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Please read the below email from AOM's Executive Committee

The OB Division would like to make sure you are kept up-to-date on AOM's response to the recent Executive Order on Immigration & Refugees.  Please read the below email from AOM's Executive Committee and check the website for an updated FAQ as more information becomes available.  

Frequently Asked Questions

The US President's Executive Order of January 27^th on immigration and refugees has presented AOM with significant challenges in enacting our mission, which is "To build a vibrant and supportive community of scholars by markedly expanding opportunities to connect and explore ideas."   Many members, including AOM officers, are shocked, appalled and distressed.  The situation is evolving as we write this – both in the public sphere and within the AOM itself.  Below, we have assembled some information in response to the questions we've most frequently heard from members.  We are closely monitoring the evolving policy and developments and will update and expand this FAQ as more information becomes available.

AOM FAQ Online

Q: I am directly affected by the policy and won't be able to travel to the U.S.  How can AOM help?

The Academy fervently values all members, and is committed to enabling the participation on the program of members who are impacted by the recent Executive Order.  As a first step, AOM has suspended the requirement of attendance as a condition of inclusion in the program at the Annual Meeting for those affected. We are mobilizing virtual and other resources so those accepted on the program and impacted by the ban can participate in some form.   We are working to contact members in the affected countries and others who hold passports from the named countries to determine how AOM can best help.    In particular, the AOM is working with an immigration law firm to analyze the situations of affected members.  We are also in touch with several Universities that are offering 'safe harbor' to affected scholars.  If you are directly affected by the ban, please contact Taryn Fiore.  We are also exploring a range of member suggestions, such as intensified reliance on web-based technologies and video-conferencing.   If you have suggestions for other ways in which we can support and enable scholarly participation by affected scholars, please reach out to us at tfiore@aom.org.

Q: Why didn't AOM publicly condemn the Executive Order?

The AOM was constrained from condemning the Executive Order by a policy that bound the organization from taking a political stand.  This policy bound us from commenting on the Executive Order directly on any grounds.  The policy of no-political stands binds all AOM Officers and appointed officials at the level of the Academy (e.g., editors, committee chairs, etc.), and in the Divisions/Interest Groups. No one can represent his or her personal views as those of the AOM.  The President must adhere to the policies and principles of the organization, even when she or he may disagree with them. This stance is also a central part of the AOM Board's code of conduct. Furthermore, the AOM currently has no process by which the organization as a whole can develop and express a view. 

This no-political-stands policy has a long history that emanated from the Academy's legal structure.  The Academy is a 501(c)3 organization that is chartered in the State of New York and that operates under the laws of New York and of the United States.  We are an international body in the sense that we have members from around the world, and it is our aspiration to deepen our international and global identity.  Yet formally, AOM is organized for charitable and educational purposes in New York.  We are comprised of approximately 20,000 members and a small staff of employed headquarters personnel that are charged primarily with administrative duties.  The substantive work of the AOM occurs in 23 Divisions and Interest Groups, with the Academy's Board of Governors acting as stewards and leaders in organizational governance.   As a charitable and educational organization, the AOM is structured differently than other Associations that have other forms of non-profit status, for example, as 501(c)6s, which are business leagues and trade organizations; or as 501(c)4s, which are social-welfare organizations.  501(c)3s have a narrower scope for lobbying than these other forms of organization.  The legal status of a 501(c)3 includes the following restriction:  'A 501 (c) (3) organization is restricted in lobbying, which is defined as making "contacts" directed to a covered executive branch or legislative branch official for the purpose of formulating, modifying, adopting, administering or executing federal legislation, rules, executive orders, programs, policies or positions of the United States government  or nominating or confirming a person for a position subject to confirmation by the Senate' (see https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/lobbying).  The Academy's articles of incorporation say that we "will not, except to an insubstantial degree, engage in any activities or exercise any powers that are not in furtherance of [the AOM's] primary purposes."

This formal requirement and the Academy's identity as a member-driven, pluralistic, DIGS-driven organization led the Board to adopt a policy of no political stands at least twenty-five years ago, and possibly much longer.  As far as we can discern, the AOM has never in its history issued a position on any matter in the public sphere, including, for example, the Vietnam War, the events of 9/11, or changes in European funding policies related to education.       

Q: Is the Board of Governors reviewing this policy?

Yes. 

