PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC PLAN 2023

Andy Reilly, President, October 2023

Dear ITAA Members,
Welcome back! As we return to another semester, I wish you all a productive and exciting time.  I am always filled with hope and excitement during this period. 

I have been asked on more than one occasion “What does Council do?” And while many people understand the position descriptions, the actual day to day work seems to be clouded in mystery. So, in order to eliminate some of the ambiguity around what we do, I’ve asked Council members to send me a brief summary of their accomplishments in order to send out this progress report to update ITAA members.

In addition to outlining goals for 2023, supporting the Council members in their goals, and assisting members with issues they may face, I re-organized our Council meetings. We transitioned from two meetings per year (both in person, at the conference site) to meetings via Zoom every other month. This has helped save ITAA the cost of an in-person mid-year meeting and also helps to facilitate communication with Council members while keeping us on track.

In early 2023 we identified goals, guided by our strategic plan. Our goals this year, based on the strategic plan, included the following: (1) develop a sponsorship program for current and potential partnerships; (2) create professional development opportunities and content for membership; (3) develop a plan to improve the ITAA website; (4) develop opportunities forspecial interest groups. What follows below are updates from the Council on progress made to achieve these goals in order to keep you informed.

President-elect, Jung Ha-Brookshire
External Relations (ER) committee – The charge for this committee was changed to clearly articulate the role of the committee within the new ITAA org structure. ER committee will focus on exploring, vetting and recommending other academic organizations like ITAA and propose collaborative opportunities for ITAA members. ER committee will continue to support the ITAA-KSCT joint conferences.

Corporate Partnership Committee – was newly established. This committee will focus on exploring, vetting and recommending corporate partners for the benefit of ITAA members. The 10-member committee has been formed and chaired by Elena Karpova, a former council member of ITAA.

Council also developed and approved new corporate partnership program offerings and pricing structure. This new structure will help recover the cost ITAA incurs while partnering with various corporate entities.

Council also developed and approved new institutional partnership program offerings and pricing structure. This new structure will help institutions and academic programs to better budget/plan the cost of being a partner of ITAA.

The Legacy group, which is made up of ITAA Fellows and previous ITAA Presidents, continues their work to support and raise funding for ITAA, primarily in support of graduate student members. The group holds an event during the annual conference, which all members are welcome to participate in, to have fun, reconnect with friends, and donate to the Legacy Fund. So, please take part in the Bites and Benefits event that the Legacy Group is hosting at this year’s conference meeting.

Counselor, Lynn Boorady
The ITAA Policy and Procedures manual has been and continues to be updated to eliminate discrepancies. The new Organizational Chart has been solidified. Also, in keeping with our new strategic plan, with leadership approval, Melanie Carrico and I made a presentation on ITAA at the Product Innovation Conference. We had a good audience and were able to tell them about all the collaborations that our universities and colleges do with industry partners, how they can be more involved and invited them to reach out to ITAA, their alma maters or a university near them to offer their support. In addition, ITAA will have a new industry member at our resource exhibit this year as Human Solutions has agreed to be a sponsor this year.

Now is the time of year that the Bylaws Committee will be reviewing our bylaws to ensure compliance and relevancy. We will also be looking for nominations to fill the 2024 ballot. If you have served as a committee chair, you are eligible for a Council position. Open positions for 2025: VP of Awards, VP of Conferences, Secretary, and President. If you are a former Council member, you are eligible to run for President. We also fill two at-large positions for the nominating committee, no previous Council or Board experience is required. Please nominate yourself or a colleague for one of these great opportunities!

Secretary, Julie Chang
Given the new schedule of bi-monthly Council Meetings dedicated to reporting and discussing vital ITAA agenda items, I have undertaken the task of both recording and disseminating the minutes for these meetings. Additionally, I am responsible for the minute-taking process for both Board Meetings and Business Meetings during the annual conferences. Throughout these meetings, the Council has proposed and passed significant motions. I have compiled these approved motions into the minutes.

