Figure 1. Experiment illustrates effect of slope on fire spread.
Published quarterly by Botanical Society of America, Inc., 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210
The yearly subscription rate of $15 is included in the membership dues of the Botanical Society of America, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Columbus, OH and additional mailing office.
Address Editorial Matters (only) to:
Marsh Sundberg, Editor
Dept. Biol. Sci., Emporia State Univ.
1200 Commercial St.
Emporia, KS 66801-5057
phone 620-341-5605
email: sundberm@emporia.edu
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
Kim Hiser, Business Manager
Botanical Society of America
1735 Neil Ave.
Columbus OH 43210-1293
Phone/Fax: 614/292-3519
email: bsa-manager@botany.orgALL
2001 VOLUME 47 NUMBER
3
The Botanical Society of America: The Society
for ALL Plant Biologists
PPlant Science Bulletin
Editorial Committee for Volume 47
Norman C. Ellstrand (2003)
Department of Botany and Plant Science
University of California
Riverside CA 92521-0124
ellstrand@ucracl.ucr.edu
Vicki A. Funk (2001)
Department of Botany
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
funkvicki@nmnh.si.edu
Ann E. Antlfinger (2002)
Biology Department
Univ. of Nebraska - Omaha
Omaha NE 681823
antlfinger@unomaha.edu
Andrew W. Douglas (2005)
Department of Biology
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
adouglas@olemiss.edu
James E. Mickle (2004)
Department of Botany
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7612
james_mickle@ncsu.edu
CContentsLANT SCIENCE
Contents
Educational
Program about Wildland Fire Integrates Plant Science into Curriculum....86
News from the Society
Annual Reports
President's Report.......................................................................................90
Past President's Report................................................................................91
Secretary's Report.......................................................................................92
Treasurer's Report.......................................................................................92
BSA Meeting Coordinator's Report.............................................................93
Program Director's Report...........................................................................96
Editor's Report, American Journal
of Botany.............................................98
Editor's Report, Plant
Science Bulletin.....................................................100
Webmaster's
Report...................................................................................100
BSA
Committees for 2001-2002................................................................103
Conservation
Committee.............................................................................105
Education
Committee..................................................................................106
Elections
Committee...................................................................................108
Esau
Award Committee..............................................................................108
BSA/Karling
Student Research Award Committee......................................108
Membership
and Appraisal Committee.......................................................109
Financial
Advisory Committee....................................................................110
News from the Annual Meeting
Honors and Awards
Honors
and Thanks to.................................................................................111
Merit
Award...............................................................................................111
Gleason
Award...........................................................................................112
Section
Awards...........................................................................................112
Things to Come..................................................................................................113
Botany 2000 Conference to Include a new "Forum" on Botanical Education .......114
Announcements
New
Resources at the New York Botanical Garden...........................................114
Symposia, Conferences, Meetings
VIII
Latin American Botanical Congress.....................................................115
Positions Available
Harvard University Bullard Fellowships in Forest Research..........................115
Botany Field Collecting Position..................................................................115
Assistant Professor in Plant Physiology........................................................115
Chairperson, Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State Univ..................116
Plant Ecologist............................................................................................116
Book Reviews......................................................................................................117
Books Received...................................................................................................130
BSA Logo Items..................................................................................................132
ISSN 0032-0919
Editor: Marshall D. Sundberg
Department of Biological Sciences
Emporia State University
1200 Commercial Street, Emporia, KS 66801-5707
Telephone: 620-341-5605 Fax: 620-341-5607
Email: sundberm@emporia.edu
The feature article in this issue describes a curriculum designed not
only to educate children about the ecology of wildland fires, but helps
ameliorate the phenomenon described in the spring issue _ "plant blindness."
It incorporates active learning principles and helps students to view plants
as participants in an active ecosystem _ not just "fuel for the fire."
If you find the program interesting, I encourage you to contact the authors
for more information. They are extremely enthusiastic and willing to share.
- editor
Educational Program about Wildland Fire Integrates Plant Science into Curriculum
A science fiction story by Edmond Hamilton entitled "Alien Earth" (Hamilton 1949) describes the experience of a young scientist in a tropical country. The scientist obtains a potion that slows his physiology to a rate at which he can perceive plant growth and interactions between plants in rapid, aggressive, even violent motion. He is entranced and refuses to return to a pace of life "normal" for human beings. How can teachers help their students see that plants really are this dynamic and interesting? We have found one way to focus classroom attention on plants. View them as participants in, and survivors of, one of the most dramatic agents of change in temperate ecosystems—wildland fire. During the past three years, we have developed, tested, and implemented FireWorks, an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based program for learning about fire behavior, ecology, and management. The program applies ecological concepts to three kinds of pine forest important in the western U.S.: ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), interior lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)/subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis )/subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa). FireWorks is an example that may help others design programs that entice students to learn more about plants, integrate their knowledge with other disciplines, and apply it to problem-solving situations.
FireWorks consists of a curriculum linked with an educational "trunk." The curriculum (Smith and McMurray 2000) provides structured programs of learning activities for students at the primary, elementary, middle, and high school levels, and has also been used for college-level instruction. All learning activities in the curriculum use materials from the trunk, which is available for loan to teachers. The trunk contains laboratory equipment, plant specimens, kits for feltboard stories and learning games, posters, CD-ROMs, videotapes, and reference books—all focused on learning about wildland fire. Eighteen copies of the trunk are currently in circulation in Montana and Idaho.
Plant Study in an Interdisciplinary Program
Concepts of energetics form the foundation of fire science. Plants use photosynthesis to capture and store energy from the sun. This energy is released for metabolism by plants themselves and also by non-photosynthesizing organisms. It can also be released by one non-metabolic process—fire. Most students study photosynthesis and metabolism in biology classes and learn about fire behavior in physical science classes. However, these topics can be more compelling when studied together. In FireWorks, students construct "matchstick forests" from matches, masonite, and simple hardware. They develop hypotheses regarding the effects of slope and stand structure (density and arrangement of trees) on fire spread in these model forests, then test the hypotheses (fig. 1). Students construct "tinker trees" (fig. 2) to learn about the effects of tree and stand structure on vertical fire spread. The curriculum presents these activities as guided inquiries, with suggestions for open inquiries as follow-up. At the University of Montana, these fire behavior experiments are used in a chemistry survey class for non-majors. More than half of students who take the course are majoring in Forestry or Wildlife Biology, fields directly concerned with fire behavior, fire effects, and fire management.
Fire provides a context in which morphological properties of plants are vividly related to survival and persistence. Organs such as rhizomes and bulbs, for instance, have increased importance to students when viewed as strategies for surviving and regenerating after fire. The thickness of tree bark becomes more than a curiosity; it is a species-specific characteristic allowing variable protection of phloem and cambium from lethal heating. In FireWorks, students learn about underground plant parts ("buried treasures") by first observing aboveground parts such as flowers and leaves from specimens, then hypothesizing ("imagining") and drawing the underground parts that they think those plants might have. This work encourages them to consider the difficulty of
|
Figure 1. Experiment illustrates effect of slope on fire spread. |
|---|
Understanding of tree physiology is crucial to dendrochronology, which
FireWorks
students
use to describe historic fire regimes (patterns of fire frequency and severity
prior to drastic ecosystem
alteration by European Americans). By identifying scars made by surface
fires, counting growth rings between fire scars, and comparing the life
spans of the three pine species used in the curriculum, students learn
three basic principles of fire ecology:
1. Many kinds of trees, as well as other plants, are able to survive some fires
2. A plant's ability to survive fire depends partly on traits of the plant itself and partly on characteristics of the community in which it occurs
3. Different plant communities, even those occurring in close proximity, may have different historic fire regimes
Students use reference materials in the trunk to learn about several organisms in each forest type. Then they collaborate to depict the flow of energy from the sun throughout the resource web, and to dramatize secondary succession in different kinds of forest with and without fire.
 Figure 2. Teachers at workshop use a model tree to investigate effect of tree and forest structure on fire spread.. |
|---|
Applying What is Learned
Real-world problems bring scientific concepts to life for many students.
FireWorks
requires
students to use what they learn about fire spread, plant functions, and
ecosystem dynamics to address real management questions. Students assess
risk of fire damage to homes built in wildlands. They use a CD-ROM simulation
of fire in ponderosa pine forests to compare fire behavior and effects
following three management choices: removing small trees, removing small
trees and burning with surface fire, and taking no action. They work in
teams to develop objectives and management plans for several scenarios,
including a home and acreage
surrounded by ponderosa pine forest, a forest recently burned by stand-replacing
fire, and a whitebark pine forest threatened by a nonnative invasive fungus.
Learning activities that involve management options do not have "right"
and "wrong" outcomes but require students to use scientific principles
to connect current conditions and management choices to likely outcomes.
This sometimes results in disagreement and controversy in the classroom;
if the disagreements are based on principles of physical and plant science,
they are a sure sign that students are synthesizing and applying what they
have learned.
Field experience provides the logical capstone for studying wildland fire. FireWorks suggests that teachers use one of two field activities—a "scavenger hunt" for signs of past fires and their effects, or a field quiz in which students demonstrate principles learned in the classroom. Local experts and forests provide many other options for field experiences. This past summer, we used a tour of a field site on which prescribed fire had been used, guided by a research ecologist, as a forum for college-level students to observe and critique fire management; it was also an opportunity to learn about careers in land management and plant science.
Strengths and Limitations
Since 1998, over 300 teachers have attended workshops on FireWorks, learning to teach from the curriculum and trunk, and the program has reached more than 3,000 students. The FireWorks curriculum can be used to meet local and national teaching standards. Research indicates that the program successfully increases understanding of wildland fire behavior among students and adults. Funding to obtain trunks and time for trunk maintenance are the main obstacles to program implementation.
To determine the effectiveness of FireWorks in a school setting, Thomas and others (2000) tested 313 seventh graders from 12 classrooms in western Montana. Written tests showed that students who used FireWorks mastered fire behavior and ecology concepts better than students in comparison groups (p<0.0005). In field tests, students who had studied FireWorks demonstrated greater understanding of fire behavior and ecology than students in comparison groups (p<0.0005). FireWorks students perceived their teachers as significantly more innovative and interested in student contributions than did students in comparison classrooms (p<0.0005). The authors attributed success of the program to the structured, interdisciplinary curriculum and reliance on hands-on materials. Success may also be attributed in part to the subject-matter itself—fire, a compelling topic for most audiences.
