As of December 31, 2003, the Society has 4,231 active members. Applications for new membership processed during 2003 totalled 552. This represents an 8% increase in membership in one year, and possible factors contributing to this increase were reviewed.

Bornstein also reported to the Board that a survey is being developed to be sent to former members who have dropped membership in the Society to better understand causes for leaving INS. An additional survey is being developed to be sent out to current Society members who did not register for this year's meeting to determine reasons for non-participation.

As of January 6, 2004, 65% of the membership had paid their 2004 dues.

Meryl Butters, Chair of the Program Committee, presented the following report. In all, 981 abstracts were received for review, with 911 accepted for presentation. The vast majority of accepted submissions are being presented as posters (688), with 117 oral presentations. The program also features 18 submitted and invited symposia in addition to four addresses, included the Presidential address, an invited address, the Benton Award address, and the Birch Lectureship. Submissions were received from 25 countries.

Submissions to the Baltimore meeting were the first done utilizing the new electronic submission format, and Butters provided feedback on the system to the Board. Poster and oral presentation submissions proved not to be problematic, but some logistical problems arose for submissions of symposia. Bornstein will be meeting with Scholar One, the electronic submission publisher, to provide feedback and to highlight areas requiring trouble shooting prior to the next submission cycle.

Bornstein reviewed statistics for the Brisbane meeting, to be held in July 2004. A total of 378 submissions were received from 24 countries, with the largest number received from Australia (204 submissions).

Bernice Marcopulos updated the Board on many activities of the International Liaison Committee (ILC). The ILC web site (www.ilc-ins.org) remains an important component of the ILC's mission to increase international outreach. This web site has included a link to the INS office for membership submissions, and Marcopulos noted that there were 87 new international members to the Society in 2003, the largest growth in one year since 1991. The training and funding data bases have been continually updated. The ILC also continues to sponsor an e-mail discussion list focused on cross cultural issues. ILC also has continued the Support Consultation Program to support international scholars in their research and publication efforts. The past book inventory is slowly being dispersed, and a shipment was sent to the University of Warsaw. The ILC working in collaboration with the Society's Diversity Committee is developing guidelines for how new books and audiotapes donated to the Society will be dispersed. It is hoped this new program will be operational in the upcoming months.

Jack Fletcher, Chair of the Publications Committee, reported on the recent activities of this committee. Dr. Igor Grant, Editor of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (JINS) submitted a separate detailed report. Electronic access to JINS is fully functional and seems to be working well. The number of submitted manuscripts to the journal has increased by 12% in 2003. Rejection rate has held steady at about 50%. The publication lag time has decreased to 9.3 months, and should improve in the future. Slow progress has been made with Cambridge University towards establishing electronic submissions to JINS. A system will be piloted by the editor's office prior to the end of Grant's term as Editor. Negotiations continue with Cambridge for final cost and provisions for cost sharing.

A proposed budget for the new Editor of JINS, Kathy Haaland was reviewed. Haaland will begin accepting manuscripts July 1, 2004. After discussion, the proposed budget was approved, pending final negotiations with Cambridge regarding the cost of electronic submissions (motion-Brandt; second-Bigler).

Neil Pliskin, CE Director, provided the following report to the Board. The Baltimore CE program offers 24 total courses, and is featuring a curriculum-based theme of “Technological Innovations in Imagining and Higher Mental Function.” Several other CE highlights include a new “Investigator Workshop”, an NIH Career Development Workshop, and “Genetics and Neuropsychopharmacology” update courses. The CE program for the July 2004 meeting in Brisbane, Australia is set, with six CE courses (four full and two short courses) to be offered. The special theme for the meeting in St, Louis will be “Medical Neuropsychology.” A renewal application for APA accreditation for continuing education was submitted August 1, 2003, and INS was granted a five-year full approval. Pliskin further commented on the need for the Society to develop a formal grievance procedure for continuing education courses. The following procedure was approved by the Board (motion-Brandt; second-Marcotte):

The International Neuropsychological Society is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles for Psychologists. The INS will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the Director of Continuing Education in consultation with the Executive Secretary and the members of the Continuing Education. INS Continuing Education participants direct complaints to the Director of Continuing Education. The grievance is addressed at this level if possible. If not, it is brought for resolution to the attention of the Executive Secretary of the International Neuropsychological Society. The participant who initiated the grievance is informed of the status of his/her complaint at all levels.

