J. Great Lakes Res., 1979Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res. 5(3-4):316

COMMENTARY

TO: Membership of the International Association for Great Lakes Research

The Board of Directors of IAGLR has asked me to coordinate efforts that could be associated withspeciality conferences. A speciality conference would be defined as one that would take place at atime and place different from the annual meeting of IAGLR. The subject matter to be addressed at aspeciality conference would be that for which the interest and participation might be limited. IAGLR'srole in such a conference would be to provide support as to the endorsement of a group undertakingthe sponsorship.

In order for a speciality conference to be successful there are three areas in which emphasis mustbe placed.

1. The identification of an individual or a small group of individuals interested in taking the initialsteps to crystallize an idea into a suitable format for a symposium.

2. The identification of institutions or individuals willing to host speciality conferences.3. Agencies or other groups interested in financially supporting speciality conferences.

Presently, I am assembling three lists which include:

1. The names of individuals and the subject matter in which they are interested in sponsoringconferences.

2. Host institutions and the subject matter for which they might host a speciality conference.3. A list of agencies that might be willing to provide financial support and the subject areas for

which support might be provided.

I would appreciate receiving written comments from the membership on interest that they mighthave in either sponsoring, hosting, or providing financial support for the development of specialityconferences. As the subject matter and individuals begin to coincide, I will make the appropriatecontacts.

Nelson A. ThomasLarge Lakes Research Station9311 Groh RoadGrosse Ile, MI 48138

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