President's Message

by Paul Kaiser

The 21st annual IPMAAC conference was a great success! Those of us who are able to attend the yearly conference find that it stimulates our thinking, refreshes our motivation and energy, and allows us to re-establish friendships with our colleagues from around the country. Over 260 professionals joined us in Newport Beach for five days of thought- provoking presentations and five nights of frolic in beautiful Southern California.

Special thanks to the conference committee and to program co-chairs Mike Willihnganz and Dave Dye. They did a spectacular job of assembling a great program. The quality of the program was apparent from the exciting array of presenters and invited speakers participating in the conference. Mabel Miramon and the host committee did a wonderful job of bringing together the social portion of the program--somehow they even arranged for IPMAAC's own private missile launch. Of particular note is the host committee's ability to reach out to regional organizations and gain their support for the conference's social activities. Be sure to look for the conference proceedings and photographs of the conference social highlights on IPMAAC Online!

Congratulations to David Dye, IPMAAC's 1999 President-Elect and to T.R. Lin and Mike Aamodt who have been elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors. Also, congratulations to Doris Maye, the 1997 recipient of the Steven Bemis Award for contributions to the profession. Well deserved, Doris--you serve as a role model for us all.

July marks the midpoint of my term as IPMAAC President. This is an opportune time to share with the membership the activities of the Board of Directors and provide a brief overview of what has been going on. First, a summary of the Board's actions.

IPMAAC's Financial statement shows a surplus of $14,831.48 for the 1996 fiscal year. Actual income was 108% of budgeted income while actual expenses were 91% of budgeted expenses. Income from both the annual conference and the pre-conference workshops exceeded budgeted income. IPMAAC has an overall fund balance of $46,020.28. Figures for the 1997 fiscal year will not be available until after the expenses and income from the 1997 conference are tabulated. However, preliminary estimates indicate a very successful year.
Beginning in 1997, we offered discounts on the training workshops for first-time conference attendees and group discounts for those organizations sending three or more individuals to the conference. The effectiveness of this action is being evaluated.
We also rewrote the conference application/ fee structure procedures in the conference brochure. We hope it was more user-friendly than the previous versions.
The Board made a technological breakthrough in conducting Board business via the internet. We made motions as well as discussed and voted on a number of issues "on-line." This allowed the Board to be more responsive to issues as they arose and "keep in touch" between Board meetings.
A letter was sent to all presenters requesting that they allow their presentation materials to be published on IPMAAC Online. The goal is to have as many of the presentations as possible included on the homepage. This will allow conference participants who were unable to attend all sessions to access the materials in a convenient format. It will also allow IPMAAC members unable to attend the conference to gain information--thanks to the sharing nature of our presenters. If you presented at the conference and have not yet sent your materials to Bill Waldron, please do so soon.
A segment of IPMAAC Online was dedicated to the regional organizations. The concept was to establish a place where the regional organizations could post their meeting notices, newsletters, membership information, etc. and readily find out about the activities of their sister organizations. Thus far, MAPAC, WRIPAC, PTC/SC, PTC/MW and PTC/ Arizona have joined the group. To find out more about these organizations, contact IPMAAC Online at http://www.ipmaac.org/
The 1997 Membership/Resources Directory was distributed to the membership.
President-Elect Jeff Feuquay prepared the 1998 budget and is drafting a strategic plan for the organization. The Board approved the 1998 budget at the June Board meeting.
The Board prepared, distributed and analyzed the 1997 IPMAAC Member Opinion Survey. A full summary of the results are presented in this issue of the ACN. Some observations are:
- The issues that are most important to our membership include: the support of sound selection methods; the support of professional development; the annual conference; the support of professional ethics; the support of selection on the basis of merit; and the ACN.
- The highest priorities of our membership are to market IPMAAC more effectively to public sector assessment professionals; to encourage more intergovernmental cooperation; and to conduct more workshops.
- Our membership feels that IPMAAC should keep its members informed on key issues in assessment; should publish periodic monographs on key personnel topics; should continue to sponsor pre-conference workshops; and should periodically republish the Membership Directory.
- IPMAAC members feel that the organization has value and makes an impact. They believe that their IPMAAC membership is a worthwhile investment; is helpful to their professional development; and has increased their contribution to their organizations.

The survey elucidated those areas of greatest import to the membership and areas where IPMAAC's programs need improvement. The Board spent considerable time at its June meeting discussing these results and considering where the organization's direction and programming should be adjusted in accordance with the wishes of the membership. Three workgroups were formed to develop action plans in three broad areas: marketing strategies will be considered by Harry Brull and Jeff Feuquay; professional development activities will be explored by Kristine Smith, David Dye and Donna Denning; approaches to publications (e.g., monographs, technical reports) will be considered by Bill Waldron, Jim Johnson and myself.

This year's committees were also very active and produced a solid record of accomplishments. The committee chairs and members are to be commended for their excellent efforts. IPMAAC is fortunate to have such a dedicated group of professionals willing to undertake the effort necessary to make IPMAAC an effective and valuable organization. On behalf of the membership, I extend our thanks and appreciation for their contributions. Highlights include:

Thanks to the leadership of T.R. Lin, the University Liaison/Student Paper Committee made substantial advances this year--we received a record-breaking number of student paper submissions (a 300% increase over the previous high). All were of high quality. T.R.'s committee arranged for several student paper sessions at this year's conference.
Under the guidance of Beverly Waldron, our Editor-in-Chief, the Assessment Council Newsletter is stronger and better than ever. The survey data indicate that the ACN is very well received by the membership and is, quite possibly, IPMAAC's most valued contribution to the membership.
The Electronic Communications Network has evolved into one of IPMAAC's most successful endeavors. Bill Waldron has labored mightily to make this one of the best homepages on the Web. I am not sure the entire membership is fully aware of the impact and effect IPMAAC Online has had in increasing IPMAAC's respect among our assessment colleagues across the nation. Among other things, it allowed IPMAAC to be at the center of the raging discussion surrounding the Nassau County situation. The site averages more than 600 'hits' a day.
The Training Committee held IPMAAC's first workshop in a number of years--we co-sponsored the Examination Planning workshop with MAPAC. Kristine Smith has also arranged with MAPAC to co-sponsor the first-ever holding of the Oral Examination workshop. Plans are underway to work with WRIB to host a workshop. If your jurisdiction or organization would like to explore co-sponsoring a workshop or arranging for IPMAAC training in your region, please contact Kristine.
IPMAAC's part in the Bemis Memorial Award Program went smoothly, as expected. Anne Soileau ensured that IPMAAC's nomination was submitted on time and coordinated IPMAAC's part in this important activity with her usual seamless efficiency. Harry Brull served admirably as our representative to the selection committee.
Dennis Joiner continued to serve as our Marketing coordinator. In addition to preparing various advertisements in TIP and other professional publications, Dennis was instrumental in bringing the IPMAAC coffee mug to the membership.
Nancy Abrams continues to coordinate IPMAAC's input into the revised APA Standards. She also arranged for a session on this critical topic at the conference and will "keep us posted" as work on the standards progresses.

I would like to thank all involved for their help, guidance and support this year. If any of you have ideas on efforts we can take to ensure the future of IPMAAC, please give me a call.