2011 Assembly of Delegates:
Nominees for Treasurer

2011 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting & International Research Conference

November 10-13, 2011
Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh, North Carolina

James Froula
Interview of James Froula
Retired, Former Executive Director, Secretary-Treasurer & Editor of The Tau Beta Pi Association

Jim Froula, P.E., Retired, Former Executive Director, Secretary-Treasurer, and Editor of The Tau Beta Pi Association.

Prior to joining Tau Beta Pi , Jim spent 12 years in design, development, and engineering management for the IBM Corporation in Lexington, KY, and Boulder, CO, receiving a first-level invention achievement award and an outstanding innovation award as mechanical manager for the Model 60 Copier.

His career began at Union Carbide Corporation's Y-12 nuclear plant as an engineering co-op student. He served as a lieutenant in United States Army ordnance corps at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, Rock Island Arsenal, IL, and in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and was awarded the bronze star and the army commendation medal.

Jim earned a B.S. and his M.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Tennessee. His graduate work was completed under an NSF fellowship. Jim received the Tau Beta Pi Distinguished Service Award in 1982. Former president and vice president of the Association of College Honor Societies, he served on the award selection committee of the American Association of Engineering Societies.

A licensed professional engineer in Tennessee, he is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and also a member of Phi Gamma Delta, Sigma Xi, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Engineering Education, National Society of Professional Engineers, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, and Technical Society of Knoxville.

Candidate's Statement - James Froula

Interview with James Froula:

My vision and philosophy are to see Sigma Xi provide maximal benefit to its members and to society at large and operate in a fiscally prudent and responsible manner to permit steady growth in membership and financial resources each year.

I have served Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, as Secretary-Treasurer and Editor effectively since 1982 and have thoroughly enjoyed all financial work.  Assisted by an efficient bookkeeper, I prepare all budgets, financial reports, and statements to the board and prepare the annual audit for a top firm, currently Crowe Horwath. Tau Beta Pi was financially in the black for 27 of those 29 years and, thus, has grown its assets from $2.7 to $21.8 million. Both years with excess expense over revenue resulted from declines in market value of the trust, which is managed by a three-person Trust Advisory Committee. This team includes Rodger F. Smith, Greenwich Research, and Harry Lange, manager of Fidelity Magellan Fund, and I have attended many of the annual TAC meetings. Our trust is currently valued at $20 million.  I had personal conversations with Leroy Record, who bequeathed both our societies. I managed our annual giving program for 29 years, during which we raised $20 million and received nearly $11 million in bequests and capital gifts. In addition, I have installed 54 chapters and prepared all agendas and most materials for and participated in all board meetings with seven unique boards.

Sigma Xi Activities:
Having joined Sigma Xi in 2005, I have contributed little to the Society because I have been more than fully engaged with Tau Beta Pi. I have been a fan of your excellent publication, American Scientist, since 1982.
I worked during 1986-90 under a Tau Beta Pi board that included Dr. John W. Prados, former Sigma Xi Treasurer. My retirement from Tau Beta Pi will occur in October 2011. With time to share, I offer my experience in society finance and management and my definite interest in serving Sigma Xi.

Ronald W Millard
Professor
University of Cincinnati

As a new member of Sigma Xi, and as President of Chapter #045, The University of Cincinnati Sigma Xi Chapter, I am particularly well positioned to bring a fresh perspective to the Office of Treasurers of the Society. I earned a BS degree in Chemistry from Tufts University and subsequently served on the Tufts University Alumni Council, and I earned a doctoral in medical science (systems physiology) From Boston University, I completed postdoctoral training at the University of Washington (Seattle), Scripps Clinic and Research Foundations and the University of California at La Jolla, and at the Maine Medical Center (Portland). I am a Fulbright Senior Fellow (Denmark), and have previously served as a consultant to the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, The National Academies of Science/Ford Foundations Fellowships Selections, The National Science Foundation, and The National Institutes of Health. I am also a Fellow of the American Council on Education. I have a successful record of organizing international science meetings, raising sponsor funding, and based on these successes, subsequently invited to serve as consultant for follow-on science meetings. I have conducted collaborative international research in Antarctica, Alaska, Central America, Europe, and Africa with support from the National Science Foundation, The National Geographic Society, and the National Institutes of Health, among others. I have held full-time faculty posts at the Harvard University Medical School (Boston, MA), Brown University (Providence, RI), and the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH) where I am professor of pharmacology & cell biophysics.

