Member’s Business Meeting – Friday October 13th 2006
1. Secretary’s report – Deanna Barch
Deanna Barch reported on the results of last year’s election, which take effect as of this SRP meeting due to the one-year extension of terms caused by the hurricane-related cancellation of the 2005 annual meeting.
Scott Monroe – President Elect 2006-2007
Michael Young – Treasurer 2005-2008 should it be 2006- ?
Tom Oltmanns – Board Member 2006-2009
Sheri Johnson – Board Member 2006-2009
2. Treasurer’s report – Michael Young
Michael Young reported on the financial health of SRP and informed members about the change in the SRP investment strategy. He also pointed out to the membership that we will likely break even on this meeting, but that this is with the help of grants. He pointed out that should we not get grants, we will need to either raise registration rates or eliminate some more expensive aspects of the meeting.
3. Local host – Eric Granholm / Sheri Johnson
Sheri Johnson was thanked for wonderful efforts for last year’s cancelled meeting. Eric reported on the general cost of this years meeting and was thanked for his organizational efforts.
4. Program Committee – Scott Sponheim / Michael Pogue-Geile
Michael Pogue-Geile was thanked for his efforts as last year’s program chair and for his help with this year’s program. Scott Sponheim reported on the number of submissions and was thanked for his service as this year’s program chair.
5. By-laws – Lee Anna Clark
Lee Anna asked if anyone had any changes or suggestions about the by-laws. Deanna Barch suggested that the wording in the proposed by-laws be changed from voting by email to voting electronically to allow greater flexibility in method of voting. Lee Anna Clark let the membership know that they would need to vote by “snail” mail to accept the changes to the by-laws.
6. Publication Committee
Michael Green explained that Diane Gooding and Craig Neuman wished to step down as co-editors of the newsletter. Michael put forth the Board’s suggestion that we form a temporary Publication Committee that would make suggestions as to the future of the newsletter and the goals of the publication committee. He asked for volunteers, noting that such individuals would not necessarily be expected to implement the suggested plan. The membership did not have any concerns about this plan.
7. Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, & Cognitive Sciences
Michael Green put forth Barbara Cornblatt’s suggestion that we become full members of the Federation and the Board’s endorsement of this suggestion. There was some discussion of the benefits of joining the Federation over and above the lobbying done by APA and APS, and the advantages of having a more direct voice in such lobbying efforts. The membership voted yes to join the Federation and to approve a dues increase of $10 for full members to cover the cost of membership in the Federation and added societal costs (e.g., website development and maintenance).
8. Development Committee
Michael Green told the membership that the development committee had been successful in obtaining grants, but that last year the board had voted to disband the committee. The reason for this is that the process of obtaining grants from pharmaceutical companies has changed and become very formal and centralized (not based on personal contacts). Thus, the president and the treasurer can make such applications on a yearly basis. Stuart Steinhauer reported on the outcome of his R13 application, noting that the board voted not to resubmit given that the changes suggested by the review committee would change the nature of the meeting too much. Michael Green told the membership that Mike Raulin had made a good effort for the past 3 years, but no longer wished to try to pursue ads from publishers, as this had not been particularly successful. Michael O’Hara noted that he would pursue such ads for next year’s meeting in Iowa City. The membership will revisit the idea of continuing to pursue such ads after next year’s meeting.
9. Locations of future meetings
Michael Green solicited ideas for future meeting locations. Bill Kremen volunteered to host the meeting in San Diego again in the future. Mark Lenzenweger volunteered to host the meeting in Ithaca for the 25th annual meeting. Individuals in the membership suggested approaching members in Seattle and Nashville as to their willingness to host future meetings in these locations.