The meeting was called to order by Ray Knight, President.
I. President’s Report: Ray Knight summarized the issues raised by the Executive Board for consideration by the membership: (A) Last year the Society received $22,500 in unrestricted educational grants from pharmaceutical companies. The Board is in favor of seeking such support again. (B) Annual Meeting sites have been selected for the next several years: 2003 in Toronto; 2004 in St. Louis; 2005 in Miami; 2006 in San Diego; 2007 in New York; 2008 in Pittsburgh. (C) The possibility was raised of extending the presidential term beyond one year, for the sake of greater continuity.
II. Secretary's Report: Nancy Docherty reported that she upgraded the website some, but that it still needs more work. She also reported that some of the membership records are outdated, and requested updates from members. She also announced the election results.
Election Results: The new President-Elect is Dan Klein, Treasurer is Michael Young (2002-05), and the two new Board Members are LeeAnna Clark and Scott Monroe (2002-06). Because Dan Klein was voted President-Elect, his seat on the Board was vacated. The Board appointed Steve Silverstein to fill this seat for the rest of the term (through 2004).
III. Treasurer's Report: Michael Young reported that a total of 189 people registered for the meeting this year. The Society currently has about $49,600 in assets. Meeting costs this year (c. $34,000) will be higher than the registration fees received, by about $5,000, but the shortfall can be covered by existing funds.
Last year’s costs were about $30,000, and registration fees yielded about $26,000. External sponsorship also yielded $22,500 last year.
IV. External Sponsorship: Two motions regarding external sponsorship were brought forth from the Executive Board, seconded by members, and discussed.
Motion #1: SRP should seek external funds to defray the costs of the infrastructure of its annual conferences and to make it possible to support meetings consistent with the present academic style without having to seek extraordinary increases in dues or registration fees.
This motion was approved, with two dissenting votes.
Motion #2: It is the responsibility of the Development Subcommittee to seek these funds. The committee will identify potential funding sources, and the President will make the requests for support. The choice of funding sources will be reviewed by the Executive Board. After three years the Board will review the entire process and make a recommendation to the membership about continuance.
This motion was approved unanimously.
V. Presidential Term: The possibility of extending the presidential term from one to two years was raised. After some discussion, the issue was referred back to the Sunday Executive Board meeting for further consideration.
VI. Membership Chair Report: Michael Green reported for Barbara Cornblatt. There were nine applications for full membership and two for associate membership. All applicants met criteria. The new full members are: John Forsyth, David Fresco, Pamela Keel, Bjorn Meyer, Tonmoy Sharma, Scott Sponheim, Edelyn Verona, Amy Weisman, and Amy Wenzel. The new associate members are Eva Levine and Kevin Wu.
VII. Annual Meeting Report: Steve Silverstein reported that the Program Committee received 118 poster and paper submissions this year, and four symposium submissions. Nine papers were accepted for oral presentation, and 108 for poster presentation. Three symposia were accepted.
Stuart Steinhauer requested that the rules for Smadar Levin eligibility be clarified. Two additional motions were made, seconded, and discussed:
Motion #3: Individuals who are currently in graduate school, or who received doctoral degrees less than one year ago, are eligible to compete for the Smadar Levin Award.
Motion #4: Individuals who have completed Bachelors Degrees and have not attended graduate school are eligible to compete for the Smadar Levin Award.
Both motions were approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned.