APS Councilors-at-Large; Paul Vincelli, Gary Munkvold, and Peter Ojiambo
The Fall 2017 Councilors’ Challenge, APS Committee Support for ICPP, was an effort to strengthen fund-raising for the ICPP bursary fund. This fund was established to provide need-based travel awards to early-career and mid-career scientists working in developing countries who otherwise would not be able to attend the Congress. APS Council partnered with APS Foundation and the ICPP Organizing Committee to facilitate this endeavor to strengthen the fund. The Councilors’ Challenge provided an opportunity for a friendly competition among APS committees to recruit the most possible individual donors to the bursary fund. The intention was to motivate committees to bolster their impact (and that of APS) on the upcoming International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP), and to contribute to the professional development of early-career scientists in developing countries.
For the second year in a row, congratulations go to the Committee for Diversity and Equality for coming through with the strongest participation to win the Councilor’s Challenge! Their winning effort (24 individual donors) was followed closely by the Graduate Student Committee’s second-place effort (20 individual donors), and third place goes to the Host Resistance Committee (9 individual donors). Congratulations to those two committees as well!
Prizes for committee activities were offered as incentives ($500, $300, and $200 for first through third, respectively). However, the greatest reward of this Councilors’ Challenge to APS is the support for participation in ICPP by developing country scientists.
The Challenge generated contributions by 110 individuals, attributed to 17 different committees. Although it wasn’t possible to track the dollar amount derived from the Challenge, the ICPP Bursary Fund has allocated funds to support approximately 150 developing-country scientists to attend ICPP. APS Committees should be proud of their part in enriching the Congress in this way.
Thanks to all for participating!
The 2018 Councilors' Challenge is in development; chairs will be notified when details of the Challenge are determined.
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