Parkinson (2001) assessed the effectiveness of FireWorks in programs for adults in rural communities of Idaho. She found that, one month after completing four FireWorks learning activities at a workshop, adults showed significantly increased understanding of wildland fire (p<0.0001). In addition, attitudes and beliefs about fire management were significantly (p<0.05) more positive, both immediately and 1 month after the learning activities were completed.
Requirements for funding and time are the main limitations of the FireWorks program.
 Figure 3. High school student examines "buried treasure" of beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax).. |
|---|
Hands-on learning in general requires more materials, more space, and more classroom management than lecture-based learning. It is also slower in the sense that fewer concepts can be covered in a given time, though it may not be less efficient in terms of knowledge retention. FireWorks trunks cost $3,000 to $3,500 each, an investment few schools can make. Most trunks are owned by agency offices or nature centers and loaned to teachers for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. After a trunk is returned from a loan, 2 to 4 hours are needed to check its contents, fix or replace items, and put all in order for the next loan; this requires time and resources from the loaning agency or nature center. Teachers can mitigate these limitations by selecting a small number of activities from the curriculum, obtaining or constructing materials themselves, and using them in demonstrations rather than hands-on exercises. However, this approach eliminates the benefits of hands-on experience and open inquiry and is likely to be less effective than use of an integrated program of activities linked to the whole trunk.
Botanical and ecological examples used in FireWorks are specific to the geographic ranges of ponderosa pine, interior lodgepole pine, and whitebark pine—mainly the central and northern Rocky Mountains, the Intermountain region, and the eastern Cascades. The information about ponderosa pine forests also applies to the Sierra Nevada and perhaps the southern Rocky Mountains. Geographic specificity benefits students who live within the range of even one of these species because they can visit field sites to apply what they have learned and talk with professionals working in these ecosystems. Geographic specificity can be a limitation outside the range of these three pine species. However, once students understand the botanical and ecological principles of plant survival and reproduction after fire, they can apply these concepts to most temperate ecosystems. For example, teachers in south-central Montana use FireWorks to teach general concepts regarding fire behavior and diversity of fire regimes; then they teach specifically about fire history and adaptations to fire in plains grasslands, the dominant ecosystem in that area.
Conclusions
Wandersee and Schussler (2001) refer to "plant blindness" in our culture—the inability to see or notice the plants in one's own environment, which limits understanding of the importance of plants and their habitat. They suggest several ways to reduce plant blindness, including early and interactive education in plant science. Another effective strategy may be to integrate plant science with other sciences in an inquiry-based learning program. FireWorks provides an example of such a program, centered around a topic that most people find both fascinating and challenging in its practical application—wildland fire. We hope that educators can use some of the teaching strategies and learning activities in FireWorks to increase understanding of plant science and ecology in general, and wildland fire science in particular.
References
Hamilton, E. (1949). Alien Earth. Originally published in Thrilling Wonder Stories. Republished (1977) in Brackett, Leigh ed., The best of Edmond Hamilton. Garden City, NY: Nelson Doubleday Inc.: 239-262.
Parkinson, T. (2001). An evaluation of the FireWorks program and its effectiveness with adult audiences. M.S. thesis. Moscow, ID: University of Idaho. 116 p.
Smith, J. K., & McMurray, N. E. (2000). FireWorks curriculum featuring ponderosa, lodgepole, and whitebark pine forests. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-65. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Thomas, L. R., Walsh, J. A., & Smith, J. K. (2000). Behavioral and cognitive evaluation of FireWorks education trunk. In Smith, H. Y. ed., The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project: What we have learned— symposium proceedings; 1999 May 18-20; Missoula, MT. Proceedings RMRS-P-17. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 71-73.
Wandersee, J. H.; Schussler, E. E. (2001). Toward a theory of plant blindness. Plant Science Bulletin, 47(1), 2-9.
Jane Kapler Smith
Fire Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula,
MT
Nancy E. McMurray
Fire Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula,
MT
Garon C. Smith
Department of Chemistry, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT
More Information About FireWorks
The FireWorks curriculum is available on the Internet at www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr65.pdf . Printed copies can be ordered, free of charge, from rschneider/rmrs@fs.fed.us; request Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-65. Items in the FireWorks trunk are listed in the curriculum, pp. 247-257; individual items are described briefly on pp. 258-269. More information on particular activities, and a CD-ROM containing electronic files for many activities, are available from Jane Kapler Smith jsmith09@fs.fed.us or Nancy E. McMurray nmcmurray@fs.fed.us.
Questions and suggestions for incorporation of FireWorks into introductory-level college science courses should be addressed to Garon C. Smith garons@selway.umt.edu.
For information on locations of FireWorks trunks available for loan, visit the Fire Science Laboratory's Web site, http://www.firelab.org/. Click on "FireWorks," then "Trunk Locations." The same Web site provides information on teacher workshops; click on "FireWorks," then "Workshops."
News from the Society
Annual Reports
PRESIDENT'S REPORT, 2000-2001.
Items of major import:
The Society conducted its own first meeting successfully at Portland in 2000, thanks to the efforts and skill of Wayne Elisens, Meetings Coordinator
A Meetings Manager was hired in the Business Office, Ms. Johanne Stogran. Organization and duties of Business Office personnel have been evaluated and assigned. A Personnel Committee was established to provide oversight.
An ad hoc Committee was established to evaluate issues relating to membership, dues structure, resulting in a proposal to be presented for a tiered membership dues structure. (See later for details)
A Strategic Plan, initiated earlier, has been revised and will be considered at this meeting in order to establish priorities and an Action Plan.
Specific items: Letters
-Official letter of thanks to former Committee chairs and members
-Formal appointment of new committee chairs, members
-To ASPP objecting to name change; letters to several botanists urging them to write also
-Fall letter in PSB
-Appreciation for Leisman Bequest
-Proposing name change of Past President's Symposium to Plenary Symposium
-Thank you to Mary Dawson for site visit and report
-Congratulations to Peter Raven on Presidential Medal
-Letter about Corporate Sponsorship Package
-Appointing Dieter Wilkin Chair, Pacific Section
-Raven and Evert dealing with their concerns about McGraw Hill sponsorship
-Thanks to McGraw Hill for support
-Spring President's letter in PSB
-Formal invitation to E. O. Wilson to be Plenary Speaker, 2003
-Karling Award Congratulations letters
-Letter to Rieseberg about Symposium
-Invited Marlene Dickison to meeting
-Letters of invitation to other societies for 2002 meeting in Wisconsin
-Winter email to society members
-Email to Council about proposed change in member rates, page charges
-Assisted with developing job description for Meetings Manager
-Worked on having BSA endorse letter about endangered species applying to plants
-Corresponded with IBOY, resulting in announcing it on website
Discussion with President of ASPB about joint projects; nothing specific established. Pursue this
Appointed ad hoc Membership Tiers Committee; informed Council of outcome of their deliberations after Spring EC meeting; presented proposed changes to membership in the spring mailing; will bring proposed changes to a vote at the 2001 BSA Business meeting.
Appointed an ad hoc committee to work out a MOU for interaction between BSA and AABGA
Provided information and guidance on various committee functions to committee chairs
Personnel Issues
Received Dawson Report,
Established Personnel Committee to provide oversight of Business Office and implemented several additional suggestions from Dawson Report
Evaluated organization of Business Office
Established search committee, interviewed (with Schneider, Osborn, Hiser) and hired Meetings Manager, March 2001
With EC input, offered recommendations about organization and established duties of Business and Meetings Managers, spring 2001
Completed Performance Review, in conjunction with Personnel Committee of both Kim and Johanne, July 2001
Editor-in Chief, AJB
Dealt with issues regarding special papers
Discussed with Editor the Special Paper Policy, but have not resolved this by a written statement
Completed revision of Editorial Board Policy, conveyed to Editor in Chief
Meetings attended:
AIBS Council meeting in October, 2000; the initiative to increase staff working on Public Policy, using funds committed from member societies is most important issue for BSA to consider
CSSP in December, 2000; discussion of election outcome included consideration of how to maintain increasing, or even, current funding levels by Congress; concern about teaching evolution and some of the antievolution movements was presented, ideas of how to publicize scientific research presented.
AIBS as Council Representative, Board Member in March 2001
Bylaws change about K-12 teachers receiving a special member rate was written, distributed in spring mailing, and passed by member vote.
Drafted President's Forum Discussion Session for Botany 2001, invited NSF officers to attend, Presidents of other attending societies at Botany 2001, established agenda
Strategic planning
Revised strategic plan, discussed at spring EC
Proposed and organized strategic planning/action session, interviewed and hired David Northington as facilitator, for August 2001. Established session agenda.
Altered strategic plan into a "wish list" for FAC to use as fund raising
Respectfully submitted,
Patricia G. Gensel, President,
Committee on Corresponding Members
As chair of this committee I solicited nominations for one Corresponding Member. Materials were received and distributed to the EC and to other Committee members. Stefan Vogel was proposed for membership.
Elections Committee
As chair I worked with the committee members to provide candidates for President and Treasurer. Ed Schneider and Scott Russell were the nominees for President-Elect and Joe Armstrong and Carl Taylor for Treasurer. Scott Russell is President-Elect and Joe Armstrong the new Treasurer.
Plenary Symposium
The title of the symposium is: "Comparative and functional genomics: evolutionary implications." I decided on the theme of "genomics" for the Plenary Symposium because of the rapid development of this area of research. This symposium will explore the rapidly developing impact of genomics research on evolutionary biology. It seemed a timely topic in that the growth of this field presents exciting research opportunities to botanists in diverse disciplines. Speakers are: JONATHAN WENDEL, TOM OSBORN, FRANK ROSENZWEIG, CHRIS SOMERVILLE, VIRGINIA WALBOT.
Young Botanist Awards
Nominations for these awards were solicited and the supporting materials reviewed and considered—23 awards were given this year (see Plant Science Bulletin 47(2):49.)
