Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Visual Resources Association
Corcoran Library and Gallery
Washington DC, Friday, July 9, 2010

Chair, Virginia (Macie) Hall
Secretary-Treasurer, Jessica Bailey
Attendees:  Kathe Albrecht, Grace Barth, Macie Hall, Jeannine Keefer, Jacqueline Protka, Gina Raimond, Steve Tatum, Christina Updike, Bob Willis

The meeting was called to order. The minutes of the meeting held at the 28th annual VRA conference in Atlanta, GA were approved.

Secretary-Treasurer Jessica Bailey was unable to attend the meeting.  Macie Hall gave the Treasurer’s Report. The Chapter’s funds have now been transferred to the VRA bursary.  As of July 3, 2010 we had $923.53 in our bursary account.  Macie noted that the bundled membership option for membership renewal had a positive effect on our number of members.  We currently have 24 Chapter members, an improvement over the past several years.

The discussion moved to planning our upcoming meeting in Richmond, VA which will be held in conjunction with the annual SECAC-MACAA conference at Virginia Commonwealth University, October 20 – 23, 2010.  Members are chairing two sessions: Macie Hall and Sarah Falls session: Geographic Divide and Pedagogical Shift: A Re-Examination of Wolfflinian Methodologies in Art History will be on Thursday afternoon (October 21). Jeannine Keefer and Tina Updike have planned a VR focused session entitled: Keefer, United We Stand Partnerships in Support of the Digital Classroom, to be held on Friday morning. This session will explore cross-campus collaborations.  John Taormina (Duke University) and Nancy Shelton (Old Dominion University) will be presenting, as well as Tina and Jeannine. Conference registration fees will be $145 for individual members and $50 for student members prior to September 20, with an increase after that date. SECAC and or MACAA membership is required for conference attendance. Online registration begins on August 1.

We discussed logistics and decided that having a Chapter meeting after lunch on Friday would be the best compromise for members who did not want to attend the conference, and for those who are attending.  We agreed that while it would be nice to visit Jeannine Keefer’s VRC facility at the University of Richmond, the distance from the conference site makes that option less attractive.  It would be preferable to meet downtown.  Suggested venues included: the Jefferson Hotel (conference hotel) in a public area, asking Yuki Hibben (ARLIS/DC-MD-VA member) about possible space at Virginia Commonwealth University where she works, or the café at the newly renovated Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Tina Updike has a contact at the museum and will inquire about other options.

We had discussed creating a Google Group for the Chapter at our meeting in March.  Macie will work on getting this set up next month.  It will be a good way to plan and publicize the Richmond meeting, as well as facilitate communication in the future.

We will need to elect a new Chapter chair this fall as Macie Hall’s term is ending.  The term will be two years. 

We discussed the situation with the Greater Philadelphia Chapter which has been inactive now for several years.  We identified VRA members at several institutions who had been part of that chapter: Derek Churchill at University of Delaware, Laura Grutzeck at University of the Arts, Heather Glaser at University of Pennsylvania, and Laura Paris at Temple.  Macie will ask Maureen Burns (VRA President) if it would be appropriate for us to invite these VRA members to our Chapter activities as guests or to join our Chapter as members.

The Chair asked if there was any new business.  Bob Willis asked if anyone knew what the cost of ARTstor’s Shared Shelf was going to be.  There was discussion of options, solutions and partnerships in place at our various institutions, as well as unique collaborations (other humanities departments, theater department) and having the IT group pay for the Shared Shelf as it saves the IT group the expense of hosting the local collection.

There was no further business to discuss and the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,

Virginia (Macie) Hall,
Chair, Mid-Atlantic Chapter