Now that we have all settled back into the routines of life and office reality, I wanted to first take the time to thank you for attending the 2011 Annual Meeting. I hope you found all the new formatting changes useful for increased partnership meetings as well as increased networking with your peers along with AUTM’s continued stellar workshops, plenaries and SIGS. Alan Bentley and his group will be reviewing your evaluations to make further improvements to the 2012 meeting in Anaheim beginning March 14, 2012 (put on your calendars now!). If you have not yet sent in your evaluations, please do so now so we can have a robust set of comments and suggestions.
Secondly, I wanted to give you some updates on what we plan to accomplish in the coming year. We have heard your concerns about transparency in Board actions. Therefore, we will post summaries of all Board meetings beginning with the 2 ½ days of meetings the Board had in Vegas (http://www.autm.net/Board_of_Directors_Meetings.htm). Second, I will endeavor to post a blog once a month to give you updates on Board activities, issues under discussion, action items and other items of note. I encourage you to contact me directly or to directly contact other Board members if you have specific concerns, questions, issues, etc. Please familiarize yourself with the new Board members and their portfolios at http://www.autm.net/Board_of_Directors/5513.htm
If you did not have the stamina to listen to my opening speech, we have posted it here so that you may review our plans for the upcoming year. I welcome your thoughts, comments and help as we move forward. In summary, it is all about AUTM’s three pillars: advocacy, professional development and service to our members. In the next few months, Andy Cohn and his Advocacy committee will be closely following patent reform, the i4i/Microsoft case and the Myriad/ACLU case, among others. I am working with a small international committee considering some changes to AUTM’s Global Health Access statement; our next meeting likely will be on or near the ASTP meeting in May. Another group is reviewing issues related to gene patenting licensing policies.
In Professional Development, the first AUTM Asia event will be held in Beijing April 14. Additional information on that program can be found at: http://en.bjittc.org/. David Gulley and his group are also working on a new Leadership Forum for Advancing Discoveries to be held later this year (more information to come later).
And lastly, over the next months I plan to give you updates on a number of new initiatives under way including a new Technology Portal, a new Deals Database, and proposed new nominations and elections process.
Thank you again for your support; I look forward to serving you in the coming year.