Minutes of the APS Council
Meeting
A. Call to Order
President
N. Van Alfen called the meeting to order on 25 February at 1:50 p.m. CST.
1.
1.
Welcome and introductions. President Van Alfen welcomed
everyone to the midyear meeting and introduced a number of guests that were
present.
Council
Members Present: N. Van Alfen, D. Jardine, G. Shaner, J. Loper, J. Sherwood, D. Beadle,
R. Gergerich, G. Chastagner, E. Stromberg, S. Hurtt, J. Leach, S. Douglas, S.
Cantrell, F. Nutter, S. Slack, B. Hillman, S. Coakley
Absent: C. Windels, N. Keen, R. Nyvall
Staff: S. Nelson, A. Hope, M. Wimer, F. Labatt, M.
Bjerkness, C. Ash
Guests: J. MacDonald, O.W. Barnett,
G. Bergstrom, C. Becker, H. Ernstthal
2.
2.
Appointment of parliamentarian. O.W. Barnett was appointed
parliamentarian.
3.
3.
Approval of Agenda. N. Van Alfen gave a brief
synopsis of the meeting plan. All but procedural motions will be tabled to the
end similar to what has been done with motions from the Financial Advisory
Committee (FAC). MOTION. To approve
the agenda as distributed (attachment
#1). SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
B. National Plant Pathology
Board (NPPB)/Washington Presence
1.
1.
Introduction to issues. N. Van Alfen deferred the
introduction of issues to O.W. Barnett. O.W. Barnett reviewed the history of
the NPPB and its charge. Two handouts were circulated (attachments #2 and #3) that summarized recent activities of the
NPPB and more specifically, examples of how they have used Gordley and
Associates to assist them in Washington. Specific areas they have dealt with
include Biotechnology, Plant-Pesticides, and the Plant Protection Act of 1999.
Work on the Plant Protection Act was reviewed in detail (see attachment #2).
He reviewed a number of reasons why more emphasis is
needed in this area. These include: the member survey indicating members want
the Society to be more active in acquiring funding; there are a number of
issues not dealt with by any other group; the success that the American Society
of Plant Physiologists (ASPP) had in obtaining $40 million for plant genome
research; other societies are already working to influence funding; and the
fact that several current NPPB members will be stepping down in the next year
or two and those years of experience will be lost. He then proceeded to review
what is needed including help in Washington, help from staff and help from APS
members. He estimated the effort would require 600 hours at a cost of $25,000. The
entire NPPB is very passionate on this issue.
N. Van Alfen summarized
conversations he had with the Entomological Society of America (ESA) president
at a recent American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) meeting. They are
in a similar position as we are concerning having a presence in Washington.
They may have some interest in joining with us in this matter because of price
concerns. The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) already has a Washington
representative and it costs them about $100,000 - $120,000 per year. He then
summarized the current issues. We have not been too involved in policy issues
and statements. There are a number of costs involved in increasing our role in
Washington including direct, volunteer, and staff costs.
O.W. Barnett reviewed
possible budget scenarios. Rather than request a specific amount, the NPPB
would rather have Council allocate a specific amount that they must work within
the framework of. MOTION. To
appropriate $70,000 for a Washington presence, $25,000 for staff time, and
$15,000 continuing for NPPB to allow for greater effectiveness for the NPPB.
Discussion followed on a number of points including how does the NPPB select
issues to work on? Are they representative of the membership and how would the
money specifically be spent? Barnett indicated APS could support industry
positions based on sound science. The NPPB is not lobbying, they are educating.
The NPPB would like to work with Council to develop policy positions. Issues
selected would be dependent on the level of funding. Some examples would be
Federal Register reading, emerging diseases, invasive species and microbial
genomics.
H. Ernstthal asked the
question of whether legislative issues/decisions impact APS and its members. If
yes, are we being adequately represented? If not, should we be doing this kind
of activity?
Discussion continued on
whether or not the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) or
AIBS can help us out? It appears they can, but often it is done after a great
deal of arm-twisting. We could probably do more with them, but it is not the
entire answer since our interests do not always match up.
A straw poll was conducted
to see if the society should increase its advocacy in Washington. The issue
passed overwhelmingly. J. Sherwood shared some brief budget scenarios including
funding for a Washington presence. All indicated an increased deficit.
