Spring is just about here, and we are greeting it with our own newness and growth.
I would like to announce that the board has approved a name change for the Pioneer America Society. Our new name is The International Society for Landscape, Place, & Material Culture (ISLPMC). The mission remains the same, only the name is changed. The board felt (and I agree) that the new name better reflects both the membership (which is international) and the scope of the research conducted by the membership. Furthermore, “Pioneer America” did not always convey our mission effectively and was sometimes confusing. Finally, we are having difficulty attracting new members and especially younger scholars and professionals to the organization, and the board feels that the new name gives potential members a clearer idea of the organization’s focus. Name changes were proposed in the past, but a serious discussion of a name change started at the 2012 board meeting in Philadelphia and continued in Utica with the board approving a committee to explore name changes. The committee reported their findings with a recommendation to change the name, and they provided a set of potential names to discuss at the 2014 board meeting. After discussion the board proposed a name change, voted on it, and it passed at the 2014 Meeting in Oklahoma City. The name change was announced at the business luncheon.
For registration, taxes, and banking purposes we continue to operate as Pioneer America Society. The ISLPMC officers are currently exploring the best options for registering under our new name.
Our hope is the new name explains our mission and will attract new members that share our passion for the study and documentation of landscape, place, and material culture in North America and across the world. The name change does not have any effect on the name or content of our peer reviewed journal, Material Culture. We will continue to call our online journal PAST, which no longer stands for Pioneer America Society Transactions, but the content and mission of this publication remains the same.
Please consider joining us in North Canton, OH (Kent University – Stark Campus) from September 23 – 26 for our 2015 Annual Meeting. Learn more here. I look forward to seeing you there!