AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

Meeting of the Council

23–24 September 2003

Boston, MA

Minutes

President Friday called the Council to order at 9:00 a.m. on 23 September.

Present: President Friday, President-Elect Avery, Past-Presidents Rosen and Serafin; Councilors Arkin, Barros, Blaskovich, Carr, Colton, Fine, Jones, Karl, Karoly, Paegle, Stephens, Thompson; Commissioners Ban, Colman, Klemp, Rasmusson, and Winkler; Executive Director McPherson; Secretary–Treasurer Spengler; Recorders Seitter and Annese.

1. Agenda

President Friday welcomed the Council to the meeting and led introductions around the room. He then reviewed the agenda, noting a few topics that were likely to require lengthy discussion.

2. Minutes and mail ballots

All minutes of past meetings had been approved by e-mail ballot, so no formal action was required, but President Friday reminded all Councilors to respond promptly to e-mail ballots when they were issued.

3. STAC Commission report

Commissioner Colman began his report with a series of items requiring Council approval. The Council voted to approve the proposal from the Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Committee to have their 2005 conference in Canada, and also voted to approve dedicating the preprint CD-ROM for the 2005 Agricultural and Forest Meteorology conference to David W. Goens. After some discussion on the need to get named symposia proposals to fit into the normal awards schedule, the Council voted to approve named symposia at the 2005 Annual Meeting in honor of Edward N. Lorenz and Syukuro Manabe. Commissioner Colman reported that he is working with AMS staff to prepare a program chair's handbook to aid program committees in the organization of conferences. Colman noted that the Climate Variations STAC Committee had initiated a discussion on the timing and process for updating the climate change statement. After some discussion, it was agreed that a few Council members would work with the chair of this committee to map out options for undertaking the next statement on climate change.

[Councilor Barros joined the meeting during the prior agenda item, and AMS legal counsel Robert McLaughlin joined before the start of the next item.]

4. Professional Affairs Commission report

Commissioner Ban briefed the Council on the certification proposals put forward for action at this time, beginning with the 12 September 2003 implementation plan, marketing plan, and communications plan proposals of the CCM Board. He noted the thorough communications plan implemented by the CCM board and reviewed the proposal for using portfolios to track professional development activities. Counselor McLaughlin reviewed the legal aspects of the proposal, stating that overall he was comfortable with the approach being suggested. He noted that there were a number of details that would have to be worked out as the formal policies and procedures were written during the implementation phase. The Council discussed the proposal at length, including the many comments, both for and against the proposed changes that had been received from the CCM community. The Council agreed with the Executive Committee's recommendation that it should be made clear that audits of the portfolios will take place to assess the effectiveness of the process, that an appeals process needs to be included, and that aspects of the schedule for implementation need to be addressed. The sense of the Council was overwhelmingly in favor of moving forward following the spirit of the proposal, and it was agreed that a more formal resolution should be drafted to serve as a motion for Council vote. Two Council members agreed to draft such a resolution for consideration later in the meeting.

[Councilor Stephens joined the meeting at this time.]

Commissioner Ban briefed the Council on the 12 September 2003 Certified Broadcast Meteorologist proposal prepared by the Broadcast Board. Again, Counselor McLaughlin expressed his support for the approach and noted only a few issues on the timing of the implementation that will have to be addressed as the formal policies and procedures are written for implementation. The Council carried out a lengthy discussion on this proposal, as well, with the sense of the Council again being overwhelmingly supportive of moving forward with the approach outlined in the proposal. Again it was agreed that a formal resolution would be prepared to serve as a motion for vote.

Commissioner Ban next briefed the Council on the proposal from the Private Sector Board that the Award for Applied Meteorology be named after an individual from the community. The Council voted to forward this proposal to the Awards Oversight Committee for further consideration and asked that the AOC prepare a recommendation to the Council.

On the recommendation of Commissioner Ban, and with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, the Council voted to approve the following appointments and reappointments: Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists: Stan Marsh, chair 2004; Elliott Abrams, four-year term ending 2008; Board of Broadcast Meteorology: John McLaughlin, chair 2004; Gene Norman, three-year term ending 2007; Board for Continuing Education: Steve Newman, three-year term ending 2007 and chair in 2004; Elizabeth Carter, three-year term ending 2007; Board of Private Sector Meteorology: Maria Pirone, chair 2004; Bob Baron, Kathy Lucas, and Randall Alliss, three-year terms ending 2007; Board for Operational Government Meteorologists: Neil Stuart, chair 2004; Paul Duval, Reggina Garza and Bruce Telfeyan, three-year terms ending 2007.

