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Candidates' statements for 2003 AIBS board elections

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 October 2003, 06:00 CST

This month, September 2003, ballots are being mailed to the membership, and online voting at www.aibs.org is being activated. The polls close on 17 October 2003.

As a member-governed organization, the American Institute of Biological Sciences can continue fulfilling its scientific mission to its members and the broader biological community only through a strong and effective board of directors (its governing body) and council (the advisory body to the board). Annual board elections are now under way, as mandated by the AIBS constitution and bylaws. At the end of 2003, the following positions, which the membership is to vote on, become vacant on the 13-person AIBS Board of Directors: (1) president-elect, (2) treasurer, (3) board member elected by the AIBS membership-at-large, and (4) board member elected by the AIBS Council of member societies and organizations. The president-elect serves a one-year term and automatically succeeds to a one-year term as president, then a one-year term as immediate past-president. The treasurer serves a three-year term, as do all board members. The nominating committee, chaired by Immediate Past-President Gene Likens, has prepared the following board-certified slate of candidates for members' attention and consideration. All positions are contested. AIBS thanks all of the candidates for their dedication and willingness to run for these volunteer positions. Biographical sketches and election statements prepared by the candidates are presented below. All terms start on 1 January 2004. Members are encouraged to vote and participate in the affairs of AIBS.

Candidates for President-Elect

(Two candidates, listed alphabetically: Paula Mabee and Marvalee Wake.)

Vote for One

Paula Mabee

Paula Mabee is a professor in the Department of Biology, University of South Dakota. She was awarded her PhD from Duke (1987) and continued with two postdoctoral fellowships (one through the Smithsonian Institution, at the National Museum of Natural History, and the other through NSF, at Dalhousie University); she accepted her first position at San Diego State University (1991-1997). Her interdisciplinary research and teaching involve "devo-evo" biology, with a focus on fish skeletal development, evolution, and phylogenetic systematics. She has served as president of the Society of Systematic Biologists (1996-1997), as divisional chair (Systematics) in the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology (1998-2000), and on many committees and editorial boards in various capacities.

Statement. A central part of the AIBS mission is to facilitate interdisciplinary communication and interactions among biologists and professional biological societies. My goal, if elected as president of AIBS, will be to actively work with the member societies for more effective communication and coordination of activities encompassing organismal biology, environmental biology, and evolution. In particular, I will work to seek out effective ways of working together to achieve our goals as scientists, educators, and concerned citizens. AIBS presents science to policymakers on the spectrum of issues influencing people and nature, and these include particular problems involving the environment, biodiversity, evolution, and education. Particularly in this time in which we need a massive infusion of science education to the public, we need a strong voice in Washington-and AIBS is our advocacy and lobby group. Although AIBS has a large umbrella membership (approximately 250,000), only 1%-2% of the individuals belonging to these societies and organizations are themselves individual members of AIBS and subscribers to BioScience. Thus it is my sense that many biologists do not have an adequate working knowledge of the critical way that AIBS represents their interests. Part of my goal will be to facilitate the transmission of information from society representatives to society members.

As scientific knowledge has rapidly expanded, the need for integrative and interdisciplinary thinking has become critical. As working biologists, however, the increasing complexity and demands of our jobs have actually led to a narrowing of focus. AIBS is the ultimate interdisciplinary body that serves our interests, and it can achieve for us as a group, environmental and educational "big- picture" goals that as individuals we simply cannot. If elected, I would bring to AIBS leadership experience in several member societies, experience in serving as the book review editor and editorial board member for BioScience and thus familiarity with many of the broader needs of the organization, and finally, my very strong desire to work persistently and effectively on behalf of AIBS.

Marvalee Wake

Marvalee Wake is a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley. Her research and teaching interests are in evolutionary morphology and development, including the evolution of reproductive modes, and biodiversity science. She belongs to many societies; she is past president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology and is the current president of the International Union for Biological Sciences. She served on the Smithsonian Science Commission, the NAS/NRC Board on Sustainable Development, and the AIBS Board of Directors. She was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1988-1989, is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the California Academy of Sciences, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. She has written more than 185 publications. Her degrees are from the University of Southern California.

Statement. AIBS has a dynamic mission to serve biological science and its scientists though communication and education, at many levels and in many ways. It has become a focal voice for organismal and integrative biology and is forging new coalitions among professional societies, NGOs, and government agencies. More than an umbrella organization, AIBS represents its 85+ adherent societies, seeks their input on many issues, and organizes a diversity of activities to present and advance biological science. Its constituency includes professional scientists, students at all levels, policymakers, and the public. AIBS has become a powerful and effective voice for biological science in the national arena.