My commitments to excellence in science have resulted in more than 110 peer-reviewed publications, published chapters and edited books on cardiovascular and pulmonary biology, on chemical candidates for human disease therapies, and most recently on the potential for stem cells for heart tissue repair. My efforts to expand diversity in science and engineering have resulted in awards for this service: the "Samuel Kaplan Visionary Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Science" by the American Heart Association, the "Martin Luther King Jr. Award" from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the "Just Community Award" from the University of Cincinnati.

Candidate's Statement - Ronald W Millard

Interview with Ronald Millard:

I have a long record of successful and effective fiscal stewardship for a variety of organizations. During my undergraduate years, I served as student treasurer of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity at Tufts University while running a successful newspaper distribution service, and considerably later served as treasurer and fund-raiser for the Clifton School Foundation (Cincinnati Public Schools). I owned and operated of a financially successful residential real estate enterprise for 15 years. I have earned more 5 -10 million in NIH and NSF research and education grants and additional private sector support for basic and applied biomedical research and for teaching and training the next generations of scientists and engineers. I have effectively managed these budgets so as to leverage the resources by garnering financial co-sponsors to expand the scope and impact of these research and training programs.

In 2005, following probing analysis that I made of major investment portfolios at my institution, I was invited and accepted a position on one of the University of Cincinnati financial advisory committees. For the past 5+ years I have participated actively in review of this $75± million investment portfolio performance, recommendations for strategic investment reallocations, and forward financial planning to assure our capacity to adapt, expand and endure during a rather challenging economic cycle.

In 2008 I was appointed by Dr. Anthony Perzigian, University of Cincinnati Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost to organize, lead, and oversee the funding for a year-longcelebration for the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" in calendar 2009.

(See: UC Board of Trustees Meeting minutes, pages 10-15)

The program engaged a series on national and international speakers, gained global reputation for excellence in public outreach and engagement based on evidence rather than opinion regarding the role of evolution theory in science and society.

In some measure, as result of the success of the 2009 Darwin Sesquicentennial program, I was invited in early 2010 to accept the task of re-inventing and re-invigorating the UC Chapter of Sigma Xi.

With the support of a few committed Sigma Xi members we charted a path that has led to induction of more active Full and Associate members, engagement of members in chapter programs and leadership opportunities, creation of new chapter by-laws, and a financial strategic plan capable of sustaining and expanding chapter programs supporting and showcasing excellence in science and engineering education and research at The University of Cincinnati and in Southwestern Ohio. Taken together the elements of this re-invention plan have resulted in a rising trajectory of membership and revenue, including donations, and underpin a sustainable business model.

Under my leadership, the new UC Sigma Xi Chapter has enrolled three dozen new full members during 2010-2011, bringing active chapter membership to nearly 200, established new sources of funding for chapter programs, scholarships, and awards, organized high quality an innovated programs, engaged a network for colleges and universities in the greater Cincinnati are in the UC Chapter activities, added community science and engineering organizations and activities to our chapter outreach, supported and promoted a new "Cincy Science Cafe" series since December 2010, created new chapter by-laws, and launched a new look for the UC Chapter Sigma Xi website.

For these and many other career experiences, I will bring my core values of professionalism, high ethical standards, and fiscal stewardship to the Office of Sigma Xi Society Treasurer. And, as opportunity arises, I will offer practical, yet innovative ideas, approaches, and solutions for growth and sustainability of Sigma Xi. I will bring a demonstrated capacity for effective networking and partnership among myriad academic, governmental, and private sector entities committed to excellence in science and engineering. I have the analytic skills, and the fiduciary experience that would benefit the leadership team of the Society, and that my broad set of skills and experience will be used to benefit the Society and its membership. I firmly believe that the trans-disciplinary role of Sigma Xi in articulating value an influential leadership to the membership, chapters both in North America and around the globe has yet to realize its full potential. I look forward to providing a fresh perspective to Sigma Xi and participating in the re-establishment of a fiscally sound, professionally effective science and engineering research (honor) society of the highest local, regional, national, and international regard.

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