Illinois
Section
American Association of Physics Teachers
Minutes of the Spring Council
Meeting
Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL
Room 211A - Founder's Suite
April 8, 2006
The meeting was called to
order by President Bill Hogan at 7:30 a.m. In attendance were the
following Council members and visitors: Rob Mason, Carl Wenning, Ken
Mellendorf, Ray Bugayong, Brian M. Davies, Chris LaRoche, Troy Gobble,
Elisabeth Langford, Dave Renneke, Ann Brandon, Zak Knott, and Debby
Lojkutz (visitor). The following items were addressed and decisions
made:
Secretary-Treasurer Report:
Carl provided written forms of both. The minutes of the Fall 2005
Council meeting were read and approved without correction. Carl noted a
balance of $5,372.44 on April 4, 2006 minus $122.12 in subsequent
payments. The Treasurer’s report was likewise approved without question
or amendment.
Section Representative Report:
There was no Section Rep report due to Eric Peterson’s recent
resignation from this office along with his move to a new position in
Texas. Bill noted that Eric needs to be replaced. Nonetheless, Ann
briefed the Council on some major points she was aware of given her
presence at the Anchorage Winter Meeting of the AAPT. Ann noted that the
national office is looking at Chicago for a potential winter meeting
site in the not too distant future. More than 600 were in attendance at
the Anchorage meeting – twice the number expected. Bernie Khoury will
stay on as Executive Director until his replacement is found in the next
3 to 6 months.
Representative to the AAPT High School
Committee Report: Ann said there were some 500 entries in the photo
contest, and “more movies than they knew what to do with.” There is
concern about the use of copyrighted music in video productions that
cannot be posted to the Internet. Constant changes in the membership of
the Review Committee has caused significant delays (up to three years)
in the approval of expected publications, but these problems have now
been resolved.
Publicity Chair, Section Editor, and Webmaster
Report: Dave indicated that “there is not much new to report.” There
was a brief discussion about whether or not to continue with hard copy
registration for the Section meetings. Ken noted that he had received
one mailed-in registration and 5-6 faxed transmissions. The hard copy
alternative for registration will therefore remain as a registration
option. Bill acknowledged Dave’s ongoing hard work and thanked him for a
“great job”.
Newsletter Report:
Brian indicated that he had recently sent out 187 issues of the
Illinois Physics Teacher, and that a few had come back due to
addressing problems. He was able to correct addresses and resend all but
one newsletter. Dave and Carl asked that the address updates be sent to
them for updating the Section’s databases. The cost of the newsletter is
about $1 per copy printed and mailed. Ken noted that there should be a
box placed within the newsletter wherein complete and varied contact
information for the editor would be contained. Elisabeth asked about
e-mailing the newsletter as a cost-cutting measure. Bill and Carl
explained efforts a couple of meetings back to see if this was a viable
option. The answer was that it was not due to membership preferences for
hard copy. Both Zack and Elisabeth pointed out the difficulty high
school teachers are having in attending the Section meetings due to busy
schedules and lack of school support. Bill went on his self-described
“annual rant” about getting HS physics teachers to attend the Section’s
meetings. He noted good workshops, good invited speakers, and the
Student Research Symposium (SRS), but called for an increase in
submitted papers dealing with pedagogy as a way to improve the appeal of
the agenda to all prospective participants, including HS teachers. Carl
suggested a joint ISAAPT/IACT meeting (Illinois Association of Chemistry
Teachers) at ISU during the autumn in a future year. The committee liked
the idea, and asked Carl to pursue this. Brian closed by noting that he
is able to agree to producing at least two more issues of the
Illinois Physics Teacher.
Outstanding High School Physics Teacher Award:
Cliff Parker was not able to be present at the Council meeting, so Bill
spoke on his behalf. The system established by Diana Roth continues to
work well. There were only three completely new nominations this year in
addition to those carried over from previous years. The review process
was a bit slow to start, but worked well in the end. The clear winner
for 2006 was Troy Gobble.
Committee for the Distinguished Service
Citation Report: Carl noted on behalf of the committee that they are
seeking nominations for the autumn meeting, and that the current
committee consists of Charles Schulz (Chair), Diana Roth, and himself.