If elected president, I will work toward several goals that I hope will continue to advance AIBS and the biological sciences. First, I will work with the Board, the Council, and the staff to further develop our communication with our large constituency. We must use our journal, BioScience, our Web page, and other vehicles to develop a highly interactive and responsive coalition. We should better involve our national constituency in our annual meetings.

Second, I will help to further develop the many parts of biological science into an articulate voice about the current and future roles and practice of biology, especially through integrative approaches to the complexity of global, national, and regional issues, with emphasis on those that require the "meshing" of biological, physical, and social sciences and the humanities-the "human dimension" must be represented. An AIBS perspective on biological science must be articulated, so that biology will no longer be viewed as a set of separate, divided, even selfish entities, but rather as a powerful and united scientific endeavor.

Third, I will support my colleagues in efforts to further education in the biological sciences-well-informed and thoughtful citizens and policymakers, as well as superbly trained and intellectually independent scientists, are essential to our future. An understanding of the nature of evidence and of the basis for scientific inquiry is fundamental to analysis of issues at many levels. We must work to increase our interaction with teachers and to engage more scientists in public outreach in order to effect our educational mission.

Fourth, I will try to utilize the communication, education, and representation functions of AIBS to reach out to scientists in other nations. During my involvement in international bioscience, I have found that the conduct of US science is often not well understood, both structurally and intellectually. The inclusion of explanatory articles in BioScience and the invitation of international representatives to our meetings and in our activities could help to explain attitudes and practices, and to forge new international cohesiveness, at this time when our challenged world so desperately needs common goals.

AIBS is serving its constituency well. However, it must always strive to find new ways to lead and to look to the future. If elected president, I will work to enhance the goals of AIBS through extensive communication and involvement of all parts of our community. The world needs good biological science, and it needs to know why that is so.

Candidates for Treasurer

(Two candidates, listed alphabetically: Richard B. Norgaard and Louis Pitelka. Note: The incumbent treasurer, H. Jane Brockmann, has served two terms and is prevented by the AIBS bylaws from running for reelection.)

Vote for One

Richard B. Norgaard

Richard B. Norgaard is professor of energy and resources and of agricultural and resource econ\omics at the University of California- Berkeley; he is also the past president of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE). Although trained in economics (PhD, University of Chicago; MS, Oregon State University; AB, University of California-Berkeley), he has spent most of the past three decades working closely with biologists addressing the biological control of agricultural pests, tropical deforestation, climate change, and biodiversity loss. His current research addresses how scientists collectively understand environmental problems that span the knowledge base of multiple disciplines. He is completing his first term on the AIBS board and, in addition to ISEE, he currently serves on the boards of two nongovernmental organizations: Redefining Progress and EcoEquity.

Statement. Of the half-dozen boards on which I have served, the past three years on the AIBS board have been the most gratifying. AIBS is responsive, creative, and effective during challenging times for organismal and integrative biology. I would be very pleased to continue to participate in the governance of AIBS and am ready to take on the new challenges of being treasurer.

While my primary interest is in the biological world, my primary training is in economics. In this respect, I have a modest advantage with the accounting of monetary stocks and flows. As the president of ISEE, I have also worked closely with Burk and Associates, who manage the business side of AIBS and serve ISEE as well. During the past two years, I have served on the AIBS finance committee, so I am well aware of the work that may be in store for me. While it will be difficult to replace the dedication and diligence Jane Brockmann has brought to the role of treasurer, I will bring my own strengths to this important position, see that the critical questions are asked, and work with the board and staff to help assure the financial security of AIBS.

The overall budget of AIBS has more than doubled over the past five years, and far more organizations have joined AIBS and are sharing in our success; the public policy role has expanded very nicely. Yet the numbers of individual scholars and practitioners who choose to be members have been declining. Our annual meetings have offered members an exceptional opportunity to hear scientific leaders provide broad assessments of where biology has been and is going and to engage in critical dialogue, yet few members choose to attend and participate. Many sense a need to build bridges across the separate and often specialized approaches of organismal and integrative biology, but AIBS is still struggling with ways to be more than the sum of its disparate parts. We need to provide common linkages. I look forward to helping make AIBS into a truly umbrella organization.

