OCT. 27, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C.
NASW ANNUAL
MEMBERSHIP
MEETING MINUTES
by NASW Secretary Deborah Franklin
President Ron Winslow convened the NASW membership meeting at 8:14 a.m., on Oct. 27, 2012, in Raleigh, N.C., even as Hurricane Sandy churned off the Atlantic coast a bit to our south and meteorologists warned that a “Frankenstorm” could envelop a third of the eastern U.S. before Halloween. Hardy science writers dug into breakfast, fortifying themselves for the business and weather ahead.
Winslow congratulated the 2012 workshop committee, headed by Peggy Girshman, on an especially strong program. More than 500 people registered for ScienceWriters2012 — the second highest number of attendees in the history of the meetings. Winslow also thanked the local organizing committee, headed by Karl Leif Bates of Duke University, for making sure the large crowd had great food, excellent field trips, and every needed resource throughout the week. Among those who deserved special thanks this year: Jim Hathaway, Jenny Weston, Ashley Yeager, Jim Shamp, Russ Campbell, Marla Broadfoot, Anton Zuiker, Linda Rozet, Cathy Clabby, Whitney LJ Howell, Katie Mosher, Ros Reid, Diane McGurgan, and Lisa Bistreich-Wolfe.
Incoming finance committee chair Beryl Lieff Benderly reported that NASW’s books and finances are in good shape. The organization’s auditors “are very happy with us,” she said. The annual budget for NASW is now more than $500,000; Benderly promised more details about income and expenditures in the next issue of ScienceWriters. The finance committee could use at least one more member for 2013 to replace hardworking outgoing member Mari Jensen; Benderly asked that NASW members interested in finance oversight contact her.
Membership committee chair Robert Finn also called for new volunteers. He announced three procedural changes that the NASW board recently approved in the application process for NASW membership: 1) Applicants must apply with their legal names (no pseudonyms), 2) “lay” has been changed to “non-expert,” in describing the target audiences of NASW members and their publications, to more accurately include all the types of science writing that members do, and 3) NASW has long required that two current members sponsor new member applicants. A new requirement will put more onus on the sponsors to be gatekeepers in vetting the professionalism of applicants. Sponsors will be asked to write brief (one or two paragraph) statements describing the work of the applicant and his/her qualifications for membership. Finn said the membership committee will soon publish on the NASW-Talk listserv a checklist of proposed guidelines for sponsors to use in these evaluations.
Education committee co-chair Robert Irion reported that turnout for the internship fair at the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting, in Vancouver, was higher than ever, involving 17 recruiters and 40 students. Via that meeting alone, students were placed in internships at a variety of institutions, including CERN, New Scientist magazine, the Yale School of Medicine, and a year-long program at the National Cancer Institute. Irion, Jeff Grabmeier, and their committee also oversee a mentorship program at the AAAS meeting every year, pairing students with veteran science writers. There were 23 newbie-vet pairs at the 2012 meeting, and 41 pairs at the D.C. meeting in 2011. Irion notes that student attendance at the 2013 meeting in Boston is likely to be huge, and encourages even more NASW members to sign up to be mentors. NASW also funded travel for eight undergrads to cover the Vancouver sessions; their mentors edited their stories in a newspaper fashion and posted them on the NASW website.
Irion reported that after the Vancouver meeting, the committee received this note of gratitude from one of the travel fellowship recipients: “I knew this would be a good opportunity to me as a fledgling writer, but I had no idea how good. I learned an immense amount in a short period of time about writing, networking, and the journalistic process.” Irion noted that the education committee also sponsors a listing on the NASW website of syllabi for teachers of science writing and that listing has attracted nearly 3,000 readers. Anyone who would like to contribute to that project should contact the project’s coordinator, education committee member Czerne Reid.
Program committee chair Robin Lloyd reported that her committee has about $25,000 remaining to distribute as Idea Grants in 2012. Since October 2011, the program committee has evaluated 25 project proposals, and funded, or is in the process of funding 10. A total of $160,510 has been awarded; most grants were for $10,000 or less. To streamline the grant process, the program committee now will make Idea Grant awards twice a year; evaluating each time the total batch of applications submitted in the previous six months.
President Winslow explained the balloting regarding the Certificate of Amendment to NASW’s Certificate of Incorporation: NASW used to be based in Greenlawn, N.Y., and now is based in Berkeley, Calif., so its incorporation paperwork needs to reflect that new address. Also the current certificate says the NASW board consists of eight members, when in fact there are now 15 board members. (See “Dispatches from the Director” on page 17 of the Winter ScienceWriters for the outcome of this vote.)
Winslow next presented certificates of award and many thanks to outgoing NASW President Nancy Shute, and to several outgoing board members: Terry Devitt, Dan Ferber, Adam Rogers, and Robin Lloyd.
Winslow also presented this year’s Diane McGurgan Service Award to Robert Irion, Mari Jensen, and Rick Bogren. Irion, in five years as education committee co-chair, has been running the annual undergraduate mentoring programs at the AAAS meeting. “He is ensuring that new generations of science writers have the encouragement and resources they need to succeed,” Winslow said. Jensen and Bogren have both been members of the finance committee since 2009. “They helped us go from informal club-style organization to well-run, well audited organization,” Winslow said. (See page 27 for more information on the contributions of these award winners.)
President Winslow adjourned the meeting at 8:50 a.m.
