www.apsnet.org
March 2012 • Volume 46 • Number 3
The Sky Is Not Falling David M. Gadoury, Internal Communications Officer, dmg4@cornell.edu Like the title? It got you to read this far. When I find it necessary to communicate with my peers in the department, and it’s something they should not miss, I’ve found that they will open any e-mail that combines the word free and either wine or pizza in the subject line. If I had told you from the outset that I was going to list the highlights of a meeting of APS Council, you’d likely be gone by now. But stick around; you’ll like this. APS Council met in Tucson from January 18 to 22. This is our midyear strategic planning meeting. The above title reflects some interesting data that we reviewed at the meeting: a December 2011 census of plant pathology faculty and graduate students in the U.S. university system. The last time APS Council did this was 2007 (see Plant Dis. 93:1228David M. Gadoury 1237). Given the steady drumbeat of news on economic stagnation since 2008, one might be forgiven if they assumed that our numbers had been drastically reduced in the last four years. In fact, they have not. Let’s take a look at the data. Figure 1 shows the number of self-identified plant pathology faculty in academic departments in all 50 states. There has been a very slight decline in the total number of faculty (from 673 to 642). However, with one exception, both positive and negative changes in faculty numbers were relatively small. Most departments are slightly smaller now than in 2007, but many are also larger (albeit to the same small degree). One half of the decline nationwide was due to the one “outlier” department indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. Change in faculty numbers was not related to absolute size of a department or to whether or not the department was multidisciplinary. Many departments contacted still anticipate a significant number of retirements in the next five years and expressed “cautious optimism” regarding the refilling of many of the vacated positions. The data shown in Figure 2 are from the same census, but this time for self-identified plant pathology graduate students, and here there was a 19% increase in the total numbers (from 685 in
News Call for Papers Closes March 15, 2012 APS invites submissions of poster and oral technical abstracts for the 2012 APS Annual Meeting. Submissions will be accepted online through March 15, 2012. Submissions will not be accepted after March 15, 2012. Acceptance of oral presentations is limited, so submit early. Visit the website for criteria for acceptance, submission instructions, and more at www.apsnet.org/meet. n
You’re Invited to the Eighth Annual OIP Silent Auction The Office of International Programs (OIP) will be holding its eighth annual Silent Auction on Sunday, August 5, 2012, from noon to 6 p.m. We invite members to join us for this one-ofa-kind fundraising event. All proceeds raised from the auction will support OIP’s Global Experience Program. Since its inception, the Silent Auction has raised nearly $23,000. Let’s make this year our best yet! To participate in this year’s Silent Auction, we request that you gather fun and unique cultural items from around the world to be part of the auction. Popular donations in the past have included jewelry, fabric, wine, wood carvings, regional food specialties, books, and other items that reflect your culture or cultures you have visited. When travelling, please keep us in mind and donate your unique, cultural souvenir to a great cause.
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Fig. 2 The Sky is Not Falling continued on page 39
Items can be brought with you with a completed donation form (available online) or sent directly to our member volunteer. More details are available online at www.apsnet.org/members/ outreach/oip/Pages/SilentAuction.aspx. n
In this Issue Editor’s Corner .......................................... 38 Public Policy Board ....................................40 APS Foundation .........................................42 Division News ........................................... 43
Annual Financial Report ........................... 45 Meetings ................................................... 46 People ....................................................... 47 Classifieds .................................................. 50
APS Journal Articles ...................................51 Calendar of Events .....................................52