Background and Charge
Like many social science professional associations, ASA has experienced a decline in membership since 2008. In response, the ASA Council appointed a Task Force on Membership in August 2016.
The charge for this task force was to research the many possible internal and external reasons for the decline—from a desire for different benefits to financial considerations and from feelings of exclusion to new perceptions of how best to associate professionally—and identify potential ways to mitigate those problems. In addition, the task force was asked to investigate how to better reach out to sociologists who might benefit from membership and contribute to the vitality of the organization (contingent faculty, sociologists working in applied settings, high school teachers, community college faculty, and others). The task force was instructed to inquire into what has kept those populations from joining and how ASA could be made more appealing to them. As part of these investigations the task force was asked to compare ASA to sister societies for benchmarking purposes.
The findings from the Task Force’s full analysis of data identified three key areas in which the association can and will productively improve its work: community, cost, and value. The group’s final report included 10 recommendations addressing these three focal areas, which were unanimously approved by ASA Council. While some of the recommendations have already been implemented, others will take time to come to full fruition. Task Force Co-Chair James McKeever described the report as “ASA’s blueprint for change for years to come.”
Report and Data Supplement
Report of the ASA Task Force on Membership (2019)
Report of the ASA Task Force on Membership: Data Supplement (2019)
Task Force Members
James McKeever, Co-Chair (Los Angeles Pierce College)
Olav Sorenson, Co-Chair (Yale University)
Nicole V. Amaya (ASA Executive Staff Liaison)
Michelle Madsen Camacho (University of San Diego)
Obie Clayton (Clark Atlanta University)
Karen Gray Edwards (ASA Executive Staff Liaison)
Jerry A. Jacobs (University of Pennsylvania)
Julia McQuillan (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Andrew J. Perrin (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill)
Diogo Lemieszek Pinheiro (University of North Georgia)
Stephen A. Ressler (Callyo)
Wendy D. Roth (University of British Columbia)
Florencia Torche (Stanford University)
Margaret Weigers Vitullo (ASA Executive Staff Liaison)