There was discussion on
perhaps a need for a strategic plan from the NPPB. Should the NPPB come up with
a plan for Council’s approval or should Council come up with a plan for them to
implement? Other discussion followed on whether we can continue to ask for more
activity from the NPPB without providing them funds to do it. SUBSTITE MOTION. That a total of $60,000 (including staff time and current
$15,000 allotment) will be appropriated to the NPPB to allow them to 1) develop
a strategic plan and 2) continue to react to issues as needed. The strategic
plan will include establishing an ad hoc committee to evaluate the structure of
the NPPB. SECONDED. MOTION TO
TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
Break at 3:24 p.m.
Reconvened at 3:36 p.m.
As a follow up to the annual
meeting, it was announced that the Intellectual Property Rights proposal was
passed unanimously.
C. Governance
1.
1.
Report of Councilor’s Forum Committee. J. Loper began the discussion
of this issue. She reviewed her e-mail of 2/22/00 to Council (attachment #4). Councilor’s Forum
looked at three issues. 1). The global nature of APS, that is, is APS truly global,
or is it U.S. members plus other membership categories? 2) What role in society
are we going to play in public policy? Will it be global, U.S. only, or will we
have only a minimal role in public policy? 3) Plant pathology as a discipline.
Do we focus on our disciplinary core or will we be inclusive of other
specialties? If we are inclusive of other specialties, do we encourage them or
simply allow them?
In looking at board
questions, are we going to be constituency based, that is a board based on geographic
regions, discipline areas, membership type, employment, committee areas, or
will we be skill set based, that is, have representatives based on public
policy, finance, communication, or parliamentary process?
The meeting was turned over
at this point to H. Ernstthal to lead a discussion on the outline presented by
J. Loper. He indicated that there are almost an infinite number of governance
structures. He noted that the APS vision statement indicates a “diverse global
community.” A discussion followed on why foreign members join APS. A series of
straw polls were taken on global issues(numbers of votes are in parentheses).
#1. Should APS seek truly
global membership (5), or should APS emphasize U.S. membership, but in a global
market (11)?
#2. Should there be one
membership type emphasizing domestic recruitment (11); U.S. membership only
(0); or U.S. plus other membership categories (6)?
#3. Should APS have a
significant role in public policy (10) or a minimal role (6)?
#4. Should the public
policy role be global (0), or in the U.S. only (15)?
#5. Should plant pathology
be the core discipline of APS (2), or should APS be inclusive of other
specialties (14)?
#6. If we are inclusive,
should it simply be allowed (0), or encouraged (16)?
#7. (two votes per person)
Should constituency be based on geographic area (12); membership type (2);
based on discipline (13); or on employment type (2)?
Mr. Ernstthal gave other
advice as he led Council through the above exercises (see attachment 4a). ACTION. Following his presentation, President
Van Alfen charged Councilor’s Forum with continuing the planning and to report
back to Council at New Orleans.
The meeting was recessed at
4:50 p.m.
Reconvened on 26 February at
8:00 a.m.
Present: Van Alfen, Jardine, Leach, Shaner, Hillman, Windels,
Sherwood, Stromberg, Coakley, Beadle, Nutter, Douglas, Chastagner, Slack,
Cantrell, Hurtt, Gergerich, and Loper
Absent: N. Keen, R. Nyvall
Staff: Nelson, Wimer, Bjerkness, Ash Labatt, Hope, and Cummings
Guests: Bergstrom, MacDonald, Becker
D. President’s Report
1.
1.
Approval of minutes, 1999 Council Meeting in Montreal. MOTION. To
approve the
minutes as posted on the APSnet Council page. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
2.
2.
President’s report. President Van Alfen distributed a list of
priorities that came out of the
Montreal meeting (attachment #5). He
then proceeded to make general comments on each of them. Councilors will be
leading the investigation of potential changes in the governance structure. He
also indicated that we would soon see a proposal coming from the Education and
Meetings Boards. APSnet III and electronic journal issues will be action items
later in the meeting. Agreements with libraries for electronic journals access
were addressed. Since publishing ventures dictate our society’s success,
electronic journal subscriptions will affect our future success.
3.
3.