Doug Soltis, Past-President
Secretary's Annual Report, 2001
This was a transitional year for the office of Secretary, with Pam Soltis retiring and myself, Jennifer Richards, assuming responsibilities. Pam completed her term by serving as the Society's Secretary at the BSA Annual Meeting in Portland, OR, filing the award winners' names from the 2000 BSA Annual Meeting with PSB Editor Marsh Sundberg, preparing the minutes of the 2000 Business Meeting for the Fall BSA mailing, and orienting me to the duties of the Secretary.
I attended, took notes, and filed minutes from the summer Executive Committee meeting in Portland, OR, and the winter Executive Committee meeting in Columbus, OH. I also attended the BSA Council meeting at the 2000 Annual meeting and filed the minutes for this meeting. I participated in the on-going Executive Committee discussions and decisions on BSA business, which occur via e-mail throughout the year. I also responded to inquiries and correspondence directed to the BSA Secretary.
With the help of Webmaster Scott Russell, I collected the annual reports of the Executive Committee, the BSA Council members, and the Committee Chairs, compiled the reports, and posted them on the BSA webpage. I helped President Pat Gensel and President-elect Judy Jernstedt plan the agendas for the 2001 BSA Council and Business Meetings and the agenda for the BSA Banquet, as well as the agendas for the pre- and post-meeting Executive Committee meetings.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer H. Richards, Secretary,
October 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001
Major Actions Completed:
The financial position of The Botanical Society of America remains strong. The BSA Endowment Fund assets, invested through Salomon Smith Barney (SSB) as of June 30, 2001 include:
Managed Funds $1,683,433.76
Select Funds $ 318,116.37
Total $ 2,001,550.15
Cash assets held at Santa Barbara Bank and Trust as of June 30, 2001 include:
Non-Profit Checking Account $ 23,465.61
Business Savings $ 102,252.59
Total $ 125,718.20
A current and detailed Financial Statement will be distributed at the Executive Council & Business meetings
Close cooperation continues among the BSA Business Office in Columbus, Ohio, Mary Dawson, the BSA Certified Public Accountant, and the Treasurer's Office. Approximately 150 checks for routine bills and awards were distributed from the Treasure's Office. Most requests for checks utilized the Electronic Check Request available at the following site: http://www.botany.org/bsa/membership/reimburs.html
Quarterly reports to the BSA Council, section, and special fund chairs/officers continue to be posted electronically. The BSA financial statements can be accessed at http://admin.botany.org/budget The financial statements for section and special fund accounts are updated on a bimonthly basis. Sectional cash accounts have continued to be awarded 2% per quarter; 8% per annum with balances of $1,000. Special Funds with a balance of $2,500 have been earning the equivalent rate as the Soloman Smith Barney BSA Mutual Fund investments. Rates for the first three quarters of FY 2000-01 have been 1.4%, -7.8%, and 7.9% % for a fiscal year YTD 1.5% return.
The BSA received the final distribution from the estate of Richard and
Deana Klein, longtime
members of the BSA in the amount of $32, 596.42. The Klein fund which
now totals $232,596.42 has been placed in the SSB fund and the Financial
Advisory Committee will determine the appropriate investment vehicle for
long term growth & security.
The development of a Job Description for the new full time BSA office staff member (Title: Meetings Manager) was coordinated by the Kim Hiser & the Treasurer's office and submitted to Ohio State University forprocessing. Several candidates were interviewed during the spring meeting of the Executive Council held at OSU. Johanne Strogan was selected as the most qualified applicant and began full-time employment in April, 2001.
The annual performance evaluation of the Business Manager, Kim Hiser, and the Meetings Manager, Johanne Strogan, was completed by the Personnel Committee, consisting of the President, President-elect, Treasurer, and Meeting Coordinator.
MasterCards under the Botanical Society of America name are now held by the Business Manager, Meetings manager, and the BSA Treasurer. These have a $5,000 allowance and are used primarily to reduce the number of checks that need to be written and speed up payment times on BSA purchases.
• All members were encouraged to submit budget ideas during the annual call for budget requests made in June/July of each year. Last year $27,841.00 of special Initiative/project money was made available from interest earned from the BSA Endowment Fund. These funds provided support for the following:
Additional AJB signature ($10,000)
Karling awards ($ 5,000)
Education Committee ($ 7,000)
Operational Audit ($ 4,500)
Recommend Actions for FY 2001 2002
1) The new BSA Treasurer will be Dr. Joe Armstrong who will assume the duties for the new fiscal year 2001-02. I recommend that Dr. Armstrong visit Santa Barbara, review existing procedures, transfer files, and meet with the BSA CPA, Mary Dawson to ensure a smooth transition.
2) I recommend that The Society follow through with the recommendations from the `operational review/audit' of the Business Office as outlined in the proposal from Mary Dawson, Certified Public Accountant dated December 18, 2000. These recommendations included changes to the following: Establishment of a Personnel Committee to supervise BSA Office staff; Payroll for Office Staff be moved to the Treasurer's account; improved vacation/sick time tracking; improved membership processing; accounting software update; division of duties with hiring of second BSA Office staff member; review bond coverage; establishing accounts for annual meetings
3) Recommend that Special Initiative dollars for FY 2001-02 be sequestered until following the Strategic Planning session scheduled for August 16th in order to correlate priorities of Society with available financial resources.
2001 Annual Report: BSA Meeting Coordinator
General Issues
Duty transition to BSA Meetings Manager — Commencing in March 2001, Meeting Coordination responsibilities began a gradual transition to Ms. Johanne Stogran, the BSA Meetings Manager, in the BSA Business Office. I cease my activities as the Meeting Coordinator after the Botany 2001 conference. In May 2001, Johanne visited Scott Russell and myself at the University of Oklahoma campus for a two-day, in-depth tutorial on meetings management and web-related activities. The transfer of responsibilities to the Meeting Manager should be complete by the end of the 2001 conference.
Contract negotiations and professional assistance — Conferon,
Inc. continues to serve as our professional meetings management partners
for the 2001, 2003, and 2004 meetings. The Botany 2002 conference will
utilize the UW-Madison conference services to manage the meeting instead
of Conferon. Ed Suddath, executive director of the National Association
of Catering Executives, continues to serve as the BSA consultant for contract
review.
Role of the Meeting Coordinating Committee — The MC committee served a limited role in coordinating meeting activities. Most consultation about meeting activities were undertaken with direct consultation with Johanne Stogran, Jeff Osborn, the EC, and Carol Baskin.
Botany 2000 Meeting
Account review and summary — Review of invoices, itemized accounts,
refunds, and miscellaneous record keeping are intensive activities during
the weeks immediately following a conference. Account review was complicated
because it involved Conferon and myself for invoice review and authorization,
and payment executed through the business office and treasurer. Because
it was necessary to outsource activities such as publication preparation
and exhibition oversight, and because of the cost associated with printing
and mailing the AJB abstract supplement, expenses exceeded revenue for
the Botany 2000 conference. A compounding factor was that the number of
paid registrants fell short of predictions by more than 20%. There were
890 total registrants for Botany 2000 of which 805 paid registration fees.
Analyses of costs and how accounts were managed indicated changes were warranted in the way we undertook invoice review and payment as well as how we arranged for conference printing (particularly the AJB abstract volume), exhibition oversight, publication preparation, and mailing expenses. Appropriate changes were implemented during Botany 2001 planning to reduce meeting staging expenses and to make account management more efficient..
Botany 2001 Meeting
Site Planning visit — A planning visit to Albuquerque was undertaken from September 30 to October 2, 2000. Meetings with all local society representatives, the fieldtrip coordinator, Conferon account planner, and local service providers were conducted. This meeting was critical for the success of the confernce, especially since major problems were detected after visits to the Hyatt Regency and the Albuquerque CC.
Meeting Personnel — Important meeting personnel for Botany 2001 are Diane Marshall (BSA local rep), Tim Lowrey (ASPT and IOPB local rep), Kelly Allred (Fieldtrip Coordinator and ABLS local rep), and Sid Ash (AFS and BSA Paleo local rep). Caroline Spinner is the Conferon account planner; Jim Goodman is the Conferon account manager.
Conference logistics — Contracts are signed with the Hyatt Regency as the host hotel, and with the Plaza Inn, Hotel Blue, and Doubletree as overflow hotels. Only the Doubletree has some attrition vulnerability. The Albuquerque Convention Center (ACC) contract was amended twice to achieve the best possible room situation. Other major contracts were negotiated and signed with Conferon as the registration provider, Tour New Mexico as the destination management company (transportation), Conference Services of the Southwest for conference decoration and exhibition, VAE for audio-visual support, and other agencies for printing services, giveaways, security, etc. Johanne Stogran, BSA Meeting Manager, coordinated the exhibition hall, food & beverage functions, student projectionists, publication assembly and printing, and various other components of the meeting. Jeff Osborn, BSA Program Director, oversaw compilation and layout for the Botany 2001 Program. Caroline Spinner of Conferon oversaw RFP generation and collation for most contracts as well as preparation of the meeting coordination document, the conference agenda, which details ALL logistical details for the conference. Jim Goodman of Conferon handles sales-related items such as contract development, which are reviewed by the Conferon legal department. I served as general coordinator for the meeting, reviewed and negotiated most contracts, prepared the budget, and acted as the primary liaison between the conference activities, Conferon, and our consultant. A detailed review of the Botany 2001 budget and status report was presented at the spring EC meeting in March 2001.
Botany 2002 Meeting
August 2-7; University of Wisconsin at Madison, Pyle and Lowell Conference Centers.
Meeting with AFS, ASPT, BSA, CBA/ABC, and PSA.
Conference logistics — Meeting management for Botany 2002 will be undertaken by the BSA Meeting Manager and UW-Madison conference services. Conferon was utilized only to secure two overflow hotel contracts at the Howard Johnson Plaza and Madison Inn. The meeting will be staged on the UW campus, in two campus conference centers, and in campus dorms and hotels. The expanded meeting format is facilitated by the reduced staging expenses by using a campus facility.
Meeting Personnel — Most society local reps are designated and include Ray Evert (BSA), Paul Berry (ASPT), Linda Graham (PSA), and Jean Gerrath (CBA). The Meeting Manager and Program Director will oversee coordination of the meeting logistics and program, respectively, which will make most duties of the Meeting Coordinator obsolete.
