1) The PCC will form working groups with one 'leader' who, once chosen, will draft two other PCC members, or perhaps members of ACTR (or non-members if their particular expertise is needed).
A. These three-person working groups will regularly provide progress reports to all members of the PCC and to the Executive.
B. All working groups will report to the PCC at next year's conference at U of A. Once the work of one or more groups reaches the stage at which they are ready to go public, the PCC will propose in any given year to the conference programme organisers, several PCC working group sessions that the programme organisers might want to include within the conference programme. (These working group sessions will not mean that there won't be an annual meeting of the PCC during the conference)
This has worked well in the past: e.g. the Curricula and Graduate programme analyses that Jen Harvie and others provided for us at the St. John's conference. This approach has also been effective this year when Stephen Johnson, Deborah Cottreau, and Domenico Pietropaolo gave a presentation on the relationships between the 'academic' study of theatre and its relationship to 'practical courses' and the professional theatre. The PCC also initiated a session this year, generously organised by Stephen Johnson, on the possibility of forming a NATIONAL association, along the lines of CACE, of theatre/drama heads/chairs/directors to work together on matters of common concern: an association that might be a caucus of ACTR or autonomous and that might meet once a year at the same time as the ACTR conference or perhaps on a separate (yearly) basis.
The PCC extends a warm debt of gratitude to Stephen, Domenico, and Deborah.
C. The PCC will undertake further 'maintenance' work on our database of the names and co- ordinates of drama/theatre departments/programme chairs/heads/directors across the country. The new Chair of the PCC, in consultation with its members, will find someone willing to undertake this important task. (Someone has already been asked but needs time to think it over.) The database will eventually be available for access not only by members of the PCC, but by all members of the Association.
D. Below is a more or less up-to-date list of the current working groups. Some are already active; others are at the organisational stage. (They are not listed in order of importance. ALL of them are important.)
1) Developing various strategies to strengthen and make the Association's
functions, and the functions of our teaching and research, clearer to those
in other disciplines, to university and
college administrators, and to the general public. Many ideas have
been mooted about which strategies might prove effective. HSSFC is very
interested in this and will let us know, from their experience, which modes
of dissemination work best.
2) Sending out copies of the column, "Singing the Praises of the Humanities," by President Robert Prichard of the U of T, to Principals and Presidents, urging them to write similar columns in their universities' magazines.
3) Figuring out how to respond to what seems to be the inexorable march forward to institutionalise 'Performance Indicators' and related modes of assessment. Denis Salter is interested in this matter and will speak to Sherrill Grace who has proposed the organisation of a joint session with ACCUTE at the U of A next year. This session would be made up of a panel of 'experts' and would also be integrated within our regular programme.
4) Figuring out a way to tackle the next stage of creating a Canada-wide association of chairs and so on. This could be held as a separate caucus session at U of A and/or be integrated into our regular academic programme.
5) Forming a "Humanities and Arts Write Back" campaign to write to print publications and so on when they write ill-informed reports, make outright mistakes, etc. In addition, this working group might foster ways of meeting with the media to help them understand what we really do, why, how, and to what end it contributes to the public good.
E. Listed below are themes/topics/issues which don't yet have working groups but which probably should in due course. As the PCC works on behalf of the Association, please let us know which subjects are, in your view, the most important and urgent:
1) The ways that practical work is evaluated by tenure and promotion committees and the like.
2) Pressing hard so that more students are on hiring committees.
3) Providing a practical session on how to go from thesis to articles and chapters and conference papers and perhaps to the creation of a book. This session (or perhaps a separate one) could also include the preparation of CVs, grant writing, and being-interviewed techniques.
4) Strengthening the liaison between the Association and the women's caucus.
F. Finally, we express immense gratitude to all who have worked so hard on and for the PCC, with special attention to Danielle Couture and Lisa Coulthard for organising agendas, keeping and sending out Minutes, giving good advice, and many other matters.
G. Finally, finally, the Executive will be looking for a new Chair for the PCC because Denis Salter has decided to step down after serving a three-year term which he very much enjoyed undertaking on behalf of the Association.