Illinois
Section
American Association of Physics Teachers
Minutes of the Fall Council
Meeting
Riverside-Brookfield High School, Room 185
October 29, 2005
The meeting was called to
order at 7:06 a.m. by President Kim Shaw. In attendance were Ken
Mellendorf, Ken Eckstein (guest), Cliff Parker, Christopher LaRoche,
Troy Gobble, Dominic Sarsah, David Renneke, Rob Mason, Eric Peterson,
William Hogan, Deborah Lojkutz, Brian Davies, and Carl Wenning. The following matters
were addressed and decisions made:
Secretary-Treasurer Report:
The minutes of the previous Council meeting were review and approved
without correction. The Treasurer's report was likewise reviewed. Carl
noted a balance of $4,910.61, not including a $300 deposit made to Al's
Charhouse (Casa Magarita Restaurant) for the current meeting. A total of $224.55 of
the current balance is reserved for the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on
Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention. This represents the balance of
a $500 grant made to ISAAPT by the national office for use by the
Committee. The Treasurer's Report was approved without correction. Carl
noted that the Section now carries a liability insurance policy through
Grinnell Insurance. The $2,000,000 policy currently costs $135 per year.
Section Representative Report:
Eric Peterson summarized the formal report he had sent to the Council
via listserv, and which is now posted to the ISAAPT website. He noted
that the next AAPT winter meeting would be held in Anchorage, Alaska,
and that this would probably be the last national winter meeting of the
AAPT. It is expected that a single national winter meeting now will be
replaced by a number of regional winter meetings. He noted that next
summer's meeting would be in Syracuse, New York. He further noted that
it would be appreciated if the Section would provide at least partial
support for the Section Rep. attending the summer national meetings as
otherwise the Section Rep. has to bear all costs personally.
Representative to the AAPT High School
Committee Report: As Ann Brandon was not present at this meeting,
there was no report. It was noted that Ann had just retired from many
years of teaching at Joliet West High School, and that this was the
first time in many years that Ann was not present at a Section meeting.
Her presence was indeed missed.
Publicity Chair, Section Editor, and Webmaster
Report: Dave Renneke noted "things are going fine," pointing to the
recent publication of the Section's information in The Announcer.
Dave noted that he'd like to add the option of joining the ISAAPT
online; the Council's consensus was that this was a good idea. Because
online payment has a significant cost in relation to the dues assessed
($5), it was agreed that the Secretary/Treasurer would be informed of
any membership request and that a prospective member would be invoiced
and sent a remittance envelope for dues payment. Troy Gobble noted
David's work in this position, and copiously thanked him for his work on
behalf of the ISAAPT this past year.
Newsletter Report:
Because Roger Reeves was not present at the meeting, Carl Wenning spoke
on his behalf. He indicated that Roger has now stepped down from the
position of editor of the The Illinois Physics Teacher, noting
that he had served as editor for many years consistently doing an
excellent job. Brian Davies agreed to take the position of newsletter
editor for one year. He will contact Roger for the masthead and MSWord
template for future use.
Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award:
It was noted that Diana Roth had stepped down from her leadership
position, and that Cliff Parker would be replacing Diana in the effort
to solicit, obtain, and distribute for evaluation nominations and
applications for the Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award.
Cliff noted that he will soon start the process of soliciting
nominations for this award that is conferred at the spring meeting.
Committee for the Distinguished Service
Citation Report: Carl Wenning spoke on behalf of the committee that
this year was composed of Bob Frank and Charles Schulz as immediate past
winners, and himself as Secretary/Treasurer. This year's recipient was
Diana Roth of Lanphier High School in Springfield, recognized for her
presentations to and work on behalf of the ISAAPT. The new committee
will consist of Diana, Charles, and Carl. Carl thanked Kim Shaw for once
again securing the necessary plaque.
Ad Hoc Committee on
Bylaws: It was moved, seconded and carried to establish an Ad Hoc
Committee on Bylaws to review and make recommendations for improvement
in the ISAAPT Bylaws. It was pointed out that the current Bylaws are
incomplete, lacking such critical information as when officers are
installed in office. The Bylaws Committee will consist of Kimberly Shaw,
Bill Hogan, and Eric Peterson. Input will be solicited from the Council
via listserv.
Ad
Hoc Committee on Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention: Carl
Wenning noted on behalf of the Committee (consisting of Kim Shaw, David
Sykes, and himself) that a roundtable would be held later on Saturday
morning to discuss the work of the Committee, especially to gain input
on a proposed recruitment brochure for students that can be distribute
by high school physics teachers to their best prospective candidates.
Future Meetings
Updates: Ken Mellendorf noted that things are on track for the East
Peoria meeting to be held April 7-8, 2006, at Illinois Central College.
He will be working with Ken Eckstein to present the meeting.
Preparations are also under way by Gary Wolber to host the October 13-14
meeting at Rock Island High School now that the ISAAPT carries the
required liability insurance. Eric Peterson noted that the meeting at
Highland Community College will likely be held during spring 2007, with
a slight possibility of fall 2007 instead. In the event that Eric hosts
the spring meeting, a host for the fall meeting will be needed and visa
versa. It was motioned that UIUC might want to consider serving as host
for one of these as they seem to do so every four years or so. Brian
Davies noted that Western Illinois University is considering hosting the
spring 2008 meeting; the arrangement is tentative. Dominic Sarsah noted
that he is willing to host a meeting at Illinois Valley Community
College in the future, once a new conference center is finished for
campus. Troy Gobble noted that the current meeting was going well, and
that the appeal for "active learning" papers seemed to have had its
desired effect.
New Business:
The following new business was addressed:
-
David Renneke asked about regularizing a staggered registration fee for
meetings to include special consideration for not only students, but
high school teachers as well. The Council was agreeable, and this will
be worked into the Bylaw revisions.
-
Carl
Wenning, speaking on behalf of Past President Mark Boley, presented the
slate of nominees for office: Eric Peterson - President Elect, Ray
Bugayong - 4-year College Rep., Rob Mason, 2-year College Rep.,
Elisabeth Langford - High School Rep., and Eric Peterson - Section Rep.
(All were elected unanimously by voice vote at the noon membership
meeting.)
-
Carl
Wenning restated Eric Peterson's request for support to attend the
national meetings as Section Rep. Troy Gobble motioned that $250 be
allocated for the Section Rep. to cover summer meeting expenses; there
were several seconds. The motion was carried without significant
discussion.
-
Rob
Mason noted the work of the Illinois Articulation Initiative, and
mentioned difficulties the Physics Committee was having. He indicated
that only 8 of some 20 committee members had been attending recently,
and encouraged Council members to promote attendance at these meetings
of members from their institutions, if any. He further noted that the
Committee might need some outside support to bring their work to
fruition.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned
at 8:05 a.m.
Carl J. Wenning
Secretary-Treasurer
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