FROM THE PRESIDENT
Rick Riera-Gomez
University of Miami
It is an honor and a privilege to move into the President position of the AAUS Board of Directors (BoD) and I look forward to the next two years with great excitement. But first I have some thank yous to mention. I would like to say thank you to outgoing AAUS President Amy Moran for her steady leadership. Her calm demeanor and thoughtfulness was great to have on the BoD as we worked through some very difficult situations. I would also like to thank outgoing BoD members Elliott Jessup and Lora Pride for their service to the Academy. I wish you both a great 2016 in your “real” jobs.
Special thanks must go to longstanding outgoing BoD member Michael Dardeau who has served on the AAUS BoD for the past 12 years. Michael, thank you for your friendship, service and ability to bring an invaluable perspective to the BoD.
With the turnover on AAUS BoD I would like to welcome the following people for stepping onto the 2016 BoD – Marc Slattery, Mike Anghera, Chris Ledford and Vin Malkowski. I look forward to working with you all.
As you may recall, in 2015 the AAUS BoD developed a strategic plan (SP). This SP started in 2014 with a large fact finding period that gathered information from many different groups including the organizational membership, individual membership and past AAUS Presidents. The BoD then worked through this information and identified the strengths and weaknesses of the Academy. The SP puts forth a clear and ambitious path for 2016. During the next 12 months, the AAUS will move forward with initiatives in the SP that membership has identified as priorities.
Some Strategic Plan Highlights for 2016
One of the major initiatives that received overwhelming support from the membership is development and implementation of an accreditation program. We have been working on this program for a while and will be starting with a full accreditation process this spring. This will be a voluntary program and will have some associated costs. We will be sending out details over the next couple of months so please watch for announcements.
Another major initiative that received much support is the development of an AAUS DSO qualification program. We have also been working on this for a few years and it’s time to move it forward. This will also be a voluntary program with associated costs. More details about this will also be forthcoming in the next couple of months.
Some of the other actions identified in the strategic plan that we will be working on in 2016 are increasing communication links, improving collaborations between AAUS and its membership and other community stakeholders, and exploring alternative revenue streams for AAUS, just to name a few.
As you can see we have an ambitious 2016 ahead but I, and the 2016 Board of Directors, welcome the challenge.
FROM THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT
Amy Moran
University of Hawaii
December marks my final month as President of the AAUS, and it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as president for the past two years and on the AAUS Board of Directors for five. We’ve accomplished a great deal in the last five years, none of which would have been possible without the efforts and dedication of too many people to name.
Donors: thank you to for your financial support and donations, large and small, which allow the AAUS Foundation to continue providing support to promising young scientists, and thank you to the organizations, individuals, and institutions that have donated funding, space and resources that allow our meetings and Symposia to be so productive;
AAUS volunteers: thank you to all the AAUS members who’ve contributed their time and expertise to planning, committee work, strategic planning, meeting support, etc. etc.!
I do need to mention a couple of people by name. Mike Dardeau, who’s been on the Board longer than anyone I know of, is stepping down as of January 1. Mike has served on the Board since 2004 and has been Treasurer since 2006, and for most of that time he’s been the main person keeping the AAUS solvent and functional. We all owe Mike a huge debt of gratitude.
Heather Fletcher, who started working with the Board right around the same time that I did, is the heart of the AAUS and I can’t thank her enough for everything she’s done. She’s wonderful to work with and I hope she’ll be with the organization for many years to come.
Finally, to all the Board members I’ve served with: Tim, Rick, Pema, Neal, Narineh, Mike, Michael, Marc, Lora, Liz, Kevin, Jim, Jenn, Jen, George, Elliott, Diana, Christian, Chris, Cheryl, Bill; thank you for making my time as president tremendously productive, and also a lot of fun.
The Academy is in great hands with incoming President Rick Gomez and President-Elect Marc Slattery, and I have full confidence in both of to move the goals of the AAUS forward in the next four years.
Best wishes to everyone for a great 2016!
The 2016 AAUS recipient of the Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Award for Scientific Diving Leadership is Rob Robbins. Come hear Rob speak at this year's symposium.