April Newsletter

Dear BSA Member,

1. BOTANY 2008 - "Botany Without Borders" - July 26-30, 2008, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Abstracts deadline was extended to April 7. Submit your abstract(s) online - http://2008.botanyconference.org/engine/login.php?next=abstract

Conference registration - https://payments.botany.org/engine/registration/

2. Thank you!
This year we will have over 200 applications/nominations for student research and travel awards. Thank you to everyone involved! We understand the time it takes to participate and want you to know how much the Society appreciates your doing so. We hope to have final decisions for all awards by May 15.

3. Strategic Planning Meeting
Thank you to the BSA members who took part in the recent Strategic Planning session, including Pam Soltis, Karl J. Niklas, Christopher Haufler, Brent Mishler, Gregory Anderson, Simon Malcomber, Mackenzie Taylor, Gordon E. Uno, Janice Coons, Kent Holsinger, Theresa Culley, Johanne Stogran, Wanda Lovan, Claire Hemingway, Robert Brandt, Amy McPherson, Heather Cacanindin, Richard Hund and Bill Dahl. You will hear more from this group as we move closer to the meeting in Vancouver.

4. Bylaws Update
In 2007 the BSA Council approved the establishment of a committee to begin the task of updating the BSA Bylaws. Chris Haufler spoke extensively on the need for revision and in summary said, "We now have bylaws that are amalgamated with a set of policies and procedures. We also need to bring the bylaws in line with how we are doing business."

The Bylaws Committee included Ed Schneider, Judy Jernstedt, Scott Russell and Andrew Schwendemann. Last week the Executive Committee reviewed their recommendations and will post the suggested revision on the BSA website and seek your comments and questions later this month. We will also hold a special meeting in Vancouver to discuss suggested changes.

5. Problem Solving in Biology: Data, Tools and Resources from Plant Science

June 14 - June 21, 2008 BioQUEST Faculty Workshop - BioQUEST and the Botanical Society of America invite faculty interested in incorporating resources from contemporary plant research into undergraduate curricula. Join us at the Missouri Botanical Garden and Southeast Missouri State University as we explore a subset of the tools, data, and resources used in plant science with a special emphasis on quantitative reasoning, visualization and inquiry-based learning. Keynote speaker at the St. Louis component will be Dr. Barbara Schaal. For more information, please visit: http://bioquest.org/summer2008.

6. Genetics Section Student Research and Travel Awards - http://www.botany.org/
Please act - Genetics Section awards remain open until April 15!

7. Attention members of the BSA’s Northeast Section!
There will be a Joint Field Meeting of the Northeast Section of the Botanical Society of America, Torrey Botanical Society & Philadelphia Botanical Club on June 1-5, 2008. The joint field meeting will be held at the Lighthouse Center for Natural Resource Education on 194 acres of woodland and diverse coastal habitat (including brackish and salt marsh) on Barnegat Bay in Waretown, Ocean County, NJ. With field trips and four program activities built in, this is an excellent opportunity! Accommodations are limited to 50 participants so register early. You can find our all the details regarding registration, housing and meals by visiting: http://www.botany.org/news/pdfs/NE_Section-2008.pdf. Deadline for registration is April 21^st.

8. Professional Development for the Classroom
BSA is pleased to announce the following professional development opportunities targeted to high school teachers. Please pass this information along to colleagues who may be interested:

Jul 7 - Jul 18, 2008 Plant It Careers, Cases, and Collaborations
For high school teachers interested in enlivening their science classroom with contemporary plant-related investigative cases
Fourteen high school science teachers will be selected to receive stipends and expenses for 12 days in residence at Texas A&M University. For more information and to download an application, please visit: www.myPlantIT.org

Aug 4 - Aug 13, 2008 PlantingScience Institute
For high school teachers to explore plant biology content while learning to incorporate mentored inquiry projects into their classrooms. Sixteen high school science teachers will be selected to receive stipends and expenses for 9 days in residence at Texas A&M University. For more information and to download an application, please visit: www.plantingscience.org

See you in Vancouver!

Sincerely,

Bill Dahl
Executive Director
Botanical Society of America
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.