Treasurer, Kim Hahn
The 2023 budget has received its final approval. A review is scheduled to take place in 2024, based on the financial data from the 2023 budget. This review will incur a cost of $6,000, which needs to be factored into the 2024 budget. The finalization of the 2024 budget is set to occur in the fall of 2023. Revenue projections for the conference are expected to generate $50,000 annually. Additionally, the mid-year council travel budget has been eliminated moving forward, as council meetings will now be conducted through bi-monthly Zoom meetings. Lastly, we were fortunate to receive a research award donation from Peg Rucker's family. Their generous contribution will greatly support our members’ ongoing research efforts in international trade and functional clothing related to content.

Vice President of Conferences, Sherry Schofield
Rising Conference Costs. Like everywhere else, inflation is affecting registration fees for ITAA’s annual conference. But the conference planning team members heard your concerns during the Town Hall Meeting during the 2022 conference and have worked hard to reduce theconference costs for 2023 without reducing the conference experience. So the early bird conference registration fee for this year has been reduced to $640 (~5%) for professional members and $375 (~7%) for graduate students. Early bird rates are in effect until September 15 th.

Future Conference Sites. Have you ever wondered how ITAA determines the location for our annual conferences? First, in an effort to be fair to all of our members, we find locations in various areas of the U.S. For this year we are in Baltimore (northeast), for 2024 we will be in Long Beach (southwest), and for 2025, we will be in St. Louis (central U.S.) Our last international conference was in 2016 in Vancouver, Canada, and we are hoping to have our
2026 meeting in an international location. Conference Co-Chairs are determined by their interest in advancing ITAA through their personal service, having the time and energy necessary to plan a conference (think at least associate professor), proximity to the conference location,and in many cases, reaching out to the Vice President of Conferences. The Co-Chairs for 2024 are Tracie Tung and Catherine Jai, and Laurie Apple and RayeCarol Cavender will serve as the Co-Chairs for 2025. We try to plan out about three years in advance. Our next Vice President of Conferences, assuming the role in January of 2024 is Jennifer Yang, so if you would like to assist in conference planning for 2026 and beyond, contact Jennifer at
jennifer.yang@marymount.edu.

Vice President of Education, Eulanda Sanders
As the Vice President of Education for the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA), I am pleased to share some important updates and initiatives in the realm of education within the association. First, I want to highlight that the nomination applications for the Graduate Student Liaison position will be sent out in August 2023. The Graduate Education (GE) committee is actively working towards garnering a robust number of applicants for this role.  Furthermore, the call for the 2024 Nancy Rutherford Teaching Innovation Award is now open and accessible through the link provided by the Teaching Innovation and Resources (TIR) committee - International Textile and Apparel Association (www.itaaonline.org). In conjunction with the ITAA Council approval, the Teaching Innovation and Resource Committee is diligently working on revamping the Teaching Collection this year.  Consequently, starting May 1, 2023, the Teaching Collection will pause accepting paper submissions for one year, resuming on May 1, 2024, with new submission and review guidelines.

Additionally, ITAA welcomes those interested in serving on the newly formed Graduate Education Standards Committee, which will play a pivotal role in providing intellectual leadership for education and scholarship goals in textiles, apparel, and merchandising programs, while also defining the crucial role of graduate education in the field.

In 2020, the Building Unity Task Force, led by Jennifer Banning, was established to promote inclusivity, diversity, equity, and access within ITAA. The Task Force recommended the creation of a permanent committee dedicated to unity, which was subsequently approved during the February 2023 ITAA Council meeting. I have been entrusted with moving forward with the establishment of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging DEIB committee to weave unity throughout ITAA committees, foster connections among all members, and advance scholarship, teaching, and service that uphold unity within the association.

Lastly, our ITAA Graduate Student Liaison, L. Danielle Honeycutt of Louisiana State University, has been actively promoting graduate student engagement via social media, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. Danielle is also working on a student survey to determine potential Fireside chat formats, topics, and panelists for the annual conference, aiming to enrich the conference experience for all attendees.

As we continue to uphold our commitment to education, inclusivity, and excellence in textiles and apparel, I encourage ITAA members to engage in these enriching initiatives and committees. For further inquiries or to participate in any of these endeavors, please contact me at sanderse@iastate.edu.