Commissioner Ban concluded his report with a brief overview of the many activities underway by the boards under the Commission and expressed his appreciation for efforts of the volunteers making up these boards.

5. STAC Commissioner appointment

The Council voted to reappoint Commissioner Colman, whose first term expires in January 2004, to an additional three-year term ending January 2007, and thanked Colman for his leadership during his first term.

6. Professional Affairs Commissioner appointment

The second term of Commissioner Ban expires in January 2004, and the Council voted to appoint John Toohey-Morales as Commissioner of Professional Affairs for a three-year term ending January 2007. The Council expressed its appreciation for the excellent leadership provided by Commissioner Ban in his role as Commissioner for the past six years.

The Council recessed for lunch from 12:05 p.m. to 1:10 p.m.

7. Continuing Education Opportunities

Deputy Executive Director Seitter briefed the Council on an outline of continuing education opportunities that was prepared by the staff working with the Board on Continuing Education. The Council discussed a number of options in the outline, suggested that distance learning opportunities coming from partnerships with other organizations be pursued most aggressively, and asked the Board on Continuing Education to continue to work toward a draft implementation plan for expanding the Society's continuing education offerings.

8. Publications Commission Report

Commissioner Klemp reported on the activities of the Commission and the issues coming from its meeting earlier in the summer. The improvements in the journals online were noted, along with progress in the transition toward a paperless workflow for the journals and the decision to discontinue the year-end subject indexes. Klemp reviewed the Commission’s discussion on issues surrounding the possible divergence of the print and online versions of the journals and reported that the Commission felt that there should be no divergence at this time. Instead, the Commission asked that the staff look for ways to reduce the author charges associated with printing color figures until the time that the print journals are discontinued, which the Commission felt would be within about five years. The Council discussed this issue at some length, including financial implications, the role that discontinuation of the print journals might play in the merger of all journals into a unified journal of the AMS (which has been put before the membership in a recent article in BAMS), and the need for the AMS staff to continue to work with other societies so that changes in the AMS journals are consistent with the way other scientific societies are allowing their journals to evolve. On the issue of the discontinuation of the print version of the journals, the sense of the Council was that this would happen in a relatively few years, and that a business model should be developed that anticipated the move to online only dissemination.

On the recommendation of Commissioner Klemp and with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, the Council voted to approve the following appointments and reappointments: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences: Patrick Minnis, Walter Robinson, and Andy Heymsfield, editors, three-year terms ending 2007; Theodore Shepherd, Chief Editor, two-year extension ending 2006; Journal of Applied Meteorology: David Kristovich, editor, two-year extension ending 2006; Larry DiGirolamo, editor, three-year term ending 2007; Journal of Climate: David Stephenson, editor, three-year term ending 2007; Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology: Kevin Leaman and Edward V. Browell, Co-Chief Editors, two-year extension ending 2006; Monthly Weather Review: David Raymond, editor, two-year extension ending 2006; David Schultz, editor, three-year term ending 2007; Weather Analysis and Forecasting: David Stensrud and Harold Brooks, Co-Chief Editors, three-year terms ending 2007; Journal of Physical Oceanography: Roger Samelson, editor, one-year extension ending 2005; Journal of Hydrometeorology: Dennis Lettenmaier, Chief Editor, one-year extension ending 2005.

Commissioner Klemp asked that members of the Council feel free to forward to him names of individuals who might make good editors.

9. Publications Commissioner appointment

The Council voted to reappoint Commissioner Klemp, whose first term expires in January of 2004, to an additional three-year term ending January 2007, and thanked Klemp for his leadership during his first term.

10. Certification resolutions

Past-president Serafin, Councilor Arkin, and Commissioner Ban presented the following resolutions, which were each approved by unanimous vote of the Council.

