ASECS

The ASECS Executive Board and the Women’s Caucus are very pleased to announce that they are 
jointly sponsoring the Masquerade Ball at the 2018 meeting in Orlando on the final Saturday night of the conference. The 2014 Ball in Williamsburg is now the stuff of legend, but it’s time to make new memories for a great cause by attending and supporting your colleagues through
an additional contribution to the ASECS “Now and Later NTTF” Fund. All money raised by the 2018 Ball will benefit this new travel fund for non-tenure track/adjunct scholars who have no access to institutional travel funds for the national meeting. Massive shifts in the academy have created a crisis in our profession, a crisis reflected in declining membership numbers. The “Now and Later Non-Tenure Track Fund” (NTTF) will do two things to address this crisis. First,
it will provide immediate grants to colleagues who lack support to attend the ASECS meeting. Second, it will start an endowment to support this project into the future. We believe that by pulling together to address this problem now, we can ensure the future of the society and the vibrancy of scholarship, debate, and collegiality that animates it. Please give generously, with checks made out to ASECS and “NTTF” in the memo line or through the forthcoming online donation system.

As in Williamsburg, we encourage all to come dressed for the occasion, but we will also have a
limited number of masks and accessories available for purchase at the door. Those who would like to dress but don’t happen to have period formalwear on hand can band together in groups of 10 or more and place a group rental order, thanks to an arrangement through Norcostco, a costume rental company. Norcostco will offer group rental rates of $50 per costume (plus shipping) for groups of 10 or more (up to 300!) and have them shipped to the hotel. This fee includes alterations based on measurements provided and dry cleaning. To use this service, you must order in a group, the group must have a main contact person, and the company MUST have a minimum of three to four weeks to put it all together. That means orders should be organized and placed in early February. If you would like to organize a group and make these arrangements, follow the instructions for a group order at norcostco.com. Renters are responsible for shipping in both directions. Again, this is up to members to organize; your group will be responsible for collecting the payments and measurements, submitting the order, arranging for delivery and returns, and coordinating costume pickup and delivery in Orlando at the hotel. If you have questions, please email Peggy Elliott at peggy.elliott@gcsu.edu. 

 

You will be able to buy a ticket online with your ASECS registration and donate to the cause by check or online. We will have light refreshments and a cash bar at the Ball. Come celebrate the successes of the meeting on the last night and toast to the joys of friendship and scholarship in high eighteenth-century style. —Manushag N. Powell, Purdue University