Present: Susan Ellenberg (President), Joel Greenhouse (Past-President), Louise Ryan (President-Elect), Lisa LaVange (Secretary), Dale Zimmerman (Treasurer), Xihong Lin (2000 Program Chair), Walter Piegorsch (ENAR representative to 1999 JSM), Kathy Hoskins (Executive Director, Drohan Management), Tim Gregoire, Peter Imrey, Joan Chmiel, Linda J. Young, Sam Greenhouse, Craig Burkowf, Mari Palta, George Williams, Lynne Billard, Larry Gould, Katherine Monti, Greg Campbell, Dennis Dixon, John Lachin, Gerald Beck, Ralph Kodell, Barbara Tilley, Nancy Geller, Jeremy Taylor, Al Marrero, Judith O'Fallon.

1. Welcome:

   Susan Ellenberg opened the meeting at 5:30 p.m., welcoming all in attendance. The minutes of the March, 1999 business meeting (Attachment 1) were distributed.

2. Treasurer's Report (Attachment 2):

   The Treasurer's report (Attachment 2) was distributed. Susan announced that the Spring Meeting in Atlanta was profitable, with net income of $33,661. Income from the short courses offered in conjunction with the meeting was $14,314. Dale Zimmerman noted that IBS decided against a dues increase for 2000. However, the ENAR Executive Committee is considering raising the short course fee to $150-$175 for a full-day course. Several Business Meeting attendees expressed concern with this increase. Susan Ellenberg reported that even with the increase, the committee felt that the short courses are still a bargain and one of only three ways in which ENAR can generate revenue (meeting registration fees and annual dues are the other two). These courses are not considered large draws for students but rather continuing education events for statisticians who want to supplement or refresh their training. The Student Awards winner receives a free short course, as do local student volunteers. In spite of fee increases two years in a row, we have not seen a decline in registration for the short courses.

3. Meetings
   1. 2000 Spring Meeting in Chicago. Xihong Lin, Program Chair, provided an overview of the program, which is centered around five (5) special theme sessions covering areas of particular interest to the membership:

      Survival Analysis Analysis of Correlated Outcomes Statistical Genetics Statistical and Biological Computing         Environment/Ecology/Agriculture

      Butch Tsiatis Scott Zeger Elizabeth Thompson Wing Hung Wong Charles McCullouch

      In addition, two IMS special lectures and 30 invited sessions are planned. Contributed papers are expected to increase to 35 sessions in 2000. Stephen Stigler will present the President's Address on the History of Statistics. Joel Greenhouse is chairing the Student Awards Committee.

      Louise Ryan provided a summary of the short course offering. Topics include measurement error, FDA topics, spatial disease mapping, causal inference, and sequential testing. Shorter tutorials will be provided on BUGS, ArcView, SAS GLIMMIXED, and correlated survival analysis. The Diversity Workshop will be repeated in 2000, having met with much success in Atlanta. The program committee is seeking ideas for roundtables. Sam Greenhouse posed the question of whether a workshop on genomes should be offered, following up on ideas presented by Eric Landers earlier in his JSM invited address. Others suggested a tutorial in lieu of a full workshop, or to stay with the proposed theme session (biological computing).

      The local arrangements committee, led by Julia Bienias, has identified six exciting choices for the Tuesday evening social event, each costing approximately $45. Louise reviewed the choices, indicating that all were a few minutes' ride from the Palmer House Hotel, and all offered various venues for socializing, dining, and entertainment. The issue was raised that the free Tuesday evening mixer in Atlanta was very popular, and the expense of an outing would place a burden on students attending the meeting. Students currently comprise about one-fourth of those attending ENAR. Approximately 200 or so members usually participate in the Tuesday evening outing. Louise suggested that a student subsidy for the social event be explored. A straw vote was taken, and enthusiasm was shown for most of the options.

      All indicators point to an excellent meeting in Chicago!.

   2. 1999 JSM in Baltimore.  No report.

