APS News

As originally published in The Physiologist
Volume 46, Number 1, February 2003, page 6

APS Council Holds Fall Meeting in Virginia

    The APS Council held their fall meeting at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, VA, November 8-10, 2002. One of the key issues discussed was the governance structure of the APS. After much discussion and deliberation, it was agreed that the size of the Council should be increased from six to nine members. One new council member would be added each year over the next three years to reach the nine-member limit. Since this will require a change to the APS Bylaws, the issue will be put before the membership for a vote at the APS Business Meeting. The Business Meeting will be held on Monday, April 14, at EB 2003. (For additional information, please see APS Bylaws Changes in the December issue of The Physiologist available at http://www.the-aps.org.) 

    Council was also presented with reports from the Publications, Finance, Joint Program, Membership, Communications, Public Affairs, Animal Care and Experimentation, Education, Committee on Committees, and Daggs Award committees. APS staff members Linda Allen, Marsha Maytas, Robert Price, Alice Ra’anan, and Margaret Reich also joined the meeting to assist with the committee report presentations. 

    The Publications Committee announced the appointment of several new editorships. Allen W. Cowley, Jr., Medical College of Wisconsin, was selected as the second Editor of Physiological Genomics, Marshall (Chip) Montrose, Indiana University, was chosen to be the Editor of AJP-GI, and Walter Boron, Yale University, was chosen to be Editor of NIPS. The Committee renewed Susan Hamilton’s Editorship of Physiological Reviews and Asrar Malik’s Editorship of AJP-Lung.

    Council also approved a motion made by the committee to establish a “Classic Article” Task Force. This task force will develop a definition of a “classic” article, collect potential articles, select the articles, and appoint researchers to write editorials to describe the importance of the work and how it has influenced the present field of research. The articles will be accessible to members online, free of charge. Council also approved a request by the committee to extend honoraria for Editors-in-Chief for up to six months after the end of their last term so they may complete the review process on any outstanding papers rather than sending them to the new editor.
The Finance Committee presented Council with the final 2002 budget and the proposed 2003 budget, both of which were accepted and approved by Council. In addition, Council approved the establishment of an APS Endowment Fund, transferring approximately $2.7 million of the Society’s Operational Reserves to the new Fund. Initially, the Fund will be used to support the Society’s Career Enhancement Award Program, Minority Program, and Undergraduate Summer Research Program. As additional funds are contributed to the APS Endowment, new and existing programs will be supported. The APS Endowment Fund will also receive an additional $2 million contributed over the years by the families and friends of APS members. The monies associated with the Caroline tum Suden Fund, John Perkins Memorial Fund, Giles F. Filley Fund, Lazaro Mandel Fund, Shih Chun Wang Fund, and Arthur C. Guyton Fund have also been transferred to the APS Endowment Fund. With a current value of approximately $4.7 million, the APS Council has set a $10 million target for the APS Endowment Fund. Starting in Spring 2003, the Society will be inviting the membership to contribute to the APS Endowment Fund through a planned giving program.

    The Joint Program Committee (JPC) updated Council on the status of upcoming APS Conferences in 2003 and 2004. Curt Sigmund, chair of the JPC, told Council that one of the goals of the committee for this coming year is to solicit more conference proposals from the membership. To help achieve this goal, the committee will work on producing better guidelines for submitting conference proposals. 

    The Public Affairs Committee updated Council on the status of the NIH budget. Congress is trying to find a way to get close to the last year of doubling of the budget for NIH, but since “9/11” the fundamental thinking has changed. In the fiscal 2003 budget, the major increase has been for bio-terrorism research, and everything is on hold until the 2003 budget is finalized. Ra’anan, APS Public Affairs Officer, said the hope is that the NIH budget is brought forward due to bio-terrorism funding, but it is doubtful that this will happen. 

    In July, the Committee on Committees (COC) held a meeting to review and revise the current process used to select committee members. The Committee on Committees presented Council with their recommendations at this fall Council meeting. They proposed implementing a system consisting of a Candidate Information Form and an Endorsement Form. Those members wishing to serve on a committee will submit a Candidate Information Form, and then have an Endorsement Form submitted on their behalf. Only one endorsement form for each candidate will be accepted by the COC. The committee said that this new process would be more equitable to all candidates, and will provide the committee with more complete candidate information to help them make better selections. Council approved the implementation of the new committee position selection process. 

    The Education Committee presented Council with a proposal for a new award-the David Bruce Undergraduate Research Award. This award will be presented each year at the EB meeting. Award finalists will be invited to present their research posters at a special poster session on Saturday evening, at which time they will receive their certificates. The awardees will also be announced at the APS Business meeting. Council accepted the proposal for the award. 

    The Women In Physiology Committee also presented Council with a proposal for a new award—the Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award. The award is intended to honor a member of APS who has made an outstanding contribution to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to excellence in training of young physiologists. The award was established to recognize Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen, the first woman president of the Society and a distinguished physiologist who has made significant contributions in her field. Council accepted the proposal for the new award. 
    
    Additional details of the Council’s fall meeting will be presented to the membership at the 2003 APS Business Meeting. The Business Meeting will be held at EB 2003 on Monday, April 14 at 5:45 pm. All APS members are invited to attend.

APS Council: Front Row: Dale Benos, John Hall, Barbara Horwitz, John Williams, J.R. Haywood; Middle Row: Steve Hebert, Kim Barrett, Celia Sladek, Doug Eaton, Charlie Tipton; Back Row: Mordecai Balustein, Peter Wagner, Robert Carroll, Curt Sigmund, Virginia Miller

Presidents John Hall, Barbara Horwitz, and John Williams model the new APS baseball hats during the Fall Council meeting.

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