APS Executive Committee Conference Call Meeting
Staff: S. Nelson, M. Smith
The
meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. CDST by President S. Slack. The agenda
was sent out previously by electronic mail (attachment #1).
1)
Electronic Ballots
S. Nelson reviewed the background to the
Constitution and By-Laws changes. There is a need to have an electronic
balloting phrase in the amendment sections of the two documents. They have
checked on the legality of using electronic balloting to approve amendments and
there is no problem. Files containing the proposed changes to Article VIII,
Section 1 of the Constitution and Section 15 of the By-laws were sent to
Executive Committee earlier (attachment #2). Full Council approval will be
needed before the changes can be voted on by the membership. MOTION.
To add the words electronic balloting to the amendment processes for
the Constitution and By-laws. SECONDED. ACTION.
The secretary will e-mail the files containing the changes and the
portion of the Phytopathology News article that will explain the rationale for
the changes to Council for a vote. There needs to be a quick turn-around time
in order to meet Phytopathology News deadlines.
2)
Master Brewer’s Association
S. Nelson provided an update. They have chosen to
recommend us to their board of governors. We were selected out of five
proposals. This will be an issue for the Headquarters Operations Committee.
After their board of governors’ approval, a contract will have to be
negotiated.
3)
Meetings Board Structure
J. Fletcher reviewed the documents she sent
electronically prior to the meeting (attachments #3 & 4). The meeting of
the Governance Committee inspired the changes. There are three significant
changes. 1) The name has been changed from Meetings Board to Scientific
Programs Board. 2) There is now an emphasis on the strategic nature of the
board. There will be proactive planning of meetings that will address the
strategic plan. It is hoped that in this way we will be able to attract new
groups to our meetings and workshops. 3) The changes significantly reduce the
board size.
It was questioned whether the changes need to be
acted on before the annual meeting? J. Fletcher responded that the hope was to
have a functional board by the annual meeting, but she is not sure how to
proceed. This will require full approval by Council before any further action
is taken. There was discussion about having the section chairs also serve as
part of the editorial board. There has been a lot of movement back and forth on
this idea but it will be tried. There was also discussion on whether the
director of scientific programs could also serve as chair of the Short Courses
and Workshops Planning Committee. It was suggested that we try the plan as it
currently stands for a year or two before trying to fine tune things. ACTION. The secretary will conduct an electronic vote by Council on
adopting the organizational chart and attending information.
4)
IUMS Affiliation
J. Fletcher reviewed the new dues structure that
would raise our dues from $300 to $3,000. J. Fletcher contacted J. Baker who is
our affiliate representative. He felt there was some benefit to the affiliation
with our emphasis on globalization. A. Vidaver and D. Gross were also
contacted. They agreed that the benefits are not great. They suggested perhaps
we could negotiate a lower rate of membership. FAC will be meeting the first
week of May and needs guidance. There was general discussion on the pros and
cons of maintaining our affiliation. It was suggested that ISMPMI might be able
to serve as our liaison. ACTION. D. Jardine will contact J. Leach to find
out if they are an affiliate, and if so, what are their dues. Also, would they
accept a deal to be our link to IUMS. J. Fletcher will call J. Baker to explore
alternative membership options. This information will be needed for discussions
at FAC.
5)
AIBS Meeting Report
J. Fletcher reported that she was unable to attend
the scientific program but was there for the council meeting. Their council
serves an advisory role. There were several items of business related to their
new Public Policy Office. We have communicated to them our hiring of Eversole
& Associates. They are interested in communicating with K. Eversole. J.
Fletcher reported that a number of new groups have joined their Public Policy
Office, especially small societies. There was discussion on whether or not it
is cost effective to send a representative to the AIBS Council meeting. The
thinking is that we may not need to send a representative every year unless we
change our level of activity with their Public Policy Office. Every other year
would probably suffice.
6)
CAMPPS Letter
S. Slack previously sent Executive Committee a draft letter addressed to Floyd Horn (attachment #5). The letter was meant to be generic in support of well run repositories. S. Slack asked whether or not we should send the letter and should it be the draft as circulated or does it need editing? There was discussion and it was decided we should hold the letter until it is requested. We need to thank the committees and individuals who provided input on this issue.
7)
Governance Committee Update
S. Nelson reported that all committee members (9)
were present at the meeting in Atlanta. They did an outstanding job. Their
proposal is very innovative with some solutions. The proposal will be put into
a white paper. There will be a flow diagram coming from J. Loper. The committee
will meet with Council in Salt Lake City. There will be a plan for membership
presentation, approval and implementation.
It
was noted that Council has not been notified of the candidates for vice
president and councilor-at-large. ACTION. A note will be sent from headquarters
identifying the candidates.
Meeting
adjourned at 4:05 p.m. CDST.
Respectfully
submitted,
Douglas
J. Jardine
Secretary,
APS