History of the American Physiological Society (eBook)

adjustment to the many dramatic changes which have occurred in the last quarter century. On the whole I feel well pleased with the present status of the Society and believe that it is well prepared to cope with all the problems which may come be- fore it. We should remember, however, that the Society is not an end in itself but exists only to serve the physiological sciences, and the most important way to do this is for each member to make his own contribution to his science as effective and illuminating as possible, whether it be in teaching or research. No scientific society can professionally be better than the members of which it is composed. Compared to the maintenance of this standard of excellence, all administrative disputes within the Society pale into insignificance. The important effort must be to make sure that the American Physiological Society is not outranked in high scientific quality by any other similar group. Without this high quality, the recruitment of graduate students will be a problern in spite of all the career brochures or other publicity devices that money can buy. More Nobel Prizes in Physiology offer the surest guarantee for the future of the Society and emphasis in the next quarter century should be put on activities that best serve that objective.