Education

COMPOSITION

COMMITTEE ROSTER
(Date indicates year of expiration of term or office)

Ludmila Bakhireva, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, Chair (2010-2011)
Christine Perdan Curran, Ph.D., Secretary (2010-2011)
Melissa J. Beck, Ph.D., Member (2008-2011)
Ali Faqi, Ph.D., Member (2010-2013)
Asher Ornoy, M.D., Member (2010-2013)
Marilyn H. Silva, Ph.D., DABT, Member (2008-2012)
Louise M. Winn, Ph.D., Past Chair (2010-2011)
John M. Graham, M.D., Sc.D., Vice President (2010-2011)
John M. Rogers, Ph.D., President (2010-2011)
Robert G. Ellis-Hutchings, Ph.D., Ad Hoc (2009-2011)
Jan M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., Ad Hoc (2007-2011)
Michelle Carll Helms, B.S., Ad Hoc, Student (2009-2011)
Dee L. Quinn, M.S., CGC, Ad Hoc (2010-2011)
Sonja A. Rasmussen, M.D., M.S., Ad Hoc (2010-2011)
Keith J. Robinson, B.Sc., DABT, Ad Hoc (2009-2011)

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Education Committee Report October 14, 2009

CURRENT YEAR ACTIVITIES

COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

DISCUSSION FORUM (under development)

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER OFFICIALS OR COMMITTEES

RESPONSIBILITIES

CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES (click here for more detail)

