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Executive Board MinutesGrand
Hotel
Committee Members present: Drs Brusini, Burk (in part), Casson, Chauhan, Gandolfo, Hart, Heijl, Iwase, Kitazawa, Weber, Werner, Wild and Zulauf. Dr Wild opened the meeting at 09.15. Apologies for absence were received from Dr. Safran and Dr. Wall. Dr Wild explained the circumstances surrounding Dr Wall’s absence. The Board unanimously wished Dr Wall a speedy and successful return to full health. Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the Board and Business Meetings held at the previous IPS meeting in Wurzburg, Germany were unanimously approved. Secretary’s Report Dr Wild circulated a Report from the Secretary, Dr Wall. Dr Wild expressed a personal thanks to Dr Wall for his unceasingly tireless efforts in the organization of the Gardone Meeting, in the preparation of the Scientific Proceedings of the Wurzburg Meeting and in the creation of the Society’s web page. This vote of thanks was endorsed by the Board. Dr Wild highlighted three crucial issues contained within the Report.
It was noted that travel grants of $1000 each, plus waived registration, to attend the Gardone meeting had been given to two young investigators. Dr Dannheim pointed out that the two investigators had each received travel grants to attend a previous IPS meeting. It was resolved that the Secretary should retain a list of previous grant holders and that young investigators should, in future, be restricted to one award only. It was also resolved that up to $6000 per meeting should be allocated for the provision of young investigator travel grants. The number of awards allocated (maximum of 6) would depend upon the number and quality of applications. It was resolved that a new category of membership should be created namely that of Member-in-training. Such a category could be instigated now but would require Constitutional Amendment before the next meeting in 2000. A discussion followed as to the financial provision of such membership. Two proposals were put forward: members-in-training would be charged either at a rate of 50% of the Full Membership fee (which would include a copy of the Proceedings for a two-year period) or at a zero rate without a copy of the Proceedings. It was resolved that members-in-training would be charged at a rate of 50% of the Full Membership fee and would receive a copy of the Proceedings for the two-year period. It was noted that the user name and password for access to restricted areas of the Societies Web Page, such as the Membership Address List, would be communicated to the membership. It was hoped that all members would supply the Secretary with their e-mail address for incorporation into the List. Treasurer’s Report Dr Dannheim circulated the balance sheet. It was noted that the balance of the Societies funds had declined slightly. This was attributed to a delay in the mailshot for the current membership dues and the consequent lag time in the membership returning payment. On a more positive note, the Treasurer noted that, in general, the membership was becoming more prompt in the payment of the dues. Dr Wild thanked Professor Dannheim for his efforts as Treasurer since the last meeting. Working Group Reports Standards Dr Casson reported that work on the Standards Document was actively continuing and would include some manufacturing guidelines and some user-specifications. It was felt that the contents of the Document should be user-orientated and that as the ISO Standard only referred to conventional incremental differential light threshold perimetry, the Document needed to include the newer perimetric technologies. Glaucoma Dr Weber reported that the Group had not been active since the Wurzburg meeting. Dr Weber also stated that he wished to stand down from the Board. Retina/Optic Disc In the absence of Dr Burk, no report was available. Neuro-ophthalmology. In the absence of Dr Safran, no report was available. Non-standard Perimetric Techniques. Dr Hart reported that the Group had not been active since the Wurzburg meeting. Data Acquisition and Analysis Dr Chauhan reported that the Group had not been active since the Wurzburg meeting. Visual Disability Evaluation Dr Zulauf reported that the Group had not been active since the Wurzburg meeting. Creation of a new Board Structure Dr Wild expressed his concern about the declining membership of the Society and described a proposed reorganization of the Board which he felt would be necessary to take the Society forward. He proposed that the current Working Groups be disbanded and that up to five new committees should be created with responsibility for, respectively: fundraising, publicity, membership recruitment, development of the Society’s web pages, and scientific matters. The committees would deliberately have some overlap of function. Within each committee, one member would be drawn from each of three geographical areas namely the Americas, Europe and Asia-Oceania. Each of the three members within each of the designated committees would be considered as a co-chair of the committee. Each co-chair would be able to co-opt members from within the corresponding geographical region. Dr Mills pointed out that, although the reorganization would require Constitutional Amendment before the next meeting in 2000, it could be implemented immediately if the members of the Board remained responsible for the current working groups but also undertook the activities required by the new structure. This proposal was passed unanimously.