Lastly, much of my academic life has been dedicated to bridging the natural and social sciences, or, as I like to say, the unnatural and unsocial sciences, so as to improve policy. While serving as treasurer may not be the most effective way of pursuing this path, it does provide me the opportunity to work with some of the most conscientious biologists in the country.

Louis Pitelka

Louis Pitelka is director of the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science. He received a BS in zoology from the University of California-Davis and a PhD in biological sciences from Stanford University. Dr. Pitelka is interested in the effects of human activities on terrestrial ecosystems, with a particular focus on climate change. He served on the AIBS Board of Directors from 1997 to 2000 as a member elected from the AIBS Council. He was treasurer of the Ecological Society of America from 1990 to 1996 and was editor-in-chief of Ecological Applications for six years. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Oecologia and Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. He is the chair of the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program and is president of the Association of Ecosystem Research Centers.

Statement. Never has there been a greater need for an organization with the mission and capabilities of AIBS. Society is dealing with many issues, such as climate change, environmental degradation, bioterrorism, invasive species, and genetically modified organisms, that have major biological components, and AIBS plays a critical role through its publications and public policy activities in helping to educate decisionmakers and the public about the underlying science. AIBS is an important national force in promoting sound science education at all levels by, for example, assuming a leadership role in countering the challenges to the teaching of evolution. And the organization is increasingly active as an advocate for research funding for the biological sciences. At a time of tight federal and state budgets, we need an organization that can be effective in articulating the value of investments in biological research. AIBS fills a unique niche by representing all of the biological sciences and thus complements the efforts of more narrowly focused professional organizations.

AIBS could not be the effective organization it is if the organization was not in sound financial condition. Ten years ago AIBS was struggling financially and as a viable organization. Thanks to wise management by the board and staff, AIBS emerged from these troubling times and has been able to significantly expand its programs and activities. These positive developments were partly attributable to better management but also to the success in bringing in new member societies and organizations. Ten years ago there were 40 institutional members; today there are 87. Moreover, member societies now have options to obtain additional services from AIBS by increasing their contributions. A number of societies now help to support the Public Policy Office, which increases the overall effectiveness of AIBS while also addressing needs of individual societies.

While AIBS has made great strides in the past five to ten years, it must become even more active and effective in its efforts to advance biological research and education. A big challenge facing the staff and board of directors is how to become more effective at a time when individual memberships maybe dwindling (because members increasingly have access to electronic versions of BioScience through their libraries), and the number of institutional memberships is, at best, stable. I believe strongly that biologists and biology need AIBS and am eager to help the organization meet the challenges of the next few years. More specifically, I am confident that I have the skills and experience to fulfill the responsibilities of treasurer and ensure that AIBS remains financially secure. Having served on the AIBS board for three years and as treasurer of the Ecological Society of America for six years, I understand much about the operations of large scientific societies and the financial issues with which they must deal. Having served as editor-in-chief of Ecological Applications for six years, I am familiar with the challenges confronting professional societies that are publishers of scientific journals. I look forward to bringing these skills and my enthusiasm for AIBS to the position of treasurer.

Candidates for Board Member-at-Large

(Two candidates, listed alphabetically: Mary Arthur and Arturo Gomez-Pompa.)

Vote for One

Mary Arthur

Mary Arthur is an associate professor of forest ecology in the Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky. She joined the University of Kentucky faculty in 1993 after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Boyce Thompson Institute in Ithaca, New York. She obtained her MFS from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her PhD from Cornell University. Her fields of interest include forest nutrient cycling, forest productivity, and fire ecology. She currently serves as an associate editor for Forest Science and on the scientific advisory board for the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest.

Statement. The role of AIBS as the "national umbrella organization for the biological sciences" is one that is unique, extremely valuable, and increasingly important. AIBS serves three primary goals in this capacity as the nexus for biologists and biological societies, all of which will continue to be essential for both science and society as we move into the future.

First and foremost, AIBS serves members and society as a national representative for biology and biological scientists in all facets of public discourse and decisionmaking. In this capacity, AIBS has the important goal of working to provide federal policymaking entities with sound science addressing high-priority biological issues. A complementary role of the organization is one of advocacy to secure balanced research funding among the sciences and within the biological sciences. It has been an ongoing challenge to balance research funding among the scientific disciplines and will increasingly be a critical function in the face of tighter budgets and more demand for research dollars.

