Path: sparky!uunet!usenix!ellie
From: el...@usenix.ORG (Ellie Young)
Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
Subject: Summary of USENIX Board of Directors Meeting
Keywords: USENIX, Board Meeting
Message-ID: <1281@usenix.ORG>
Date: 9 Jan 93 23:30:57 GMT
Organization: Usenix Association Office, Berkeley
Lines: 234
Board Meeting Summary
by Ellie Young
Executive Director
Below is a summary of the actions taken at the regular quarterly
meeting of the USENIX Board of Directors held in Berkeley, CA on
October 24 and 25, 1992.
Attendance: Rick Adams, Eric Allman, Tom Christiansen, Lori Grob,
Steve Johnson, Kirk McKusick, Evi Nemeth, Mike O'Dell,
Barry Shein, Ellie Young, Judy DesHarnais
Budget, Funding, and Fee Proposals
Budget. Young explained that while a small deficit had been budgeted for
1992, current projections revealed a substantial net. She said that
while she would like to have a better way to predict the budget more
accurately, the major factor affecting the predictions is the difficulty
in correctly estimating attendance at the smaller conferences. A discussion
ensued regarding conference and workshop attendance, ways to save in expenses,
and factors that effect variable vs. fixed expenses.
O'Dell expressed concern that membership was flat. Shein felt this could
be linked to lower conference attendance. Grob stressed the need to think
about promotion, to have some goals concerning membership growth, and to
use the database to extract information. Allman volunteered to take a
look at the technical issues concerning the database.
Young explained that the 1993 preliminary draft budget contained
conservative estimates for attendance at the conferences. Johnson went
through the details and assumptions made on the cover report. It was
decided to create a general promotional line item in the budget
of $20,000 to be overseen by the promotion committee. Young reported
that the SAGE interim board had approved its budget.
Standards IR and Snitch Editor. The IR search committee had agreed
on a candidate to replace Collinson and recommended Jeff Haemer as
the next Institutional Representative. Funding for snitch and
IR activities was approved.
ISO Monitor Representative. Walli resigned from his post of ISO Monitor
to USENIX/EurOpen because of his work schedule. The proposal
for funding would be discussed by both organizations in the future.
Student Stipends. It was agreed to increase the amount for workshops
from $15,000 to $20,000 for 1993.
USACO Proposal. It was agreed to allocate $3,000 to fund the
International Computing Olympiad (USACO) in order to foster
computing at the pre-college level.
Membership Dues. It was agreed to raise corporate member dues by $25 to $325.
Conference Fees. It was decided to raise conference fees after January,
1993, as follows:
1 day of tutorials $275
2 days of tutorials $495
3 days tech sessions $295
2 days of tech sessions $275
Student fees would remain the same.
motd. It was decided to replace the current motd conference newsletter
at the San Diego conference, with a one page schedule of events.
Honorary Member
It was agreed to make Lou Katz, one of the Association's founders and
president for many years, an honorary lifetime member.
SAGE Report
Christiansen reported that most of the SAGE board attended the
LISA conference; that 12 candidates came forward for 6 slots in the upcoming
elections; and that there was a very successful candidate's forum.
It was suggested that for the SAGE budget the items for Board Travel,
Awards and Other be combined into a Misc. Other item and the value be
set to $5,000, with the incoming SAGE board being able to allocate
these funds as they see fit.
Special Technical Group (STG) Document Committee Report
Johnson reported that the committee had made revisions to the STG
portion of the document, but the Local Technical Group portion needed to
worked on. Allman and Johnson volunteered to work on a proposal
regarding the vote by email clauses in the USENIX Bylaws.
C++ Conference. It was reported that while attendance was somewhat
less than the previous year's event, interest remained high. Young was
beginning plans for having another one in Spring '94 with Doug Lea
as program chair, and more promotion of this event would be needed.
Security Symposium. Young and DesHarnais reported that interest and
technical content of the meeting was high. Ed DeHart did an excellent
job as chair. Young was discussing with him plans for another event
next year, and Bill Cheswick was interested in serving as program chair.
SANS II. It was agreed that SAGE/USENIX would co-sponsor (with FedUNIX)
the Spring '93 Conference on Tools & Techniques for System
Adminiatration, Networking and Security per the enclosed proposal.
Site Selection for Summer '97. It was decided that we should investigate
holding it in Chicago.
