21 March 2006
FM: James A. Fawcett
International President
RE: 2006-07 Programmatic Objectives
I want explain my objectives for our Society during my next two years of tenure. These are themes that have evolved out of our discussions over the past few years and are high on my priority list. Fortunately, our Past President, Larry Lund, many others of you and I have worked closely over the past few years to set a refreshed direction for the Society and I think you’ll find that these objectives embody those under which we’ve been operating. The Society has emerged over the past six years or so from a state of complacence to one of action and these objectives reflect that spirit.
A. Expanding our membership:
I have two reasons for urging our focus on this. First, since we are “the honorary society for the advancement of land economics,” then we ought to have a more extensive presence in major cities of the world. After all, we are a collegial association of some of the best minds in the field who share an altruistic goal of educating ourselves and our communities about wise use of our land resources. We need to extend ourselves to other locales especially since we’re not the only good minds in this field.
Second, the International can do more for our chapters in terms of education about land economics—our stated goal as a Society. But, right now, we don’t have the budget to undertake expanded programs from the International. It is my belief that there are scale economies that we could utilize were our membership larger.
B. Challenge all chapters to increase the numbers of women initiated into our Society
Certainly, in the same spirit that we need to extend our reach into all of the major cities of our nations, it is equally important that we recognize the contribution of women to our professions. While Lambda Alpha started out as a male fraternity, we’ve come far beyond our roots and we owe it to ourselves and to women of accomplishment in our professions to make them welcome as a part of this distinguished Society.
C. Challenge all chapters to increase their membership to a stable base of 100 members:
This is a policy that we’ve agreed upon among ourselves for some time now but we need to help our chapters achieve that goal.
D. Resuscitate weak chapters:
In many locations, Lambda Alpha is a major force in promoting discussion over wise use of land and the strong membership of these chapters speaks well to the reputation of the Society. Where we are represented, we need to maintain that reputation, however there are cities in which we still need to work to establish ourselves as a strong voice for responsibility in studying and managing land resources. These chapters need help in enhancing their role and reputation. It is well to remember that members, present and past, established every chapter only after a great deal of work. It would be a shame to lose the fruits of that effort. We need to share the expertise in recruitment and management of successful chapters with those that need our assistance (generally speaking, those chapters that have fewer than 100 members) in order to bring them back to good health. Let’s put our heads together and determine what to do and how to do it with these chapters. We have a responsibility as stewards of the Society to assist any of our chapters that need our help.
We’ve made good progress over the past six years with a cadre of Executive Committee members who are committed to action in making this 76-year-old organization responsive to the needs of the 21st Century. I’m eager to keep the momentum going with an excellent Board of Governors and active chapters.
James A. Fawcett, Ph.D.
International President
Lambda Alpha International | 
Copyright
© 2004 |