Source: RISK newsletter,
First Quarter 1996, published by the Society for Risk Analysis
SRA's 1995 business meeting, held December 5 at the Society's annual meeting in Hawaii, was opened by President M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, who extended a special welcome to the many attendees from Japan and Europe, thanked the meeting organizers, and requested a report from John D. Graham, chairman of the 1995 Annual Meeting Committee and SRA's incoming president.
Meeting Chairman's Report. Graham thanked all those who had contributed to the meeting and announced that it would be financially profitable. Abstracts submitted totaled 456 (with 737 authors) and to date registrations had totaled 439. (Editor's Note: Final registrations were 451, of which 145 were non-U.S., including 56 from Japan.)
Treasurer's Report. Treasurer Paul Price reported that in 1994 the Society had significant revenues above expenses, allowing the addition of $36,531 to its reserves, greater than the $14,800 estimated (see "The Society's Financial Status" in RISK newsletter, Fourth Quarter 1995). Policies put in place during the last year have ensured that extramural projects and workshops will be financially neutral or profitable to the Society, and a contract with Tec-Com has spelled out specific work and financial responsibilities of the parties. The coming increase in dues (see below) will be used to further build reserves, which are still much too low, and to help the financial requirements associated with future changes in the editorial policies of the journal.
Secretary's Report. Secretary Gary Flamm announced the results of the 1995 elections and reported that, as of November 28, the Society had 2,075 members. New attendees at the meeting were expected to increase this number. In 1995, 430 new members were added.
President's Report. On dues and the journal: Pointing out that the Society had benefited from the support of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the expertise and competence of Curtis Travis as editor-in-chief for 14 years, President Paté-Cornell said that the council feels that it should take steps toward the financial independence of the journal, at the same time increasing the diversity of the articles and reexamining the role of the editorial board. At its spring meeting, the council expects to select three area editors from a list proposed by the Publications Committee: one each from the areas of environmental and health risk assessment, the social sciences, and engineering. In two years, one area editor may be named editor in chief, whose role will be to integrate and balance the different elements of the journal and to solicit particular contributions. To facilitate the journal's independence, SRA dues will be increased by $10 per year over a three-year period. (Note: Nominations for the area editors should be sent to the SRA Secretariat to the attention of Robert G. Tardiff.)
On grants management: To ensure that the membership is aware of grants to the Society and that the funds are spent appropriately, the council has created a Grants Management Committee to develop the procedures for selecting researchers and monitoring expenses and to apply those procedures to existing and future grants.
On strategic planning: On December 2, council members and past SRA presidents met to begin a strategic planning process, focusing on four issues: increasing membership, enhancing interdisciplinary integration, responding to requests for advice from the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch, and improving the quality of information exchanged within SRA. Many of the issues have been raised by the SRA Advisory Board, which is urging the Society to emphasize its interdisciplinary nature.
On communications: The council is examining the feasibility of establishing an Internet home page for SRA. On the basis of a survey conducted by the Membership Committee (26 responses), the journal was cited as the most important scientific communication vehicle within SRA, as compared with the annual meeting and the newsletter.
On liaisons: SRA is now a collaborative society of the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements.
On awards and training: President Paté-Cornell acknowledged all 1995 SRA awardees and said the council would be discussing issues of funding academic training programs for risk analysis specialists.
On other 1995 accomplishments: Other SRA accomplishments include (1) breakfast briefings for congressional staff writing risk legislation, (2) the new Chicago Regional Chapter and interactions with a potential section in Canada, (3) five annual meeting workshops of high quality and profitability, (4) $9,500 raised by the Gifts and Grants Committee, and (5) the initiation of preparations for two special issues of the journal focusing on engineering questions.
President Paté-Cornell concluded by saying that she feels
that the Society has recently implemented a number of improved
procedures and mechanisms, and now it must work to increase its
membership. She then deferred to the incoming president, who
presented her with a plaque from the Society in appreciation of
her service.