Page 9 - Summer 2015

From the President | Christy K. Holland
Over the last year, I have had the pleasure of serving the Acousti- cal Society of America (ASA) during our strategic planning process called the “Strategic Leadership for the Future,” fa-
cilitated by Cygnet Strategy, LLC, which included phone interviews, personal discussions, a membership online sur- vey, and a leadership summit held in Austin, TX, in January 2015. The Executive Council met in the spring to priori- tize the wealth of ideas shared during this strategic planning process so that, as a society, we can generate, disseminate, and promote the knowledge and practical applications of acoustics.
During the ASA Leadership Summit, participants (1) cre- ated a shared understanding across a diverse set of groups of the environment in which ASA operates; (2) identified ways to focus ASA’s energy toward opportunities that will deliver the greatest value to members and science in the future; (3) described a shared vision for ASA’s future; (4) created a stra- tegic framework for practical action over the next 3–5 years; and (5) established a planning culture that is both transpar- ent and inclusive.
The high priority goals that were identified include efforts to (1) expand the awareness of acoustics in industry, educa- tional institutions, government agencies, and consumers by promoting ASA activities and resources through emerging media and online content; (2) increase membership engage- ment and diversity by engaging acousticians throughout their entire careers, increasing virtual meeting use, and ex- panding promotion and participation of early career mem- bers (before tenure, principal, or senior status); (3) dissemi- nate acoustics information and knowledge by streamlining and upgrading author, reader, editor, and reviewer experi- ence in all ASA publications processes; and (4) engage in wise, strategic stewardship to ensure sufficient resources to deliver maximum value both now and in the future by de- veloping and implementing a new business model that in- cludes the ASA Foundation Fund (see article in every issue of Acoustics Today that talks about the work of the Foundation).
I look forward to working with each of you to carry out our shared vision and to achieve these goals and objectives.
Based on the development of these goals, the Executive Council voted in Pittsburgh to endow the Hunt Fellowship fully. ASA fellowships and scholarships are at the center of the Society’s support of the next generation of acousticians. I encourage each and every member to donate funds to the Acoustical Society Foundation to facilitate young scientists and practitioners to obtain the educational foundation and specific resources necessary to advance the field of acous- tics. Carl Rosenberg (crosenberg@acentech.com) chairs the Acoustical Society Foundation Board and is passionate about managing and growing these funds to enable innova- tive and ongoing ASA programs.
The third high-priority goal listed above, to disseminate acoustics information, is near and dear to my heart. James Lynch, Editor in Chief; Charles Church, Editor of JASA- Express Letters (JASA-EL); Kent Gee, Editor of Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics (POMA); Mary Guillemette, ASA Publications Manager, Kelly Quigley, JASA Manuscript Co- ordinator; Helen Wall Murray, Administrative and Editorial Assistant and POMA Manuscript Manager; and Saana Mc- Daniel, JASA-EL Manuscript Manager, have been working tirelessly to improve the submission and peer-review pro- cess, streamline content development and production work- flows, and ensure high-quality journal publications. Al- though open access has recently challenged business models of publishing, ASA has responded by offering authors the option of purchasing open access for JASA manuscripts ( http://goo.gl/dHsklK ) and by supporting two online, open- access journals, JASA-EL and POMA.
ASA publications are our biggest asset and provide high value to our members. ASA is also expanding the use of Web technology to broadcast content to members during our biannual meetings. Pilot sessions will be offered during several technical sessions at the upcoming ASA meeting in Jacksonville, FL. So if you can’t join the meeting in person, please try to view a session online and provide feedback for improving this way of connecting to content.
ASA has historically been a society driven by grassroots ef- forts that depend on the initiative, creativity, and values of members to advance. Recent highly successful programs include (1) the ASA School for graduate students and ear- ly career acousticians created by Judy Dubno and Brigitte
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