Dear BSA Members:

Good morning! October BSA eNewsletter - 90° with isolated thunderstorms in St. Louis today!

I hope you are all having a good start to the new academic year. Things have never been busier for the BSA. Please take a few minutes to look through this email, as there are several items that you may want to take action on.

1. I’d like to start by introducing Heather Cacanindin as the newest member of the BSA staff team. Heather is the Director of Membership and Subscriptions and comes to the BSA with a wealth of experience in the association management field. She will also be working across several other programs, including PlantingScience, as we leverage her expertise for the benefit of the BSA.

2. BOTANY 2008 – Call for Symposia DEADLINE 10/15/2007 - www.2008.botanyconference.org/2008Calls/2008CallForSymposia.php

2a. We hope to see you in Vancouver! Please take the time to ensure your passport is up-to-date - www.2008.botanyconference.org/Info/index.php

3. Award Calls NOW OPEN:
a. MERIT Award - www.botany.org/awards_grants/detail/merit.pdf
b. C. E. Bessey Teaching Award - www.botany.org/awards_grants/detail/bessey.pdf
c. Graduate Student Research Awards (including the J. S. Karling Award) - www.botany.org/awards_grants/detail/bsagrad.pdf
d. Young Botanist of the Year Awards - www.botany.org/awards_grants/detail/yboy.pdf

4. Please take a few minutes now and renew your membership - https://payments.botany.org/joinbsa/.

I’m pleased to report that 2007 has been a great year for the BSA in terms of membership development. We have grown to over 2,900 members (up 26%). Looking to the future, our student population is up 83% and now represents 23% of membership. In the main, this is due to your enthusiasm in inviting your students and peers to join the Society. For students, developing a positive career path that includes membership in the Society is a fantastic early career choice. With your support, we look forward to an even stronger 2008.

5. We are pleased to announce that the PlantingScience educational outreach program was successful in gaining NSF funding to support development. Congratulations to all those involved in the effort, in particular to Gordon Uno as the Chair of the Education Committee and Claire Hemingway as the BSA Education Director. I also thank Rob Brandt, BSA Manager of Technology, for the software development and making sure everything runs!

The main development grant is for $1,6000,000 over the next five years. We were also successful in a three-year, $900,000 NSF grant, which will use the PlantingScience program as a tool supporting teacher development using plants as model organisms. I'll also put a plug in for the Monsanto Fund who were our first sponsor, providing $80,000 towards topic development. Their funds have been put to good use with genetics and ecology units that should be ready for testing in the spring.

PlantingScience is an important component of our efforts to support and enhance the public appreciation for and understanding of plants. It is gaining recognition in the education community and was recently featured in the National Association of Biology Teachers' newsletter.

Please take the time to look at the program and consider how you might become involved – www.PlantingScience.org. We are always looking for mentors to enhance the online learning component with the students and their investigations.

6. The American Journal of Botany is moving! Yes, we are moving our printing and manuscript submission & review process. As of January 2008, Sheridan Press will be handling the printing and distribution of the AJB. In conjunction with this, we will be enlisting the Aires - Editorial Manager as our manuscript handling software. We'd like to thank the Executive Committee for making the tough decision to move and the following people for taking the time to test and evaluate manuscript services - Judy Jernstedt, Scott Russell, Pat Herendeen, Sophia Balcomb, Gar Rothwell, Jeff Osborn, Heather Sanders, Ruth Stockey, Ann Sakai, Stephen Weller, Harry Horner, Beth Hazen and Amy McPherson. Special thanks to Beth, Sophia and Amy for the enormous efforts in getting us onto the new systems.

We trust you'll find the new product and services in keeping with our standards.

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,

William M Dahl
Executive Director
Botanical Society of America
4475 Castleman Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110

PO Box 299
St. Louis, MO 63166-0299

Ph: 314-577-9566
FAX: 314-577-9515
www.botany.org
www.BotanyConference.org
www.PlantingScience.org

Mission: The Botanical Society of America exists to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere.

The objectives of The Society are to: sustain and provide improved formal and informal education about plants; encourage basic plant research; provide expertise, direction, and position statements concerning plants and ecosystems; and foster communication within the professional botanical community, and between botanists and the rest of humankind through publications, meetings, and committees.