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Report from the president of the society of clinical trials
Report from the President of the Society of Clinical Trials Robert Gordon
The second annual meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials was held in San Francisco, California, May 11-13, 1981. With a registration of 504, the meeting attracted a large fraction of the Society's total membership, but it seems appropriate, nevertheless, to provide a summary report in these pages for those members who were unable to be there in person. I shall direct attention to the actions of the business meetings of the Board of Directors and the Society's general membership. The scientific program was virtually unchanged from the preliminary version that appeared in Controlled Clinical Trials, volume 2, number 1 (May 1981). In accordance with the bylaws of the Society (CCT, volume 1, number 1, May 1980) the Board of Directors met on May 10. Dr. Thaddeus Prout, of Baltimore, Maryland, was elected to the office of Vice President and Presidentelect for a two-year term. He will automatically succeed me as President of the Society in 1983. Dr. Christian Klimt and Ms. Eugenie Gaudine were reelected as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. The Board also received the report of the Nominating Committee which included a slate of nominees to be presented to the general membership for the selection of new directors to succeed those initial directors whose terms of office were expiring. Although plans had been made for the election of six new directors in 1981, the Board determined that the Society should select four new directors at each annual meeting in the future. Thus the Board would come to consist of 16 elected members, with the possibility of four additional members ex-officio, and one liaison member from the International Society of Clinical Biostatistics. The Membership Committee report was next received. The Society has grown to a strength of 848 members, and the committee is in the process of preparing an inclusive directory, which will be made available to all members. Several questions with respect to membership had been brought to this committee for recommendations, and were presented to the Board. One suggestion concerned the possibility of institutional memberships, through which an organization could enroll a number of its staff simultaneously. The Board agreed with the committee that this would not be desirable, but remanded to the committee for further consideration the possibility of allowing organizations that wished to sponsor the Society to receive the journal and other Society mailings, and to be listed as sponsors in the annual meeting program. Such sponsorship would not include any membership rights. A suggestion Controlled Clinical Trials 2, 253-255 (1981) © 1981 Elsevier N o r t h Holland, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, N e w York, NY 10017
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Report from the President by the committee that married couples, each of whom is a member of the Society, not be required to carry two subscriptions to the journal, was rejected as being too cumbersome to administer, considering the very small number of such couples now enrolled. A proposal to establish a new category of student membership, available to full-time students at universities, carrying all the privileges of regular membership, but with a 50% discount on dues, was adopted. Finally, consideration was given to the establishment of an emeritus membership category. The Board felt that a minimum of five years' active membership should be a prerequisite. The membership committee was asked to study this possibility further, and provide a specific recommendation before 1983, when the Society will have been in existence for five years. The Editor of Controlled Clinical Trials reported that the journal is speeding up its publication schedule and, while volume 2 may not be completed within calendar year 1981, he hopes to be able to complete volume 3 within 1982. The contract with the publisher will continue through 1982, so that the specially negotiated subscription rate of $19 for Society members will remain fixed through the current contract. All members of the Society are urged to prepare and solicit contributions of high-quality manuscripts for the journal. The Treasurer submitted the Society's financial statement and report of the independent auditing firm. These were accepted. It was determined that a modest increase in dues for the coming year would be required, and the Board voted to increase the annual membership dues to $15 beginning in 1982. A copy of the financial and audit statements will be provided to any member requesting one by mail from the Society's office. A proposal from the Maryland Medical Research Institute (MMRI) for a renewal of its contract to serve as secretariat for the Society was considered and approved. MMRI will also provide logistic services for the next annual meeting. The 1982 meeting is scheduled for May 3-5, at the Pittsburgh Hilton. St. Louis and Baltimore have been selected as preferred cities for the 1983 and 1984 meetings, but dates and exact locations have not yet been determined. At the general membership meeting, held on May 12, 1981, six new directors were elected. They are (alphabetically) Drs. Peter Armitage, Byron Brown, Katherine Detre, William Friedewald, Mitchell Gail, and James Hagans. Drs. Thomas Chalmers, Christian Klimt, Curtis Meinert, Thaddeus Prout, and Dale Williams, and Mr. Fred Ederer continue in office. The election was followed by a series of committee reports, covering the same informational items that have been summarized above, and notifying the membership of the related actions of the Board of Directors. The membership voted to thank the outgoing officers and directors for their service to the Society, and took particular note of the work done by Dr. Harold Roth as president and Dr. O. Dale Williams as program chairman. Members of the Society then presented several issues to the President for future consideration. These included the problem of avoiding conflicts with the meetings of other relevant societies, May being a popular month for meetings, the possibility of obtaining accreditation for continuing education for professional nurses who attend, and a proposal that the Society meet either jointly with, or in
Report from the President
255
immediate apposition to, the Biometric Society in some future year. These issues will be considered by the n e w officers and directors of the Society. I look forward to a demanding, but interesting, term as the Society's second president. I hope that the membership will recognize that it is the duty of the president to preside, but not to presume to operate the Society single-handedly. The voluntary contributions of the members, whether or not they serve on the relevant committees, will be essential in the development of the program for the 1982 meeting, in assuring the continued success of the journal, Controlled Clinical Trials, and in helping the Society grow so that it can better carry out its educational, charitable, and scientific purposes in improving the design, conduct, and acceptance of clinical trials and related prospective clinical research. Robert S. Gordon, Jr., M.D., M.H.S. President, Society for Clinical Trials
