Formalisation & First Election
As many of you know we had a very productive meeting at the University of Calgary earlier this summer. It was wonderful to see many familiar faces along with some wonderful new colleagues. We owe a huge debt of thanks to the conference organizers Ian Winchester and HsingChi von Bergman for their work in producing a stimulating program at a wonderful venue attracting colleagues from 32 countries!
I am also pleased to report that we made a number of decisions at the business meeting that have moved our group closer to becoming a formal society by building on our nearly 20 successful and productive years as an informal group. At Calgary we approved the by-laws (available at IHPST.ORG) and elected a nominating committee to produce our first slate of candidates. During the meeting, David Rudge kindly took minutes; these are also available on the web site for your review.
To begin the election process we have decided to establish an interim membership list of those entitled to hold offer and/or vote in our first election. This list already includes all of those who attended the Calgary conference and the Science & Education editorial board members along with some who joined IHPST last year as financial members. This gives us a membership base of about 165 people.
This is a good start but we would like to invite as many interested individuals as possible to become initial members of the organization. To encourage membership we have instituted an "open enrollment" period starting now and ending on September 30, 2007. Anyone who would like to be considered a member of IHPST should complete the downloadable Interim Membership Form and return it to IHPST before the deadline.
Art Stinner (stinner@cc.manitoba.ca) as past president will chair the nominating committee along with members Ian Winchester, Augustin Adúriz-Bravo, Calvin Kalman and Michael Matthews all of whom were elected at the business meeting. Please consider providing your name to Art for consideration. The final list of candidates and their biographies will be posted at the end of September and all members will be notified that the election is in process. By mid October of 2007 we will conduct our first vote with those elected serving a two year term ending with the 2009 conference. IHPST has had a proud history and by taking this step toward formalization will continue to grow and thrive. Our members have made a significant impact on science teaching and scholarship through publications, presentations, interest and action. As we become a formal organization, we will both honor the past and prepare for the future.
It has been a privilege to have been president of these past two years during such an important time in our history and I look forward to continuing my service to and participation in IHPST as your past-president!
Sincerely,
William F. McComas
IHPST President 2005-2007
Parks Family Professor of Science Education
University of Arkansas
mccomas@uark.edu