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Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology

The Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology monitors the participation of women in the discipline and in the affairs of the Association, and reports to the Council and to the membership of the Association its findings and recommendations for enhancing such participation.

The Committee consists of six members of the Association. Membership of the committee is recommended to Council by the Committee on Committees and appointments are made by the President and/or Council for a three year term of office. Each year two members begin, and two members end their term of office. While members of the Committee on the Status of Women may recommend prospective members to the Committee on Committees, they do not select their own members. They do, however, elect the committee's chair. The chair of the Committee on the Status of Women is elected by the committee members from among their ranks and must be someone who will be a continuing and active member of the committee for at least one year. The chair is elected at the scheduled meeting of the committee during the annual PSA meeting and serves for one year. The chair can be reelected.

Committee on Teaching

The Committee on Teaching shall concern itself with issues relating to the teaching of sociology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including teaching theory and methods, curriculum program development, and other professional concerns related to teaching sociology. The Committee shall explore ways of improving the teaching of sociology through such efforts as organizing teaching workshops and regular paper and/or panel sessions at the annual meeting and/or through other appropriate means. The Committee shall help solicit nominations to be sent to the Awards Committee for the PSA distinguished contributions to teaching award and shall from time to time organize a reception and/or other gathering at the annual meeting in order to facilitate networking among members of the Association interested in the teaching of sociology. The Committee shall maintain effective liaison with the American Sociological Association's Section on Undergraduate Education, with the ASA's Teaching Resource Center, and with other professional organizations that focus on teaching.

Site Selection Committee

The PSA Constitution determines the members of the Site Selection Committee. The membership always consists of the PSA President, President-Elect, and Executive Director. The Executive Director usually serves as acting chair in order to facilitate the work of the committee.

The Site Selection Committee organizes and coordinates information about potential sites for the Association's annual meeting and reports to Council for site selection decisions.

Committee on the Status of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons in Sociology

The Committee on the Status of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons in Sociology shall monitor the participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons in the discipline and the affairs of the Association. The committee shall report to Council the status and concerns of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered persons within the western region. The term of office for each committee member shall be three years; each year two members, start and two members end their term in office. While members of the Committee on the Status of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons may recommend prospective members to the Committee on Committees, they do not select their own members. They do, however, elect the committee's chair. The chair of the Committee is elected by committee members from among their ranks and must be someone who will be a continuing and active member of the committee for at least one year. The chair will serve for one year. The chair may be reelected. The chair is elected at the scheduled meeting of the committee, which is held during the annual PSA meeting.

Endowment Committee

The PSA Endowment Committee is a six member committee appointed by the Committee on Committees with the approval of  Council. Members would serve three year terms, two members from each region (north, south, central). Terms would be staggered - in any one year, two members would end their terms and two would begin their terms. The purpose of the ad hoc committee - working with the Secretary/Treasurer -  is to raise funds for the Endowment.

Contract Monitoring Committee

The Contract Monitoring Committee shall advise the Council in regard to the negotiation, provision, renewal, and workability of all contracts. The Contract Monitoring committee shall normally consist of two members of the Association appointed by the Council and by the President-Elect. The members will serve three year terms. Terms are staggered so that when one member leaves a new member is appointed. Terms begin and end during the annual meeting. The remaining member of the committee is usually the chair-designate for the next year.

Members of the Contract Monitoring Committee are nominated by the Committee on Committees and approved by the Council and/or President. New appointments are usually made in late December or early January.

Social Conscience Committee

The Social Conscience Committee is charged with locating a worthy community-based organization in the city in which the PSA holds its annual meeting, for the purpose of honoring that organization through the PSA program and/or a monetary donation from the PSA. The honored organization receives the PSA Social Conscience Award. In addition, whenever possible, the recipient organization should be integrated into the annual PSA program by providing the organization with an information table and/or by having the recipient organization participate in a relevant roundtable or session.

The Social Conscience Committee is probably the most unique committee of the PSA because it relies upon individuals for membership who are living in the area of the annual PSA meeting and who have some knowledge of the organizations in their area. While nominations for the Social Conscience Award may come from a variety of individuals, they must be knowledgeable of a least one local organization in order to nominate it for the award.

