The meeting was called to order by President Nicholas Geacintov at 6:15 P.M. The presence of a quorum (>50members) was established.
President Gaecintov announced that the Secretariat can now be reached by E-mail at: maps@csra.net. This should facilitate communications between the office of the Secretariat and members. Telephone calls, letters, and Fax communications are also welcome.
HIGHLIGHTS OF COUNCIL ACTIVITIES DURING 1994 -1995.
A. The Strategic Planning Committee is considering the establishment of a Photobiology Foundation. This foundation would use Society moneys and donations from outside contributors to fund worthy projects that further the goals of the Society. Frank Gasparro is the new Chair of this committee and during the coming year will investigate the legal questions involved in setting up the foundation and also attempt to make contact with potential board members and industrial contributors to gauge interest in such an endeavor.
B. Council decided to actively seek interactions with other societies with interests similar to that of the ASP through the joint sponsorship of scientific meetings and symposia. The first venture in this area is the co-sponsorship of a symposium on "DNA Photodamage and Its Repair" at the European Society for Photobiology annual meeting to be held in Cambridge in September of 1995. The European society will likewise sponsor a symposium at the ASP 1996 Annual Meeting. Antony Young, who is a member of the councils of both societies, has been handling matters pertaining to this joint effort.
C. To further the continued international development of photobiology, Council has decided to consider applications for free subscriptions to Photochemistry and Photobiology from institutional libraries in countries with a shortage of hard currency. Applications for free institutional library subscriptions should be sent to the Secretariat, who will forward the requests to the Publications Committee for consideration on a case-by-case basis.
In the same vein, ASP members are encouraged to assign any excess
subscriptions of Photochemistry and Photobiology to scientists in
countries with a shortage of hard currency who cannot afford to
subscribe . This may be done by contacting the Secretariat who also
will maintain a list of scientists requesting free subscriptions.
ELECTION RESULTS
The results of the election of new officers and council members were announced. These individuals will assume office as of the end of the Business Meeting. The new officers and councilors are:
Dr. Furuya replaces William Van Der Woude, who was the winner of this election, but who had to resign this position for reasons of health. Council has appointed Dr. Furuya, who was runner-up in the election for this seat, to replace Dr. Van Der Woude, and Dr. Furuya has graciously accepted. On behalf of the ASP membership, President Geacintov wished Dr. Van Der Woude a speedy recovery.
RECOGNITION OF OUTGOING COUNCIL MEMBERS
Therese Cotton, Devens Gust and Richard Granstein have completed their terms on Council. Dr. Gasparro thanked them for their service to the Society during their terms in office and presented each with a plaque acknowledging their service.
1996 ANNUAL MEETING
The 1996 Annual Meeting of the ASP will be held on June 15 - 18 at the Omni Hotel in CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. President Geacintov requested suggestions from members for symposia topics, symposia organizers, speakers, and for organization of the meeting. Suggestions may be sent to him by E-mail (Gaecintov@ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU), telephone, fax, or letter, and should be sent soon as he hopes to complete the organization of the meeting by September. The 1997 meeting will be held in the mid-West; cities under consideration include Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Chicago and Houston.
MODIFICATION OF THE ASP BY-LAWS
Modification of three sections of the By-Laws has been proposed by Council: Article I, section 5, Article VII, and Article VIII. Article I needs to be modified to clarify the requirements for Associate Membership, while Articles VII and VIII need to be changed to reflect the formation of the five subdivisions of the ASP and the manner in which division representation on Council will be assured. The proposed new wording for each section was read and voted upon by the members present at the Business Meeting. The approved By-Laws will replace the previous versions.
Article I, Section 5 - "Associate Members. A person may be elected to Associate Membership who shares the stated purpose of the Society and is either a student seeking a degree at an accredited educational institution or who is in post-doctoral training. Applicants must be sponsored by two Members. Associate Members have all rights and privileges of members, including complimentary Journal subscriptions."
Motion (Rodgers/Girotti): To approve the new wording of the By-Law. Motion passed with 1 against, rest of members in favor.
Article VII - "It shall be the philosophy of the Nominating Committee to involve younger Members in the administration of the Society, and to ensure that Council is composed of one representative from each of the five Divisions of the Society and seven At-Large members."
Motion (Rodgers/Gasparro): To approve the new wording of the By-Law. Motion passed unanimously.
Article VIII - "The election of councilors shall follow the same schedule as the election of officers. The slate of the Nominating Committee shall contain two nominees from those divisions whose representatives are retiring from Council. The slate shall be composed to ensure that all five ASP Divisions have an elected representative on Council. The slate shall also contain nominations for At-Large seats, and it shall contain at least one more name than the number of vacancies to arise in the number of At-Large seats."
Motion (Urbach/Gasparro): To approve the new wording of the By-Law. Motion passed unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF ASP RESEARCH AWARDS
The winners of these awards for 1995 are:
ANNOUNCEMENT OF TRAVEL AWARDS
Three winners of the Robert W. Tuveson Memorial Travel Award were selected this year. This award was established by the family and friends of Dr. Tuveson to honor his contribution to the ASP and to photobiology. Only Associate Members are eligible for this award, which consists of $500 to support expenses to attend the ASP Annual Meeting. The 1995 winners are Caroline A. Kerr (Sydney, Australia), I. B. Kremer (Amsterdam), and D. Schmitt (Houston).
Twenty-two Associate members were selected for ASP Travel Awards this year. The award consists of up to $450 to defray expenses to attend the Annual Meeting. Winners are :
MEETING REPORT
Past-President Michael Rodgers presented a summary of the scientific activities of the 1995 Annual Meeting. As of this date, 402 participants had registered for the meeting. Activities included:
27 Symposia
4 Schools
4 Special Lectures
4 Perspectives Lectures - a new feature designed to give
an overview of a specific field and new directions in which the field
is headed.
