APA Fall Leadership Meeting

In October 2004, the elected leaders of APA and AICP held their Fall Leadership Meetings in Portland, Oregon, in a joint meeting with our partners in the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). APA's Board of Directors had a very successful joint meeting with ACSP's Board of Governors, with the aim of building on the ongoing collaboration and partnership between the two organizations. All the constituent groups of APA also met in Portland and took action on some consequential issues.

Board of Directors

The APA Board of Directors adopted a multi-year Communication Plan for the association. The plan calls for increased outreach to local and national media, extensive training for leaders and members of APA, and use of targeted messages to influential community leaders to ensure that the voice of the planning movement is heard.

The board also approved future cities to host the National Planning Conference, based on proposals received from chapters around the country. The cities selected were Los Angeles in 2012 and Chicago in 2013.

AICP Commission

The AICP Commission accepted the revised AICP Code of Ethics as submitted by the Ethics Committee.

Many AICP members commented on the proposed changes to the AICP Exam Eligibility Requirements posted on APA's website. However, after discussion, the commission referred the proposed exam eligibility changes back to Bylaws Committee for further deliberation.

AICP Exam takers will soon get immediate results. The commission accepted the AICP Exam Committee's recommendation to proceed with the instantaneous score reporting beginning with the November 2004 exam.

An advisory committee will be formed to work with staff on the development and oversight of a new Exam Preparation package. The committee will consist of the chairs of the Continuing Education, Exam, and Membership Committees.

Chapter Presidents Council (CPC)

The CPC recommended that APA participate in an eco-municipality demonstration project in the United States and work to establish APA as the leader in the sustainable development movement in the U.S.

The CPC once again reaffirmed its support for the future establishment of a mandatory professional development program. The CPC requested that the AICP Commission immediately develop such a program and offered its help to work out some of the logistics.

Divisions Council (DC)

A Divisions Council Grant was awarded to the Gays & Lesbians in Planning (GALIP) Division for a research project, "Cognitive Dimensions of Queer Space: Mapping Safe Neighborhoods in Gay and Lesbian Neighborhoods," being conducted in conjunction with Florida State University.

The Divisions Council will explore the possibility of creating regional division conferences through a new DC Education Committee chaired by Whit Blanton. This committee will also recommend other DC activities to support APA's educational goals.

Student Representatives Council (SRC)

This group of student leaders developed enhancements for the SRC Chair election process in order to provide SRC student members with more information about each candidate prior to the election.

The SRC also approved development of regional student listservs to support the SRC Executive Committee's expanded role of bringing students leaders together, connecting schools regionally, and sharing information and news.

The student leaders also plans to use the very successful student program at the California Chapter annual conference as a model, and plan to work with chapters to schedule, develop, and promote student-focused sessions and events during the 2005 chapter conference season.