Committee on the Freedom of Research and Teaching (COFRAT)

COFRAT is concerned with the maintenance of academic freedom among sociologists and with the development and maintenance of fair and equitable procedures and practices for employing, promoting, and terminating the employment of sociologists in the western region of the United States. This committee may investigate complaints referred to it by members, shall develop appropriate procedures for conducting such investigations, and shall report to Council results of all such investigations with recommendations for Council action. The Committee on the Freedom of Research and Teaching consists of six members of the Association. Membership of the committee is recommended to Council by the Committee on Committees and appointments are made by the President and/or Council for a three year term of office. Each year two members begin and two members end their term of office. While members of COFRAT may recommend prospective members of the committee to the Committee on Committees, they do not select their own members. They do, however, elect the committee’s chair. The Chair of the Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching is elected by committee members from among their ranks and must be someone who will be a continuing and active member of the committee for at least one year. The chair is elected at the scheduled meeting of the committee and serves for one year. Chairs can be reelected if continuing as a member of the committee for a least one more year. 1. Responsibilities, Procedures, and duties of the committee other than those specified in the Constitution. It is the chair’s responsibility to see that these are initiated and followed through on. A. Conference session organization. COFRAT sponsors sessions at PSA's annual meetings that are both specific to annual topical concerns, and that provide an opportunity for discussion of ongoing COFRAT concerns. Again, early calls for papers and active recruitment of participants is most effective. Session Proposal forms are available from the PSA Web site and also at the registration desk at the annual meeting. These session proposal forms are usually due by May 1. B. Procedures for taking committee action. Generally, the Chair solicits input from committee members throughout the year as items are dealt with. This is often done via email. During the annual meeting of the committee, decisions are made by the majority of those present. C. The Chair of this committee develops the agenda for the committee meeting and its annual activities. It is the chair’s responsibility to communicate meeting results and action items to others, including PSA Council. The chair maintains communication with committee members throughout the year. The chair also determines the calendar of activities for the committee. The chair maintains the committee’s archive and makes certain that the new chair receives it. Ideally, the archive should be handed to the new chair during the committee’s annual meeting. The chair will normally use email for correspondence between committee members during the year. It is important to keep all committee members informed of schedules, activities, and deadlines.The chair also writes a report of committee activities for publication in the May online newsletter, due date, May 1. The report contains sessions created for committee sponsorship and highlights activities the members have participated in through the year which relate to the activities of the committee.

Committee on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights

The functions of the  Committee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties are to propose and organize sessions that raise awareness of issues related to civil liberties and civil rights. Further, the committee monitors and makes recommendations to the PSA Council when the civil liberties and civil rights of sociologists are in jeopardy.

The Committee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights  consists of six members of the Association, two members from each region.  Terms are for three years. PSA members may volunteer for membership to the committee or be nominated by current members of the CLCR committee. The prospective pool of candidates is reviewed by the Committee on Committees, and those selected are appointed to the CLCR committee for a three year term. Each year the CLCR committee elects a Chair who serves for one year, but can be re-elected.

1. Procedures for taking committee action.
    Committee action is taken following a majority vote of the committee members. This is done either at the annual meeting or by mail or email at the request of the chair.

2. Specific duties of the chair.
       The chair must develop the agenda for the year’s activities and must convene the annual meeting of the committee. The chair is responsible for keeping the lines of communication open between and among members, for organizing and conducting meetings, for establishing sponsorship of sessions for annual meetings and assuring that the required paper work (filling out, Session Proposal Forms) is completed. The Chair also keeps track of pertinent member activities, writes the annual report, provides leadership, and passes action items, if any, on to the PSA Council.

3. Calendar of activities.
        Pre-PSA: The Chair develops an agenda prior to the annual PSA meeting and seeks input from committee members.

         PSA Committee Meeting: The CLCR members meet as a committee, elect next committee chair and discuss agenda items, including sessions proposed for the next year’s PSA meeting (session proposal forms are available from the PSA office, online, or at the registration desk at the annual meeting). In addition, the Committee solicits recommendations for prospective committee members. The names are then passed on to the Chair of the Committee on Committees.

        Post PSA Meeting: The CLCR chair writes a report of committee activities for publication in the May Newsletter; due date, May 1. The report contains sessions created for committee sponsorship and highlights activities the members have participated in throughout the year which relate to civil liberties and civil rights.

In Memoriam: Hal Charnofsky, 1931-2002

Hal Charnofsky, a long-time member of the PSA, died recently at the age of 71. He was teaching at CSU Dominguez Hills weeks before his death. He was a founding member of the Sociology Department at the University and helped launch its MA degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. In 1992 he was awarded the CSU System’s Outstanding Professor Award, a state honor given annually to only two faculty members. In addition to his interest in Counseling, Hal’s other specialty was the Sociology of Sports, probably because as a young man he played for the New York Yankees minor league organization. He gave many presentations at PSA annual meetings over the years. He served as Vice President of the Association in 1999-2000.