World*Go*Round, Vol. 30, No. 3, June, 2003

Letter from the President 

In the end, the decision to cancel this summer’s colloquium in China was a painful one but not a difficult one. It became clear during April that we needed to make a decision by May 1 so that people planning to attend the colloquium could make appropriate plans. It also became clear as time went on that the news from China was likely to get less promising rather than more so for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, members of the Local Organizing Committee in China were expressing increasing concern about the spread of the disease in China and the negative impact this was likely to have on people both inside and outside China as they struggled to decide whether to attend the conference in Hangzhou. Sadly, the consensus of the ISPA Executive Committee and the Chinese LOC was that we could not guarantee either the safety of colloquium participants or our ability to attract enough participants to make it a worthwhile conference. For these reasons, we posted a cancellation notice on the website in early mail and contacted ISPA members for whom we have email addresses and all conference registrants. The decision was made to refund registration fees in full. Both the hotel and the official travel agencies graciously agreed to refund deposits in full as well.

Let me take this opportunity to publicly thank the members of the Chinese Organizing Committee, and in particular Hongwu Zhou, Hongfei Yang, Betts Rivet, and Mowei Shen, for all the work they did preparing for this colloquium. For those of us who’ve planned this conference, the hard work that takes place for a year or more before the event takes place, is worth it because we know there will be a successful conference at the end of that hard work. Sadly, for the Chinese LOC, the hard work will not culminate in a colloquium this year. We are already discussing how soon ISPA can »return« to China – we hope it will be in the near future, but that is small consolation to those who expended so much time, energy, and commitment over the last many months.

Canceling the colloquium leaves many members disappointed. It also leaves ISPA in something of a predicament. Canceling the colloquium not only means no opportunity for professional growth and international exchange among school psychologists from throughout the world. It also means that adjustments have to be made in how ISPA conducts its official business. The ISPA by- laws, for instance, state that »The General Assembly is responsible for approving the policies and budget of the Association. "For those of you who may be fuzzy on the details of ISPA governance, the by- laws define the General Assembly as »made up of the Executive Committee, Members, Honorary Life Members, and representatives from Affiliate Organizations." Traditionally, the General Assembly meets twice during the colloquium. In the first General Assembly, the budget is presented to the group for review. In the second meeting, the budget is passed by the assembled body. In the absence of a colloquium, other steps will have to be taken to approve next year’s budget.

The other event of significance to the governance of the association that takes place annually at the Colloquium is the change of Officers. The by- laws state, for instance, that the positions of President, President- Elect, and Past President, are all two year terms. The Operations Handbook of the Association states that "Newly elected Executive Committee members shall assume their positions at the beginning of the Executive Committee meeting following the date of their election." This has traditionally taken place at the Executive Committee meeting that meets in conjunction with the summer colloquium. Since the colloquium is cancelled this summer, does that mean the President serves until the next Executive Committee meeting is convened (now planned for early November)? If so, since terms of office are two years, does that set the calendar back 5 months from now on? Via email exchanges, the Executive Committee has agreed that the current President- Elect (Peter Farrell) will assume the office of President on August 1 and the current Immediate Past President (Bernie Stein) will continue on as an ad hoc member of the Executive Committee for the coming year. This arrangement has been agreed upon, but clearly the Operations Handbook should be revised to address those situations where meetings cannot be held as traditionally scheduled.

Perhaps this is more detail about the governance of the Association than you wanted to know. But as I’ve reviewed the official documents that define ISPA in the last few weeks, one thing strikes me above all others. And that is this: Holding an annual colloquium is so much a part of who we are as an association that we have woven into this event critically important functions of the Association. I suspect those individuals responsible for drafting the by- laws and the Operations Handbook connected ISPA’s identity so completely to the annual colloquium that they couldn’t conceive of ISPA without this annual summer event.

And now it’s happened. Already when I think of the summer to come, there’s a hole in the middle of it where the colloquium should be. This isn’t how summer is supposed to be. I know many of you share my feelings. But perhaps some good will come of this. I think of that old expression, Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Not holding a colloquium and meeting with cherished friends and colleagues from around the world – will perhaps give us all a renewed appreciation for this treasured event and how important a part it plays both in our lives and the life of the Association.

Peg Dawson, President 
May 15, 2003