Mobile Computing Workshop Proposal. Shein explained that the
attached proposal from Geer was a great topic, and it was approved.
Network Administration Workshop Proposal. It was felt that while
the proposal from Chapman was an interesting topic, there were
concerns that it might effect the LISA conference in November.
It was suggested that the proposal be discussed further with the
newly elected SAGE board.
Awards
O'Dell brought a sample of the glass sculpture, which would be the
first USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize and celebrate
singular contributions to the UNIX community in both intellectual
achievement and service that are not recognized in any other forum.
The committee would be making a proposal for the first award, and
it would be presented at the Winter Conference.
UniForum, EurOpen & Cooperation with Other Groups
UniForum. Johnson explained that he and Young had been contacted by
Mike Tilson, who is on their board and was a former director of USENIX.
UniForum's board would like to have closer cooperation with USENIX.
We would explore the possibility of perhaps holding an event alongside
the UniForum Conference in the future, as well as cooperating in
educational and standards activities.
EurOpen. It was agreed that we don't want a hierarchical relationship
with the national groups of EurOpen, and that we might be able to
assist them by providing tutorials and publications, and that
we should look for specific opportunities and proposals in the future.
SUG. It was decided that USENIX is interested in discussing the
possibility of making SUG an STG associated with USENIX, as there are
some areas that we might have some synergy. Several of the Board and
Executive Director would discuss this with SUG, and possibly make a
proposal in the future.
Policies
It was decided to: 1) eliminate default complimentary registration
for speakers, with the program chair being allowed to comp a registration
on a by-request basis for events with anticipated attendance of over 300;
and 2) increase the office's petty cash fund account limit to $6,000.
Revised STG/SAGE Resolution
Nemeth said that paragraph 4 of the the resolution passed at the
previous meeting need to be changed as follows:
4. That the USENIX Association will administer an election for the SAGE
board of directors. Nominations for that board will close at noon on
Thursday, October 22. All members of records on November 11 are eligible
to vote. The new board will take office January 1, 1993. The board will
consist of 7 members: the past president and 6 elected directors. In
the first year, 3 members will be elected for 2-year terms (top 3 vote
getters), and 3 members elected for 1-year terms (next 3 vote getters).
Subsequent elections will turn over only 3 members of the board each
year.
Other Business
Johnson felt we need to do something about NT. Grob said she has been
actively trying to get someone to give a tutorial at the next
Microkernels symposium. Grob took on an action item to increase NT
awareness and involvement in USENIX. Grob also suggested that we
consider offering spouse and family memberships, and Young would
make a proposal.
BSD/USL
After discussion, it was decided to send the following letter regarding
the USL/UCB lawsuit:
October 25, 1992
Roel Pieper
UNIX System Laboratories
190 River Road
Summit, NJ 07901
Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien
200 California Hall
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
Dear Mr. Pieper and Chancellor Tien:
The USENIX Association's membership has been saddened and concerned by
the USL/UCB lawsuit. We would like to offer any help we can to assist
in resolving this matter in a way that removes the chilling and divisive
influence this suit has had on our community.
Since the UNIX operating system has been widely distributed to
universities, we believe it is essential that USL, universities, and
students clearly agree on the extent to which exposure to the UNIX
system in the classroom compromises students in their later professional work.
While the court process may eventually lead to such a resolution, we are
concerned that the extended time scale will be chilling at a time when
UNIX vendors must forge relationships to respond to new market forces.
There is significant risk that the legal process will not fully explore
the technical issues, and/or be influenced by legal technicalities that
will not satisfy the legitimate needs of the parties.
Perhaps USL and UCB could enter into a technical mediation process to
clarify and explore possible remedies. We would like to offer
our assistance in any way that you would find helpful. For example, we
could serve on, or help to organize, a committee of technical experts
that might help both sides resolve this issue. The role model for
cooperative resolution of differences between two of the premier
organizations in the UNIX arena could only strengthen our industry at a
critical time.
We stand ready to assist you, and would urge you to move towards a quick and
equitable resolution of this matter.
Sincerely,
Stephen C. Johnson
President
cc: Marshall Kirk McKusick, CSRG
Dennis Ritchie, AT&T Bell Laboratories
David Hodges, Dean of CCEE, UCB
Joseph Cerny, Provost for Research, UCB
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