The
financial woes of the IEEE seem to be getting significantly worse.
I am pleased to report that this time, it is not because of poor judgement
at corporate headquarters, it is due to problems external to the IEEE.
The recent problems with SARS has caused some conferences to be cancelled
and apparently caused attendance to be low at other conferences, especially
among non-members. The concern that the conflicts in the middle East
would bring about an increase in terrorism has compounded the effect
that terrorism had already caused in reducing the attendance at conferences.
The projected shortfall is $6.5 M, which is about $20 per member.
We have gone though a year of cost cutting, and we seem to be running
out of places to cut. I expect that there will be increases in cost
across the board. Even if the $20 per person shortfall is passed on
to us, for those of us, who are serious about our science or engineering
activities, the cost of IEEE membership is a bargain and a good investment.
If the IEEE remains true to form the increase in dues will be significantly
smaller than the $20. As individuals, we can assist by working to
increase the attendance at our conferences. This can be as simple
as talking to colleagues about attending, or putting up posters on
your bulletin boards. Unfortunately, convincing people to become new
members is not helpful for the immediate future, because we lose money
on each new member.
Our dues amount to about 20% of the total funding of the IEEE. The
return from conferences and sales of subscriptions of IEEE publications
to libraries and non-members constitute the lion’s share of income.
As a member of IEEE, you receive journal subscriptions for on the
order of 10% of the cost to a non-member. The retail price of a 3400
page Transactions such as TNS is certainly not the $15 we pay each
year. TMI, which is considered the best journal in its field costs
us only $24. If you attend one meeting per year and subscribe to one
IEEE publication, the IEEE membership would provide you with a significant
savings and, to top this all off, you receive our Society’s Newsletter,
which is only available to NPSS members.
Ed Hoffman can be reached at the UCLA School of Medicine, 10833
Le Conte Avenue, B2-096 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6948; Phone: +1
310 825-8851; Fax: +1 310 825-4517; E-mail: EHoffman@mednet.ucla.edu
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Edward J. Hoffman
NPSS President
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