SEB Bulletin March 2007
From the President's desk
How have four years passed so quickly? It's hard to believe this will be my final column and that at the AGM in Glasgow I will pass on the Presidency to Ian Johnston, who I know will do an excellent job in moving the SEB forward and maintaining its reputation as a world-class scientific society. So, I ask myself, what have been the personal highlights and memories from the fours years I have served as Vice-President and President?
Foremost, of course, is just the sheer commitment and enthusiasm from all of those who help run the Society. The committees that suggest and organise the topics and speakers for the scientific meetings are the main point at which members have the most direct input to the Society. I always find it very rewarding to sit in on the meetings and listen to the flow of ideas and the willingness of individuals to commit themselves to putting on a session or editing a book. Without this band of willing biologists the Society would not be the success it is. Some of these volunteers, particularly the Section Secretaries, are on the Management Committee or Council and help oversee the day-to-day affairs of the SEB as well as helping guide its long-term directions. They deserve high praise for all of their efforts and I readily give it.
Of course, the other key people in the Society are its employees who make sure all of the ideas and opportunities that the members think up actually happen. To do this, they look after all of the administrative activities that are required to ensure the scientific meetings happen, that the financial affairs of the Society are run properly and that the members get the service they require from the Society. It has always been a pleasure to interact with the staff in Southampton and Lancaster who take care of all of these aspects of the Society. Equally, those staff who ensure the Society's journals continue to thrive have also impressed me with their enthusiasm and determination to do an outstanding job. Without the commitment of all of these people, the Society would not be able to mount its variety of successful activities nor have the funds to run them.
The last four years has also been one of relative financial success for the SEB; our reserves and income are both currently healthy. This situation has largely been built on the success of the Society's journals The Journal of Experimental Botany and The Plant Journal. There are concerns that this success may be eroded by the spread of Open Access but both journals have taken initiatives to increase reader benefits that should continue to make them attractive and so ensure subscription income. Where required, the Society has invested in these schemes by agreeing to lower profits. However, we have also examined how we can diversify income sources and have established two companies. One is Carronades Property Management Ltd which rents out unused space in the Society's HQ in Southampton. The other is SEB Management Ltd which markets the SEB's expertise in organising scientific conferences. Profits from both companies will be gifted to the Society and CPM contributed about £10k in the last financial year. It remains to be seen whether these companies will provide major income but they show that the SEB is not complacent about its future.
This willingness to consider change to ensure the future of the Society is also reflected in a review, initiated by Council and led by Ian Johnston, to examine the way the Society should develop. This process is still ongoing and the proposals will be put to the membership later this year but Ian and his small team have examined all aspects of the Society's organisation and operation. They have asked questions such as how should we position ourselves to ensure we retain a representative and vibrant membership, how we can best serve the interests of those members, how should we utilise future income now the reserves are so healthy, and should the structure of the Society be changed in the light of the recent advances and changes in emphasis in biology? My view is that answers and suggestions that emerge from the review will represent important opportunities for the Society and they should be given serious consideration by the membership and, hopefully, they will be embraced enthusiastically.
Another development that will serve the SEB well for the future is the decision to hold the Annual Main Meeting outside the UK more often. This will build on the very successful meeting in Barcelona in 2005 and should help to place the SEB as a pan-European society. On the UK front, we have taken a more active role in the Biosciences Federation following the BSF's decision to appoint a full-time Chief Executive, Richard Dyer, and other senior policy staff. This should allow biology to get the same level of influence that is enjoyed by chemistry and physics which have single national organisations representing them. This will benefit biology throughout Europe by allowing better briefing of the UK Government on the need to support EU initiatives that will benefit our subject, and opposing those that will not.
There are many things I shall miss when my term as President ends but mostly it will be the people and I would like to offer my sincere thanks all of the Honorary Officers and Society staff with whom I have worked over the past four years. It has really been a privilege to be so closely involved with them and I am sure they will serve Ian Johnston and his incoming Vice President, Pat Heslop-Harrison, just as well and professionally.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to Professor Bill Davies who stepped down as Editor of the Journal of Experimental Botany at the start of the year. Bill did a fantastic job in enhancing the Journal and ensuring it remains a “must read” for plant scientists throughout the world. The Society owes him a great debt of thanks for all the hard work, dedication and imagination he brought to the role. He is succeeded by Jerry Roberts who I am sure will bring the same degree of energy and commitment to the role.
Roger Leigh
Honorary President