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Spring 2000 |
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Archive of Newsletters |
The meeting was called to order by the current president, Charles France, at 5:30 p.m. The first order of business was consideration of nominations for the next president-elect. Volunteers were sought and by the time the ballot was mailed, we had the required three nominees: Patrick Beardsley, David Gauvin, and Joe Porter. The next order of business was review of the progress of SSPD over the last year and plans for the future. Charles summarized highlights of our well-attended meetings at Neuroscience in Los Angeles (in November 1998) and at the BPS/EBPS meeting in Boston (September 1999). Given the success of the dual-meeting format this year, discussion turned to the possibility of continuing to have two meetings next year. Sentiment remained high that the Neuroscience SSPD session should stay. A second meeting in conjunction with the ASPET meeting in Boston was proposed. Advantages of SSPD sponsorship of a session at this meeting would include positive support for the new Behavioral Pharmacology section of ASPET and enhanced visibility of the organization to pharmacologists not directly involved in the study of the stimulus properties of drugs. In addition, the BPS is meeting in Boston immediately prior to ASPET. A motion was made for SSPD to support a session at the ASPET meeting and was unanimously approved. (See additional details in this newsletter.) Membership issues were next on the agenda. I initiated a discussion of how to handle membership/database for members who had not paid their dues for a number of years, particularly those for whom the address listed in the database was uncertain. Jim Woods expressed concern that inactive, but interested, individuals might be dropped from the membership. Others expressed concern about the impact of this on international members not in the USA. A motion was made to drop past members from the rolls upon failure to pay their dues for two consecutive years. I reiterated that the major purpose of the proposal was to develop a mechanism through which to purge the database of former members for whom contact information and continued interest was uncertain. The motion was passed unanimously. Charles encouraged attendees to get the membership growing by stimulating new members, particularly students and young scientists, to join. The Treasurer's report was next (see next page). SSPD is in a healthy financial position as the result of reliable and generous donations from industry given as an expression of support for our organization. A list of companies that have made recent donations to SSPD is given on page 4 of this newsletter. TREASURER'S REPORT (12/31/98 - 10/22/99)
Following the Treasurer's report, Charles formally introduced our new Web site (http://www.sspd.org.uk/). As mentioned in the last newsletter, this site was designed and has been maintained by Ian and Dominic Stolerman. During the meeting, we discussed issues related to registration and continued maintenance of the site. Although several options were proposed, there was general agreement that SSPD should register its own name (SSPD.ORG.UK). In addition, a proposal was made and accepted for Dominic to continue to manage the site for $30/hr, with Ian supervising and reviewing items before they are placed on the site. This situation will be reviewed at the next Neuroscience session in the fall of 2000. The scientific session began following adjournment of the business meeting and refilling of drinks. We had four presenters, with plenty of lively questions and debate following each talk. Talk titles and presenters are listed below.
The scientific session ended at 9:00 p.m Jenny Wiley, Ph.D.
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Summer 2004