PRESIDENT'S LETTER

“May You Live in Interesting Times…”

Reported to be an ancient Chinese curse, the first written record of the text in the title is attributed to New York Congressman Frederic R. Coudert, who wrote of his recollection of a letter to a colleague in the Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science in 1939. Speaking about Europe in 1936, Coudert followed these words with “Surely no age has been more fraught with insecurity than our own present time” (1). Perhaps every generation faces its own interesting times, but at the beginning of the 21st century, our interconnected global community faces challenges of food insecurity, energy insecurity, and water insecurity in a frighteningly near-term future. As a community, my hope is that ASPB’s global membership will bring its collective and considerable talents to bear on these challenges. Plant biology is of critical importance to our society, and ASPB needs to voice this message loud and clear.

ASPB President Nick Carpita

Education Foundation coordinator Katie Engen shows how to make seed cups at the White House Easter Egg Roll.

MariaElena Zavala Photo by Nicole Burkart

The members of the Global Plant Council

For the majority of our members, our Society is best known for its publication of the two most cited journals in plant science—Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell—and as convener of the annual Plant Biology meeting, where roughly a third of the membership take the opportunity to network and present their work at this large forum. However, with the growth and evolution of ASPB have come many more opportunities for our members to step up to advance the discipline of plant biology. I have presented some of these ways in previous letters and reiterate some of them here. With close to half of our membership living outside the United States, our Society is ever more engaged with the international plant science community. The Global Plant Council, initiated by ASPB through the leadership of Mel Oliver, is a growing coalition of 20 societies of the world organized to provide a strong voice for the role of plant sciences in addressing global challenges of world hunger, human health and well-being, global climate change, energy and biomaterials, and sustainability and environmental protection (2). Leon Kochian and members of ASPB’s International Committee have organized a workshop this November in Kenya on how molecular breeding can solve real problems in food production. Members are strongly encouraged to build research and education relationships with talented young investigators who are on the front lines of food security in Africa. Agency support is being sought to fund travel for participants of this workshop to attend Plant Biology 2012 in Austin so that they may network with annual meeting attendees with a view toward promoting longer-term research and educational relationships that will accelerate success. If you would like to be kept informed regarding any post-workshop events that are planned during Plant Biology 2012, please contact ASPB’s executive director Crispin Taylor.

The Public Affairs Committee (PAC), under the leadership of past chair Gary Stacey and current chair Dick Sayre, serves as a voice for plant science to the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch, including the federal funding agencies. The PAC develops various strategies for support of basic plant science while coordinating efforts with other plant science societies and related groups. One such way is the creation of the Plant Biology Research Summit that was held this September. This summit engaged a broad spectrum of the plant science community, including researchers, plant and agriculture industries, commodity groups, and the like, to build a true and broad consensus on the ways in which plant science research can most effectively address national challenges and identify priority goals that will need to be met. Roger Beachy, former director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), is working to establish an even broader coalition of organizations in support of dramatically increasing funding for research in plant and agricultural sciences.

ASPB education and outreach activities focus on energizing and fostering the interest of future scientists in plant biology. Together with the Education Committee and Education Foundation, led by chair Erin Dolan and acting chair Mary Lou Guerinot, respectively, ASPB has developed an exceptionally strong portfolio of education and outreach products and activities to ensure that the knowledge of plants begins at an early age (3). One of the highlights of my presidency this year was participating in the ASPB science exhibit at the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. ASPB was selected by the Office of Science and Technology Policy as one of three scientific societies to present activities to promote science education. Our seeds of “success” were planted in egg-carton “mini-pots” by thousands of kids, who carried them off with bookmark handles containing one of the 12 Principles of Plant Biology. My thumb is still numb from cutting up the many hundreds of egg cartons!

Excellence is achievable only when the broadest community is at the table. Twenty-five years ago, when Ellen Weaver reported on the status of women in the plant sciences, a standing committee was launched to address a serious problem of exclusion in a male-dominated Society. Today, the Women in Plant Biology Committee (WIPB), now led by Marta Laskowski, has helped make ASPB a paradigm for other societies and the scientific community at large; women make up one-half of ASPB’s leadership as chairs of standing committees and elected members. They look outward to address issues of particular concern to women scientists and to promote the inclusion and advancement of women in our profession. The Minority Affairs Committee (MAC), under the leadership of MariaElena Zavala, seeks to enhance diversity in our membership and advancement in academia, industry, and government. We still have much to do, and we have the leadership to achieve further progress. One example is through our long-term connections with diversity-serving societies and meetings, such as the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Through the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program and the travel grants programs of WIPB and MAC, ASPB supports annually around 100 young scientists to participate in research and present their work at the annual meeting. Also through support of ASPB, an even greater number of undergraduate and graduate students have been supported to attend and present their work at one of the five regional meetings of the Society.