Vice President of Awards, Young-A Lee
Under the new ITAA organizational structure, VP Awards oversees 5 committees: Design Awards, Curatorial Exhibition Scholarships Awards, Faculty Fellowship & Awards, Student Fellowships & Awards, and International Relations consisting of International Bazaar & International Scholar Award. Each award committee puts their effort into recruiting new members from various institutions, well representing the diverse body of our organization. To
be transparent and fair through the award review process, the committee pays attention to identifying eligible reviewers avoiding conflict of interest, updating review criteria and making those accessible to the ITAA members through the ITAA website, and educating the committee members regarding the diverse scholarship. The Awards committees put their full efforts to identify and recognize awardees, paying attention to diversity, inclusion, and equity in the award review process. The International Relations Committee has been exploring additional ways to fundraise in addition to the International Bazaar we host each year at the conference so we will have sustainable funds to bring the scholars/practitioners from under-represented countries beyond North America to our Annual Conference. We are all about nominating, recognizing, and awarding emerging, talented, and inspirational scholars in our discipline through the transparent and fair review process. Please continuously nominate your well-deserved colleagues and students for various awards available through ITAA!

Vice President of Publications, Sherry Haar
The Clothing and Textiles Research Journal editorial team is hosting a panel session at the 2023 ITAA conference, Getting Published in CTRJ: A Conversation with the Journal’s Editorial Team. The aim is to help authors critically view their manuscript through the eyes of the editors. The journal submission numbers are up as is the journal impact factor. Submissions are welcome for the focused issue, Fashion and Textiles: Engine for a Better Future, to address challenges, opportunities, and solutions for positive change in the fashion and textile industries and education. The deadline is May 31, 2024.

The Website Ad-hoc Committee, led by Luis Quijano and Amy Dorie, has been working on the redesign of the ITAA website based on prior research from the Digital Media and Marketing Committee (formally called the Social Media and Marketing Committee). The website committee is on track to unveil the updated website by the end of 2024. The ITAA Global Competition: Website Branding Contest is a great opportunity for your students to apply their branding skills. The deadline is Dec. 1, 2023.

Are you following our LinkedIN? ITAA and CTRJ

Vice President of Scholarship, Jay Yoo
VP of Scholarship worked with the committee chairs of four areas: Conference Abstract & Paper Review Committee, Design Review Committee, Curatorial Exhibition Scholarship Review Committee, and Design Scholarship & Education Committee. One of the main accomplishments this year is to revise the call for the abstracts and design scholarship, the rubric for design evaluation, and review the abstracts and designs for the 2023 conference. The review has been successfully completed thanks to the abstract reviewers, design jurors, and the track and committee chairs. For the abstracts, we have a total of 160 oral presentations and 200 poster presentations accepted. For the design scholarship, 33 professional designs, 31 graduate designs, and 34 undergraduate designs were accepted. The ITAA Council approved six special topic session proposals. It will be exciting to see the authors and designers of those who will present their excellent scholarship at the 2023 Conference in Baltimore.

Vice President of Professional Development, Charles Freeman
As the Vice-President of Professional Development, I am thrilled to share some exciting accomplishments and updates from our dedicated committees.

Our Membership Committee will first host a salon session focusing on our affinity groups at the 2023 ITAA Annual Conference. This session aims to foster stronger connections among members with shared interests, and a survey will be distributed to gauge interests and preferences. Additionally, the Council plans to assist with follow-ups after the salon session, such as providing an email list of attendees and creating a possible link/menu about the affinity groups on our website. We are committed to enhancing member engagement and creating a vibrant community.

The Cultural and Industry Learning Tours committee has made significant strides in planning a 2024 India trip, led by Dr. Jana Hawley. We have seen an overwhelming response, with twenty-four individuals interested in participating. These tours contribute significantly to our members' professional and personal growth, and I would encourage all of you to participate and engage.  To further promote the cultural tours and showcase the impact of our international footprint, we encourage members to share their experiences on social media throughout the year.

Moreover, we are thrilled to announce the creation of the Professional Development Seminars Committee, which will regularly organize and coordinate seminars outside of our Annual Conference. The committee's primary goal is to provide professional development opportunities for all our members, and we envision a diverse group of individuals with expertise in various textile and apparel disciplines working collaboratively to make this a success. Stay tuned for upcoming workshops and seminars in Fall 2023 designed to enhance your professional growth and engagement.

As the VP of Professional Development, I value your input and suggestions. To ensure we align our efforts with your needs, we encourage all members to provide topic proposals and participate actively in our initiatives. Together, we will continue to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment where each member can thrive.