The second annual meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials was held in San Francisco, California, May 11-13, 1981. With a registration of 504, the meeting attracted a large fraction of the Society's total membership, but it seems appropriate, nevertheless, to provide a summary report in these pages for those members who were unable to be there in person. I shall direct attention to the actions of the business meetings of the Board of Directors and the Society's general membership. The scientific program was virtually unchanged from the preliminary version that appeared in Controlled Clinical Trials, volume 2, number 1 (May 1981). In accordance with the bylaws of the Society (CCT, volume 1, number 1, May 1980) the Board of Directors met on May 10. Dr. Thaddeus Prout, of Baltimore, Maryland, was elected to the office of Vice President and Presidentelect for a two-year term. He will automatically succeed me as President of the Society in 1983. Dr. Christian Klimt and Ms. Eugenie Gaudine were reelected as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. The Board also received the report of the Nominating Committee which included a slate of nominees to be presented to the general membership for the selection of new directors to succeed those initial directors whose terms of office were expiring. Although plans had been made for the election of six new directors in 1981, the Board determined that the Society should select four new directors at each annual meeting in the future. Thus the Board would come to consist of 16 elected members, with the possibility of four additional members ex-officio, and one liaison member from the International Society of Clinical Biostatistics. The Membership Committee report was next received. The Society has grown to a strength of 848 members, and the committee is in the process of preparing an inclusive directory, which will be made available to all members. Several questions with respect to membership had been brought to this committee for recommendations, and were presented to the Board. One suggestion concerned the possibility of institutional memberships, through which an organization could enroll a number of its staff simultaneously. The Board agreed with the committee that this would not be desirable, but remanded to the committee for further consideration the possibility of allowing organizations that wished to sponsor the Society to receive the journal and other Society mailings, and to be listed as sponsors in the annual meeting program. Such sponsorship would not include any membership rights. A suggestion Controlled Clinical Trials 2, 253-255 (1981) © 1981 Elsevier N o r t h Holland, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, N e w York, NY 10017
253 0197-2456/81/030253003502.50
254
Report from the President by the committee that married couples, each of whom is a member of the Society, not be required to carry two subscriptions to the journal, was rejected as being too cumbersome to administer, considering the very small number of such couples now enrolled. A proposal to establish a new category of student membership, available to full-time students at universities, carrying all the privileges of regular membership, but with a 50% discount on dues, was adopted. Finally, consideration was given to the establishment of an emeritus membership category. The Board felt that a minimum of five years' active membership should be a prerequisite. The membership committee was asked to study this possibility further, and provide a specific recommendation before 1983, when the Society will have been in existence for five years. The Editor of Controlled Clinical Trials reported that the journal is speeding up its publication schedule and, while volume 2 may not be completed within calendar year 1981, he hopes to be able to complete volume 3 within 1982. The contract with the publisher will continue through 1982, so that the specially negotiated subscription rate of $19 for Society members will remain fixed through the current contract. All members of the Society are urged to prepare and solicit contributions of high-quality manuscripts for the journal. The Treasurer submitted the Society's financial statement and report of the independent auditing firm. These were accepted. It was determined that a modest increase in dues for the coming year would be required, and the Board voted to increase the annual membership dues to $15 beginning in 1982. A copy of the financial and audit statements will be provided to any member requesting one by mail from the Society's office. A proposal from the Maryland Medical Research Institute (MMRI) for a renewal of its contract to serve as secretariat for the Society was considered and approved. MMRI will also provide logistic services for the next annual meeting. The 1982 meeting is scheduled for May 3-5, at the Pittsburgh Hilton. St. Louis and Baltimore have been selected as preferred cities for the 1983 and 1984 meetings, but dates and exact locations have not yet been determined. At the general membership meeting, held on May 12, 1981, six new directors were elected. They are (alphabetically) Drs. Peter Armitage, Byron Brown, Katherine Detre, William Friedewald, Mitchell Gail, and James Hagans. Drs. Thomas Chalmers, Christian Klimt, Curtis Meinert, Thaddeus Prout, and Dale Williams, and Mr. Fred Ederer continue in office. The election was followed by a series of committee reports, covering the same informational items that have been summarized above, and notifying the membership of the related actions of the Board of Directors. The membership voted to thank the outgoing officers and directors for their service to the Society, and took particular note of the work done by Dr. Harold Roth as president and Dr. O. Dale Williams as program chairman. Members of the Society then presented several issues to the President for future consideration. These included the problem of avoiding conflicts with the meetings of other relevant societies, May being a popular month for meetings, the possibility of obtaining accreditation for continuing education for professional nurses who attend, and a proposal that the Society meet either jointly with, or in
Report from the President
255
immediate apposition to, the Biometric Society in some future year. These issues will be considered by the n e w officers and directors of the Society. I look forward to a demanding, but interesting, term as the Society's second president. I hope that the membership will recognize that it is the duty of the president to preside, but not to presume to operate the Society single-handedly. The voluntary contributions of the members, whether or not they serve on the relevant committees, will be essential in the development of the program for the 1982 meeting, in assuring the continued success of the journal, Controlled Clinical Trials, and in helping the Society grow so that it can better carry out its educational, charitable, and scientific purposes in improving the design, conduct, and acceptance of clinical trials and related prospective clinical research. Robert S. Gordon, Jr., M.D., M.H.S. President, Society for Clinical Trials