Illinois Section
American Association of Physics Teachers

Minutes of the Fall Council Meeting
Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield, Illinois
October 13, 2007

President Troy Gobble called the meeting to order at 7:50 am. Council members present: Past President Bill Hogan, President-Elect Debby Lojkutz, Webmaster Dave Renneke, Secretary/Treasurer Dave Sykes, Newsletter Editor Brian Davies, Doug Brandt, Chris LaRoche, Tom Foster, Rob Mason, Zak Knott, Ann Brandon, Ray Bugayong, Tom Snyder, Ken Mellendorf, and Elizabeth Langford, as well as Rebecca Vieyra, Tom Carter, and Carl Wenning (visitors).

E-Action Items: Four items were acted upon by the ISAAPT Council between the Spring and Fall meetings via the Council List-Serve.

1. A motion to approve the Council Minutes of the Spring Meeting at Western Illinois University was made on 4/13/07. After discussion, corrections, and vote, Troy Gobble e-mailed the council on 4/24/07 that the motion had been approved.

2. The following motion was made by Carl Wenning on 4/13/07: To have the ISAAPT allocate $750 for the production - in possible cooperation with the Illinois Association of Chemistry Teachers (IACT) and the Illinois Association of Science Teachers (ISTA) - of two publications "A Career in Science Teaching" and "Guidelines for Recruiting the Next Generation of Science Teachers." After the vote Troy Gobble e-mailed the council on 4/27/07 that the motion had been approved.

3. The following motion was made by Dave Sykes on 8/16/07: To have the secretary/treasurer of the ISAAPT set up a fund with the National AAPT for the purpose of managing and dispersing money from, or generated by, the donation of $30,000 made to the ISAAPT from Dr. Thomas Rossing. After the vote Troy Gobble e-mailed the council on 8/30/07 that the motion had been approved.

4. Nominations were forwarded to the council by the Distinguished Service Citation Committee (Diana Roth and Dave Sykes) on 10/01/07: Troy Gobble e-mailed the committee on 10/03/07 that a vote of the council had approved of Dr. Bill Hogan as this years recipient.

Secretary-Treasurer Report: Dave Sykes presented the treasurer's report (see attached). A motion to approve the treasurer's report was made by Deb Lojkutz and seconded by Zak Knott. Motion was approved.

Section Representative Report: No section representative report was submitted as section rep Kim Shaw is no longer with the ISAAPT.

High School Representative Report: Ann Brandon reported the following items: 1) The New Teacher Handbook should be published early next year. 2) The AAPT needs a Tech Editor. 3) Work is being done to develop and/or revise a document outlining the AAPT's position on the place for labs in a physics course. 4) The AAPT requires at least 7 sessions and 6 workshops for high schools at national meetings.

Publicity Chair, Section Editor, and Webmaster Report: Dave Renneke reported that all is going well with the Web pages.

Newsletter Report: Brian Davies reported that 130 copies of the Illinois Physics Teacher were printed and distributed at a cost of about $1.00 each.

Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award: Troy Gobble reported that the nomination forms have been sent out.

Committee for the Distinguished Service Citation Report: Dave Sykes reported that Dr. Bill Hogan was this years recipient and the committee is now comprised of Diana Roth (chair), Bill Hogan, and Dave Sykes.

By-Laws Revision: Bill Hogan reported that work on revising the by-laws has yet to commence.

Current Meeting Update: Dave Sykes reported that 50 people had registered for the meeting. Dave also reported income at the meeting was about $1900 and expenses were projected at about $1800. Overall, Dave estimated at least a $100 net gain for the meeting.

Future Meetings:

    Spring, Apr. 4-5, 2008 - University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
    Fall, Oct. 10-11, 2008 - Illinois State University, Normal.
    Spring, 2009 - Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington (tentative).
    Fall, 2009 - Illinois Central College, East Peoria (tentative).

