer) Plone Content Management System. Alain Chesnais gave a lengthy demonstration of this system for managing web content. The ACM SIGGRAPH chapters have been using it, and Alain and Thierry Frey have recommended it for use by the rest of ACM SIGGRAPH. E-mail Etiquette Judy Brown led a discussion on email discussions and a concern about notes sent to the Executive Committee alias being forwarded outside the group. This discussion will continue at the fall Executive Committee meeting. Executive Committee Meetings The next Executive Committee meeting will be held on October 24-26th, possibly in Vancouver or Seattle. The January budget meeting is set for the weekend of January 16-18, 2004, and it was suggested that this meeting be held in Los Angeles. Action Item: Erica Johnson to investigate the feasibility and cost of these meeting venues. Motion to adjourn…By acclamation. |
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