|
March 1999 Minutes of the ENAR Business Meeting
March 30, 1999
Atlanta, Georgia
Present: Susan Ellenberg (President), Joel Greenhouse (Past-President), Louise Ryan (President-Elect), Lisa LaVange (Secretary), Jane Pendergast (RAB Chair), Kathy Hoskins, Tom Louis, Jonas Ellenberg, Tim Gregoire, Estelle Russek-Cohen, Beth Gladen, Joan Chmiel, Tony Lachenbruch, Linda J. Young, Sylvan B. Green, Rick Chappell, Ed Davis, A. Lawrence Gould, Vicki Hertzberg, Barbara Tilley, Katherine Monti, Karen Bandeen-Roche, Craig Borkowf, Julia Bienias, Vanja Dukic, Alex Whitmore, Mei-Ling Lee, Kristen L. Meier, Judith Rich O'Fallon, Mike O'Fallon, Tony Sun, Carol Redmond, Abby Goldstein, Bruce Johnston.
- Welcome. Susan Ellenberg opened the meeting at 5:30 p.m., welcoming all in attendance. The minutes of the August, 1998 business meeting were distributed, along with the Treasurer's report.
- Secretary's Report. (Attachment 1) The minutes from the August, 1998 business meeting in Pittsburgh were presented. Larry Gould moved to approve the minutes. Vicki Hertzberg seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved.
- Meetings:
- 1999 Spring Meeting in Atlanta. All indications so far point to a very successful meeting in Atlanta, with both the meeting registrations and short course/tutorial attendance surpassing last year's records.1 Louise Ryan reported that positive feedback has been received about the roundtables included in this year's program. While not a revenue generator, these discussion sessions appear to be a popular item and will probably be included on next year's program as well. The workshop on Fostering Diversity in Biostatistics held Sunday, May 28, was also well-received, with good participation from the local community.
- 2000 Spring Meeting in Chicago. Xihong Lin is the Program Chair for next year's annual meeting, and Julia Bienias from the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging is Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. Louise reported that the program committee was entertaining different ideas for the format for next year's annual meeting, including a large number of special invited speakers who will provide an historical perspective in different areas of Biometrics. Suggestions are welcome for short courses and tutorials, to be forwarded to Louise Ryan. Linda Young reported that the membership was interested in having diversity across topics at the meeting, and encouraged all to come forward with new ideas.
- 1999 JSM in Dallas. Walter Piegorsch, ENAR representative to the program committee, was not present.
- 2000 IBC in San Francisco. Tom Louis is the ENAR representative to the program committee for the upcoming International Biometrics Conference (IBC) in San Francisco, July 2-7, 2000. Please forward suggestions for the program to Tom.
- 2001 Spring Meeting in Charlotte. Kathy Hoskins reported that the 2001 Spring Meeting will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center, with housing conveniently co-located.
- Quality of Meetings. A general discussion ensued about the quality of the presentations at this year's meeting. Tony Lachenbruch expressed concern over the uneven and often poor quality of overhead materials, due to the use of small fonts or handwritten slides. Tony proposed that speakers be required to submit presentation materials in advance of the meetings for approval. Rick Chappell reported that guidelines for speakers were sent out in advance of both the 1998 and 1999 meetings, with some improvement noted over prior years. Susan Ellenberg reported that the handouts from the President's Invited Address were placed on the ENAR Website this year, and that in future years, the organization may offer to prepare overheads and hand-outs for this speaker as a service. Other suggestions were: (1) ENAR provides a tutorial on how to give a good talk; (2) organizers give guidance to speakers during the 5 minute introductory remarks at each session on where to stand and appropriate use of the microphone; and (3) organizers assume responsibility for the quality of each session's presentation materials and review them in advance of the session. A motion was raised to form a committee to consider these and other ideas on ways to improve the quality of presentations at future meetings. Tony Lachenbruch, Rick Chappell, Katherine Monti, and Julia Bienias agreed to serve on the committee, and Larry Gould agreed to serve as chair.
- Treasurer's Report. (Attachment 2) Jane Pendergast presented the Treasurer's report in Dale Zimmerman's absence. Revenue exceeded expenses by approximately $20,000 in 1998. It is too early to project a surplus or deficit for 1999. Meeting revenues have increased, but so have meeting expenses. Food and beverage costs for meeting breaks have risen dramatically over the past three years, from $17,000 in 1997 to almost $50,000 in 1999. A proposal was made to consider increasing registration fees, followed by a general discussion of revenue generation. It was noted that the Tuesday evening social function was eliminated this year due to lack of a reasonably priced local attraction. Kathy Hoskins reported that it is becoming increasingly difficult to organize a social function for less than $50 per person. A straw vote indicated that the majority of those present would like to have the Tuesday evening social scheduled if the cost could be maintained at $50 or less. For a cost in excess of $50, the majority prefer a mixer at the meeting location in lieu of an outing. The 2000 Local Arrangements Committee will take this feedback under advisement in searching for a suitable social event in Chicago.
- RECOM. Susan Ellenberg reported that RECOM approved changes to the by-laws. The revised document will be included in the ballot to be mailed this summer. Two major revisions have been proposed: (1) The position of ENAR representative to the ASA will be eliminated and (2) A formal nominating committee will be created to derive the ballot of officers each year in lieu of relying on the full RAB to create the ballot. The structure of the nominating committee is such that at least one RAB member will be present on the committee at all times to ensure that group's continued participation in this activity. During the RECOM discussion of the proposed modifications, it became clear that other changes toe by-laws were needed. As a result, a by-laws committee will be formed. Members interested in joining should contact Susan.
RECOM approved the continuation of the Website Oversight Committee, led by Tim Gregoire. This committee will monitor use of Website and bring to the Executive Committee for approval any proposed enhancements to the site.
A Membership Committee was approved by ENAR to examine reasons why we are experiencing static or slightly declining bership over the past few years, even though meeting attendance has increased steadily.
- IBS Linda Young reported that Biometrics is changing to an 8 ½ by 11-inch page format, which has caused some delays in printing. The format of the editorial committee is also changing, with three editors appointed for staggered, three-year terms. A letter of intent to continue IBS support of the Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics was approved. The IBC will vote shortly for a dues increase of $5 to $55 per member. Corporate memberships will increase to $500. RECOM voted against having fellows of IBS. Please contact Linda to voice a differing opinion. Argentina has become a region of IBS, passing the 50-member mark. Ethiopa has over 10 members and is now a country group of IBS. Reading, England and Freiburg, Germany are competing for the site of the 2002 IBC.
Susan Ellenberg reported that a ballot for new council members of IBS will appear in the fall issue of the Bulletin. The ballot will contain 50-60 names for consideration. As ENAR represents 40% of IBS membership, it is important that members exercise their votes in this election.
- Other Business. Tim Gregoire expressed some concern with members voting on revisions to the by-laws without an open forum for discussion. He suggested that a list server be established through the Website in order to promote dialogue among members about the proposed revisions. Kathy will investigate the associated costs with Potomac Digitek, the company maintaining the Website.
Joel Greenhouse proposed a vote of thanks to Susan Ellenberg for her service as President and her role in the success of this year's meeting. The vote was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa LaVange
ENAR Secretary
1. The final meeting registration for Atlanta was 925, as compared to 788 in Pittsburgh last year. The final counts were 234 for short courses and 281 for tutorials, which compares to 210 for short courses and 201 for tutorials in Pittsburgh. Roundtables drew 123 registrants this year.
|