Special considerations — Because UW meeting space has no rental fees, there is the potential for considerable cost savings for Botany 2002. It is anticipated that utilization of UW conference services also may effect cost savings. These savings coupled with reduced housing expenses should result in a conference that costs less to stage and to attend. There are special problems with a campus venue. There are limited options for exhibitors and there are often logistical problems on a campus because buildings are under different management.
Botany 2003 Meeting
July 27-31; Mobile, AL; Mobile Convention Center and Adam's Mark Hotel
Meeting with ABLS, AFS, ASPT, BSA
Conference Logistics - Working with Conferon, contracts are in place with the Mobile Convention Center and the Adams Mark Hotel as the host hotel. Rates at the Adams Mark are $99 sgl/dbl. Contracts with two overflow hotels are still under negotiation as well as for some dormitory space at the University of South Alabama. There will be a tiered housing option for attendees. The MCC is a modern facility, is adjacent to the revitalized downtown, and has a scenic placement by the Mobile riverfront. We have a commitment from E. O. Wilson to serve as our Plenary Speaker. Local society reps and the fieldtrip coordinator are available from Alabama and Mississippi. Because of the abundance of wetlands and aquatic and marine habitats, a tentative theme is `aquatic and wetland plants'.
Special considerations — There are many opportunities for fieldtrips to interesting sites on the Gulf coastal plain and to marine and aquatic habitats. Two botanic gardens are in Mobile and environs and there is an adequate group of active, retired, and amateur botanists/horticulturalists. Local reps are limited at the Univ. of South Alabama and will be recruited throughout the region. Because of the hot and humid venue, extra effort will be required to `market' the meeting starting at the Madison meeting. Recruitment of additional societies to meet with the core botanical societies is underway.
Botany 2004 Meeting Contract Pending
August 1-5; Snowbird Resort, south of Salt Lake City, UT. Meeting with: societies TBD
Site selection — Sites for the 2004 meeting were examined in St. Paul, MN, Reno, NV, and Salt Lake City, UT and environs. Although an excellent venue for our group, costs in St. Paul were prohibitive for our group. Formal bids were solicited from two venues in Reno and three venues in the Salt Lake City area. Jeff Osborn and I conducted a `fam' (= familiarization) visit to Salt Lake City and Snowbird, whereas I had conducted site visits previously to Reno (with Judy Verbeke) and to St. Paul (with Carol Baskin). Based on negotiated rates and other considerations, Jeff Osborn, Johanne Stogran, and I recommended that we go to contract with Snowbrid Resort.
Conference logistics — Air travel to SLC is facile, because Delta has a hub in SLC. Shuttle service to the resort is an extra expense and entails 30-45 minutes of extra travel time. The University of Utah, BYU, Utah State University, and Weber State have an adequate supply of local society reps and a fieldtrip coordinator. There are many options for fieldtrips in the Intermountain and Rocky Mountain region.
Snowbird resort has excellent meeting facilities and will be able to stage professionally our full conference and exhibition. Negotiated hotel rates are $105 sgl/dbl at the Lodge, $115 sgl/dbl at the Cliff Lodge (top of the line lodge), and $125 for condos that sleep 4-6 with kitchenettes.
Special considerations — The retreat type setting in the Rocky Mountains and Intermountain region was viewed as an interesting site for the 2004 meeting.
Botany 2005 Meeting Venue to be determined; dates open; societies open
REVIEW OF MEETING COORDINATION ISSUES
1. Position of `Meeting Coordinator'
Acquisition of the BSA `Meeting Manager' makes the position of `Meeting Coordinator' redundant. With a slight increase in the duties of the Program Director, the position of the Meeting Coordinator could be eliminated.
Recommendation — Eliminate the position of Meeting Coordinator by amending the by-laws.
2. Status of `Meeting Coordinating Committee'
Based on experience for two meetings, a small committee is optimal for conferring on meeting-related issues and for forwarding recommendations. In addition to the Meeting Manager and Program Director, it may be best to have only one other knowledgeable individual on the committee to make it responsive and cohesive.
Wayne Elisens, MeetingCoordinator
General Planning for Botany 2001
I served on the Meeting Planning Committee and assisted the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, and BSA Meeting Manager, Johanne Stogran, with an array of planning issues.
Planning Visit for Botany 2001
In October 2000, I attended a planning visit at the site of the Botany 2001 conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting was very useful for planning Society functions, viewing potential meeting sites, and for meeting with the BSA Local Representative, Diane Marshall, as well as with the program chairs and local representatives from other participating societies. We visited the Albququerque Convention Center, the host hotel (Hyatt), and a variety of local botanical and scientific sites. The site visit was coordinated by the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens.
Coordination of the Scientific Program for Botany 2001
Communication with Program Chairs and Symposium Organizers. The BSA Program Director coordinates the scientific program with the help of the sectional/participating society Program Chairs. The symposium organizers plan the sequence of presentations within their own symposia and then forward the symposia programs to the sponsoring sections for scheduling. To coordinate these activities, the sectional/society Program Chairs and the symposium organizers were sent several mailings and e-mail updates that provided detailed instructions and a timeline for preparation and submission of their programs.
Call for Symposia. The "Call for Symposia" for Botany 2001 was distributed in the BSA-wide Spring 2000 mailing and posted on the Botany 2001 website. The deadline for submissions was July 1, 2000, but was extended to September 15, 2000. Proposals were submitted on-line using the electronic submission form. Symposium proposals were forwarded to sectional officials for approval of sponsorship.
Call for Papers. The "Call for Papers" for Botany 2001 was distributed
in the BSA-wide Fall 2000 mailing and posted on the Botany 2001 website.
The "Call" was also sent to the Program Chairs of participating societies
for their use. The deadline for submissions of abstracts was March 9, 2001,
more than one week later than in previous
years. Although submission of hardcopy abstracts was possible, on-line
submission was strongly encouraged.
Electronic Submission of Abstracts. The electronic submission process worked very well again in 2001 (the third time it had been used for an annual meeting), and all abstract submissions for Botany 2001 were made on-line. All abstracts and other relevant information (keywords, author names and affiliations, titles, potential conflicts with other presentations, etc.) were archived in separate electronic databases that the Program Chairs could access and download to construct their programs. The BSA Webmaster, Scott Russell, developed and organized the electronic site, and he made significant improvements to site for 2001.
Abstract Volume. The abstracts for Botany 2001 will be printed in a separate volume and included in the registration binder along with the final Program, which will be distributed on-site at the conference. I coordinated the design and layout work for the volume, as well as the proofing. There will be 674 abstracts published in the volume; however, these do not represent all conference presentations (see `Summary Information' below).
Final Program. The deadline for submission of sectional/participating society programs was early April 2001. The Program Chairs deserve much credit for organizing and submitting their programs. The sectional/society programs, as well as all BSA-wide and conference-wide functions were organized into a comprehensive, conference-wide format. Session information was then submitted to the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, for room assignments. I then coordinated the design and layout work for the final Program.
News Coverage. The news divisions of three national periodicals, Science magazine TheScientist, and Science News were contacted with information about Botany 2001 and an inquiry about obtaining news coverage. A press release about Botany 2001 was also prepared for distribution to local and regional news outlets.
The Scientific Program for Botany 2001
Summary Information. All BSA disciplinary Sections have some function(s)
scheduled at Botany 2001 except for the Mycological and Tropical Biology
Sections. However, the Tropical Biology Section is a co-sponsor of the
new conference-wide Discussion Sessions. Detailed schedules for the sectional
programs are presented in the final Program, and summary information for
the number
of presentations and sessions for the entire conference is presented
below.
Total number of presentations
707
Talks
547
Contributed papers
461
Symposium presentations
82
Special lectures and addresses
4
Posters
155
Regular submissions
126
Recent Topics
30
Discussion Sessions
5
Total number of sessions
57
Contributed papers
45
Symposia / Colloquia
11
Posters
1
Discussion Sessions
5
New and Noteworthy Program Components. As Botany 2001 is the second annual meeting in many years that the BSA has completely organized, many planning aspects were new or only tried for the second time.
Program organization. Like last year, rather than each participating society having separate listings in the final Program with different session numbers that are variously cross-referenced, the scientific program for the entire meeting in chronologically listed with conference-wide session numbers. The days of the week are clearly indicated by vertical tabs on the page edges. In addition, components of the scientific program are presented in several `At-a-Glance' sections. The intent of these changes is to make the scientific program more cohesive for the conference as a whole and to make the final Program a more user-friendly document.
Recent Topics posters. A new poster session was introduced last year with an extended abstract submission deadline. `Recent Topics' is designed to accommodate research results that may not have reached fruition by the March deadline. Abstracts were accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until all available poster slots (50) were filled, or by an absolute deadline of July 20, 2001. Thirty posters were submitted and, of these, only six presenters already had another presentation(s) scheduled for the meeting.
Single, conference-wide poster session. A single, conference-wide poster session was included into the scientific program, with sectional posters grouped together. The intent was to schedule the poster session at a time when no other conflicting paper or symposium sessions would be scheduled.
Discussion Sessions. In addition to encouraging the sectional/societal program chairs to directly incorporate more discussion into their sessions, several independent Discussion Sessions have been included in the program. These new Sessions are based in part on Bruce Kirchoff's successful "Open Space" symposium that was a component of the Developmental and Structural Section's program last year. The goal for Botany 2001 is to translate this into a conference-wide format that is well-incorporated into the overall scientific program. A "Call for Discussion Session Topics" was distributed to all BSA members in the spring 2001 mailing and was posted on the websites. The deadline for topics was June 15, 2001. Four contributed Discussion Session topics were submitted, and these are timely, interesting, and have broad appeal. In addition to the contributed sessions, there will be a lead-off Session titled "Presidents' Forum: federal funding for botanical research," which will be a panel format with Society representatives and NSF Program Officers. All five Discussion Sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. The Discussion Sessions are being sponsored in part by the BSA Developmental and Structural and Tropical Biology Sections, and this sponsorship helps defray the costs for the coffee.
Future Annual Meetings
2002 _ Madison, Wisconsin. Botany 2002 will be held from August 3-7, 2002 in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the BSA, other societies participating in the conference will include the: American Fern Society (AFS), American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), Canadian Botanical Association (CBA), and Phycological Society of America (PSA). The International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) may also sponsor some sessions. Potential themes for the conference are "Botany in the Curriculum" and "Integrating Botanical Research and Teaching."