The Education Committee is responsible for the planning and presentation of the Continuing Education (CE) Course and the Mini-course during the Society’s Annual Meeting. These activities include topic and speaker selection, coordination of notebook preparation, on-site registration of course participants, distribution of course materials, and identification of course sponsors. The CE Course usually consists of a series of 8-10 presentations; it is held Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning prior to the Annual Meeting. The Mini-course consists of two talks; it is usually presented early one morning during the Annual Meeting, prior to the main program for that day. The Education Committee Chair position is usually held by the senior committee member who has served as committee secretary the previous year. Chair responsibilities are assumed after a committee meeting held during the annual Society meeting. Responsibilities, tasks and time frame are summarized below. RESPONSIBILITY/TASK   TIME FRAME Work with the outgoing chair to organize an Education Committee meeting during the Annual Meeting. Attend Programming Committee meeting(s) to coordinate the CE Course and Mini-course with proposed symposia and workshops. This meeting should be held after the courses are complete. Meeting should include: Welcoming of new committee members. Brief description of activities and duties expected. Discussion of course evaluation forms and issues regarding course conduct, logistics, speakers, materials, etc. Discussion of topics for following year’s courses. Ideally, a topic should be identified for the CE Course and the Mini-course. An outline for general course content should be created. Discussion of additional issues pertaining to the courses. Selection of committee secretary (usually from one of the second-year members). The name of the committee secretary should be provided to the incoming president, who is responsible for appointing the secretary. Establishment of a communication network for follow-up conference calls and e-mails. During annual meeting Finalize the course topics through discussion with committee members. Identify prospective lecturers and alternatives. Personal contacts from committee members to extend informal invitations are preferred. Discuss general topics and speaker ideas with the Program Chair (the Society Vice President).While the topics and lecturers of the courses are the committee’s responsibility, it is important to get general buy-in to minimize overlap with other meeting sessions. Communicate the names of the Committee Chair, Secretary and new members to the Society Business office. July Identify notebook sponsor, if necessary.  For the foreseeable future, Charles River Lab (CRL) is the main sponsor. ASAP Establish preliminary contact with notebook sponsor to establish timeline, format and expectations for course materials. Keith Robinson (Society member) is our contact at CRL; Sal Della Corte is our printer. Fall  Finalize course topics and speakers; coordinate with other committee members. Consider balance between member/non-member speakers to keep travel expenses minimal. Ideally, no more than 50% of CE course speakers should be non-members. Both Mini-course speakers should be members. There is currently no provision for reimbursement of Mini-course speaker expenses. Note: Membership status of potential speakers and travel reimbursement policies can be obtained from the Business Office. July/August Send letter to speakers to confirm participation and communicate timelines and expectations. Assistance for the letter preparation can be obtained from the Business Office (Becca Rhame). Include: Overall course objectives. Final agenda. Meeting dates. Presentation length. Instructions and timeline for delivery of materials. Reminder to adhere to copyright and patient consent requirements, if appropriate. Reimbursement policies. Request for full contact information, presentation title and A/V needs. As soon as possible after agenda is finalized Give final course title, speakers and presentation titles to Program Chair. Prepare NIH Travel Grant Application which supports student travel awards. By end of August Work with committee secretary to define overall strategy and designate responsibilities for ongoing communication with speakers, reminders, updates, review of materials, coordination with notebook sponsor, etc. Ongoing Give preliminary course agenda to Business Office for inclusion in newsletters. Include presentation list and topic summaries. As requested, usually in Jan/Feb Solicit sponsorship for course breaks, if needed. Break sponsorship is desirable to subsidize cost and allow for more than bare minimum. Breaks include a coffee break on the first day, breakfast and mid-morning breaks on the second day of the CE course, and breakfast for the Mini-course. Target: $4,000-5,000 total sponsorship. Sponsors should be identified in the fall because they will often need to capture the contribution during budgeting for the following year; if not budgeted, funding may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Fall Discuss with committee members about the nomination of the Narsingh Agnish Fellowship recipient. Fellowship to recognize the contribution by a Society member on continuing education. Communicate the nomination to the Society President for consideration by the Council. While the committee puts forth the nomination, final selection of the recipient has to be approved. Nov/Dec Contact the recipient of the Agnish Fellowship and follow up with a letter prepared by the Business Office for the official invitation to the annual meeting. Jan Prepare introduction, course evaluation form, and list of past courses for course notebooks. Set up a room at the venue of the Society annual meeting and a time for a committee meeting. Seek assistance from the Business Office. Contact Society President for preparation of the President’s message for notebook. Assistance can be solicited from the Business Office. Set up micro-portal with CRL so that course materials can be transmitted electronically (.ppt files preferred). Set up a directory for draft version and encourage speakers to visit each other’s materials to coordinate their talks, if necessary. Set up a directory for final version where the printer can retrieve the materials. Provide speakers with passwords for the micro-portal and instructions for loading their files. Set up due dates for submission of materials for notebooks. Send periodic reminders to speakers of these due dates. The first should be beginning of April. Draft version: recommended for mid-April. Final version: recommended for end of April. March/April A/V arrangements: Identify presentation accommodations (e.g., computers [MAC/PC], CD drive, Zip drive, USB port, projectors, cables, pointers) to be provided at the course venue (available from Business Office). Identify speaker needs (e.g. overhead projector, movie projection). Identify and arrange for any equipment that may need to be brought by the speakers or committee members. May/June Work with committee to generate a list of suggestions for new committee members: Ideally the committee should be balanced with members from industry, academia and government. Research interests/expertise on the committee should be diverse (e.g., toxicology, nutrition, clinical, embryology/developmental biology, epidemiology, molecular/experimental teratology). Two new members and an ad hoc student member are added each year. May Provide the list of suggestions for new committee members to the incoming Society President, who is responsible for appointing new members. Ideally the new members should be appointed and contacted prior to the annual meeting so that they may participate in the committee meeting held at the annual Society meeting. May/early June Work with CRL printer to determine the number of course books needed. Obtain updates on the number of pre-registrations from the Business Office. Allow an extra 20 books for on-site registrants. Arrange course books to be shipped directly to the meeting venue several days prior to the course. Late May/early June Assign committee members for checking in course participants, distributing course materials, and distributing course certificates during the courses. June Present general introduction/logistics and introduce speakers during courses. At the courses Prepare a committee report (verbal) for the council during annual meeting. Report should include: Final registration numbers for courses (available from business office for pre-registrants and registration desk for on-site). Any issues or questions that have come up regarding conduct of courses. At annual meeting (usually at Sat evening during the CE course) Present committee report (verbal) at annual business meeting: May be presented by incoming or outgoing chair. Provide final registration numbers for the two courses. Acknowledge sponsors (notebook sponsor and break sponsors). Acknowledge committee. Introduce new committee members. At annual meeting (usually Tuesday or Wednesday evening) Work with incoming chair to organize committee meeting at annual meeting. At annual meeting Draft a report for the CE and Mini-courses that will be incorporated into a report for the grants that support the annual meeting. Submit materials to the Business Office. Immediately after the annual meeting Provide guidance and assistance to the committee. The following year

SECRETARY RESPONSIBILITIES (click here for more detail)

The Education Committee secretary is generally selected from among the two “second year” committee members with the expectation that the secretary will assume responsibilities as the committee chair the following year. The primary responsibility of the committee secretary is to communicate with course speakers to facilitate/coordinate receipt of materials for the course notebooks and transfer of materials to the notebook sponsor. More specifically: RESPONSIBILITY/TASK   TIMING: Work with committee chair to define overall strategy and responsibilities for ongoing communication with speakers, reminders, updates, review of materials, coordination with notebook sponsor, etc. Year round Contact notebook sponsor to identify the appropriate contact person, confirm timelines; define preferred format and procedures for transfer of materials. Fall/Winter Letter/email to course speakers reminding them of timeline and to provide detailed format requirements and instructions for submission for course materials. January Follow-up reminders at periodic intervals. Jan-April Receive and transfer course materials: Receive course materials in agreed upon format (e.g. electronic via e-mail, on disc/CD, etc.). Review materials immediately. Resolve any questions/corrections with speaker. Transfer final materials to notebook sponsor in agreed upon format (Society FEDEX account number may be obtained from the business office for shipment of materials). Jan-April Obtain shipping instructions for course materials from the business office and provide to notebook sponsor April/May

POLICIES