In addition to building and maintaining relationships among member organizations and the US Congress and related federal agencies, AIBS serves as a conduit for communication and interaction among biologists and their member societies. Maintaining and enhancing these communication networks will be invaluable as biological issues of national and global significance continue to emerge. Addressing this goal requires an informed and engaged group of biologists with a clear sense of their responsibility as scientists and citizens. AIBS has strengthened its efforts to provide timely and important information to all members to facilitate communication and input into relevant issues such as research funding allocation and priorities for new research initiatives.

One of the most excitin\g goals of AIBS is the enhancement of science research, education, and communication. BioScience is critical in meeting this goal as the key outlet for the dissemination of research that addresses issues of biological concern. BioScience is also an important source of information addressing biological sciences in the public policy arena, serving to keep scientists and others informed of relevant developments. AIBS's role in facilitating understanding of biological science among non-scientists is perhaps even more important, and AIBS currently provides assistance to federal agencies, colleges, and universities to support biological education and research. With so much misinformation and misunderstanding at the local, state, and federal levels regarding topics such as evolution, embryonic stem cell research, invasive species, and global warming, to name a few, this focus will be increasingly important and should, in my opinion, take center stage for expansion in the activities of the organization.

I very much appreciate the important and unique role that AIBS plays in the biological sciences. As a member of AIBS for the past 15 years, I would welcome the opportunity to become centrally involved in an organization that bridges the subdisciplines within biology while striving to extend current understanding and research in the biological sciences to the public arena, where it can inform decisionmaking and increase biological understanding at all levels.

Arturo Gomez-Pompa

Arturo Gomez-Pompa is university professor and Distinguished Professor of Botany at the University of California-Riverside. His research and teaching interests are in tropical forest ecology, conservation, management, and ethnoecology. He has a doctor of science degree from the National University of Mexico. He was the founder and director of the National Institute of Biotic Resources of Mexico. He is also a member of the Academies of Science of Mexico, Latin America, and the Third World and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the 1994 Tyler Prize for his work on tropical forest conservation. He is founder and member of the board of directors of several research institutions and conservation organizations.

Statement. AIBS is the most important organization of biological scientists. Even though its name implies an organization of US- based scientists, its influence reaches scientists all over the world. BioScience is one of the most well-respected journals of high impact today, and it is also a basic source of information for many areas of biological sciences. We are living in a time when biology is at the center of a new scientific revolution, and AIBS should be a responsible organization to bring the opportunities and challenges of this revolution not only to our own peers but to any person interested in learning about the amazing new discoveries in the biological sciences, their implications for improving the quality of life of the world, and the risks of their improper use. AIBS should continue to give equal opportunities to all biological disciplines not only in articles accepted but in all forums and projects. The search for understanding the unity, diversity, and complexity of life on Earth should be our message and goal. AIBS could do much more to reach biological scientists in developing countries and collaborate with them in improving the quality of research and teaching. We should explore the possibilities of making BioScience and other journals available through the Internet to universities in the developing world that are training new generations of scientists and developing collaborative programs in research-based biological education. As a board member I will try to initiate discussion on these issues for possible action.

Candidates for AIBS Board elected from the AIBS Council

(Two candidates, listed alphabetically: Patricia G. Gensel and J. Michael Scott.)

Vote for One

Patricia G. Gensel

Patricia G. Gensel received a BA from Hope College, Holland, MI (1966), and an MS (1969) and PhD (1972) from the University of Connecticut-Storrs. Her fields of interest include paleobotany, particularly early land plant evolutionary patterns, diversity, paleobiogeography, and phylogenetic relationships; palynological contributions to the megafossil record; plant morphology; and anatomy. Her present position is professor in the Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has served on several committees of the Botanical Society of America; she was president, past-president, and council representative to AIBS; she served on the board of directors of the American Association of Stratigraphie Palynologists (1986-1988); she was a panel member of the NSF Systematic Biology, Biodiversity, Undergraduate Fellowship, and the Women and Minority Graduate Fellowship programs; and she is a member of the American Fern Society, International Organization of Paleobotany, and Sigma Xi.

Statement. As a current board member and former president of a member society, I now have a much greater understanding and appreciation for how AIBS works and what some of its major initiatives are. AIBS has made great progress in becoming a "voice" in the Washington political arena for organismal biology, as well as in representing the views and needs of its member societies. Educating policymakers about fundamental biological issues that go beyond human health issues, as well as about research funding needs and potential applications of organismal biology research, is another important function in the public policy arena which AIBS is performing. If elected to the board, I will continue to support and promote more growth and development of AIBS's Public Policy Office, so that it can serve its member societies even more effectively, especially by providing relevant and current basic biological information to lawmakers, as the political arena, funding opportunities, research initiatives, and other aspects change.

