President’s Welcome:    Aviad Haramati, Ph.D.

Dr. Haramati open the Annual General Meeting at 3:45 PM and welcomed both the new and returning IAMSE members.  He then turned the podium over to Dr. Roger Koment, Executive Director of IAMSE.
 

Introduction by the Executive Director:    Roger Koment, Ph.D.

Dr. Koment began with an overview of IAMSE and presented the mission statement.  He then described three means by which we strive to achieve our mission.  These are the Annual Association Meetings, our peer reviewed journal the Basic Science Educator, and our developing Web-based resources.  The Association is expanding and maturing, and many exciting opportunities are developing which will be of benefit to all medical science educators.
 

President’s Address:    Aviad Haramati, Ph.D.

Dr. Haramati reviewed the progress that has been made in our Association since the 1999 Georgetown IAMSE meeting.  In May of 2000, a two-day Board of Directors retreat on Strategic Planning was held in Springfield, Virginia, which is the location of the IAMSE Administrative Office.  The purpose of this retreat was to review our organizational structure and the mission statement, and to begin prioritizing specific goals for the Association.  The Board felt a major emphasis should be placed on having the Annual Association Meetings provide a strong value, and that the journal and website should be developed to be equally valuable offerings.  In accordance with our bylaws, the first elections were held for all Board members in June of 2000.  In October of 2000, an ad hoc bylaws revisions committee began working over a six-month period to bring the IAMSE bylaws into compliance with how the Association is currently operated.  The proposed revisions were presented to the membership in May of 2001, and following minor modifications resulting from member input, were approved by vote of the membership in June of 2001.  In November 2000, Dr. Koment resigned as President of IAMSE to assume the newly created position of Executive Director of IAMSE.  A law firm has recently been engaged as IAMSE’s legal counsel, and our relationship currently is pro bono.

Dr. Haramati recognized the contributions of three members who had completed their terms of service of the Board of Directors -- Dr. Nehad El-Sawi, Dr. Allen Neims, and Dr. Gonul Peker.  Dr. Neims could not attend this meeting.  Both Dr. El-Sawi and Dr. Peker were called forward to be recognized by the membership and presented with commemorative plaques.
 

Nominations and Election of Members of the Nominating Committee:    Todd Olson, Ph.D.

Dr. Haramati then requested that Dr. Olson conduct the nominations and election procedure.  After a brief explanation of the purpose and process, Dr. Olson invited nominations of IAMSE members from the audience for the two available positions on the 2002 IAMSE Nominating Committee.  This committee will screen and select candidates for the 2002 annual Board of Directors election.  Three candidates were nominated, Dr. Gonul Peker (Ege University School of Medicine, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey), Dr. Robert Bressler (New York College of Podiatric Medicine), and Dr N. Vasan (University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey Medical School-Newark).  Ballots were cast by all IAMSE members present, and towards the end of this General Meeting, Dr. Olson announced that Drs. Bressler and Peker had been elected to serve.
 

Financial Report:    Todd Olson, Ph.D., Treasurer of IAMSE

Dr. Olson presented the budget summary for the year ending December 31, 2000.  A copy of that budget may be accessed by clicking here.  A question from the floor asked why the journal did not show any income for the year 2000.  Dr. Olson indicated that was because the journal is not sold by subscription, but rather is distributed as a member benefit.

Dr. Olson also presented the budget summary through June of 2001.  Projected income from membership dues and from this Annual Meeting indicate that the society budget will be balanced for the year 2001.
 

IAMSE Annual Association Meetings:

             2001   IAMSE-Mayo Clinic:    Giulia Bonaminio, Ph.D., and Tom Viggiano, M.D., M.Ed.

Dr. Bonaminio presented an update on statistics of the 2001 meeting currently in progress. 
 

             2002   IAMSE-Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara:
                                                                  Ricardo Leon-Borquez, M.D., M.S.A, and E. Pat Finnerty, Ph.D.

Dr. Leon-Borquez provided a lively slide-show introduction to the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara and the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.  He extended a warm invitation to the audience to participate in next year’s meeting, and to come sample the hospitality of Mexico.  Dr. Finnerty also invited participation in the 2002 program and stated his commitment as Chair of the Program Committee to maintain the high quality that has characterized past IAMSE meetings.
 

Report on Association Membership:    Robert Carroll, Ph.D., Secretary of IAMSE

Dr. Carroll presented the membership statistics.  On May 31, 2001 IAMSE had 412 active members, representing 46 countries and 215 Colleges and Universities. 
 

Report on Association Publications:     E. Pat Finnerty, Ph.D., and J. Charles Eldridge, Ph.D.

Drs. Finnerty and Eldridge provided a progress report on the transition of the Basic Science Educator to an online electronic journal.  Dr. Finnerty as Chair of the Publications Committee described how all back issues of the journal would soon be available over the website.  Dr. Eldridge, the Managing Editor of our journal, then described the current issue, Volume 10, which consists of several papers previously accepted for publication.  This issue is scheduled to appear on the website within the next few weeks.  He noted that Volume 11 will be the proceedings of this Annual Meeting and should be published online by the end of the year.  He also called for submission of quality manuscripts for consideration of publication in Volume 12 which will be published during the first half of 2002.
 

Additional Association Business:    Aviad Haramati, Ph.D.

Dr. Haramati provided a brief overview of the six current IAMSE standing committees, announced a newly created ad hoc Technology Committee, and invited IAMSE members to consider participation in all these opportunities to become more deeply involved with the leadership of IAMSE.  He indicated there would be a signup sheet at the registration booth for those interested.

He reminded everyone that the 2003 IAMSE Annual Meeting will be hosted and joint-sponsored by Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC.  Dr. Gary Rosenfeld will chair the Program Committee for the 2003 Annual Meeting.  That committee will be constituted before the end of this year.

The three new members elected to the Board of Directors by the membership this past spring and were introduced to the assembly.  They are Drs. Peter Anderson, Thomas Schmidt, and Elizabeth Simons.
 

Questions and Comments From the Membership:

Dr. Haramati then opened the floor to the membership.

The first speaker expressed concern that our journal, titled the Basic Science Educator, seemingly excludes clinical science educational themes.  As a clinician, she suggested the journal name might be changed to the MedicalScience Educator to be more inclusive.  This idea was referred to the Publications Committee.

The next speaker suggested IAMSE consider holding our Annual Meeting outside of North America to accommodate a larger number of international participants.  There are many financial barriers to be overcome to accomplish this, but certainly it is a goal for IAMSE.  Our first step in this direction is already planned for 2002 when we will be in Mexico.

Another speaker asked why on the IAMSE website the Projects button is often inactive.  The answer is that an IAMSE sponsored project must begin with a solid idea and an individual willing to take the responsibility to see it through.  Many logistical, human, and financial resources can be made available to an individual who has the capacity and drive to assume a leadership role.  We encourage all IAMSE members to consider this and to contact Roger Koment to discuss your ideas.

The last speaker expressed concern about providing wider publicity about the Annual Association Meeting.  This was brought to the attention of the 2002 meeting organizers. 
 

Adjournment

The 2001 Annual General Meeting adjourned at 4:45 pm.