The Academy's governance procedures require a time-consuming set of steps before a policy can be changed.  A formal proposal must first be made; the proposal must be accepted as worthy of consideration by a subcommittee; the vetting by the subcommittee must then occur; a subcommittee report must be issued with a recommendation; the report and recommendation must be deliberated in a formal meeting of the Executive Committee; if the Executive Committee adopts the recommendation, then the proposal must be advanced for consideration by the full Board of Governors; the Board of Governors may then send the proposal for further review and refinement; and ultimately, the Board of Governors, meeting with a quorum, must formally ratify the proposal before it can be adopted. 

A proposal to change the Academy's stance on no-political-stands was made before recent events.  The proposal was to allow an exception to the no-political-stands policy under certain specific circumstances.  lt was accepted for consideration and has been under analysis by a subcommittee.  The challenges include putting boundaries on when stands would be taken, and when and how stands would be developed.  We also need a process for identifying how such stands would be taken.  

Immediately after the US President's Executive Order, the subcommittee's work was accelerated and advanced to the Executive Committee.  AOM President McGahan called for extraordinary, immediate meetings of both the Executive Committee and the Board of Governors.  On February 5^th, the Executive Committee met in a special session and approved a proposal to allow for a political stand when a political action threatens the Academy's purpose, existence, or function as an organization.  A recommendation has been sent to the Board on this matter, and a Board meeting will be held soon.  If adopted, the policy would be under embargo for 90 days while a task force explores how such a policy would be elaborated and implemented.  In particular, we need to develop an organizational process that incorporates member input.  We will post updated information as it arises on the proposed revisions to the Board's no-political-stances policy here.

Q: Will AOM be moving the 2017 conference from Atlanta?  

No. 

There are a number of reasons for this.  The Executive Order effectively jeopardizes citizens of the seven named countries who are already in the United States from returning should they leave.  Of course, the Executive Order also bans members from the target countries from entering the United States.   Our best available information suggests that there may be more affected members inside the United States than outside.   We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and post additional information on this circumstance as we receive it. 

Moving the meeting under any circumstances just a few months ahead of the conference is extraordinarily difficult.  The AOM Conference is among the largest in the world of academic bodies, with approximately 10,000 attendees.   There are relatively few venues where it can be held, in particular because of our need for hundreds of concurrently available, contiguous meeting rooms and thousands of nearby hotel rooms.   In the conference field, contracts are written years in advance to reserve venues.  Our best information indicates that no alternative venue is available of sufficient size located in a country where the AOM can operate.   On top of this, we are committed contractually to Atlanta.  The AOM writes contracts with conference centers, hotels, and other bodies seven to ten years in advance.  

Q:  What about future conferences?  Will AOM hold future conferences outside the United States?

Yes.  The Annual Meeting will be in Vancouver, Canada, in 2020.  Check the schedule of future Annual Meetings.  In addition, specialized AOM conferences will be held outside North America.

The initiative on specialized conferences will offer members opportunities to gather at thematic and experiential conferences in locations outside of North America.  We invite you to take part in these new conferences and consider submitting a proposal to hold such an event. Please see our website at https://aom.org/Meetings/Specialized-Conferences-Initiative.aspx for information on this initiative.  

Some members have suggested that the AOM's Annual Meeting be held in countries other than the United States and Canada.  We are vigilantly open to new possibilities.

Q:  Will we be discussing these issues at the 2017 conference in Atlanta?

Yes.

The 2017 theme, "At the Interface," provides many opportunities for academic scholarship to address issues related to borders and the policies that affect them.  To advance this scholarly agenda, plans are on the drawing board about sessions along these lines.  Division and Interest Groups are considering ways in which they will respond.    This initiative is evolving.  We will be posting updates here as they arise.

Q:  I'm frustrated, and am thinking of boycotting the meeting in Atlanta as a protest against the Executive Order.  What do you have to say about that?

We understand your frustration, and yet we hope that you will attend.  It is our view that this is a time for strengthening institutions of science.   We need your ideas, views, and energetic participation in the conversation in Atlanta.  We need to advance our collective scholarship on, for example, the importance of academic freedom and scholarly exchange.  It is critically important that, under the principles of academic integrity, we express what is true and right.   The mission of the Academy is to "To build a vibrant and supportive community of scholars by markedly expanding opportunities to connect and explore ideas."   By attending, you strengthen that mission and community and contribute greatly to support the scholars who engage in it.   This is a time for us to unify, improve and strengthen AOM, which we need your help to accomplish. 

View the FAQ on the AOM website.