Council Resolution on Continuing Professional Development for CCM’s

The Council endorses the ad hoc committee’s draft implementation plan for continuing professional development for CCM’s. The Council asks that the Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists take the next steps toward implementation by working with AMS staff to draft a formal statement of policy and procedures, in accordance with the ad hoc committee’s report, subject to review by AMS legal counsel, with the goal being final review by the Council at the 2004 annual meeting.

The Council asks that the CCM Board consider the following in its draft of implementation procedures:

1) Provisions for an appeal process should a CCM fail to meet the professional development standards.

2) Reconsideration of the schedule for initial portfolio evaluation, taking into account that the date in the draft report of January 1, 2005 may be insufficient for some CCM’s to develop satisfactory retrospective portfolios.

3) Provisions for the CCM Board Chair to review randomly selected portfolios from time to time to evaluate functionality of the program.

4) Procedures for evaluating the portfolio and updating the PDS point standards.

Council Resolution on CCM Communications

The Council endorses the ad hoc committee’s draft communication plan for CCMs and asks the CCM board and AMS management to proceed with continued implementation of the communications mechanisms put in place during the ad hoc committee’s deliberations and make modifications to the plan as appropriate.

Council Resolution on CCM Marketing

The Council endorses the intent and many of the concepts in the ad hoc committee’s draft marketing strategy. The Council asks the CCM Board to proceed with implementation. However, the Council feels that the roles of AMS should be to inform, advocate, and communicate, and not to market in the strict sense, and that marketing should be the role of CCM’s. The roles of AMS in the draft strategy appear appropriate for AMS, but AMS must approve any such proposed roles in the future. The Council suggests the title of the marketing strategy be changed to “Advocacy and Marketing Strategy.”

Council Resolution of Appreciation

The Council expresses its sincere thanks to the ad hoc committee, its chair Joe Schaefer, and CCM Board chair Stan Marsh for their careful consideration of the complex issues involved and for their thoughtful and comprehensive report.

Council Resolution on the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Implementation Plan

The Council endorses the Broadcast Board’s draft implementation plan for the establishment of the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) program. The Council asks that the Board of Broadcast Meteorologists take the next steps toward implementation by working with AMS staff to draft formal procedures, in accordance with the Board’s recommendation subject to review by AMS legal counsel with the goal being final review by the Council at the 2004 annual meeting.

11. Education and Human Resources Commission report

Commissioner Winkler reported on a number of activities within the Commission, including the Education Symposium, the International Education Symposium, the Student Conference, the biennial Heads and Chairs meeting, mentoring of minority scholarship recipients, plans for the next membership survey, and efforts to assess the impact of the Society's precollege programs. Winkler said that a proactive approach would be taken in seeking nominations for the various awards falling under the purview of the Commission. The sense of the Council was to move forward with a survey of the membership to be conducted with the 2005 membership renewals in the fall of 2004.

On the recommendation of Commissioner Winkler, and with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, the Council voted to approve the following appointments and reappointments: Committee of Judges for Undergraduate Awards: Donna Tucker, Chair 2004; Jonathan Martin, four-year term ending 2008; Board on Higher Education: Patricia M. Pauley, Chair 2004; Steven Ackerman, reappoint for three-year term ending 2007; Everette Joseph, Laura Furgione, Elen Cutrim, appoint for three-year terms ending 2007; Board on Outreach and Pre-College Education: Rajul E. Pandya, Paul Ruscher, Jack C. Williams, reappoint for three-year terms ending 2007; Yolando Amadeo, Marianne Hayes, appoint for three-year terms ending 2007; Board on Women and Minorities: Sarah Long, Shirley Murillo, Tom Windham, reappoint for three-year terms ending 2007; Barbara Walton-Faria, John Merrill, appoint for three-year terms ending 2007.

The Council discussed a draft joint society resolution calling for collaboration among the societies toward increasing the diversity of those in the earth sciences. The consensus of the Council was to become a signatory on the resolution after it had undergone some additional editing.

12. Planning Commission report

Commissioner Rasmusson reported on the activities of the Commission, noting especially the role of the Commission in reviewing the mid-term review of the Ten-Year Vision.

13. Planning Commission appointments

With Commissioner Rasmusson's term ending in January of 2004, the Council voted to appoint George McVehil Commissioner for a three-year term ending January 2007. The Council thanked Rasmusson for his leadership of the Commission. The Council also voted to appoint Mary Glackin to the Planning Commission for a four-year term ending January 2008.