Industry Advisory Committee. C. Becker provided a report. There are
eight members on the committee. They are looking to interact better with APS
Council. They would like to be involved with governance, even as a non-voting
member. N. Van Alfen gave some history of the Industry Advisory Committee for
the benefit of new Council members. It is an ad hoc committee appointed for
three years. ACTION. N. Van Alfen
recommended that in the future, the APS presidents attend all Industry Advisory
Committee meetings in an effort to improve communications.
4.
4.
Affiliates. Deferred till Executive Committee Report.
5.
5.
Awards and Honors Committee recommendations. Deferred till Executive
Committee Report.
6.
6.
Review of Action Items List from 1999. Secretary Jardine asked for
an update on uncompleted items (attachment
#6). The majority of the items have been completed or are in progress. The
action item regarding Conversations on Change will be deferred to a later time.
Item 20 on the list regarding the Leadership Workshops was withdrawn.
7.
7.
Strategic Plan Issues. S. Nelson gave a report. He noted the
importance of keeping the plan in front of us. He also noted that we need a
buy-in from new Council members because they did not have a stake in developing
it. Decisions made today will affect the headquarters’ staffing plan of
tomorrow. N. Van Alfen indicated that his sense is that work is progressing on
all major priorities. These need to be substantially completed before moving on
to any others. We may want to establish an Implementation Committee to
prioritize our next steps.
Break for lunch at 12:00
noon.
A demonstration of the Plant
Health Progress and Education Center was held during lunch.
Reconvened at 1:00 p.m.
E. Executive Committee Recommendations
The following two items were deferred from
Section D.
5.
5.
Awards and Honors Committee Recommendations. President Van Alfen
announced
award winners as selected by the Honors and Awards Committee. These are to
remain
confidential until all awardees have been contacted.
The description for the Hewitt Award was distributed
(attachment #7). N. Van Alfen
reviewed the requirements for the award. MOTION
FROM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. To approve the establishment of the William
Boright Hewitt and Maybelle Ellen Ball Hewitt Award. MOTION CARRIED.
The Awards and Honors Committee received the
only application for the Industry Award very late (while they were meeting, one
month after the deadline). They chose not to consider the application and will
hold it over until 2001.
4. Affiliates.
Coalition for Funding Agricultural Research Missions. (CoFARM).
Discussions from
Montreal were reviewed. N. Van Alfen
has discussed the subject of an understudy with S. Tolin and she was
supportive. J. Sherwood had expressed an interest in this position in Montreal. MOTION FROM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. To
appoint J. Sherwood as our new representative to CoFARM. DISCUSSION. CoFARM is a coalition of professional societies and
commodity groups that makes recommendations on agricultural policies. The last
major activity was CROPS 99. Through S. Tolin, we had a large part in its
development. Questions of budget were brought up. Is it worth the cost? There
was general discussion about travel costs for all affiliate representatives. MOTION CARRIED.
American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). Neal reviewed
changes in AIBS operations. N. Van Alfen is recommending that the
vice-president represent us. There was a discussion of pros and cons. The main
negative point is that there would be a lack of continuity, but it was pointed
out that most other member societies appoint representatives for one-year terms
as well. MOTION FROM EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE. The vice-president of APS will be our representative to AIBS. MOTION CARRIED.
APS Foundation. M. Cline is rotating off. Executive Committee is
submitting a prioritized list of candidates for review. MOTION FROM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. To approve the list of candidates.
MOTION CARRIED. ACTION. Candidates
will be contacted in ranked order.
Meetings Board. S. Slack submitted a report on the APS Meetings Board
(attachment #8). MOTION FROM EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE. That APS create a Meetings Board with the charge to coordinate
the planning and coordination of all meetings and courses offered by APS, and
to create and maintain policies relative to meetings and courses. Membership of
the Meetings Board will include: APS President-elect, APS Senior
Councilor-at-Large, the six section chairs from the annual meeting program, the
editor-in-chief of the Education Center, APS Director of Scientific Services,
and the APS Meetings Manager. DISCUSSION.
Slack reviewed how well planning went with the new structure in Montreal. It
should continue to improve with refinements. Shortcourses and workshops are
also being brought in and this will provide structure for developing and planning
of these. S. Slack also reviewed how section chairs are elected and their
terms. There are no additional costs to the Society at this time beyond those
already connected with the annual meeting. MOTION
TO TABLE. SECONDED. CARRIED.