   3. 2000 JSM in Indianapolis. Susan reported for Estelle Russek-Cohen, ENAR representative to the 2000 JSM program committee. The invited program is set, with six sessions coordinated with the Biometrics Section of ASA. Estelle is seeking ideas for special contributed sessions.

4. IBS: Linda Young reported that the recent vote on IBS Fellows was affirmative, with 10 negative votes. The executive committee decided to ask the general membership to vote on this important item. Linda reminded all ENAR members of the importance of the upcoming ballot for council members. As the largest of the IBS regions, ENAR needs strong representation on the council. Pertinent to recent discussions held within RECOM about whether ENAR should have corporate members, Linda reported that dues from IBS corporate members are $300, with $7 going to the local region.

   IBC 2000 will be held on the UC Berkeley campus July 2-7. Joan Hilton, WNAR, is the local arrangements chair; three short courses are planned in conjunction with the meeting. The IBC 2002 will be held in Freiburg, Germany. Lynne Billard visited there recently and reported that the location was lovely.

   Louise Ryan reported on a change in editorial policy for Biometrics. The journal will move to a rotating system, with one of three editors rotating off the board each year. The Shorter Communications section will be discontinued. Ray Carroll and Louise will remain as editors, and a third editor, Tony Pettitt from Brisbane, will join in October. In February, Marie Davidian from North Carolina will replace Louise as editor. Upon rotating off the board, each editor will continue to handle papers for six months to one year, for continuity. A six-month limit on time to respond to editors' questions may be imposed. Authors should continue to submit papers to the central editorial office, currently located in Dallas, Texas. IBS plans to relocate the editorial office within the international business office in the near future. Keywords will be used to determine which editor will handle the paper. The Society hopes to maintain an editorial board with diverse research interests, including medical, genetics, environmental statistics, etc.

5. COPSS: Susan Ellenberg reported on a COPSS initiative for undergraduate statistics programs. Led by Bob Hogg and Dick Shaffer, this initiative is tied to the quantitative literacy program. Stay tuned for more activities, including a symposium to be held at 2000 JSM.

6. Ad Hoc Committee Reports. Susan Ellenberg called for reports from the various ad hoc committees appointed this year.
   1. Larry Gould reported for the Quality of Presentations Committee. The committee has prepared recommendations for speakers that include guidelines for audiovisual materials. ENAR members are invited to email Larry for a copy of the guidelines and submit comments or additions to the committee. The Executive Committee hopes to implement the guidelines for 2000 ENAR. The guideline document includes a comprehensive implementation plan.

   2. Walt Piegorsch reported for Tim Gregoire on the Website Oversight Committee. The committee is recommending several changes to the current site organization. For example, the Membership Directory is difficult to locate and will be moved. Further information on future meetings will be added, including titles, speakers, and speakers' email addresses for ENAR 2000. Interest in electronic abstract submission was expressed, and a suggestion made to contact the American Mathematical Association for information. They have accommodated abstract submission via the web for over a year. Susan encouraged members to submit recommendations on improving the website to the Oversight Committee for review.

   3. Susan Ellenberg reported for the By-Laws Committee, chaired by Rocky Feuer. Revisions to the ENAR By-Laws are on the ballot, with results available shortly. Another ballot may be needed next year to bring the by-laws in line with those of the IBS.

   4. Susan Ellenberg reported for the Membership Committee, chaired by Chris Gennings. ENAR membership has been fairly flat for the past few years. If the profession is growing, why is ENAR not? The committee is considering a member survey to better understand the needs of the members and how ENAR can best meet them.

   5. Susan Ellenberg reported for the Proceedings Committee, chaired by Sharon-Lise Normand. This committee's goal is to assess whether the ENAR membership would like a Spring Meeting Proceedings to be published, and if so, how to accomplish this in an economical fashion. These are ongoing considerations with no decisions yet reached.

   The minutes from the March, 1999 Business Meeting were approved, followed by adjournment at 6:30 p.m.

   Respectfully Submitted,

   Lisa LaVange
   ENAR Secretary