Calls. The "Call for Symposia," "Call for Workshops," and "Call for Field Trips" for the 2002 Annual Meeting were distributed in the BSA-wide Spring 2001 mailing and posted on the Botany 2002 website. Copies of these "Calls" were also sent to the Program Chairs of participating societies. Deadlines for submissions of on-line proposals are as follows: Symposia (July 15, 2001 for the Paleobotancial and Systematics Sections, and September 15, 2001 for all other Sections); Workshops and Field Trips: (October 15, 2001). The "Call for Papers" will be distributed in the BSA-wide Fall 2001 mailing, as well as posted on the website.
New Meeting Component - Expanded Format. The expanded format will include a separate meeting that focuses on educational and outreach issues on Friday and Saturday, August 1-2, but that is linked to the annual scientific meeting on Sunday, August 3, via workshops and field trips. A Planning Committee, which includes representatives from all participating societies and the Education Committee, is working on the program and will meet in person at Botany 2001 in Albuquerque. A tentative schedule is listed below, and the membership will hear much more about the expanded meeting format in the coming Fall and Spring mailings and in the Plant Science Bulletin.
Friday afternoon/evening will include registration, an opening speaker, and some type of reception. An opening (i.e., working) session may be included as well.
The primary sessions will occur all day on Saturday. These will not be contributed talks, etc., but exclusively breakouts, panel discussions, etc. focusing on a range of themes. Contributed posters from attendees may be included on Saturday. If the authors choose to stay for the regular conference as well, the posters could also be presented as part of the program there. Saturday night will be a public outreach speaker (free and open to the Madison-area public).
Sunday will include a broad range of hands-on workshops. These will be the primary interface with the regular conference. More education-oriented workshops will be solicited and included than have occurred in the recent past. A variety of half-day and full-day workshops will be desired so people could attend more than one workshop if they choose, and/or participate in field trips, which will occur on Sunday as well.
2003 _ Mobile, Alabama. Botany 2003 will be held from July 26-31, 2003 in Mobile, Alabama. Programmatic planning for Botany 2003 has not yet begun in any significant way. However, E. O. Wilson has accepted an invitation to deliver the Plenary Address, and a potential theme has been identified ("Aquatic and Wetland Plants").
2004. Along with the BSA Meetings Coordinator, Wayne Elisens, I attended a "familiarization" visit to the Salt Lake City area. The visit was organized by the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitor's Bureau and was designed to provide meeting planners with the opportunity to have on-site visits to potential conference sites. The "fam" visit was very informative and useful. The mountain resort area of Snowbird, which is ca. 30-45 minutes from Salt Lake City, was a very appropriate venue for our conference, and Wayne Elisens has been negotiating with Snowbird and Reno, Nevada as potential sites for hosting the Botany 2004 conference.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey M. Osborn, Program Director
The American Journal of Botany
August 1st 2000 _ July 31st 2001 Annual Report
1. Publication status
Year MS Received Total Pages Papers
2000 _ 2001 347 2,1841 2242
1999 _ 2000 325 1,804 189
1998 _ 1999 301 1,820 181
1997 _ 1998 325 1,802 212
1996 _ 1997 323 1,728 181
1995 _ 1996 325 1,618 176
1 On average, 182 pages per issue; 18.7 papers et al. per
issue; 9.8 pages per paper (steady increase in the length of papers, e.g.,
9.5 pages per paper in 1999 _ 2000).
2 208 research articles; 7 brief communications; 8 special
papers; 1 book review.
2. Current manuscript status
Accepted or at Allen Press Out for Review Total
2000_2001 147 44 923
1999 _ 2000 166 47 213
1998 _ 1999 113 73 186
1997 _ 1998 105 68 173
1996 _ 1997 92 42 134
1995 _ 1996 95 46 141
3 Excluding `split decision' manuscripts out for revision
or 3rd review.
3. Current production schedule
Receipt to final editorial decision
excluding split reviews including
split reviews;
Receipt to publication
2000-2001
1.1
3.54
7.45
1999 - 2000 1.2 7.4 8.3
1998 - 1999 1.1 6.9 7.7
1997 - 1998 1.0 6.7 7.5
1996 - 1997 1.1 6.0 6.0
1995 - 1996 1.0 6.0 6.0
4 ~17% of all manuscripts received a `split decision'; 54%
of all of these manuscripts were accepted; rejection rate for all manuscripts,
on average, was ~ 44%.
5 Receipt of final manuscript to appearance in print.
Time from submission to appearance in print ~ 9.3 months due to
delay of authors providing revised manuscripts for 3rd review
or final manuscripts after successful first round of reviews. The
time to appearance in print in governed by the number of manuscripts published
per issue not by the efficiency of journal staff.
4. Highlights: Backlog of manuscripts reduced by ~35% since the adoption of larger issue-size. Turn-around time from receipt of final manuscripts to appearance in print reduced by ~5% (compared to August 1999 _ July 2000). Time from receipt of new manuscripts to editorial decision reduced, on average, by ~ 1 week. Number of `split decision' manuscripts reduced by ~13%. To conserve pagination for new research articles, Special Papers and book reviews have not been actively solicited, although we continue to look for excellent SP and will publish reviews of highly significant new books. Two new copy-editors hired at the junior level have increased efficiency at little or no additional cost. Citation Index ranking of the AJB steadily increasing. AJB has been mentioned in Science and Science News.
Request for staff annual salary increments and additional copy-editor (to be hired at junior level). Reduce institutional and individual subscription rates in developing countries (as defined by NATO). Raise an endowment for the AJB (add item to membership/subscription form). Increase advertising in the e_AJB. Appoint AJB editor-in-chief as a non-voting member of the BSA Executive Committee.
Respectfully submitted,
Karl J. Niklas
Editor-in-Chief, AJB (kjn2 @ cornell.edu)
2001 Editor's Report, Plant Science Bulletin
Volume 46
1. Four issues, 136 pages, were published on schedule. The average size since the current format was adopted (excluding the transitional year when Editor Lane submitted an early resignation) is 132 pages. It is distributed quarterly, packaged with the American Journal of Botany.
2. Feature articles included:
- Growing an Undergraduate Botany and Plant Pathology Program 46(1)
- Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation: A Center for Science and History 46(2)
- The Bernhardt Top Ten; Hershey's Top Ten 46(3)
-The Evolving Debate 46(4)
3. 135 books, CD's and Videos were received for review; 44 reviews were published.
4. Both PDF and HTML electronic versions are posted on the BSA web page.
Volume 47
1. Two issues, 84 pages, have been published on schedule. The fall issue is in preparation.
2. Feature articles included:
-Toward a Theory of Plant Blindness 47(1)
-Ethics in Science: Preparing Students for their Career 47(2)
Upcoming articles will be on "The Fireworks
Curriculum" and "Margaret Stone's Flowers of Louisiana"
3. 88 books and CD's have been received for review; 42 reviews were published.
Individuals interested in submitting lead articles or in suggesting future article topics should contact the editor.
Respectfully Submitted, Marsh Sundberg, Editor, Plant Science Bulletin.
Webmaster's Report _ August 2001
Total page requests: Total hits: 1,040,823 hits (from March 4, 1997 through June 30, 2001).* Last year's annual report had 584,844* (from March 4, 1997 through June 30, 2000) so activity is up significantly.
Main BSA Site (www.botany.org): In June 2001, there were 37,287 page requests, with logins from 11,697 distinct hosts, 1.265 Gbytes (39.145 Mbytes/day) downloaded from the main BSA site, 81 countries, 1,846 distinct files and 147,579 individual requests. The high month for page requests was February 2001, with 50,481 page requests. The high month for distinct hosts was May 2001, with 15,201 distinct hosts, data transfers of, 1.402 Gbytes (46.342 Mbytes/day) and 201,202 individual requests. The highest number countries visiting was 85, in April 2001. Every month of 2000 (except December) and 2001 (except June) have exceeded monthly counts from the year before. The highest daily usage ever was July 28, 1997 when the site was featured as site-of-the-day by Yahoo!!, receiving 3,966 hits on that day. The second highest was March 1, 2000, with 9751 total requests and 2,402 page requests. On 28 days in May, page requests were over 1000 on just the home site alone (three Sundays did not reach 1000)!
Requests from the following 81 countries were received in June 2001 (in decending numbers of requests): Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe.
A total of 144 countries outside the U.S. have been logged on the BSA
website, from January 1998 to the present. Here is an alphabetical list
of the countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria,
Azerbaidjan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria,
Cambodia, Canada,
Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Cocos [Keeling] Islands, Colombia, Cook
Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland,
Former USSR, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam (USA), Guatemala,
Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, International,
Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire), Jamaica, Japan,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia [Former Yugoslav Republic], Madagascar,
Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldavia, Moldova, Mongolia,
Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia (French), New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Philippines, Poland, Polynesia (French), Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar,
Romania, Russia, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South
Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine,
United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands
(USA), Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The following access statistics are available for the following BSA domains: BSA Main Site = http://www.botany.org/; BSA Images = http://images.botany.org/; Botany 2000 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2000.org/; Botany 2001 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2001.org/; Botany 2002 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2002.org//; Botany 2003 (meeting site) = http://www.botany2003.org/ /; BSA Announcements site = http://announce.botany.org/; AJB Supplemental Data site = http://ajbsupp.botany.org/; McIntosh Apple Development site = http://mcintosh.botany.org/. This was an increase from last year and included a separation of the Announcements site, AJB Supplemental Data site and the McIntosh poster site.
Here is a summary chart of activity for the major domains and sub-domains. All show a strong effect of the academic year being in session. The usage figures are provided in pages downloaded and the volume of data downloaded in MB (megabytes) or GB (gigabytes). The highest usage month of a site is indicated by a hash mark (#).
