Newsletter
AUA Update - June 2001

Election of New Members

The Association welcomes the following individuals who were elected to membership during the AUA Annual Membership Meeting held on May 18, 2001, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rochester, New York, during the AUA 48th Annual Meeting:

Council Elections

During the recently convened Annual Membership Meeting in Rochester, New York, members were called upon to elect a president-elect, secretary and councilor-at-large to serve on Council. Elected were Donald S. Prough, M.D., President-Elect; Steven J. Barker, Ph.D., M.D., Secretary; and Debra A. Schwinn, M.D., Councilor-at-Large. The current composition of Council is as follows:

In addition to the elections, Johnathan B. Mark, M.D., has been named to chair the AUA Educational Advisory Board. Jeffrey S. Balser, M.D., Ph.D., is the new chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.

Congratulations are extended to Denham S. Ward, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester, for hosting a tremendously successful AUA 48th Annual Meeting in Rochester, New York. Appreciation is also expressed to Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D., SUNY School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Buffalo, Kevin W. Roberts, M.D., Albany Medical College, and Enrico M. Camporesi, M.D., SUNY Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, for their assistance in the meeting. The meeting marked the first time in more than 30 years that AUA has met in New York and the first time in which the Association visited upstate New York. This year’s meeting was attended by 237 registrants.

The Association expresses its thanks to the Educational Advisory Board, chaired by Doris K. Cope, M.D., for arranging an interesting and thought-provoking program on evolving changes in the VA/academic departments’ fiscal relationships and on the financial status of academic anesthesia training programs. Kudos are also extended to the Scientific Advisory Board, chaired by Roderic G. Eckenhoff, M.D., for arranging exciting oral and poster presentations. In all, 14 oral presentations were provided and 41 posters were presented.

In addition to the excellent networking environment of the Annual Meeting, attendees enjoyed a buffet reception at the George Eastman House on Friday evening. During the evening, members laughed at the antics of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton at a private showing of classic silent movies and later gazed somberly at a display of Viet Nam War photographs taken by photographers killed during action. At the AUA Banquet on Saturday evening members were treated to a program on the heritage of upstate New York through music and images.

49th Annual Meeting

Members are reminded to mark their calendars now and reserve the dates of April 12-14, 2002, the dates of the AUA 49th Annual Meeting. The 2002 Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, better known as Music City, USA, at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. Charles Beattie, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Vanderbilt University, invites everyone to come and enjoy the warm southern hospitality that Nashville has to offer. Nashville, home to country music and the Grand Ole Opry, is also the home of Andrew Jackson, soldier and seventh president of the United States, and his historic Hermitage Plantation. Nashville is a heaven of Civil War history. General Ulysses S. Grant earned the nickname “Unconditional Surrender” for his victory at nearby Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, ensuring that both Kentucky and western Tennessee remained within the Union.

Dr. Beattie advises that arrangements are being made with several attractions to assure that everyone enjoys their stay, including events being planned at the Tennessee Botanical Garden at Cheekwood and at the newly opened Country Music Hall of Fame. Arrangements are also being investigated for a possible optional self-guided evening at the Grand Ole Opry.

Members are reminded that the dates of the 2002 Annual Meeting are earlier than usual. These earlier dates will make it necessary to move the call for abstracts and abstract submission deadlines forward as well as other program deadlines. Additional details will be provided shortly.

Future Annual Meetings

The AUA 2003 Annual Meeting will be held May 2-4 at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The uniqueness of this event is that it will mark the occasion of the Association’s 50th Annual Meeting. The meeting will be hosted by the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Although dates have not been finalized, other future AUA Annual Meeting locations are as follows:

Annual Meeting Attendance

Members are reminded that they are encouraged to attend the AUA Annual Meetings. However, members unable to attend the meeting should provide the AUA office with a written explanation. The Association’s constitution stipulates that Council may revoke a person’s membership should that individual fail to attend three consecutive annual meetings without an excused absence.

The above policy helps the Association to maintain a current roster of members, removing those no longer active in academic anesthesiology. Kindly remember that members should contact the AUA office with a request for an excused absence should they be unable to attend an annual meeting.

AUA President Alex S. Evers, M.D., also advises that the membership roles will be “cleaned-up” by checking meeting absences and outstanding dues. He added that excuses for non-attendance at an annual meeting are not automatically accepted should there be no reason stated in the requests.

Secretary’s Report

During the Annual Membership Business Meeting held during the AUA Annual Meeting in Rochester, AUA Secretary Steven J. Barker, Ph.D., M.D., advised that Council addressed the status of individuals who leave academic medicine, commenting that these individuals will be asked to resign should they not have a full-time faculty appointment or position. However, they may petition Council for an exception should they be contributing to the advancement of academic medicine. He further advised that members who have not paid their dues would be dropped from membership following formal notification by the AUA office and a 60-day grace period to allow individuals to make their dues current. He concluded the membership report by stating that membership certificates will be issued to all new members as well as to current members.

Treasurer’s Report

AUA Treasurer Lydia A. Conlay, M.D., Ph.D., announced during the Annual Membership Business Meeting in Rochester, New York, that the Association is in very good financial health and that Council has approved the start of a new investment vehicle that will permit a return on assets. She also advised that Council approved financial procedures that will permit the Association to meet its obligations in a timely fashion while maintaining financial controls. The new procedure requires invoices to be approved by the Treasurer and President with checks issued and mailed from the AUA office.

Other Business

The transfer of administrative support to the American Society of Anesthesiologists office in Park Ridge, Illinois, has been completed. The ASA staff provides assistance with the day-to-day operations of the AUA as well as assistance in specific activities such as the annual meeting. The change in administrative support has made it necessary for the Association to file for a license to conduct business in the state of Illinois as well as to establish a registered agent in the state of Washington where AUA is incorporated.

The AUA office can be contacted as follows:

Association of University Anesthesiologists
520 N. Northwest Highway
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068-2573
Telephone: (847) 825-5586
Fax: (847) 825-5658
E-mail: aua@asahq.org

Members are reminded to regularly visit the AUA Web site on the Internet. The Web site address is www.auahq.org. The site features a members only section that must be entered by using a user code and a password. Members should enter “auaweb” (without the quotation marks) after “user,” and “papper” (again, without the quotation marks) after “password.”

At its May meeting, Council reviewed the forwarding of employment listings to members by means of e-mail. Council determined that such notices should be posted on the Association’s Web site and not distributed by e-mail. Council agreed that e-mail messages from the AUA office to members should be sent on a limited basis, providing information on the organization and its activities. To this end, Council hopes to develop an electronic newsletter for its members. Information on how to post employment listings to the Web site will be made available at a later date.