There is a proposal from the
Foundation for a new student dues package. They have reviewed the Placement
Center and it is currently in the black. There is a request for $5,000 for a
leadership workshop. MOTION. To
suspend the rules. SECONDED. CARRIED.
Placement Center. There is a proposal
to provide a one-time allocation of $6,000 to Placement Services for the
purpose of electronic placement services development. A committee has been
formed to move Placement Services to the public access area of APSnet and
develop a premier placement center. The web design is to be outsourced. It will
be open to the public. There will be a standard form to be used by applicants
and employers. Entries will be time dated. There will be a sliding fee scale
for employers. It will also be searchable. Members can post CV’s free for one
year. There will be a $25 fee for non-members to post CV’s.
1.
1.
MOTION FROM FAC. To change dues as follows: (current/proposed)
member ($62/64)
post-doc ($42/43); student ($21/22) MOTION
TO TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION
CARRIED.
OPAE budgeted deficit of $106,614;
reduce by $20,000.
Short Courses budgeted deficit of
$39,811; reduce by $20,000.
Phytopathology budgeted profit of
$285,125; increase by $10,000.
Plant Disease budgeted profit of
$173,178; increase by $10,000.
APS Press budgeted profit of
$79,805; increase by $75,000.
Annual meeting; make it revenue
neutral.
Phytopathology News budgeted
deficit of $105,140; reduce by $25,000.
MPMI budgeted profit of $64,552;
increase by $10,000.
Meeting these proposed targets
would result in a budget with a profit for FY00-01 of $21,910. MOTION TO TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
8.
8.
MOTION FROM FAC. That $5,000 is provided for a Leadership Workshop
at the New Orleans annual meeting. MOTION
TO TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
9.
9.
MOTION FROM FAC. That the Plant Health Progress Journal be
initiated. MOTION TO TABLE. SECONDED.
MOTION CARRIED.
10.
10. MOTION
FROM FAC. That support for the National Plant Pathology Board be increased
by $45,000 that will be used in establishing a “Washington” presence as defined
by NPPB and associated staff time for activities. MOTION TO TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
11.
11. MOTION
FROM FAC. That the Educational Center be supported at $30,000 for FY00-01.
Support for four subsequent years at $5,000 per year. MOTION TO TABLE. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
12.
12. MOTION
FROM FAC. That a new student dues package be initiated offering the first
two years of membership for the price of one. This will include one electronic
journal access for two years. Part of the costs will be covered by APS
Foundation. DISCUSSION. The goal is
to add student members that we are not currently reaching and to reach them
earlier in their studies. There are significant differences in the Foundation
and FAC versions. MOTION WITHDRAWN.
Break at 2:30 p.m.
Reconvened at 2:42 p.m.
MOTION FROM COUNCILOR’S FORUM. That the 2004 APS annual meeting be
held in Spokane, WA and the 2005 meeting be held in Austin, TX. Both meetings
are to be held in
August. MOTION CARRIED.
Changes in the site selection
process are ongoing. Changes in the nominating process for
officers are also being evaluated.
Member Services. Councilor’s Forum is looking at changes in student
member services.
They are proposing that the in-coming divisional councilor’s and
councilor-at-large identify a
select group to review services during their term.
J. Loper distributed
a revised organizational chart for review (attachment
#9). Comments
should be forwarded to her.
H. Headquarters Report/Recommendations.
The report is available on the Council page of APSnet. The current APSnet
feature is on plum pox. A fact sheet written cooperatively with USDA personnel
was sent to state plant health directors. There will also be a virtual seminar
on 29 Feb 2000. Thirty-five sites have registered including ten university
sites and seven Canadian sites. Enough sites are registered to at least allow
the seminar to break even.
I. Publications Board Recommendations.
G. Shaner introduced Karen Cummings, the new APS Publications manager. B.
Hillman will be the new Publications Board Chair starting in New Orleans. G.
Shaner’s term as editor-in-chief ends at the end of 2000, but the new
editor-in-chief begins working ahead of time to help develop a list of senior
editors. MOTION FROM PUBLICATIONS BOARD. To approve the ranked list of nominees for
new Editor-in-Chief of Plant Disease. MOTION CARRIED. ACTION. Candidates
will be contacted in ranked order.
J. Leach
finishes her term as MPMI Editor-in-Chief at the year’s end. MOTION FROM PUBLICATIONS BOARD.