# = high number
2 0 0 0
Month BSA Main Site BSA Images Botany 2000 Botany 2001 Announcements
July 29,659 2,567 [983 MB] 2,163 [650 MB]# 374 [4.7 MB] 1,216 [13.6 MB]
Aug 32,340 3,181 [1.22 GB] 1,639 [594 MB] 562 [8.6 MB] 1,490 [12.4 MB]
Sept 36,290 4,459 [1.486 GB] 392 [101.5 MB] 829 [12.2 MB] 1,628 [14.9MB]
Oct 39,168 5,000 [1.881 GB] 399 [120.3 MB] 1,046 [48.0 MB] 2,848 [27.5 MB]
Nov 36,579 4,514 [1.852 GB] 421 [123.3 MB] 802 [30.391 MB] 3,063 [30.1 MB]
Dec 20,798 2,878 [1.136 GB] 274 [82.6 MB] 563 [20.635 MB] 1,988 [18.98 MB]
2 0 0 1
Month BSA Main Site BSA Images Botany 2000 Botany 2001 Announcements
Jan 44,914 [1.02 GB] 4,844 [1.91 GB] 408 [110.6 MB] 1,261 [64.072 MB] 2,98[30.908 MB]
Feb 50,481# [1.11 GB] 4,940 [2.25 GB] 472 [299.7 MB] 2,365 [147.11 MB] 2,772 [29.717 MB]
March 42,016 [1.19 GB] 5,942# [2.53 GB] 447 [581.6 MB] 2,272 [898.62 MB] 3,294 [35.766 MB]
April 41,153 [1.26 GB] 5,518 [2.78 GB#] 309 [522.1 MB] 3,099 [469.92 MB] 3,726 [38.341 MB]
May 45,294 [1.40 GB#] 5,474 [2.06 GB] 658 [470.2 MB] 3,998# [1.64 GB#] 4,244# [47.51 MB#]
June 37,287 [1.26 GB] 3,777 [1.19 GB] 719 [377.1 MB] 3,967 [1.17 GB] 4,036 [43.643 MB]
BSA now runs its own web servers, domain name servers, mail service and security systems. Steve Wolf runs the BSA Directory. In addition to the time involved in running these services, there is a risk of catastrophic failure of systems due to damage to both the system and the upstream network, and increasingly hacker attacks. Constant upgrades and maintenance are needed and have to be considered as expenses in this undertaking. During the next year the task of webmaster and systems administrator will be split. Steve Wolf will be the new webmaster as of September 1 and Scott Russell will remain as systems administrator. A back-up systems administrator is in training at the University of Oklahoma to handle emergencies when Scott Russell is out-of-town (which is usually when such emergencies happen!).
Increasingly, the webmaster should be looked at as a content coordinator rather than a content generator or online secretary. As different technologies for generating web pages are employed, it should be easier to institute changes so that any interested party will be able to update or write their own web pages on to the server. Therefore, the direct involvement of the webmaster will be to supervise high order links to independently-controlled pages and overseeing their general organization and quality. Having a person with the ability to serve as a part-time web developer, providing artwork and layout for attractive (award-winning, hopefully) web projects would be highly desirable.
The web versions of documents and membership are increasingly becoming the focal set of references for the BSA. Future web use should increasingly use the web to electronically archive digital correspondence as it serves as an ideal means of disseminating information within the BSA membership and leadership and to the outside world.
BSA Image Site: This site continues to be popular and fluctuates with the academic term. The server has provided up to 6000 pages of data in one month with almost 3 gigabytes of data downloaded. A few negative comment in educational journal reviews have resulted in changing information accompanying use of the site. Included in this is a FAQ, pointing out how routine word processors like Word can be used to modify picture formats and correct contrast and brightness.
American Journal of Botany Online has now been in operation for over two years. During that time, a total of 200,000 page retrievals occurred in the last year (~7,100 per week) with a total of 32.35 Gigabytes of data downloaded (16 GB in the last ~6 months) and >58,000 PDF files (~reprints) downloaded, with 30,200 in the last ~6 months. Over the last year, growth has been approximately 100%. The following charts document the growth in usership over the last year. Unique hosts are separate distinct computer connections being made per week. PDFs are the reprint-like files downloaded per week. The lower graph illustrates the massive increase in amount of data downloaded per week.
Respectfully submitted, Scott Russell, Webmaster
(as of August 1, 2001)
Standing Committees (Administrative)
1. Executive Committee:
Judy Jernstedt (2003), President
Patricia Gensel (2002), Past President
Scott Russell (2004), President-Elect
Jeffrey Osborn (2002), Program Director
Jennifer Richards (2003), Secretary
Joe Armstrong (2004), Treasurer
________ (2004), Council Representative
2. Committee on Committees (6 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Scott Russell (2002), President-Elect, Chair, ex officio
Linda Graham (2002)
Tom Ranker (2002)
Ned Friedman (2003)
Jerrold Davis (2003)
____________ (2004)
____________ (2004)
Jennifer Richards (2003), Secretary, ex officio
3. Financial Advisory Committee (3 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Harry T. Horner (2004), Chair
Edith Taylor (2002)
Russell Chapman (2003)
Ed Schneider (2004)
Judy Jernstedt (2002), President, ex officio
Joe Armstrong (2004), Treasurer, ex officio
Kim Hiser, Business Manager, ex officio
4. Annual Meeting Coordinating Committee (3 appointed members; 3 year
terms) (new committee 1999)
Jeffrey Osborn (2002), Program Director, Acting Chair, ex officio
Carol Baskin (2002)
Peter Hoch (2002)
Barbara Schaal (2002)
Chris Haufler (2002)
Wayne Elisens (2002), Consultant
Johanne Stogran, Meetings Manager, ex officio
5. Annual Meeting Program Committee
Jeffrey Osborn, Program Director, Chair
Program Organizer for each Section
Chair, Local Organizing Committee
Representatives of Other Societies meeting with the BSA
6. Archives and History Committee (2 members; 5 year terms)
Ronald Stuckey (2003), Chair
Lee Kass (2004)
Pamela Soltis (2003), Immediate Past Secretary, ex officio
7. Conservation Committee (6 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Tom Ranker (2004), Chair
Pati Vit (2002)
Dan Watts (2002)
Harvey Ballard (2003)
Diane Horton (2003)
Paul Wolf (2004)
8. Education Committee (6 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Rob Reinsvold (2004), Chair
David Lentz (2002)
Neil Sawyer (2003)
Stephen Scheckler (2003)
Margaret Kuchenreuter (2004)
Tom Rost (2004)
Judy Jernstedt (2002), President, ex officio
Jennifer Richards (2003), Secretary, ex officio
J. S. Shipman (2003), Secretary of the Teaching Section, ex officio
Marsh Sundberg (2004), Editor, Plant Science Bulletin, ex
officio
David Kramer (2004), Immediate Past Chair, Education Committee, ex
officio
9. Election Committee (3 appointed members, 3 year terms)
Patricia Gensel (2002), Past President, Chair, ex officio
Gerald Gastony (2002)
Barbara Crandall-Stotler (2003)
Richard Olmstead (2003)
Jennifer Richards (2004), Secretary, ex officio
10. Membership and Appraisal Committee (5 appointed members; 5 year
terms)
Kathleen Shea (2002), Chair
Diane Marshall (2002)
Donald Hauber (2003)
Lyn Loveless (2004)
Massimo Pigliucci (2005)
Michael Mayer (2006)
Kim Hiser, Business Manager, ex officio
11. Publications Committee (6 appointed members; 3 year terms) (new
committee, 1999)
Judy Jernstedt (2002), Chair
Pam Diggle (2002)
Darleen Demason (2002)
Jonathan Wendel (2002)
Joe Leverich (2002)
Karl Niklas, Editor, AJB, ex officio
Marshall Sundberg, Editor, PSB, ex officio
______________, Webmaster, ex officio
Kim Hiser, Business Manager, ex officio
12. Webpage Committee (5 appointed members; 3 year terms) (new committee,
1999)
_______________, Webmaster and Chair, ex officio
Ross Koning (2002)
Steven J. Wolf (2002)
Jim Reveal (2003)
Scott Russell (2004)
_______________ (2004)
Rob Reinsvold (2002), Education Committee Chair, ex officio
Marsh Sundberg, Editor, PSB, ex officio
Karl Niklas, Editor, AJB, ex officio
Jennifer Richards (2003), Secretary, ex officio
Kim Hiser, Business Manager, ex officio
Standing Committees (Awards and Prizes)
1. Corresponding Members (Past Presidents; 3 year terms)
Patricia Gensel (2004), ex officio
Douglas Soltis (2003), ex officio
Carol C. Baskin (2002), ex officio
2. Merit Awards (3 appointed members, 3 year terms)
Maxine Watson (2002), Chair
Chris Haufler (2003)
Chris Campbell (2004)
3. Darbaker Prize (3 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Louise Lewis (2002), Chair
Robert Bell (2003)
Debabish Bhattacharya (2004)
4. Esau Award (3 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Jeff Carmichael (2002), Chair
Geeta Bharathan (2003)
Dennis Stevenson (2004)
5. Karling Graduate Student Research Awards (6 appointed members; 3
year terms)
Gene Mapes (2003), Chair
Kathleen Pryer (2003)
Javier Francisco-Ortega (2004)
Amy Litt (2004)
James Quinn (2004)
Susanne Renner (2004)
6. Moseley Award (3 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Bill Stein (2002), Chair
Kathleen Pigg (2003)
Cindi Jones (2004)
7. Pelton Award (3 appointed members; 3 year terms)
Scott Russell (2002), Chair
Elliot Meyerowitz (2003)
Darlene Southworth (2004)
Ad Hoc Committee
1. Membership Tiers Committee
Scott Russell, Chair
Kathleen Shea
Edith Taylor
Maxine Watson
Ed Schneider, Treasurer, ex officio
Kim Hiser, Business Manager, ex officio
Publications of the Society
1. American Journal of Botany
Karl J. Niklas, Editor-in-Chief (2004)
2. Plant Science Bulletin
Marshall Sundberg, Editor (2004)
Editorial Committee for Volumes 47/48
Ann E. Antlfinger (2002)
Norman C. Ellstrand (2003)
James Mickle (2004)
Andrew Douglas (2005)
Douglas Darnowski (2006)
Representatives to Various Organizations:
1. AAAS Council - vacant
2. AIBS Council - Patricia Gensel
3. Association of Systematics Collections - Laurence E. Skog (2003)
4. Biennial Incorporation, State of Connecticut - Kent E. Holsinger
5. Council of Scientific Society Presidents (Pres.- Elect, Pres., or
Past-Pres.)
