Virtual Ex-President

There was to have been an end-of-year message from Peter Scott, BSPP President in 1996, in the last issue of the Newsletter, but there were gremlins in the system and it did not appear. Peter's main headings were as follows. Many of the points are picked up in this issue of the Newsletter, and you can read the full version on BSPPweb.

1996 was a busy year for Council. There were significant developments in three main areas:

A. BSPP is pioneering in the electronic era

There were major advances in:

• BSPPweb
• MMPOL, and electronic access to "Plant Pathology"
• The Presidential Conference on "Unlocking the future - Information technology in plant pathology"

B. Future financial strategy

A new Strategy Committee developed policies for using capital reserves and uncommitted annual surpluses. Major new opportunities have resulted:

• Extra investment in electronic publishing
• Extra Undergraduate Vacation Bursaries and Travel Awards
• A new Innovation Fund and a new Fellowships Scheme
• Extra support for ICPP98, including the Assistance fund (for attendance by members) and the Bursary fund (for delegates from developing countries)

C. ICPP98

1996 was a key year in the development of the programme, the local arrangements in Edinburgh and the financial infrastructure.

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