After much discussion it was proposed that four new committees should be established:
This proposal was passed unanimously. Election of Board Members Retiring Board Members Dr Wild proposed that Dr Kitazawa be re-elected as Vice President of the Society for a further term of office. This proposal was seconded by Dr Mills and was passed unanimously. Dr Wild proposed that Dr Wall be re-elected as Secretary of the Society for a further term of office. This proposal was seconded by Dr Chauhan and was passed unanimously. Dr Mills was elected as Treasurer. Dr Wild thanked Dr Dannheim, the outgoing Treasurer, for his magnificent work on behalf of the Society. Dr Wild proposed that, in order to achieve the geographical representation necessary for the Committee structure outlined above, the two retiring representatives of the Members-at-Large, Drs Gandolfo and Werner, and the retiring Treasurer, Dr Dannheim, should be invited onto the Board. This proposal was seconded by Dr Heijl and was passed unanimously. It was noted that two new representatives of the Members-at-Large would be elected at the Business Meeting. Discussion then took place as to the proposed composition of the Board within the new Committee structure. It was proposed that Drs Le Blanc, Vingrys and Matsumota be invited to join the Board to represent their specific geographical areas. This was accepted unanimously. The proposed membership of the Committees (not including the two new representatives of the Members-at-Large to be elected at the upcoming Business meeting) was as follows:
Proposals for the location of the next Scientific Meetings Dr Wild and Dr Wall had received proposals from a number of members volunteering to host the IPS 2000 Meeting: Dr Mutluken - Istanbul, Turkey; Dr Chauhan - Halifax, Nova Scotia; Dr Sponsel - San Antonio, Texas; Drs Fingaret and Patella - San Francisco, California. After some discussion, the choice of the Board for the IPS 2000 Meeting was deemed to be Halifax. Dr Wild would communicate the recommendation of the Board to the Membership at the Business meeting prior to the voting procedure for the location of IPS 2000. A proposal had been received from Dr Goldberg to host the 2002 Meeting in Sydney under the auspices of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. It was understood that any such Meeting could only take place within the Convention Centre used for the ICO Meeting and the dates and the length of the IPS Meeting would be determined by the ICO. However, the administration, advertising and fundraising for the IPS Meeting would be handled by the ICO. Considerable reservation was expressed by the Board over the cost of travel to Sydney. It was agreed that the issue should be put to the Membership at the Business meeting.
Publication of the Scientific Proceedings It was suggested that it might be possible to incorporate the initial editions of the Proceedings into the Society’s web pages. It was agreed that Dr Wall should look into the feasibility of this suggestion. Further discussion ensued as to the viability of continuing with a publication of the Scientific Proceedings. Dr Wild drew the attention of the Board to a letter from Dr Bernard Schwartz concerning the necessity for publication of the Proceedings in a peer-reviewed journal recognized by Index Medicus. Dr Wild proposed that the present policy of publication should continue in that the volume represented one of the tangible advantages of membership of the Society but that the situation should be reviewed following publication of the Proceedings from current meeting. Life Membership A proposal was put forward that Life Membership of the Society should be bestowed upon Drs xx Bynke from Lund, Sweden and upon Dr Singh Hayreh from Iowa City, Iowa. It was stated that such an award was only given to eminent members of the Society on retirement from all professional practice. It was suggested that Dr Wall should determine the retirement status of Drs Bynke and Hayreh prior to further consideration of the issue. Honorary Membership It was proposed by Dr Chauhan that Dr Jay Enoch of Berkley, California, should be invited to accept an Honorary Membership of the Society in recognition of his life-long contribution to perimetric science and to the Society. This was seconded by Dr Dannheim and unanimously approved. Late application for Poster presentation A request had been received immediately prior to the Meeting from Dr E Gramer for permission to display a poster at the upcoming Scientific sessions. No abstract had been submitted for scrutiny by the Programme Committee. It was resolved that Dr Gramer be denied permission to display the poster. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 13.30.
Copyright 2002. International Perimetric Society |