Scott Russell, Judy Jernstedt,
Patricia Gensel
6. National Research Council Commission on Life Sciences Board of Basic
Biology -
Jennifer Richards (2003),
Secretary, ex officio
Submitted by the Committee on Committees: Judy Jernstedt (2001), Chair
Gar Rothwell (2001)
Richard McCourt (2001)
Linda Graham (2002)
Tom Ranker (2002)
Ned Friedman (2003)
Jerrold Davis (2003)
JenniferRichards(2003), Secretary, ex officio
Annual Report of the Conservation Committee
The Conservation Committee has increased contacts with other conservation groups, reviewed a request from the California Native Plant Society, and developed ideas for longer-term activities.
Contact with other plant conservation groups.
The Conservation Committee has continued its contact with other plant conservation groups such as the IUCN, the Plant Conservation Alliance, the Garden Club of America, and the California Native Plant Society. We intend to continue these interactions and to keep lines of communication open. Additional contacts are being made in an effort to publicize the existence of the Committee as a service to the BSA and other interested parties.
Role of the Botanical Society of America in environmental advocacy.
The Conservation Committee has been asked to comment on a solicitation of endorsement received from the California Native Plant Society. In this solicitation, the BSA was asked to endorse an "open letter" from the CNPS and other plant conservation groups urging that the Federal Endangered Species Act be emended to give equal protection to plants as given to animals (particularly vertebrates). Several conservation groups (e.g., National Parks and Conservation Association, Sierra Club, etc.) and native plant societies (e.g., Florida, Oregon, Indiana, etc.) have signed this petition but no other professional society has. For lack of consensus on the issue and an unclear picture on the BSA rules for advocacy, we have not directly signed this letter but have decided to develop a plant conservation position statement for the BSA. At the request of BSA President Gensel, we are currently working on guidelines for this position statement and for BSA advocacy in general.
Many other professional societies maintain stated positions on issues of concern such as increased federal funding for scientific research and international treaties such as the Kyoto protocol on Global Warming. The BSA itself has sent letters to the governors of Kansas and Tennessee on the teaching of evolution in schools. However, Article XIV.3 of the BSA bylaws states:
"Whereas The Society exists for scientific and educational purposes, it may engage in efforts intended better to inform the public on issues pertaining to plant science and the influences of plants on people as an element in the biosphere. The Society, nevertheless, shall not allow any part of its activities to become those of lobbying or espousing particular scientific, economic, political, social, or religious doctrines or dogmas."
Given what seem to be conflicts between the wording of the BSA bylaws and the actual and/or desired level of advocacy, the Conservation Committee is currently evaluating comparable by-laws for other professional societies. A summary of these will be presented to the BSA president as recommendations for BSA positions on similar issues.
Responding to inquiries.
Several unsolicited letters were received from interested parties asking for information on plant conservation, wishing to volunteer their time to plant conservation efforts, or specifically asking for funding from the BSA. Responses to these letters were made and the parties were directed to the requested information or contacts.
A solicitation for funds to help publish a brochure on invasive species was received from the Plant Conservation Alliance. Although the deadline for requests for the upcoming budget has passed, this solicitation will be forwarded to the Council for consideration.
Charges for the future
President Gensel has asked that each Section and Committee develop ideas for future efforts and directions. Several ideas for the Conservation Committee have been discussed including publication or assistance with publication of materials related to plant conservation, development of BSA Plant Conservation web pages, organization and support of symposia for discussion of plant conservation issues, and more direct coordination with other groups concerned with plant conservation.
Some of these ideas can be addressed directly within the current structure of the Conservation Committee but others can only be accomplished through reorganization as a Section. The BSA by-laws permit Sections (as interest groups) to hold symposia and to promote research and education in their respective areas. Committees, however, serve largely as sources of information and advice to the Council and normally do not hold symposia. Creation of a Plant Conservation Section is not being proposed formally at this time but the idea has been presented and we request input and feedback for future consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
William J. Hahn, Chairperson,
The committee continued work on several major projects:
Improvement of Pre-College Science Education
GOAL: To support the improvement of science education through participation at conventions of science teachers.
STATUS: Again this year, the Education Committee and the Teaching Section cooperated in representing the BSA at the annual meeting of the National Science Teachers Association in St. Louis, MO (April 6-9, 2000).
NABT: Met this year in Orlando but BSA was not represented. Our
budget request for 2000-2001 (for $10,400) was approved at only $7,000—not
enough to cover both conventions. We feel we can reach more teachers, including
elementary teachers, at NSTA (by far the larger of the two conventions)
but we need to make more efforts to assist high school and community college
biology teachers and our presence at NABT would be a good way to reach
that goal. We're asking that funding be restored this year.
NSTA: Rob Reinsvold and Dan "Tim" Gerber staffed the BSA booth. They were assisted by Jason Yusten, Meghan Buck, Megan Thomas, and Eric Reinsvold. Drs. Reinsvold and Gerber also presented a workshop on "Spice Rack Botany" to a standing-room-only crowd. Conference attendance totaled approximately 20,000 teachers (of all the sciences) and we had direct contact with at least 1,500 of them. We propose having a BSA presence at the 2002 national NSTA conference in San Diego, CA, and have submitted proposals for 2 workshops in addition to the booth.
The success of this outreach attests to the need for expansion of these efforts. We encourage BSA members to attend regional conferences of NSTA. We also need to expand our commitment to presenting workshops at these conferences.
Motion: That the Council approves a sum, not to exceed $10,400 (for travel, lodging, registration fees, booth rental and handout materials) for selected BSA members to attend national, regional, or state meetings of organizations like the National Association of Biology Teachers and National Science Teachers Association for the purpose of presenting workshops on plant biology in the K-16 and community college curriculum and distributing educational materials in support of expanding the quantity and quality of plant biology. The proposed budget is on the next page:
2001-2002 PROPOSED BUDGET
NABT: Booth
$1500
BSA Volunteers (3 X $1000)
$3000
Handout Materials
$ 500
Sub-Total
$5000
NSTA*:Booth
$1700
BSA Volunteers (3 X $1000)
$3000
Handout Materials
$ 700
Sub-Total
$5400
TOTAL $10,400
*Expenses at NSTA are higher because it is a much larger conference (more attendees) and, therefore, tends to be in venues that charge more for exhibit space.
If the Council approves the expenditure, the Education Committee, as in the past, will select members to represent BSA in these activities and will authorize payments upon proof that the workshops and other outreach activities were performed as proposed.
Discussion Session at the Albuquerque BSA Meeting
GOAL: To support BSA members as their institutions modify curricula in the direction of eliminating or drastically reducing studies of plant biology.
STATUS: Gordon Uno has organized a discussion for this meeting, "The future of botany at the undergraduate level" (Tuesday, 3:30-4:30 pm, Session D3 - ACC, 201-La Cienega). As stated in Dr. Uno's abstract,
BSA members report, with increasing frequency, attempts across the country to eliminate or reduce the number of botany courses taught at the undergraduate level, to reduce college/university resources directed toward plant science activities, to replace retiring botanists with scientists from other disciplines, as well as attempts to eliminate entire botany departments and programs. These events have had and will continue to have a major impact on graduate programs and the future of the botanical sciences at the undergraduate level. This roundtable discussion will include members of the Education Committee of BSA, but is open to all interested members.
We hope to hear from BSA members who may have experienced "assaults" on botany at their home institution or from members who have had success in convincing colleagues and administrators of the importance of botany to the life sciences and to their college or university.
We will generate a "vision statement" in the defense of botanical sciences that focuses on the importance of keeping botany in the undergraduate curriculum. We also hope to develop a list of useful methods and strategies to include plants in the study of modern biology at the undergraduate level and a list of the best practices to attract and keep undergraduate majors and minors in botany.
Poster: McIntosh Apple Growth and Development
GOAL: To provide attractive, accurate, inexpensive educational materials for teachers of plant biology at all levels.
STATUS: With approval of Council, the EducationCommittee's major project this year was the publication of a four-color poster showing 20 stages in the growth and development of a McIntosh apple. David Kramer, chair of the Education Committee, organized the project. Design and printing was done at the Ohio State University Printing Facility. McGraw-Hill Publishers (thanks to sponsoring editor Marge Kemp) provided $2800 to cover printing costs for 8,000 posters and another $250 to partially support the honorarium ($750) for the photographer/artist, Brent Seabrook of Lakewood, OH. Steve Rice and Amy Russell at Union College created hands-on activities related to the poster. Their carefully conceived pioneering work can serve as a model for additional learning activities which can be added in the months ahead. Finally, our overworked and underpaid web master, Scott Russell, contributed many hours of work to take material from several contributors and mold it into a unified design on the BSA web site [http://mcintosh.botany.org//]. The Education Committee of the Botanical Society is indebted to each of these people, members and non-members, for their support in our effort to improve the quality of plant science education. We have received many compliments from teachers who are using the poster and activities. The poster is an excellent handout for teachers at the BSA booth at their conventions. Copies are available at this meeting at the BSA booth.
It should be noted that in addition to the poster as a single artistic work, BSA also has permission from the photographer/artist to publish the individual images on our web site for free downloading for educational purposes. The copyright agreements behind this project were new to us and are on file as models for future projects.
There have been some questions about the method of funding this project and whether the inclusion of the McGraw-Hill logo on the poster is any kind of BSA endorsement for their company or publications. The request for approval and funding of this project was brought before the Council at the August 6, 2000 meeting in Portland. The concept of the proposal was approved (including the use of a sponsor's logo) but the Council, regretfully, could not fund it. The chair was encouraged to seek outside funding. McGraw-Hill was the first publisher approached and they eagerly agreed to support the project. This kind of "creative financing" perhaps should be pursued for future BSA projects. This approach has been taken by ASPP and other societies who have projects much larger than our own. The widespread practice is not seen as an endorsement by the vendors but merely as an expression of appreciation to the scientists who write, invent, and use their materials.The need for outreach is so enormous that it can never be adequately funded from BSA members' dues alone.
Future Possibilities for Education Committee Projects
Note: Many of these have been on this list for several years but are still viable projects.