To approve Herman Spaink as the new Editor-in-Chief of MPMI. DISCUSSION. He is from the University
of Leyden, The Netherlands. MOTION
CARRIED.
Jeff
Dangl, Senior Editor has resigned. MOTION FROM PUBLICATIONS BOARD. To appoint Jane Glazebrook as senior editor
of the plant response section, to complete the term of Jeff Dangl, and to serve
a full term beginning with the new board in 2001. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM PUBLICATIONS BOARD. To add
a new senior editor to the MPMI
board in the area of Oomycete-plant interactions. DISCUSSION. This position is being created in response to the
manuscript load. It will bring the total of senior editors for research to
nine. MOTION CARRIED. ACTION. A senior editor will be selected and
approved by electronic ballot.
MOTION FROM PUBLICATIONS BOARD. The
Phytopathology Editor-in-Chief and APS staff will redesign the cover of
Phytopathology to include color photographs. DISCUSSION. Four-color artwork would add $650 per issue in printing
costs. The completion date is expected to be 1 Jan 2001. MOTION CARRIED. ACTION. The Phytopathology cover will be redesigned
by 1 Jan 2001.
There has
been some work done looking at models for handling electronic journal
subscriptions for libraries. They are looking toward handling it as CD-ROM’s.
M. Wimer gave further information on how the libraries could handle the CD’s.
We would have to alter copyright permissions as appropriate. The pricing
structure must also be looked at. They have set 2001 as a target date. They
have discussed consortial selling and licensing agreements. They will be
seeking a positive response from libraries. The initial pricing structure is
likely to be similar to the print versions.
ACTION. M. Wimer will test
the electronic journal subscriptions with selected libraries. Long term, the
profitability of the journals is likely to be eroded. More discussion on the
above issues followed. Would libraries not now getting paper journals subscribe
to an electronic journal?
Foundation will
spend $2,000 from the Melhus Fund for an annual student speaker symposium. They
will work with the Meetings Board on developing the symposium and the speaker
selection process.
K. OEC
Recommendations
1.
1.
Plant Health Progress. MOTION FROM OEC. Move to accept the proposal
to establish Plant Health Progress (attachment
#10) and to appoint Tim Murray as Editor-in-Chief. DISCUSSION. J. Sherwood indicated that this would put us into a
negative budget situation. It was asked whether operating fund reserves could
be used to make up the deficit. S. Nelson indicated it would not help matters
to do this. We should consider this an investment with an expected return. The
editor-in-chief would not hold a position on Council. There were some
discussions and questions on plans to get sister societies involved in
contributions and subscriptions to Plant Health Progress. MOTION TO TABLE. MOTION
CARRIED.
2. Education
Center. MOTION FROM OEC. Move to accept the proposal to establish the
Education Center (attachment #11) and
to appoint Gail Schumann as Editor-in-Chief with the authority to establish and
editorial board. DISCUSSION. Would
these new editor-in-chiefs be on Publications Board? It might be good for the interaction. The initial startup cost is
estimated at $30,000 with $5,000 per year for four years added for maintenance.
It is anticipated that there will eventually be a profit from the sale of APS
Press materials. There was further discussion that perhaps funds from APS
Foundation or other sources could be used to offset start-up costs. There was
discussion on our role in approving editors from other societies. It was
decided that since it is our money and our journal, it should be our choice. MOTION TO TABLE. MOTION CARRIED.
L. Professional
Society Relations
1.
1.
International Society for Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions
(IS-MPMI). J. Leach reported that their annual meeting for 2001 will be in
Madison, WI from July 10-14 and they will meet in St. Petersburg, Russia in
2002.
2.
2.
CAST. There was no further report beyond that previously given on
“Conversations on
Change.”
3.
3.
Constitution/Bylaws Committee. C. Windels reported that the
committee was formed last spring. The need for it came out of the realization
that certain currently used procedures, such as conference call meetings and
electronic votes, were not consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws. The
Constitution and Bylaws needed to be reviewed for consistency with what we do.
L. Cambell had been appointed as chair. C. Windels was selected to replace him
following his death. The Committee has been reviewing the Constitution
including the amendment procedures. They have found discrepancies in four
articles. There are many discrepancies in the Bylaws. As an example, several of
our current awards are not described and need to be added. D. Jardine reminded
Council that changes for the Manual of Operations should be sent to him soon.