AIBS is engaged in other initiatives also. Areas in which I think the board can aid in developing or expanding existing initiatives include education, such as setting curricula and training standards in biology education; fighting the battle for evolution as more than a theoretical construct; promoting the study of organismal biology as relevant, exciting, and interactive; and providing information about exciting biological advances and basic biological principles to the non-biologists in our society. Maintaining the high quality of AIBS's journal, BioScience, and continuing to support the BioOne consortium also aids in information dissemination and education. AIBS's IBRCS project to facilitate the development of an NSF funding program for providing infrastructure networks for biological research is also a very forward-looking, major service to constituent societies. Advocating for long-term maintenance of natural history collections and systematic training in order to best document biodiversity also is needed.

AIBS faces many challenges in these and other areas, including how to bring member societies and individuals together at an annual meeting in a way that benefits and interests everyone, how to actively engage both member societies and individuals in its missions, and how to promote continued development of new programs to facilitate biological research and information transfer. If elected to the board, I will support and aid in developing ways to address these many facets to AIBS's mission.

J. Michael Scott

J. Michael Scott received a BS (1966) and an MS (1970) in zoology from California State University-San Diego and a PhD in zoology from Oregon State University (1973). He received the La Roe and Distinguished Service Awards of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Meritorious Service Award of the US Department of the Interior; he was a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he is an honorary member of the Cooper Ornithological Society. His current position is research biologist at the US Geological Survey and professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife at the University of Idaho. His fields of interests include conservation biology; ecology and management of rare birds; reserve identification, selection, and design; science-policy interface; and estimating animal numbers. He was a past AIBS council member at large and council member representing the Cooper Ornithological Society, member of the AIBS Public Policy Committee, and BioScience editorial board member; he also served as past president of the Cooper Ornithological Society and past president of the Pacific Seabird Group.

Statement. The challenges facing society are increasingly complex. Biological problems are no exception. Understanding the composition, structure, and functions of species and ecosystems, the ecological infrastructure of our planet, requires the best efforts of scientists from diverse disciplines. AIBS's role is that of a facilitator of communication and interaction among disciplines, an honest broker at the science-policy interface, as the national representative of the biological sciences and as a forum for biology and biologists. We do those things well. The AIBS is widely recognized for its efforts to bring together scientists, educators, policymakers, and diverse professional societies to convey biological knowledge into decisionmaldng forums at all levels of society. If elected to the board, I would seek to broaden our participation in those efforts by increasing the number of individual members and professional societies belonging to AIBS. If elected, I would also work to advance AIBS and its member societies to more prominent roles in advancing the use of the biological sciences in making policy decisions and educating society about the biological world around them.

BioScience and the annual meeting are highly effective and very visible means of communica\ting advances in the biological sciences. As a board member, I would work with others to strengthen both of the forums. I would seek ways to expand the audience of our annual meeting. I would accomplish this by building stronger links to students and teachers in the 7th through 12th grades and colleges and inviting greater participation by representatives from nonmember societies and the print and electronic media. I would also work with other board members to host field trips and hands-on field experiences for students and educators at our annual meeting. Our recent meetings have featured this country's best scientists; I would like to see science leaders from other nations featured at future meetings.

AIBS excels at making information on the biological sciences more accessible. As a board member, I would work with others to expand BioOne, our Virtual Library, and other outreach efforts. Perhaps our best way to communicate advances in the biological sciences is BioScience. Our journal is what many members and nonmembers most strongly associate with our society. It already is one of the premier journals in biology. I would work as a board member and member of the editorial board to see that it continues to attract the highest quality papers.

We live in a culturally and ethnically diverse world; the ranks of the biological sciences have not kept pace with that diversity. As a board member, I would seek to diversify our membership. One possibility would be to invite students from science classes in ethnically rich schools and colleges to participate in our annual meetings. Finally, AIBS is your society. As a board member, I would seek members' comments and thoughts on the style and content of our meetings, the journal, our policy forums, and other outreach efforts of the society. If we are to continue to grow and flourish as a society, we must stay relevant to the needs of the membership. I would be pleased and honored to work toward that end if elected to the board.

Copyright American Institute of Biological Sciences Sep 2003

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