To publish hands-on, discovery-type plant biology exercises for use in schools as well as at colleges and universities. We now have a model for publishing these on our web site and/or in hard copy (but web publication is less expensive and more easily edited and expanded.
To publish additional educational posters and accompanying materials (see above).
To publish a white paper about the role of plant biology in the undergraduate
curriculum.
This idea will be explored in a discussion here at the Albuquerque
meeting.
To offer assistance to publishers who are seeking professional review of manuscripts for plant biology and general biology books. We want to make sure the plant biology content is correct before it is published. A national review of science textbooks used in the schools strongly criticized the inaccurate science content and the boring pedagogical approach of most of these textbooks.
To publish instructions for growing plants in the classroom with a list of easy-to-grow plants that illustrate various morphological and/or taxonomic principles. This idea grew out of discussions with representatives of the American Horticultural Society but has not been pursued.
To add images to our online plant image data base and also to improve the captions on many of the images.
To work with Program Chair Jeff Osborn to develop his outstanding suggestion for a new format for the 2002 meeting scheduled for the University of Wisconsin. The facilities at UW support workshops and presentations using the latest in educational technology. We want to take advantage of that. Plans for educational meetings prior to the traditional conference will be developed at this meeting.
Final Comment
In addition to its appointed members, the Education Committee has a number of volunteers who help with various projects. Any member who wants to be actively involved with any of the committee projects should contact the chair.
The chair thanks all members and volunteers of the committee for their support and especially thanks the officers of BSA for supporting the work of this committee and encouraging the BSA to be more active in educational outreach. My 5-year term as member and chair of the Education Committee comes to a close at this meeting and I shall always cherish the friendships made through the committee's activities.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. David W. Kramer, Chair
Annual Report, Elections Committee
As chair I worked with the committee members to provide candidates for President and Treasurer. Ed Schneider and Scott Russell were the nominees for President-Elect and Joe Armstrong and Carl Taylor for Treasurer. Scott Russell is President-Elect and Joe Armstrong the new Treasurer.
Doug Soltis, Past President and
Chairperson, Elections Committee
Esau Award Committee Annual Report
The 2000 Katherine Esau Award was given to Chris Meloche from the University of Colorado, Boulder, for a paper co-authored with Pamela Diggle on "Patterns of carbon allocation in Acomastylis rossii (Rosaceae), an alpine plant exhibiting extreme preformation." Four students have requested to be considered for the Esau Award this year.
Respectfully submitted,
Phil Gibson, Chairperson,
Esau Award Committee
BSA/Karling Student Research Award Committee
Purpose and Funding: The Karling Graduate Student Research Award was instituted by the Society in 1997 with funds derived through a generous gift from the estate of the eminent mycologist, John Sidney Karling (1897-1994), and supports and promotes graduate student research in the botanical sciences. To be eligible, an applicant must be a member of the Botanical Society of America (BSA), a registered fulltime graduate student, have a faculty advisor who is also a member of the BSA, and not have won the award previously. Initially, in 1997, two awards were presented, but interest in the program was so great that in 1998 the Society began supplementing funds from the interest on the original $10,000 gift with moneys stemming from proceeds of sales of BSA logo items. In 1998 and 1999, ten awards were presented annually. In 1999, the council approved a further major influx of funding for the program, now renamed the BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research Award, and authorized up to 15 awards for the 2000 competition. Because of changes in the economy, up to 10 awards were authorized for the 2001 competition.
Committee Organization and Membership: This is the third year that the BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research Award Committee has been charged with evaluating submissions for awards. Initially, proposals were submitted to the BSA Discplinary Sections, reviewed and ranked by sectional officers, and then forwarded to the BSA Executive Committee for further review and funding decisions. The committtee revised and distributed the "Call for Applications", reviewed all submissions, made funding decisions, and communicated with the applicants. The 2000/2001 committee membership consisted of:
Kathy Kron (Wake Forest University, Chair)
Yin-Long Qiu (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Gene Mapes (Ohio University)
Kathleen Pryer (Duke University)
Steve Rice (Union College)
Jonathon Shaw (Duke University)
2001 Submissions: This year we received 33 proposals for the Karling Award (10 less than last year). As in previous years, the generally high quality of the proposals made the selection process difficult. Of the 33 proposals received, 20 designated (or fit) the systematics section affiliation, four designated genetics, and there were two designations each for bryology, ecology, structure/development, and paleobotany. One proposal came from the phytochemical section.
2001 Awards: Ten BSA/Karling Graduate Student Research Awards will be presented at the 2001 BSA banquet. Each awardee will receive a certificate and a $500 award. The 2001 awardees are as follows:
Fan, Chuanzhu; Molecular evolution of hybridization and polyploidization in the dwarf dogwoods complex…; North Carolina State University; Advisor _ Dr. Jenny Xiang; Systematics Section.
Farzad, Maryam; Regulation of anthocyanin expression in Viola; Georgetown University; Advisor _ Dr. Martha Weiss; Phytochemical Section.
Hearn, David; Evolution of growth form and phytochemical consequences in Adenia (Passifloraceae); University of Arizona; Advisor _ Dr. Lucinda McDade; Systematics Section.
McMahon, Michelle; Morphological diversification in Amorpheae (Papilionoideae, Fabaceae); Washington State University; Advisor _ Dr. Larry Hufford; Structural/ Development Section.
Miller, Allison; Domestication in a tropical fruit tree, jocote (Spondias purpurea L., Anacardiaceae); Washington University; Advisor _ Dr. Barbara Schaal; Systematics Section.
Powell, Elizabeth; Peruvian species of Satyria _ Critical to understanding species limits in Satyria and biogeography in Neotropical Vaccinieae; Wake Forest University; Advisor _ Dr. Kathleen A. Kron; Systematics Section.
Tank, David; Phylogenetic analysis of subtribe Castillejinae (Orobanchaceae _ Tribe Rhinantheae); University of Washington; Advisor _ Dr. Richard Olmstead; Systematics Section.
Tomescu, Alexandru; In situ land plant fossils in the Early Silurian (Llandoverian) Massanutten sandstone of Virginia; Ohio University; Advisor _ Dr. Gar Rothwell; Paleobotanical Section.
Torke, Benjamin; Phylogenetic relationships and diversification in Swartzia (Fabaceae), based on DNA sequence data; Washington University; Advisor _ Dr. Barbara Schaal; Systematics Section.
Whittall, Justen; Phylogenetic tests of ecological speciation
in the North American columbines; University of California at Santa Barbara;
Advisor _ Dr. Scott Hodges; Genetics Section.
Membership and Appraisal Committee Annual Report
New posters and brochures describing the work of the society and types of memberships available were mailed to BSA Campus Representatives last fall through Kim Hiser in the BSA Business Office. Representatives are asked to put up a poster about the Botanical Society and answer questions about membership. There are approximately 240 representatives from most of the states (except Idaho, Utah and West Virginia) and 11 countries. States that are well represented include California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Additional representatives would be helpful in Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Rhode Island. The Chair of this committee was on the ad hoc Membership Tiers Committee that made recommendations about restructuring membership in the Botanical Society to compete more effectively with the American Society of Plant Physiologists, newly renamed the American Society of Plant Biologists. The Membership Tiers Committee Report was sent to the BSA Executive Committee and used as the basis for making recommendations about membership at the 2001 annual meeting. The recommendations included a restructuring of membership dues, new categories of membership, and additional options for membership with or without electronic access. Assuming the changes are approved at the annual meeting, new posters and brochures will be sent to the Campus Representatives this fall.
Membership in the Botanical Society over the last 10 years has dropped by about 200 members, from 2,575 in 1991 to 2,363 members in 2001. Systematics is the largest section and has stayed approximately the same in size for the last 10 years. Other large sections are the Ecological, Teaching, Developmental and Tropical sections. The Physiology section has seen the largest drop in membership.
For the coming year this committee will 1) maintain and update the list of BSA Representatives, 2) support a mailing of new posters and brochures with updated membership information at the beginning of the academic year, and 3) encourage maintaining the core membership, reaching out to new members through the internet and personal contacts (perhaps current members could receive some sort prize for recruiting new members), and developing new membership categories such as K-12 teachers.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Shea, Chairperson,
Membership and Appraisal Committee
2001 Annual Report of the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC)
The FAC has the responsibility for managing the BSA Endowment Fund. The BSA assets are invested through Salomon Smith Barney (SSB). In the fall of 2000, the majority of endowment funds were reorganized under a management group (managed funds) within SSB and about 15 percent of the endowment was retained in an unmanaged money market fund within SSB. All of these funds are divided among the following categories (as of June 30, 2001):
Cash balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 469.65
Managed money funds -
Money funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 20,529.79
Accrued dividends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $
8.74
Common stock & options . . $1,662,434.34
Unmanaged money funds
Money funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 318,116.37
Accrued dividends. . . . . . . . . . . . . $
695.45
Total $2,002,294.34
Ø The BSA Endowment fund has grown 7% since June 2000 ($1,867,492.41) and has grown 126.4% since its inception 7.5 years ago (12/93; $884,317). This represents an average increase of about 16.86% per year.
Ø The BSA received the final payment ($32,596.42) to the endowment fund of a total gift of $232,596.42 from the estate of Drs. Richard and Deana Klein, longtime members of the BSA. Acknowledgement of this gift has been recorded with the estate officials and in the PSB.
Ø The stock market has been quite volatile this year. The timely change to both an SSB managed account and an unmanaged money market account last fall greatly reduced losses to the endowment. An SSB representative will be meeting with the FAC on Saturday prior to the Council meeting (see above** for meeting time and location) to provide this assessment, and make recommendations about the Endowment Fund for this coming year. Based on this past year's market losses and increases from transfers and gifts, the FAC recommends the following:
Recommendation 1: The FAC recommends that $27,400 be used from the Endowment Income for the `special initiatives' during the 2001-2002 fiscal year, as determined by the Executive Committee and Council per Guideline 4. (see Guidelines below).
Recommendation 2: The FAC recommends that the section and special accounts with $2,500 or more annual balances, receive an interest rate of 8 percent, except in a year when the endowment fund interest falls below this level. In that year the interest rate will be 2 percent less than the endowment interest rate. (note italicized paragraph at the end of this report)
Ø At the 2000 BSA Annual Meeting, the Council appro