May Newsletter

Dear BSA Member,

It’s time for some good news. I’d like to bring you up-to-date on a few of the developments within the BSA. Please read, I think you'll find the items quite interesting.

Welcome!
I'd like to welcome Richard Hund and Jennifer Potratz to the BSA staff team. Richard comes in as the Production Editor for the American Journal of Botany. Jennifer is the new BSA Education & Outreach Coordinator. We look forward to some great contributions to our efforts to impact the BSA mission.

Membership
BSA wishes to recognize and thank our student members for their contributions to our mission. Student membership has doubled over the past few years to comprise approximately 26% of total membership. New students are coming in on a regular basis, which is good for botany. Student contributions run the gamut of serving on the BSA Council and Committees, volunteering personal time to Society outreach programs such as “Botany – the students’ perspective”, and PlantingScience. Your efforts are noticed, appreciated, and making a difference. Thank you!!

American Journal of Botany
At the turn of the century, way back in 2000, submitting an article for publication in the American Journal of Botany was a very different process than it is in 2008. As one example, consider the amount of paper the 2000 submission process required to produce an average article: ~400+ sheets. Yes, that’s at least 4,800 per issue and 57,600 sheets per volume. With addoption of an online manuscript submission system in 2003, this decreased, and with further refinements over time the amount of paper dimminished even further. So far in 2008, the online manuscript submission process, requires zero (0) sheets of paper. Now that's going green.

In 2000, the average time from approving a submission through to publication was over 200 days. So far in 2008 the average is 65 days, with the fastest being 43 days. Mid to late summer, the AJB team hopes to cut the time in half again as they move articles to a “publish before print” system on HighWire Press. Please note: we are talking about a totally citable, author-approved, final article, including the appropriate DOI. There will be other great changes coming to the AJB online. We’ll keep you informed.

Thank you to all who helped make this happen, in particular the authors who put up with, and tested, the new changes to the system. Your feedback has been vital, and please, keep your comments coming in! Change is never easy but we're hopeful the benefits will be worth it to all.

Plant Science Bulletin
After 53 years of being produced as a quarterly publication, Marsh Sundberg is picking up the pace of delivery. In addition to your normal print copy, you’ll find the Bulletin is now being produced online as the news comes in. There will be regular updates on the BSA Home Page (in the lower right hand frame) and the current, updating edition of the Bulletin will be online at www.botany.org/plantsciencebulletin/.

Please note: Announcements, Upcoming Conferences and Positions/Jobs available are also updated as the information comes in. We'd also ask for your assistnace in reviewing the latest book submitted to the Bulletin for review. We will keep a running tab of what is available online at www.botany.org/plantsciencebulletin/#pleasereview. Yor participation is appreciated and we thank you in advance for your assistance in this area.

2008 Awards
Thank you to all who took part in the 2008 Student Travel & Research Awards programs, and congratulations to all award recipients (www.botany.org/awards_grants/2008Awardrecipients.php). And a special thank you to all of the Committee members for taking the time to complete the review process!

The quality of applications is making the selection process tougher than ever, but don’t let that slow you down! To date this year, the Society has awarded over $10,000 to students. Thank you to all of those who have contributed to the award programs. Your time and/or donations are appreciated!

PlantingScience
We have now reached into over 50 classrooms and provided online support to nearly 2,500 students participating in research projects they have designed. Our experience during each session, combined with feedback from all participants, is allowing us to improve the program markedly. Thank you to all of you who have contributed time and resources to make this happen. This is a fantastic way for the Society to engage in effective outreach. If you, your lab, or your students are at all interested in becoming a part of this amazing program, please contact BSA Education Director, Claire Hemingway (CHemingway@botany.org).

BOTANY 2008 - "Botany Without Borders" - July 26-30, 2008, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
The conference schedule will be posted on Tuesday, May 27^th - www.2008.botanyconference.org/engine/search/.
Conference registration - https://payments.botany.org/engine/registration/.
Conference Information & Website - www.2008.botanyconference.org/
REMEMBER YOUR PASSPORT!!

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.