G. Councilor’s Forum
Recommendations (con’t)
MOTION FROM COUNCILOR’S FORUM. To
approve committee member assignments
for the 2000-2001 year. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM COUNCILOR’S FORUM. To
terminate the Mycorrhizae Committee. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION. To remove from the table all
motions. SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM COMMITTEE. That APS create a Meetings Board with the
charge to coordinate the planning and coordination of all meetings and courses
offered by APS and to create and maintain policies relative to meetings and
courses. Membership of the Meetings Board will include: APS President-elect,
APS Senior Councilor-at-large, the six section chairs from the annual meeting
program, the editor-in-chief of the Education Center, APS Director of Scientific
Services, and the APS Meetings Manager. DISCUSSION.
Divisional meetings would be excluded. MOTION
CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. To change
dues as follows: (current/proposed)
member ($62/64); post-doc ($42/43); student ($21/22). MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. Proposed
printed journal rates for members in 2001 will be: (current/proposed)
Phytopathology ($55/60); Plant Disease ($55/60); MPMI ($60/65). DISCUSSION. It is unknown what impact the upcoming
mail increases will have. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. The proposed bundled (printed + electronic)
journal rates for
members be increased by $5 over the 2000 rates. MOTION CARRIED
MOTION FROM FAC. Proposed that non-member subscription rates for
printed journals will be: (current/proposed) Phytopathology ($355/385); Plant
Disease ($355/385); MPMI ($387/410). MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. The annual meeting registration fee be set at
$230. There was a division of the house.
Ayes 12; Nays 5. MOTION CARRIED. ACTION. Continue to
include a breakdown of the registration fee with registration materials.
MOTION FROM FAC. That a non-member student registration rate be
implemented at $25 above the student rate (which would become the member
student rate). MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. That cost/revenue centers review income/expenses
that will result in the development and implementation of a modified budget for
FY00-01 that would be as balanced as possible. Recommended budget targets for
each cost/revenue center based on “Revision 8” reviewed by FAC are:
OPAE budgeted deficit of $106,614;
reduce by $20,000.
Short Courses budgeted deficit of
$39,811; reduce by $20,000.
Phytopathology budgeted profit of
$285,125; increase by $10,000.
Plant Disease budgeted profit of
$173,178; increase by $10,000.
APS Press budgeted profit of
$79,805; increase by $75,000.
Annual meeting; make it revenue
neutral.
Phytopathology News budgeted
deficit of $105,140; reduce by $25,000.
MPMI budgeted profit of $64,552;
increase by $10,000.
Meeting these proposed targets
would result in a budget with a profit for FY00-01 of $21,910. DISCUSSION. There was a general
discussion of budget philosophy. MOTION
CARRIED.
The meeting was recessed for the day at 5:10 p.m.
Reconvened on 27 February at
8:15 a.m.
Present: Van Alfen,
Jardine, Leach, Shaner, Hillman, Windels, Sherwood, Stromberg, Coakley, Beadle,
Nutter, Chastagner, Slack, Cantrell, Hurtt, Gergerich, and Loper
Absent: N. Keen, R. Nyvall, and S. Douglas
Staff: Nelson, Wimer, Bjerkness, Ash, Hartman, and Hope
Guests: C. Becker
MOTION FROM FAC. That $5,000 is provided for a Leadership Workshop
at the New Orleans annual meeting. DISCUSSION. A question on the amount of
the cost was raised. It was noted that there would be an extra session
conducted by a consultant. R. Gergerich gave details on how the second workshop
would be different (attachment #13).
It is an advanced class for second timers. This workshop was Council initiated.
It was felt there were not enough opportunities for members to gain leadership
skills to help run the society smoothly. MOTION
CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. That the Plant Health Progress Journal be
initiated. DISCUSSION. The budget is
very much an estimate. There is no history for creating one. There was more
general discussion about the budget. It was asked how this journal might
overlap with what CABI (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International) does?
There would be some, but not direct. The estimated budget deficit for next FY
would be $32,250 ($57,000 costs less $24,750 profit). A review of the FY01-02
budget indicated a loss of $96,562 ($229,000 costs less $132,438 profit). Money
is already being spent in this fiscal year but we need to officially authorize
it. It was noted that the budgeted subscriptions are likely way underestimated.