14. Awards

The awards nominations and supporting materials were provided to the Council by Past-President Rosen, as chair of the Awards Oversight Committee, prior to the meeting for review and e-mail discussion. The Council voted to approve the recommendations of the Awards Oversight Committee and Executive Committee on the following awards. (The nominations are identified below with the committee/Commission that forwarded them to the Awards Oversight Committee for consideration.)

Atmospheric Research Awards Committee: Rossby, Peter J. Webster; Charney, Richard Rotunno; Meisinger, Brian E. Mapes; Houghton, James M. Haywood.

Oceanographic Research Awards Committee: Suomi, Michael H. Freilich; Sverdrup, Toshio Yamagata; Stommel, Friedrich A. Schott.

Awards Oversight Committee (directly): Brooks, Mary M. Glackin; Abbe, John W. Zillman; Outstanding Services to Meteorology by a Corporation, Aerodyne Research, Inc.; Special, NOAA Weather Radio.

Education and Human Resources Commission: Anderson, Margaret A. LeMone; Teaching Excellence, Howard B. Bluestein; Battan, Hurricane Watch by Robert C. Sheets and Jack Williams; Battan K-12 category, Hurricane Strike.

STAC Commission: Mitchell, Gary K. Grice; Exceptional Specific Prediction, Operation Ehime Maru Forecast Team (NPMOC/JTWC): Christopher S. Hedger, Stephen J. Daniel, Brian D. Warren, Jordan M. Mechanic, Billy D. Scott III, Gene M. Swope, and Russell G. Ingersoll; Reichelderfer, Joseph J. Feldt; Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology, T. Andrew Black.

Professional Affairs Commission: Applied Meteorology, Christopher Daly; Outstanding Service by a Broadcast Meteorologist, John Toohey-Morales.

Publications Commission, Editor Awards: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, Andrew Gettelman; Journal of Applied Meteorology, Robert E. Davis; Monthly Weather Review, Paul J. Roebber; Journal of Physical Oceanography, Matthew H. Alford; Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Gerhard Peters; Weather and Forecasting, Matthew Bunkers; Journal of Climate, Tsing-Chang Chen; Journal of Hydrometeorology, Danny Marks.

Local Chapter Affairs Committee: Outstanding Chapter of the Year, District of Columbia Chapter; Outstanding Student Chapter of The Year, Cook College Chapter.

15. Fellows

The AMS Fellow nominations recommended by the Fellows Committee had also been provided to the Council prior to the meeting for review and e-mail discussion, and after a brief review by Past-President Serafin on the process used to make the recommendations, the Council voted to approve the following individuals as Fellows of the Society:

16. Honorary Members

On the recommendation of the Executive Committee the Council voted to elect Taroh Matsuno and Robert Simpson to the grade of Honorary Member of the Society.

The Council recessed at 5:00 p.m. for a tour of the renovated Headquarters facility. It reconvened at 9:00 a.m. on 24 September, with the same individuals present as the previous day.

17. Budget

Executive Director McPherson provided a briefing on the 2002, 2003, and proposed 2004 budget in the context of the five-year financial plan. He noted the likelihood of a significant deficit in the operating budget for 2003. The Council had an extensive discussion on the budget, focusing especially on meetings and journals given the uncertainties associated with these activities currently undergoing transformations. There was some additional discussion on ways to improve the presentation of the budget and five-year plan for the Council. The Council voted unanimously to approve the proposed 2004 budget and the five-year plan.

18. Statements

After some discussion and some suggestions for changes that would be forwarded to the drafting committee by Councilor Carr, the Council voted to approve for the 30-day public comment posting both the Statement on Mobile Homes and Severe Windstorms and the Statement on Tornado Warning and Forecasting. The Council asked the staff to make sure that notice of the postings were provided through the available list serves, and agreed that the drought statement, currently on the Web site for review, should have the comment period extended since its availability was not initially widely disseminated.

Four statements are currently due for review and revision. The Council voted to approve Past-President Serafin as the facilitator for review of the Statement on Planned and Inadvertent Weather Modification, Commissioner Winkler as facilitator for revisions to the Statement on the Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Science or Meteorology, and Councilor Killeen as facilitator for review of the Statement on Radio Frequency Allocations for Meteorological Operations and Research. The Council agreed that no action should be taken on the Statement on the Public/Private Partnership until the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Partnerships has been completed and forwarded to the Council.

