President's Message

T.R. Lin

As I start my year as your new President, I thank Kristine Smith, the Past-President, her Committee Chairs, the IPMAAC Board, and the IPMA support staff for a successful and fruitful year. Also, welcome Donna Denning, the new President-Elect, and Deonda Scott and David Hamill, newly elected Board Members.

The strategic objectives and work plans for 2001 were approved at the October 2000 Board meeting. The work plans are consistent with the strategic and policy direction of IPMAAC and incorporate all major IPMAAC program areas. You can view this information by visiting our website: ipmaac.org.

With several returning committee chairs (ACN, ECN, Training, Professional and Scientific Affairs, Innovations in Assessment, and University Liaison/Student Paper Competition) committee work has continued according to existing work plans. Names for 2001 Committee Chairs are listed at the end of this newsletter.

Planning for the 2001 annual conference in Newport Beach, California, June 10-14 is well underway. Conference Program Co-Chairs Bronda Silva and Kadee Gonzales and other committee members are currently reviewing proposals that have been submitted. Bronda indicated that the overall quality is strong. In addition to our keynote speaker Edward E. Lawler III who will address the future of HR and the strategies for adding HR value, other invited speakers sponsored by MAPAC, WRIPAC, and PTCs are Marilyn Gowing, Keith Pyburn, and Deniz Ones. Craig Haines and his Host Committee assure me that the social activities will be superb during the conference. Harry Brull and Paul Kaiser volunteer themselves to host extra-social gatherings, snacks and drinks provided, in the President's hospitality suite--every night, Sunday to Wednesday.

Training committee chair Mike Willihnganz is working closely with Mike Aamodt in updating several workshops material in preparation for an in depth review. Ilene Gast, Chair for the Innovation in Assessment Award, has posted the nomination information on the IPMAAC web--the due day is March 2! With the help from the IPMA staff, Charles Sproule, the Bemis Award-Nomination Chair, has contacted all members for suggested nominees. Lee Friedman, the University Liaison/Student Competition Chair and his reviewers will probably evaluate all the student papers submitted by the time you read this column. The Professional/Scientific Affairs Chair Martin Anderson has been following the development on the APA task force report on test user qualifications. The husband and wife team, Beverly and Bill Waldron, continue to assemble valuable information on ACN and IPMAAC web site, despite their very busy work and personal schedules. Harry Brull, Chair for the Marketing/Publicity, is working with committee chairs and the Board for innovative marketing ideas. Kristine Smith already has a slate of candidates lined up for the upcoming president and board member election.

On behalf of the IPMAAC Board, I would like to offer my sincere apology that we have missed publishing a couple issues of ACN, toward the end of last year. As a volunteer organization, some events are out of our control when personal emergencies occurred. Beverly, Kristine, and I have discussed the situation at length and are confident that we will publish ACN every two months for this year. I ask you to give Beverly Waldron, the ACN Editor, your best support by submitting some of your excellent thoughts and suggestions in writing to her in order to share with your fellow professional colleagues. In response to this crisis, the IPMA staff has offered to coordinate the publication of future issues of ACN electronically to those members for whom we have e-mail addresses. Others will then receive ACN via fax. This idea has generated a lot of discussion among Board members. I offer to discuss the format of ACN in June's Board meeting before we make a decision. Please e-mail me at trlin@aol.com with any suggestions.

I hope this brief President's message has provided you with a glimpse of where IPMAAC is now. This is a professional organization that needs your involvement. Please contact any of the committee chairs today to offer any assistance you can give.