Pliskin also reviewed discussions held with the Publications Committee to possibly offering INS CE courses for credit online, such that CE offerings at meetings could also be offered to those unable to travel to attend the meeting. Possible procedures for implementing such a program were reviewed. Pliskin noted that this year, CE presentations have been captured for both oral and audiovisual presentation materials. In order for the Society to be able to offer CE credit for online courses, a separate application must be made with APA. A motion was made to have Pliskin move forward and to submit the necessary application materials to APA for CE provider accreditation for online course study (motion-Marcotte; second-Brandt); the motion carried.

Ann Watts presented a summary of the ad hoc Committee on Diversity within Developing Countries. The ad hoc committee has been working in conjunction with the ILC to develop guidelines for distribution of INS library materials to programs from developing countries. This committee has been focused on developing links with other groups or societies around the world interested in neuropsychology, and several groups have approached INS with the desire to have links to their societies on the INS web page offering a reciprocal link to the INS web site on their own web sites. After Board discussion, it was decided that incoming President, Jason Brandt and Watts would together write a letter of invitation to be sent to other societies around the world to establish mutual links with INS. Finally, Watts added that discussions underway to offer INS CE courses online is congruent with the charge of this committee, and could make INS offerings more available to those who cannot afford to travel to meetings.

Bornstein presented the following report for Donald Stuss, who has been appointed to serve a 3-year term as chair of the Awards Committee. The following Society members have agreed to serve on the committee: Sureya Dikmen, Alexandra Castro-Caldas, Ed de Haan and Morris Moscovich.

Andrew Papanicolaou provided the following report on the Summer Institute. In 2003, 9 selected Institute participants were unable to attend due to the SARS outbreak in Asia. These students will be attending the 2004 program. The program has received 200+ applications for the 75 slots available for the summer 2004 program, and the process of application review and selection is underway. The Board requested that consideration be given to new applicants over returning students whenever possible. The theme of this year's Institute is “The Human Frontal Lobes.”

The Board then discussed a number of possible models as to how the membership of the Advisory Committee to the Summer Institute should be constituted. A ten-member Advisory Committee (chaired by Papanicolaou with nine members) was proposed. Three INS members, comprised of two sitting members of the Board of Governors and one member selected from volunteers from the general Society membership, would be appointed each year to serve on the Committee for three-year terms. A motion to accept the proposed model was made and the Board voted in favor of the motion (motion-Marcotte, second-Brandt).

Bornstein reported the following results from Society's recently concluded elections. Dr. Robert Heaton will serve as the Incoming President and Barbara A. Wilson was elected President-Elect. Newly elected members at large on the Board of Governors are Morris Moscovitch, H. Gerry Taylor, and Eli Vakil.

Bornstein reported that future meeting sites are as follows: Brisbane, Australia, July 7–10, 2004; St. Louis, Missouri, February 2–5, 2005; Dublin, Ireland, July 6–9, 2005; Boston, Massachusetts, February 1–4, 2006; Portland, Oregon, February 7–10, 2007. The Board also discussed a possible return to Hawai‘i for February 2008.

Four possible non-North American venues for the mid-year 2006 meeting were reviewed. After discussion, the Board elected to hold the 2006 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting proposal was submitted jointly by the Swiss and German Neuropsychological Societies. The Board will investigate if other nearby European Societies, such as Italian and French societies, are interested in also co-sponsoring the 2006 mid-year meeting. The Board also discussed varying models for the number of meetings INS may hold and/or co-sponsor annually.