Spring Meeting
Update: Ken reported that there were 57 pre-registrants, and 6
walk-in registrants for the current meeting. There are also 17 SRS
papers, and 41 attended the banquet on Friday evening. The meeting is
expected to break even financially or, at worst, lose about $100. The
Council acknowledged his and Ken Eckstein’s contributions, and thanked
them for hosting an excellent meeting. (SRS winners: Nicholas Juracek,
1st; Matthew Narter, 2nd, Alison O’Connell, 3rd; all winners were from
Illinois State University).
Future Meetings:
Bill noted that the October 13-14, 2006 Rock Island meeting is in the
works, but that the tentatively set spring 2007 meeting at Highland
Community College has been eliminated due to Eric Peterson’s departure
from that institution. Invitations were received from Western Illinois
University (March 30-31, 2007, Brian Davies) and Lincoln Land Community
College (fall 2007, Dave Sykes and Tom Snyder). Both were approved. Carl
was asked to contact Gary Gladding (or Jack Mochel, retired) at UIUC to
see if they would be interested in hosting the spring 2008 meeting along
with the SRS. (As indicated above, Carl will also check with IACT about
a joint meeting at Illinois State University during autumn 2008.) Bill
reported on behalf of Gary Wolber that things are on track for the fall
2006 meeting at Rock Island High School. Sean Carroll will be keynote
speaker; the Iowa Section has not yet committed to a joint meeting;
there are several workshops under development; the banquet will be
catered at the high school; a reception with cash bar will be held after
the banquet at the Sheraton; there is the option of a breakfast buffet
for $6 which the Council thought was a good idea. It was further noted
that Gary met with the Augustana College staff during January “for a
chat”.
New Business:
The following topics were addressed and decisions made:
-
Replacements – Eric Peterson has stepped down as president-elect
and section representative due to his departure from Highland Community
College. Carl agreed to fill in as section rep for the summer meeting.
Elisabeth nominated Carl, Ann seconded, and the Council agreed that Carl
would serve out Eric’s term up until at least the autumn meeting. Troy
indicated a willingness to step up to the position of president-elect.
Elisabeth moved and Carl seconded Troy’s nomination. The motion was
carried unanimously. Troy will continue in his current position as high
school rep on the Council as his term expires with the autumn 2006
meeting. Bill noted that Douglas Franklin has left Western Illinois
University and resigned his position as 4-year college rep. The Council
agreed to ask Doug Brandt of Eastern Illinois University to fill the
unexpired term. (Doug later agreed at the request of Bill.).
-
Teacher Recruitment Web page – Troy moved and Bill seconded to
formally approve the “teacher recruitment web page” as part of the
ISAAPT website. The motion carried unanimously.
-
Staggered Meeting Registration Fee – Curtis Hieggelke has asked that
the Council consider a reduced section meeting registration fee for
retired teachers. No consensus could be established on this issue; the
matter was tabled.
-
Bylaws Committee Update – Eric Peterson, Kim Shaw and Bill are
currently serving as the Ad Hoc Committee for Bylaw Revision. Due to
hectic work schedules and family commitments during the 2005-2006
academic year, they decided to put off the discussion until a later
date.
-
Council Retreat – Carl proposed a day-long Council retreat to
provide time for the above and other discussions about future directions
for the ISAAPT. Troy so moved, Ann seconded. The motion carried
unanimously. Carl agreed to host the meeting at Illinois State
University during the summer. He will attempt to find a mutually
agreeable date.
-
Ik-Ju Kang – Rob noted the February 24 passing of SIUE’s Ik-Ju Kang
who was ISAAPT president during 1982. Rob motioned that the Council
contribute $100 to a memorial fund such as we did for Betty Windham. Ann
seconded the motion. It was carried unanimously. Carl was directed to
send the donation to the Kavlico Endowment that funds the Ik-Ju Kang
Student Scholarship, Attn: Marilyn Marsho, SIUE, Edwardsville, IL
62026-1608.
-
Recruitment Brochure – Carl noted that he will be coming before the
Council soon with a request to professionally produce the teacher
recruitment brochure the Ad Hoc Committee on HS Physics Teacher
Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention had produced. The Council was
agreeable, but no formal motion was made or acted upon. Bill suggested
that the Committee not forget to recruit teachers from among the SRS
students attending future spring meetings.
Adjournment: The meeting was
adjourned at 8:32 a.m.
Carl J. Wenning
Secretary-Treasurer
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