192 Contributed Papers
2 Workshops
In total the meeting consisted of 393 scientific presentations in 52 total sessions over 4.5 days.
On behalf of the ASP membership, President Geacintov thanked Dr. Rodgers for organizing an excellent meeting with outstanding scientific presentations.
SECRETARIAT'S REPORT
Dr. Sherwood Reichard reported on the status of the Society membership. As of May 22, 1995, the Society had 1295 members who have paid their dues for the year. This includes 1130 Full Members, and 118 Associate Members; the remaining are emeritus members, sustaining members, and benefactors. The generous support of the sustaining members and benefactors was gratefully acknowledged. These are:
Support for individual symposia has also been obtained from 11 industrial sponsors this year. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.
Amersham
BOC Group
Coherent Medical Group
ICN
OnLine Instrument Systems, Inc.
Opotek
Petroleum Research Fund
Solar Light
Southern New England Ultraviolet
Therakos
Wesley-Jessen Corporation
Support for a symposium and a workshop on UV, HIV and AIDS was obtained from the Food and Drug Administration.
Finally, Dr. Reichard noted that institutional subscriptions for Photochemistry and Photobiology dropped by 5% this year. Considering the financial hardship that many institutional libraries are facing, this is not unexpected.
TREASURER'S REPORT
Dr. Dennis Valenzeno reported that the financial status of the Society is excellent. The Auditor's report shows that for the fiscal year ending August 31, 1994 the Society had a fund balance of about $782,000 compared to $681,000 for the previous fiscal year. Thus the Society realized a net increase of about $100,000. The projection for the current fiscal year ending August 31, 1995 is for a similar increase. The two major factors that have contributed to the financial growth of the Society in the past several years has been the change in Secretariat and the change of the Journal publisher.
Dr. Valenzeno then discussed upcoming changes which might alter the rate at which the Society fund balance is increasing. A new contract for printing of Photochemistry and Photobiology will be negotiated soon and will go into effect on January 1, 1996. It is anticipated that the cost of printing will increase, but the amount is not yet known. Similarly, the contract for the services of MAPS as Secretariat expires June 30, 1996, and a new contract will be negotiated before August 31, 1995. Finally there are long term concerns about the health of the Journal and the impact that electronic publication may have on institutional subscriptions. At present, 71% of Society income comes from Journal subscriptions and this income funds Society activities to a large extent. For the past fiscal year, the Journal realized a net income of about $120,000 while other ASP activities lost about $20,000 total. Thus the Journal is critical to the continued financial health of the Society.
At present the fund balance of the Society is maintained largely in certificates of deposit and a Treasury Bill. The remainder is in traditional bank accounts. The Finance Committee has recommended an investment strategy for the Society's funds and this proposal was approved by Council. This strategy separates the Society's resources into 3 Funds: an Operating Fund to meet current expenses, a Reserve Fund to be used only under emergency conditions as established by Council, and an Investment Fund which will be available for projects as directed by Council. The Operating Fund and the Reserve Fund will each consist of about 60% of annual Society expenses. The Investment Fund will be invested in instruments designed to give short term yield with low risk, i.e. mutual funds that invest in fixed income securities, stocks, bonds, and investment-grade corporate bonds. The portfolio will be diversified to meet the objectives of low risk and short term yield.
EDITOR'S REPORT
Dr. Irene Kochevar reported that in 1994 there were 357 manuscripts submitted to the Journal, which is about the same number as in 1993. The acceptance rate was 61%. Publication time, which is counted from the date that a manuscript is received in the Editorial Office until it appears in print, was 7.8 months. Sixteen weeks of this time is printing time at Allen Press. Recently this time has been negotiated down to 12 weeks, so publication time should decrease to 6.8 months in the near future. Other measures are being instituted to further reduce this time. Page charges were paid for 80% of the manuscripts published. The distribution of published manuscripts was: Photochemistry, Photophysics and Phototechnology, 38%; Environmental Photobiology and UVR Effects, 16%; Photosynthesis and Photoconversion, 10%; Photomedicine, 27%; and Photosensory Biology, 9%.
The mail date for the Journal was changed to the first week of the month during 1995. Invited reviews are now appearing at a rate of about 1 per month. Eight Symposia-In-Print are in progress. Submission of manuscripts on discs is now possible and authors are encouraged to submit the final copy of accepted manuscripts on disc. Instructions for format, etc., will be sent with acceptance letters.
Dr. Kochevar gratefully acknowledged the contributions of Paul Vigny, Anthony Gorman, and William Van Der Woude, who are completing their terms as Associate Editors.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR'S REPORT
Dr. Frank Gasparro reported that 5
issues of the Newletter were published in the last year. This
schedule will continue into the next year. Suggestions and comments
about the Newsletter are welcome as are contributions for the
Newsletter. The next issue will contain a report of the ASP Annual
Meeting. Division Chairs were asked to submit a brief summary of the
activities at the division meetings.
None.
Dr. Geacintov passed the gavel of office
to President-Elect Al Girotti. In accepting the Presidency Dr.
Girotti noted that the 1997 meeting, which he will organize, will be
the 25th anniversary of the Society. He hopes to have a particularly
excellent meeting that year as well as special events to mark the
anniversary.
On behalf of the Society, President Girotti thanked Dr. Geacintov
for leading the Society during the last year and presented him with a
plaque acknowledging his service to the Society. He also thanked Dr.
Michael Rodgers for once again organizing an outstanding Annual
Meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:10 P.M.
Submitted by Gwen Sancar, Secretary of the American Society for
Photobiology, June 22, 1995.
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