Carolyn Anderson, Secretary called the Psychometric Society Business Meeting to order at 12:07 p.m.
Approval of the 2016 Business Meeting Minutes:
Carolyn called for a motion to approve the 2016 Business Meeting minutes as presented. A motion was made and seconded. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report:
Dan Bolt introduced the members of the Finance Committee, Terry Ackerman, Dan Bolt (Chair & Treasurer), Li Cai, Andries van der Ark, and Duanli Yan. Dan discussed the two major initiatives for the past year. Following its mid-year board meeting (January, 2017), the Board of Trustees approved a Finance Policy that provides guidelines for the investment of society funds and maintenance of reserves for the long-term operation of the Society. All investment decisions are decided upon by the full board. The Board voted to hire Custer Financial Services to service our investments, and also approved an investment proposal that allocates $300K of Society funds to a fixed income portfolio. The finance committee, with the support of Custer Financial, will monitor the performance of the portfolio and report to the board at its biannual meetings.
Dan discussed the 2016 financial report. The Society had starting cash of $497,833. Income for 2016 was $382,990. Expenses were $413,637. The majority of the expenses occur around the annual meeting. Lodging costs were incurred in 2016 because student housing was subsidized. In addition, the excursion and the closing banquet were collectively more expensive than in typical years. Ending cash on hand indicated a loss of about $30,000, with ending cash of $467,186. The Board of Trustees is aware of the increased expenses, and discussion is ongoing for ways to control costs, such as combining the excursion with the banquet. A question from the floor was whether and how the funds would be spent from the investment income. An opportunity will be discussed later in the meeting that has the potential to use some of these funds. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Treasurer’s report as presented.
Psychometrika Executive Editor’s Report:
Irini Moustaki, Executive Editor discussed the impact factor, which has increased in 2016. The 2015 impact factor was 1.831 and the 2016 impact factor is 2.111. The five-year impact factor is 2.738. She thanked the Associate Editors for the excellent job they have done. Irini highlighted several important technology applications that are available to members, such as the email Table of Contents alerts from Springer and the journal app that can be downloaded from goggle play store or iTunes. Irini ended her presentation by encouraging members to submit to Psychometrika.
New Members:
Carolyn highlighted that there are 201 new members for 2017. Carolyn reviewed the names of the new members and called for a motion to approve. A motion was made and seconded to approve the new members. Motion carried.
Carolyn highlighted the membership statistics for 2017. Currently there are 615 members, with 378 regular members, 194 student members, 25 emeritus members, and 1 family member. There are members from 40 different countries and 17 members who are from emerging nations. Emerging nations represented include: Bosnia/Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Indonesia, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and Uganda.
Election Results:
Election results were reported. President-elect will be Francis Tuerlinckx. Two Board of Trustees members were elected, Ed Merkle and Patrick Groenen. Marie Wiberg was appointed to fill an open position on the Board of Trustees. The new Editorial Council member is Wim van der Linden. The Editorial Council elected Ying Alison Cheng as Chair for 2017–2018.
2017–2018 Treasurer Election:
Dan Bolt has agreed to stand for election for one year. Carolyn called for a motion to elect Dan to a one-year term. A motion was made and seconded that Dan Bolt should serve a one-year term as treasurer. Motion carried.
2018–2021 Treasurer Election:
Carolyn outlined the new process of electing a treasurer one year before the individual will begin his or her role. This will allow the person to shadow the current treasurer before taking on full responsibility for the position. Matthew Johnson has been nominated to serve as treasurer. Carolyn called for a motion from the floor to accept Matthew Johnson as Treasurer. A motion was made and seconded to elect Matthew Johnson as treasurer. Motion carried.
Nomination for President:
Carolyn discussed the open nomination process, which was emailed to all current members on July 18. She encouraged individuals who did not receive the email to stop by the registration desk to confirm the correct email address is on file.
2017 Conference Proceedings Call for Co-editors:
Marie Wiberg discussed the need for new co-editors for the 2017 Conference Proceedings. The call for nominations was distributed on Wednesday, July 19. Applications and questions can be sent to Marie.
Small Grant Opportunity:
Carolyn outlined the new small grant opportunity. The Society invites proposals for small grants that expand or support the mission of the society. Of particular interest are proposals that benefit the Society or more broadly promote the field to a wider scientific community. These grants are not intended for basic psychometric research, but rather activities that might not be funded from typical funding sources. Any member of the Psychometric Society is eligible to apply. The maximum total grant is $10,000. The duration of a grant can be up to 2 years. A one to two page letter of intent or pre-proposal is required that includes a brief statement of the goals and purpose of the activities to be funded. The letter of intent is due September 1. If the goals of the proposal are in line with the program aims, then a full proposal will be invited and due November 1.
Jurgen Rost
Matthias von Davier announced the recent death of Jurgen Rost, Psychometric Society former program chair and member.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Carolyn encouraged members to get more involved in the society. Currently there are openings for a newsletter editor, 2017 co-editors for the conference proceedings, and a publications editor for Psychometrika. Other opportunities include hosting IMPS Annual Meeting and volunteering to serve on committees.
Carolyn discussed the new social media campaign, which includes a twitter account and new Facebook page.
Registration Statistics:
Registration statistics for IMPS 2017 are 178 members, 143 nonmembers, 176 student members and 7 emeritus members registered, for a total registration of 531, and record attendance. In addition, the short course registration was also very high this year.
IMPS 2018:
Cees Glas introduced the upcoming meeting, from July 9–13, 2018, at Columbia University, New York, NY. He is currently putting together a list of speakers to invite and other aspects of the program. He asked for any suggestions for the conference. A question from the floor included if there was any accommodation being made for student housing due to the expense. The current visa issues in the US were discussed. He thanked everyone for their suggestions and has made a note of the concerns.
IMPS 2019:
Francis Tuerlinckx and Jorge Gonzales presented the 2019 IMPS location, Santiago, Chile, July 15–19, 2019. Jorge presented information on Santiago as a location.
New Business:
Carolyn called for new business. A comment was made that the meeting was moving to later in July, when traditionally it has been in mid June to mid July. This will be taken into consideration for future meetings. Discussion also included ways to encourage people to attend the Business Meeting. Suggestions were made for a breakfast or lunch meeting, changing the name, announcing the meeting in opening remarks (and/or in sessions immediately preceding the business meeting), or offering a drink and light snacks.
Carolyn thanked Carolin Strobl for hosting IMPS 2017.
Carolyn called for a motion to adjourn. A motion was made and seconded. Meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