19. Mid-Term Review

Councilor Arkin, co-chair of the Mid-term Review Committee, reported on the activities of the committee and its subcommittees and provided the time line for the review. A session on the review is planned for the 2004 annual meeting to provide an opportunity for member input, and the final report of the committee will be presented to the membership at the 2005 annual meeting.

20. Fellows, Awards, and Nominating committees

President Friday reviewed the membership of the atmospheric and oceanic awards committees and the Nominating Committee, all of which are committees of the Executive Committee. The Council voted to appoint Marcia Politovich and Rana Fine to the Fellows Committee for three-year terms ending January 2007.

21. Awards process

Past-President Rosen, chair of the Awards Oversight Committee, led a discussion on issues that arose during the awards process for this year. After discussion, the Council voted to set as policy that committee members of any of the awards review committees should not submit nominations or provide supporting letters of recommendation while serving on the committee (noting that there may be nominations or supporting letters by these individuals in the nomination pool from years prior to their appointment on the committee). After additional discussion, the Council voted unanimously to hold the 1 May deadline as firm for all nominations, including supporting materials, for Fellow, awards, or a named symposium. Executive Director McPherson said that efforts would be increased to proactively solicit nominations for all awards prior to the 1 May deadline.

The Council recessed for lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

22. Atmospheric Policy Program

Director Hooke briefed the Council on the Summer Policy Colloquium, Policy Forum series, and Congressional Fellow. There was clear consensus among the Council that the Atmospheric Policy Program is serving the Society and the community very well.

23. Private Sector Coordinator Report

Executive Director McPherson reported briefly on activities in support of the private sector. There was some discussion on the Users Conference and the need to work toward getting more participation in this conference.

24. Response to the NRC report on partnerships

President Friday reported on the activities of the Ad Hoc Committee on Partnerships that is preparing a response to the NRC "Fair Weather" report. It is expected that recommendations from the committee will be available for Council review in January.

25. AMS Web site renovation

Executive Director McPherson briefed the Council on the plan to replace the Newsletter with a more dynamic section of the AMS Web site as part of a major renovation of the entire Web site.

26. Fifth Councilor

The Council discussed a number of options on how to fill the selected Fifth Councilor position depending, to some extent, on the results from the election by the membership of the other four Councilors. The Council may try to select the Fifth Councilor by e-mail ballot after the election results are known, but before the annual meeting, so that whoever is chosen might be able to attend the Council meeting in January.

27. Meetings

Executive Director McPherson reported on the schedule for 2004 meetings and reviewed the site selections for upcoming annual meetings. President-Elect Avery briefed the Council on the theme and conferences and symposia currently in planning for the 2005 annual meeting.

28. Committees of the Executive Committee

President Friday asked the Council to review the reports of the committees of the Executive Committee that was provided as informational items requiring no Council action. It was noted that in the Tape Recorded Interview Project overseen by the Committee on History of Atmospheric Science, the interviews were only occasionally video recorded, but this probably should be done routinely.

29. External funding

In addition to a report on development activities, the significant levels of sponsorship for the Atmospheric Policy Program that are helping to underwrite the Policy Forum series were noted.

30. Publications

Deputy Executive Director Seitter briefed the Council on production time for the journals, which had been excellent over the past year, and reported on the activities with BAMS, upcoming books, and the production of Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts.

31. Education program

Executive Director McPherson reported on the activities of the Society's Education Program and current efforts to secure funding for continuing programs and new initiatives.

32. Headquarters renovations

Deputy Executive Director Seitter reported on the status of the nearly completed Headquarters renovations. The Council expressed its approval of the renovations and its appreciation to the staff for their efforts through the renovation process. Seitter also reported on a new agreement being finalized between the AMS and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

33. Affiliations with other organizations

Executive Director McPherson briefed the Council on the formal affiliations between the AMS and other organizations. The Council asked that a similar briefing be prepared that covered the major informal cooperative affiliations the AMS has with organizations.

34. Closing remarks

President Friday thanked all present for their efforts.

The Council adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

The Council will next meet on Sunday, 11 January 2004, in Seattle, WA.