2009 Assembly of Society Officers

Since the first journals were created in the 17th century, scholarly publishing has become an essential part of the scientific process. The development of the Internet in the late 20th century signaled new opportunities for an industry that was at risk of losing touch with its customers. Online publishing is still in its infancy and the road ahead is full of challenges and opportunities, making this period the most productive time for publishers who are willing to be innovative. Inventive approaches will most likely involve embracing and capitalizing on Web-enabled collaborative approaches in response to scientists’ needs such as Many Eyes, IBM’s set of visualization tools and web services that allows users to create and share visualization projects, creating a collaborative social networking space for exploring and analyzing visualizations.

(30 minutes each, followed by a moderated discussion)

Strategic Directions in Scientific Publishing: The Road Ahead
John Haynes, VP of Publishing, AIP

Visualization for Communication and Discovery
Matt McKeon, Research Developer, IBM

Many, if not all, associations have been affected by the current economic crisis, likely resulting in shrunken reserves, declines in sales, subscriptions and membership, and increased costs. How have associations weathered past financial storms? Considering past trends might be instructive for projecting future results of philanthropic efforts and guiding us in effective use of development resources. Recessions highlight the importance of endowments, which can be very useful in softening the blow and sustaining core activities. This session also surveyed best practices in building endowments and conducting capital campaigns.

(30 minutes each, followed by a moderated discussion)

Trends in Philanthropy and Fundraising in an Adverse Climate
Eric Javier, Regional Vice President, CCS, LLC 

Endowments and Capital Campaigns for Associations and Membership Organizations
Kevin Hagen, CFRE, Senior Consultant, Stanley Weinstein & Co. (see presentation)

With the current economic stimulus bill before Congress, scientists and scientific associations are wondering what role science will pay in helping the nation’s economic recovery, and in shaping a competitive edge for the United States in the area of alternative energy. The Obama Administration states that science and technological progress are essential to the health of the nation, but how this will shake out in terms of funding and support is unknown. This session discussed what we might expect, and what roles associations can play to help inform Congress about science and the benefits of scientific research and development.

(30 minutes each, followed by a panel discussion)

Outlook for Science in the 111th Congress
Dahlia Sokolov, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, Committee on Science and Technology

Informing Congress: Effective Science Policy Studies in Partnership with Scientific Societies
Benn Tannenbaum, Associate Program Director at the Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Panel of past and present AIP and Member Society Congressional Science Fellows:

Dahlia Sokolov, AIP 2004-05 Congressional Fellow 
Benn Tannenbaum, APS 2002-2003 Congressional Fellow (see presentation)
Kathryn Clay, AIP 1987-98 Congressional Fellow
Josh Trapani, AGU 2005-2006 Congressional Science Fellow
Colin McCormick, MRS/OSA 2003-04 Congressional Fellow

This panel of past and present Society executives shared their experiences in developing an international membership base, and how their organizations evolved in developing working models and relevant benefits/programs. They also discussed adjustments they had to make to their policy/advocacy efforts as a consequence of the growing international membership.

4-5 speakers; 10 minutes each, followed by moderated panel discussion:

Fred Spilhaus, Executive Director Emeritus, AGU
Amy Flatten, Director of International Affairs, APS (see presentation)
Brad Miller, Director, Office of International Activities, ACS 
Todd Osman, Executive Director, MRS