CAA News Today

CAA 112th Annual Business Meeting Minutes
Hilton Chicago
February 16, 2024 | 1:00 p.m. CT 

1. Welcome + Call to Order – Jennifer Rissler, CAA President
   1. Jennifer Rissler called the meeting to order at 1:05 pm. CT.
   2. Staff were thanked for their incredible work on the conference.
2. Approval of 111th Annual Business Meeting Minutes [ACTION ITEM] 
   1. Denise Baxter moved to approve minutes from the CAA 111th Annual Business meeting; Lynne D. Allen seconded the motion.
   2. The minutes were unanimously approved by those present.
3. President Report – Jennifer Rissler, CAA President
   1. Jennifer reflected on her tenure as president which began during the pandemic and said that this year’s attendance numbers have exceeded our registration target, demonstrating the Association’s collective desire to convene in person.
   2. Citing her own professional challenges during her tenure such as the closure of her institution, SFAI, Jennifer underscored the current challenges in the field with institution and department closures, departmental budgets, adjunctification, and overall threats to higher education and academic livelihoods.
   3. Jennifer highlighted the resilience of CAA membership in the face of such challenges.
   4. The Board continues to support the vision of the Executive Director and the 2020 Board-approved strategic repositioning plan.
   5. Jennifer thanked Board members whose term ends in May 2024: Scherezade Garcia-Vazquez, Lynne D. Allen, Ken Wissoker, Mora Beauchamp-Byrd, Tiffany Holmes, Nada Shabout, and Victoria McCraven.
4. Executive Director Report – Meme Omogbai, CAA Executive Director + CEO
   1. Statutorily, CAA is required to provide the financial status of the Association, based on the audited financial reports:
      1. For the year ending June 30, 2023, the Association made significant progress and posted an operating deficit of $177,000 as compared to the prior year deficit of $429,000.
      2. The Association posted a breakeven operating budget with revenue including investment spinoff matching expenses and meeting our forecast and budget expectations.
      3. After considering the non-operating government grants, the Association posted a net surplus of $551,000 as of June 30 compared to a $1.5 million technically net loss—but it is not an actual loss due to investments and the variance is driven by unrealized gains from the investment portfolio. As a result, it partially offsets the PPP loan forgiveness that became a grant of $352,000.
      4. We had a favorable portfolio balance of $727,000 for FY23 as opposed to an unrealized loss in FY22.
      5. The Association continues to manage expenses within our means and is in stronger financial condition than we have been.
      6. Complete audited financial statements have been provided and will be made available via guidestar.org and charitiesny.com.
   2. Membership Updates:
      1. As of June 30, 2023, there were just over 400 institutional members and nearly 4000 individual members, reflective of continued systemic higher education and pandemic impacts.
      2. There were nearly 500 subscribers to The Art Bulletin and Art Journal through co-publisher Taylor & Francis.
      3. Though we are operating on a breakeven goal basis, our membership numbers are declining. In response, we reduced membership dues and created an installment plan to make entry to CAA more accessible.
   3. Updates on the CAA Strategic Repositioning Plan and Operations Activities:
      1. Cost of operation continues to rise and membership-related activities, grants, and Annual Conference revenue only account for approximately 40 percent of the budget, so there is a need for increased support.
      2. The Association continues to strive, invest, and build out infrastructure to support our service to the field globally.
      3. We continued work on digital transformation efforts, a crucial step in the Board-approved strategic repositioning plan, to build infrastructure to serve member needs and the needs of the field.
      4. The Getty Foundation has generously given us a second digital transformation grant of a quarter of a million dollars. As one of the first funders of this effort, Getty made possible to have a virtual conference in 2021.
      5. We continue to reevaluate and refine the conference each year and expand accessibility, but balance that against rising costs; this year, for example, given overwhelming demand last year in New York, we have reintroduced day passes.
      6. Meme acknowledged Paul Skiff, Mira Friedlaender, and Maeghan Donohue for their partnership in negotiating contracts with Hilton and other conference service providers to get us competitive pricing.
      7. As of the Annual Business meeting, there are 2,671 registrants, which exceeds our target of 2500. We also exceeded our required 70% room block well in advance of the conference, helping us to avoid a contractual liability charge.
      8. As CAA aims to expand our global footprint, Meme reiterated from her Convocation speech that it is important to remember that CAA staff is comprised of only 8–10 individuals.
   4. A question was raised about why the Book and Trade Fair was notably smaller this year. Meme and staff responded to say that historically Chicago Book and Trade Fairs have always had less exhibitors than conferences in New York, but also worth noting that with rising costs and limited budgets, exhibitors are having to make tough decisions about which conferences to attend.
5. Old/New Business
   1. No old business was raised by meeting attendees.
   2. No new business was raised by meeting attendees.
6. Board Member Election Results – Jennifer Rissler, CAA President
   1. The 2024 Board of Directors slate was announced on December 18, 2023, along with an online voting form. Voting closed on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. CT.
   2. The following individuals will join the Board of Directors in May 2024 (4-year term): Damon Arhos, Theresa Avila, Nozomi Naoi, and Eric Wolf.
   3. Congratulations to Emily Rice who will also join the Board as a CAA Emerging Professional Director (2-year term).
   4. All who were not elected were encouraged to run again next year. Some of the most productive board members in CAA history ran several times before they were elected, including some past CAA Board presidents.
   5. The CAA Nominating Committee was thanked for their contributions to this election cycle.
7. Adjourn
   1. The CAA 113th Annual Conference will be held February 12–15, 2025 at the New York Hilton Midtown. The date of the Annual Business Meeting will be February 14, 2025; time will be announced in late 2024.
   2. The 112th Annual Business Meeting adjourned at 1:28 p.m. CT.