Editors-in-chief Don Ort and Cathie Martin are guardians of the high standards and reputation of Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell. The chair of the Publications Committee, Sally Mackenzie, has done a marvelous job managing a range of issues, not the least of which is to lead efforts to identify an individual to succeed Don when he steps down from his editorship at the end of next year. But we publish more than these two journals: in addition to the ASPB News, there is the free access, online-only “TAB” (The Arabidopsis Book), the second edition of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Plants (in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell), due out in 2013, and Molecular Life of Plants, due out in 2012 (also with Wiley-Blackwell).

The leadership of ASPB, as elected officers or committee chairs, typically serves for up to three years in any post, but they don’t serve in a vacuum. It is the Society’s staff that ensures that all the parts work—they are what ensure ASPB remains a leading scientific society. In the publications domain this year, we said farewell to managing editor John Long, thanking him for his service to both journals, and we welcomed Patti Lockhart to the post. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the “glue” that holds all this together: director of publications Nancy Winchester. Diane McCauley provides Nancy with a tremendous amount of support while also producing the ASPB News and TAB (and dealing with the occasional tardy submission of a President’s Letter or two!).

The scientific program for the annual meeting is developed by the Program Committee, which is responsible for the tremendous quality of the science presented. Inarguably the hardest responsibility for an elected ASPB officer is serving as secretary and chair of the Program Committee, a position currently held by Judy Callis. But the attendees at the annual meeting rarely have a glimpse into the incredible organization needed to make it happen, especially in the creation of services and opportunities that have been developed alongside the science that is presented. Jean Rosenberg, director of meetings, marketing,
and membership, is the one who lays the foundation for the meeting and so much more. As attendees to our annual meeting well know, Shoshana Kronfeld provides Jean with huge support in member services.

The newest member of the senior staff group is Adam Fagen, our director of public affairs, which includes the education and outreach missions I mentioned earlier as well as extensive legislative affairs responsibilities. Adam quickly grasped the aims and aspirations of our Society and articulates them in written testimony to Congress. Foundation coordinator Katie Engen and Adam deserve a standing ovation for their work to make events such as ASPB’s presence at the White House Easter Egg Roll a huge hit, as well as the many other outreach events that heighten our visibility. Sadly, we will soon say goodbye to Adam, who is moving into the CEO position at the Genetics Society of America.

Largely through the success of our journals, our Society has grown to have a $6 million annual operating budget and an $11 million endowment. The Good Works that ASPB does to enhance our education and research community depends on the astute oversight of the Board of Trustees, chaired by Mary Lou Guerinot, but it also has a great manager in Kim Kimnach, associate director of finance and administration, who makes all the numbers work, regardless of how difficult we sometimes make it for her!

Two new initiatives have been launched this year. The Business Development Committee (BDC), inspired by our immediate past president Tuan-hua David Ho and now chaired by Jim Siedow, is charged with the creation of new revenue streams. At the same time, the ASPB Foundation exploratory committee, chaired by Russ Jones, will explore new approaches toward further growing our endowment. Both activities aim to secure our financial footing as we continue to expand our research, education, and outreach missions. Our executive director, Crispin Taylor, is much more than the manager of a deeply dedicated staff—Crispin elevates the stature of our Society in many tangible and intangible ways. (Take it from me, he is a very good editor, too!) Crispin and I owe a huge thanks to our “minder,” Donna Gordon, executive and governance affairs manager, a great resource and institutional memory whom we both have come to rely on.

I have very much enjoyed this year, with much to learn and so much to do. Tuan-hua David was a tremendous resource, and I thank him for his friendship and inspiration. I welcome incoming president Steve Huber, who took the reins October 1, and offer my best wishes to Peggy Lemaux as president-elect. Welcome also to Julia Bailey-Serres, who will take over for Judy Callis as secretary and chair of the Program Committee. Joining elected members Rita Varagona and Gloria Muday is Rick Vierstra, filling a big hole left by the departure of Kathy Osteryoung. The governance of ASPB is most certainly in good hands, and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this team. They will continue a singular aim to make ASPB the most relevant and responsible society to make a difference in these interesting times.

Nick Carpita
Purdue University

References

1. Coudert, F.R. (1939, May). Preparedness and Foreign Policy: Introduction. Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science XVIII (3): 269.
2. The Global Plant Council
3. ASPB Education