ADSA Annual Presidential Report

Abstract

Continued progress and adapting to changes describe much of the 2000-2001 year for the American Dairy Science Association. This year ADSA experienced noteworthy mileposts such as balancing of our books, introducing publications and services in addition to the Journal of Dairy Science, some changes in key personnel, a four-society annual meeting, and planning for the future of ADSA. This report will touch on some of these items. Financial. I am pleased to announce that ADSA is back to a positive financial balance after a couple of years of operating in the red. We still need to rebuild our reserve funds, but the outlook is good. Keeping a tight rein on expenses plus adding some new income sources contributed to the turnaround in our finances. We can thank outgoing Treasurer, Jack Van Horn, as well as former Executive Director Kent Williamson and others for their efforts in this area. Journal of Dairy Science. Time from submission to publication in the Journal ofDairy Science continues to decrease, important in helping us to get the latest research to readers as fast as possible. We are ready to begin online submission and review of manuscripts for the Journal, which will further aid our efficiency. Personnel from Manuscript Central are available next to the ADSA booth to demonstrate how authors· and reviewers can use this system. Our journal continues to be top quality, as illustrated by recent rankings by the Institute for Scientific Information (lSI). Their data indicate that the Journal of Dairy Science was number 1 in the Impact Factor out of 44 agriculture, dairy, and animal science journals for 2000 and 1999, and we ranked number 6 out ofmore than 90 journals in the food science and technology category. Other journals from the FASS group such as Journal ofAnimal Science and Poultry Science are also highly ranked. Please convey this information to your university and business libraries, especially if the library is contemplating the elimination of some subscriptions. Other services. DISCOVER conferences, DASEES (Dairy and Animal Science Electronic Executive Summaries), and the Scientific Reader Series are of some of the newer services provided by ADSA to members and to nonmembers at additional costs. The highly successful DISCOVER conferences were started a couple of years ago by ADSA to allow researchers to discuss a specific topic in an informal setting. A fifth conference on Milk, Dairy Ingredients, and Dairy Foods for the New Decade will take place January 2002 in California. The ADSA Today online newsletter is now published monthly electronically but, starting this fall, we will also send out print versions a few times a year to be sure that all members receive this information. Through FASS we also offer several educational videos and fact sheets on subjects common to several species, and offer the FASS Talent Pool Database. Personnel. We started and ended the fiscal year with excellent Executive Directors, but they are two different people. Kent Williamson left this position February 1 for an opportunity he couldn't refuse. Brenda Carlson, who is no stranger to ADSA because she is a long-term employee ofADSA and FASS, replaced Kent. She was previously Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director ofADSA. After FASS was formed, she held several leadership roles in FASS and, from 1998 to earlier this year, was Executive Director of the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association-one of the several organizations managed by FASS. The transition from Kent to Brenda has been quite smooth. We were pleased that during Kent's short one and onehalf years with ADSA he turned our financial situation around and started some innovative new programs. We thank Kent for all that he did for ADSA and wish him the greatest of success in his new position. For ADSA, Brenda is continuing and improving upon various ADSA activities, and we enjoy working with her. The FASS employees who work essentially full-time for