President’s Letter, 2011-2012

Whew! Is it already a new year and the North Carolina Academy of
Science is ready to GROW! Our new website (www.ncacadsci.org) is in place and we have online membership renewal. Are you currently a member? Were you a member but you lost touch with the Academy? Well check us out again!

We are going to focus this year on addressing aspects of our Strategic Plan, specific to our mission, and increasing our visibility! Help us get the word out that we formally started as an organization in 1902 and we are still here and growing!

Our Mission is to promote public appreciation of science, science education, scientific research and a meaningful role for science in public policy. How can you help the Academy? Would you like to volunteer? Would you like to host an annual meeting, or a CANCAS workshop? Or maybe you would like to represent the Academy and exhibit at your societal meeting? Do you have other ideas on where the Academy can fit into your career or your life? Then we invite you to share these possibilities!

This year I have charged committee chairs to:

1) declare one goal that their committee will work toward this year,
2) to build their committee representation and
3) to review their committee position descriptions and make recommendations for changes.

Would you like to be a part of this process? We would love to have you involved! What are the benefits of becoming a part of the Academy, you ask? Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• participating in a regional organization that supports undergraduate research and provides opportunities for both faculty and students to present and publish
• interacting with faculty from different universities and the opportunity to build collaborations
• identifying some of the state's best students and recruiting them to graduate programs
• the opportunity to affect science policy, including science education, in N.C.
• attending a short, nearby meeting and listening to stimulating keynote speakers

Please contact any member of the Board of Directors for more information on how you can become involved!

We have a number of exciting events on the calendar for this year.

• We will once again be participating in Astronomy Days at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on May 21-22, 2011. For more information or if you would like to volunteer please contact Charlie Lytle (lytle_bio@ncsu.edu).
• The Collegiate Academy's Fall Workshop to prepare you for life after your undergraduate degree will be held October 22, 2011 at Lenoir Rhyne University. The workshop will include resume review, mock interviews and how to network! For more information please contact Shaun Williams (Shaun.Williams@lr.edu).
• The Annual Meeting this year will be held on the beautiful campus of Campbell University on March 22-23, 2012. Consider joining us for the Annual Meeting and presenting your recent accomplishments in research or science education!

Your feedback and involvement are crucial to the continued success of the Academy! Get involved now! Contact me and let me know you are interested! The Academy has a place for you and your talents!

Salut! And keep up the good science!

Melanie Lee-Brown, Ph.D.
NCAS President, 2010-2011
Associate Professor and Chair of Biology
Guilford College
mleebro@guilford.edu

Download an expanded version of this letter as part of the Newletter