Carl Wenning reported that the Fall, 2008 meeting at ISU will be a joint meeting with the Illinois Chemistry Teachers Association. No report was made for the upcoming meeting at UIUC.

Nominations Committee Report: Bill Hogan reported that the slate of nominees for the upcoming elections (to be held at the General Membership Business Meeting this afternoon) were as follows:

    President-Elect: Tom Foster
    Four Year Representative: Doug Brandt
    Two Year Representative: Tom Carter
    High School Representative: Don Reid

Discussion ensued concerning the need for a section representative who could consistently attend national meetings.  During the last three or four years several members have taken turns to fulfill the duties of the section rep. No solution to the problem was arrived at. Dave Sykes stated that provisions in the constitution require the election of a single person. As a result the council sought a member who could (at least for the next national meeting) take on the position of section representative. Elisabeth Langford volunteered and consequently became the nominee.

Old Business - Rossing Fund: Dave Sykes reported that both Dr. Thomas Rossing and the national AAPT found it acceptable to manage the money donated by Dr. Rossing. Dave hopes that by the end of the semester a process for management and dispersal of monies from the fund will be in place. Since the fund is to be used only for joint meetings involving the ISAAPT, discussion ensued as to how to facilitate such meetings. It was agreed that institutions near state lines would be encouraged to be hosts along with planning on more joint meetings with the Chicago Section.

New Business:

1. Carl Wenning reported that other states have inquired about using the format and text of the Teacher Recruitment Brochures and Booklets. Carl outlined a method by which the ISAAPT (and other associations who contributed financially to the making of the brochures and booklets) could make some money. He then made the following motion: To allow other entities to use the Science Teacher Recruitment Brochure and Booklet "templates" in exchange for a $300 "licensing fee". Bill Hogan seconded and the motion was approved. The $300 would be split between the state associations that contributed to the creation of the brochures and booklets. The ISAAPT has a 20% financial stake in the brochures and booklets and thus would earn $60 on every licensing-fee transacted.

2. Carl reported that it is now appropriate to initiate a mailing of the brochures and booklets (one booklet and four brochures) to schools throughout the state. Ann Brandon volunteered to facilitate the mailing. It was agreed that the ISAAPT will be responsible for the costs incurred by the mailing.

3. Dave Renneke reported that he had established the domain name illinois-science-teaching.info. Bill Hogan made the following motion: To reimburse Dave Renneke $45 for this Web domain name for three years. Zak Knott seconded and the motion was approved.

4. Troy Gobble initiated a discussion on the importance of the ISAAPT becoming more politically active, especially in its relationship with the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). After some discussion, Carl made the following motion: To create an ad-hoc committee to investigate the possibility of establishing a relationship with the IHBE, in cooperation with other science teacher organizations, for the purpose of providing a mechanism for effective communication between said organizations. The motion was seconded and approved.

5. Dave Sykes reported that with recent initiatives instigated by the ISAAPT, spending has increased significantly without new revenue. After discussion, Dave made the following motion: To present to the ISAAPT membership at the Business Meeting for their approval, annual ISAAPT dues of $20 for college faculty and $10 for high school faculty. The motion was seconded and approved.

6. Carl Wenning reported the guidebook given to graduates of ISU's Physics Teacher Education Program would cost approximately $250 this year and that it is the custom and commitment that these be paid for by the ISAAPT.

Adjournment: The Council meeting was adjourned at 9:20 am.

Business meeting:

The annual business meeting of the ISAAPT was held during lunch, Saturday, October 13. Two items were acted upon:

1. Upon the recommendation of the Council, the following motion was made: To increase the annual ISAAPT dues to $20 for college faculty and $10 for high school faculty. After a second and discussion the motion was approved.

2. Upon the recommendation of the Council, the following motion was made: To elect the slate of nominees as approved by the Council. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

Faithfully submitted,

Dave Sykes
Lincoln Land Community College
Springfield, IL 62794-9256
217-786-2404
dave.sykes@llcc.edu