Bornstein reviewed the applications received for the Continuing Education Director position. President Warrington asked each Board member to outline his or her position on each candidate. After discussion, the Board selected Jennifer Manly to serve as the new Continuing Education Director. She will work closely with Dr. Pliskin over the next year to ensure a smooth transition for this important position.

Dr. Warrington led the Board in discussion of European membership loss in the Society, and also re-reviewed the results of a limited survey conducted on the Board's behalf by Michael Kopelman on the matter. Warrington updated the Board on recent efforts in Europe to develop a federation of European neuropsychological organizations. A meeting is being held in Modena, Italy in April, co-sponsored by several European groups, and a discussion of the formation of a possible federation may take place. Bornstein and Heaton are planning to attend the Modena meeting and will represent INS. They will report back to the Board on any developments.

Dr. Meryl Butters, Chair of the Program Committee, presented the following report. Some 981 submissions were received for review, with 911 accepted for inclusion in the Baltimore meeting. Butters also reviewed for the membership the first use by the Program Committee of electronic submissions of abstracts. Award recipients were then recognized. The Phillip Rennick Award for the best student submission was awarded to Alicia Schweinsburg from the University of California San Diego for her paper: “fMRI of Response Inhibition Across Adolescent Development.” The Butters Award for the best submission submitted by a post-doctoral fellow was awarded to David A. Wolk from Brigham and Women's Hospital for his paper: “Event-related Potential Correlates of Enhanced Conceptual Fluency and False Recognition.” The Cermak Award for outstanding research in memory was awarded to Jeffrey Browndyke from the Duke University Medical Center from the University of California San Diego for his paper: “Knowing What You Know and Don't Know: Event-related fMRI Evidence of Dissociable Temporal and Frontal Lobe Activity Associated with Recognition Memory Response Type.”

On behalf of the membership of the Society, President Warrington thanked Dr. Butters and her committee members for their hard work.

Skye McDonald, Chair of the Program Committee for the Society's meeting in July 2004 in Brisbane, Australia, reported that the scientific program and continuing education offerings are now finalized. Several satellite conferences to be held before and after the meeting are also being planned.

Bernice Marcopulos reported on the many activities undertaken by the ILC. Marcopulos encouraged members to visit the ILC website, www.ilc-ins.osu.edu for a summary of these activities. The website lists valuable information about other national societies, training programs, funding opportunities, as well as the Society's book program. She thanked the members of the ILC for their efforts.

Jack Fletcher, Chair of the Publications Committee, reported on the recent activities of this committee. Fletcher noted that JINS has continued to flourish under the helm of Editor Igor Grant. Submissions to the journal increased in 2003, and the average lag time to publication in 2003 was down to 9.3 months. JINS is available online on the Cambridge web site prior to actual hard copy publication. Fletcher encouraged the membership to support the addition of JINS to their institutional libraries, as such subscriptions can affect impact factors for journals. Progress is being made towards establishing electronic submissions to JINS. Members will be notified in a Society mailing about progress.

Neil Pliskin, CE Director, reported that there have been 1,844 registrations for the Baltimore CE program. The CE program for the July 2004 meeting in Brisbane, Australia is set, with six CE courses (four full and two short courses) to be offered. The special theme for the meeting in St. Louis will be “Medical Neuropsychology.” A similar format to the current CE offerings, including lunch and twilight sessions, will be used in St. Louis. A renewal application for APA accreditation for continuing education was submitted August 1, 2003, and INS was granted a five-year full approval. Pliskin further reported on efforts to offer CE courses online in the near future. Finally, Pliskin announced that Dr. Jennifer Manly was selected by the Board of Governors as his successor as CE Director.

Bornstein reported the following results from Society's elections. Dr. Robert Heaton will serve as the Incoming President and Barbara A. Wilson was elected President-Elect. Newly elected members at large on the Board of Governors are Morris Moscovitch, H. Gerry Taylor, and Eli Vakil.

President Warrington thanked outgoing elected officers and members of the Board of Governors for their contributions to the Society. They include: outgoing President Leslie Gonzalez-Rothi, and Board members Ann Watts, Lucia Braga, and Sandra Weintraub.