AMS Accountability Archive
Grassroots membership response to a professional society in crisis.
SUMMARY
(SEE: Archives section for memos, statements, and analysis)At the 2025 American Musicological Society meeting in Minneapolis, several crises came to light. Initially, the Program Committee and the Ethics Committee both submitted memoranda to the AMS Council. Immediately afterwards, public statements by committee members and their Chairs revealed broader patterns of conflict that led to resignations from the Program Committee (incoming 2026 Chair), Accessibility Task Force (Chair & member), AMS 50 Award Subcommittee (Chair), Development Committee (Chair), Eileen Southern Committee (Chair), Paul Pisk Prize Committee (Chair), and the Board.Across all of these crises and resignations, common factors were: overreach by the Executive; lack of transparency by the Board and Executive; and hostile communications by the Executive Director and some Board members.UPDATE: the Editorial Board of JAMS (the Association’s flagship journal) submitted a memo to the AMS Council (10 Dec 2025), reporting on Executive interference in editorial curation, journal content, and peer review.
NOTE: this site is a living document! This is maintained by a grassroots network of volunteer AMS members. If you have materials to offer to the Archive, please see the ‘Contact’ page for up-to-date instructions.
ARCHIVES
Memos, Statements, Analysis
NEW MEMO: JAMS (Journal of AMS) Editorial Board (10 Dec 2025)
MEMO: Ethics Committee
LETTER: Program Committee to Council, Nov 17, attaching all 2 items below:
MEMO: Program Committee (Addendum to Oct 2025 Report to the Board)
STATEMENT: Ethics Committee Chair, Imani Mosley (Facebook) | Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2
STATEMENT: Ethics Committee Member, Andrew Dell’Antonio (Facebook) | Screenshot
STATEMENT: Eileen Southern Committee Chair, Candace Bailey (Facebook) | Screenshot
STATEMENT: AMS-50 Subcommittee Chair, Christopher Campo-Bowen (email; archived with permission)
STATEMENT: Paul Pisk Prize Committee Incoming Chair, Andrew J Chung (Facebook) | Screenshot
STATEMENT: Board Member & Accessibility Task Force Chair, Laurie Stras (Facebook) | Screenshot
STATEMENT: Accessibility Task Force Member, Erika Supria Honisch (Facebook) | Screenshot
NEW ANALYSIS: The Executive Director Role, Compared to Relevant Societies; c.f. the two documents below re: changes to AMS ED role (22 Dec 2025)
ANALYSIS: Changes to the role of Executive Director and Treasurer (15 Dec 2025)
ANALYSIS: AMS By-Laws changes to role of Executive Director (15 Dec 2025)
ANALYSIS: 990 filings by Former AMS Treasurer, Noriko Manabe (Facebook) | Screenshot
ANALYSIS: Follow-up on AMS investments, Noriko Manabe (Facebook) | Screenshot
AMS Governance & Communications
NEW STATEMENT: “Explanations, Apologies, & Corrective Actions”, published on AMS website, 5 Dec 2025
LETTER: AMS Treasurer to Council, 20 Nov 2025.
STATEMENT: AMS President, email to membership, 15 Nov 2025.
AMS Policy documents (AMS site)
AMS Reports (AMS site)
AMS 990 Filings (ProPublica.org)
Press
NEW STATEMENT to The Chronicle re: their Nov 20 story (by email, Nov 19, 2025): “We built the Accountability Archive in the belief that AMS members know their way around an archive and would appreciate having detailed materials to analyse. As the growing Petition demonstrates, a substantial portion of the membership find the Archive's contents worrying enough to warrant withholding their dues.”
ARTICLE: Why a Musicology Society’s Members Are in Revolt, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Stephanie M. Lee, Nov 20 2025. Archived Version 1; Updated Version 2.
ACTIONS
What is to be done?
What are people doing?
Petition + Updates
PETITION: "Petition to Restore Transparent Governance and Accountability in the American Musicological Society” (link to SIGN the petition included in the document)
ACTION: concerns? questions? tips & information? Contact a Council member!
NEW UPDATE to signatories (12 Dec 2025): " Crucial updates on AMS concerns - including new JAMS editorial interference”
UPDATE to signatories (24 Nov 2025): “AMS Accountability Petition Update”
CONTACT
If you have materials to offer to the Archive, please contact a member of the Ethics Committee or Council. Anonymous submissions can also be made to: [email protected]