Other discussion centered on this being an investment from reserves with the
expectation of recovery and more. This project fits into the culture of APS. It
is a journal and we are good at that. Other societies are working toward this,
but we are one of the first to put a face on it. This is not a library-targeted
product. It is aimed at individuals. It fits the Strategic Plan very well.
There was discussion on whether the list of associates is realistic. Who is on
the list? It is not specifically written down. Departments could be associates
(one subscription for an entire department). S. Nelson noted there is more than
a financial investment. There will be a significant investment of volunteer
time. This journal could be a prime publication outlet for teaching and
Extension members. C. Becker noted there will be a large interest from
industry, particularly fieldman and consultants. MOTION CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. That the APSnet Education and Learning Center be
supported at $30,000 for FY00-01. Support for four subsequent years at $5,000
per year. DISCUSSION. This is an
investment with no expectation of profit. We are supporting the development of
materials for posting and use by teachers. MOTION
CARRIED.
MOTION FROM FAC. That support for the National Plant Pathology
Board be increased by $45,000 that will be used in establishing a “Washington”
presence as defined by NPPB and associated staff time for activities. DISCUSSION. With this addition, the
total budget would be $60,000. Unlike much of what we do, this is not a
product. There will be no monetary return. This is an important area, however.
It is aimed at policy makers and regulators who can help our profession. There
is no culture among our members or staff for this type of activity. It was
noted that the ASPP worked with Senator Bond on the plant genomic projects to
obtain 40 million dollars.
Approval of this motion would
address Objective 3, Goal 5 of the Strategic Plan. We could view this activity
as an outreach effort for educating another portion of the public. It was asked
how the NPPB would communicate with members to get our views on issues and
relay back their accomplishments? This has been a problem in the past. S.
Nelson reminded us that we must look at our programs. We do not have the money
or volunteers to do everything. If we pass this, we will have to cut somewhere
else. It was discussed how this effort might affect our foreign members or how
our positions might play out with industry members.
N. Van Alfen brought the discussion
to a close noting that using cost as an argument against this request is a poor
excuse since we are appropriating money for a lot of other new areas. The problem is the way the NPPB has operated
so independently in the past and the change in culture from our being
publishers to advocate/educators. There
was a hand vote. 6 for; 10
against. MOTION FAILED.
J. Loper noted this is going to
affect our governance restructuring. We have sent mixed messages. We want an
increase in advocacy, but without providing funding for doing it. She will
assume we favor increased advocacy and that the negative vote was due to
specific problems with this particular motion. S. Nelson noted that there are
other ways to go about this other than with a consultant. We need to consider
other models.
MOTION FROM APS FOUNDATION. APS
Foundation will provide $5,000/yr for up to five years to underwrite new
student memberships to senior undergraduates working in plant pathology or
first year graduate students for a two year-for-one year price with electronic
journal access to Phytopathology News and one journal of choice. Five Divisions
are being asked for $300/yr for two years (=$1,500/yr). APS Council is asked to
provide $3,000/yr for 2 years. A
transition offer will be made of one year access for a second year nonmember
student. MOTION CARRIED.
President Van Alfen asked
for feedback on the new approach to Council meetings. He noted that the idea is
for substantial debate to be done in committee with a mature proposal brought
forth. There should be limited rehashing of debate in Council. If there is
considerable discussion, the subject should be referred back to the committee.
There were some concerns expressed. Those discussed included: There could be
problems of communication among committees during the development phase of
proposals. We will need to have expanded written reports and they will need to
be done much farther ahead of the meeting. ACTION.
The secretary will move up the deadline for submitting written reports prior to
meetings. More orientation will need to be provided for new members. An effort
needs to be made to avoid overlap of committee meetings where Council members
may serve in more than one capacity (e.g. Senior Councilor-at-Large serves on
Executive Committee and Councilor’s Forum).
There was discussion on improving interaction among committees. Minutes
could be kept for each committee and bulleted items be distributed for Council.
This would require prep time during the meeting of Council. A straw poll on
using this approach was taken and the majority was in favor. ACTION. Put the agenda on the member’s
page before the meeting. ACTION.
Tasks such as nominations can be accomplished ahead of the meeting. ACTION.
Need to review time structures for the meeting.
The 2001 Midyear meeting is
scheduled for February 23-25.
The meeting was adjourned at
9:40 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Douglas Jardine
Secretary, APS