Report of the Committee on Programs
for the Year Ending June 30, 1999

During the year ending 30 June 1998, the Committee on Programs experienced a change in the Chair of the Committee, continued to explore new possible program activities for the Society, in addition to maintaining its traditional activities that it inherited from the former Committees on Science and Society and Science, Mathematics and Engineering Education.

In February 1999, Bob Morgan, the former committee chair, decided to pass on the reins of the Committee in the wake of many personal transitions in his life, including retirement from Washington University in St. Louis, a permanent move to Washington, DC, the consuming nature of a major project at the NRC where he spent the past year, and most recently a move to a new fellowship position at NSF. President John Moore appointed David Campbell to serve out Bob's term as chair. Dr. Campbell is currently a member of Sigma Xi's Board of Directors as a Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, and is currently located in Washington, DC, serving as a Program Officer in the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education of the National Science Foundation, on rotational assignment from his faculty position with the Department of Biology at Rider University in New Jersey.

For the November 1999 forum and annual meeting, the Committee selected The Honorable Rush Holt (D-NJ) as the John P. McGovern Science and Society Lecturer. Dr. Holt has accepted the Society's invitation to deliver the 1999 John P. McGovern Science and Society Lecture on Friday afternoon, 5 November. Dr. Holt is a physicist and long time Sigma Xi member who was elected last year to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey (Princeton). Prior to his election to the House, Dr. Holt was an Associate Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He is a former physics professor at Swarthmore College and Acting Chief of the Office of Strategic Forces Analysis in the State Department. Representative Holt is a member of the House Education and Budget Committees and will address the subject of science education reform in his lecture in November which will be the bridge this year between the Forum and the Annual Meeting.

During the year, the Committee, through one of its members, Richard Rowberg, continued to help American Scientist locate substantive experts to serve as moderators for the magazine's internet discussion group, American Scientist Forum, that was introduced on the magazine's Web site. Dr. Rowberg located prospective moderators for most of the 1998-99 issues of the magazine, including the discussions of the 2000 Census debate, of on-line scientific journals, funding disparities in biology, lead poisoning in soils, gene therapy, and global climate change.

In addition, the Committee continued its discussions on its possible role(s) within the Society. There is an emerging vision within the Committee that its role, relative to other committees within the Society, is as a "new idea generator" for chapters and for the Society. That is, the Committee on Programs can consider in what areas it might be productive for the Society to become engaged, where Sigma Xi's involvement might make a difference, and perhaps how such programs might be initiated. The evolving role of the Sigma Xi Center is another important dimension of the Society's future and, in brief, the Center is envisaged as a kind of incubator for Society programs, initially in areas of education, ethics, public understanding of science, and monitoring the health of the research enterprise. The Committee is exploring ways in which its activities might evolve with those of the emerging Center. Finally, the Committee is examining three program areas of possible future interest:

• American Scientist Forum. Obtaining a subcommittee to help locate suitable moderators for the electronic discussions of articles from current issues of the magazine selected for on-line discussions.

• Science Advocacy. Monitoring the current infant program in Michigan and as it migrates to Illinois with an aim of helping establish the model for widespread adoption among the Society's chapters.

• Media Resource Service. Establishing a mechanism for mining the Sigma Xi membership to come up with experts to add to the database both for the existing service, but also for the likely extensions: regional databases and a database of volunteers interested in participating in the envisaged program to support Foreign Service Officers in embassies around the world.

During the year ending 30 June 1999, the Committee continued to endorse the Society's program of supporting chapters to recognize outstanding K-12 teaching in science and mathematics. During the year, 67 K-12 teachers of science and mathematics were honored by 54 chapters and received either a framed certificate of recognition or a plaque. In addition, 49 chapters agreed to at least match a $25 stipend for the teacher that was provided via the Committee. Also, 6 certificates of recognition were provided for individuals who were selected by their chapters for their noteworthy support of research scientists and engineers.

The Committee continued to sponsor a program of providing grants up to $1,000 to assist chapters in their K-16 educational activities. During the past year, proposals from chapters were reviewed by a subcommittee of the Committee on Programs that included Carol Burger (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Chapter), Billy Joe Evans (University of Michigan Chapter), Bridget Lewin (University of California at Santa Barbara Chapter), David Peak (Utah State University Chapter), and Willie Pearson (Wake Forest University Chapter); Dr. Pearson served as chair of the subcommittee. For the year ending 30 June 1999, the subcommittee, on behalf of the Committee, awarded grants to support the activities of the Research Triangle Park Chapter for its program "Northern Orange Science Resource Center," and to the Peoria Chapter for its program "A Workshop to Facilitate the Development of a Science and Technology Education Program (STEP)." Information on this program, and application forms, are available in the programs area of Sigma Xi's Web Site.

David Campbell, Chair
Radford Byerly Jr.
Vanessa N. Gamble
Phillip A. Griffiths
Willie Pearson, Jr.
Richard Rowberg
Juarine Stewart
Robert Zand