I am the NEW editor of the ASEPNewsletter.  This monthly newsletter is designed to update the members of the ASEP organization and the general public on the current events regarding ASEP.  The newsletter will contain actions recently taken by the Board of Directors as well as any recent information, decisions, and future goals of ASEP.  There will be featured updates from the chairpersons of the leading ASEP committees, news briefs regarding the recent advances in the professional development of exercise physiology and guest editorials.  If you would like to contribute to this newsletter or if you are just looking for general information regarding ASEP, feel free to contact me at the following e-mail address.  Also, don't forget to sign up for the "ASEP E-mail Updates" of this newsletter. 

In this issue, there are two important documents: First, the President of ASEP submitted the ASEP 2002 Board Meeting Update.  It is not only highly informative, but clearly highlights the continued development of the ASEP organization on behalf of all exercise physiologists.  Second, Dr. Ron Mendel and his colleagues have completed work on the Ohio Association of Exercise Physiologists (OHAEP) website.  Congratulations! 

Jesse Pittsley
jlpittsley@yahoo.com 
 

 

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ASEP 2002 Board Meeting Update

Richard B. Kreider, PhD, EPC, FACSM, FASEP
President, American Society of Exercise Physiologists

Professor and Chair
Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory
Center for Exercise, Nutrition and Preventive Health
Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation
Baylor University
Waco, TX 

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The ASEP Board of Directors (BOD) met at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV on July 11, 2002.  The meeting was held in conjunction with the 25th National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) annual meeting.   The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the current status of ASEP and to make plans for the future.  The following overviews highlights from the ASEP BOD meeting.  As you will see, we have made significant progress in the professionalization of exercise physiology.  However, much more work needs to be done.  To do so, we need your help!  ASEP will only be as strong as our members are involved in moving the profession forward.  We hope that sharing this information with you will re-energize your efforts in supporting ASEP through membership and professional engagement. 

Moving ASEP Forward
Membership Drive and Renewal
Dr. Tommy Boone provided an overview of ASEP membership.  Apparently, the number of paid members in ASEP has leveled off over the last two years.  It seems that although over 500 individuals have joined ASEP at various times in the last few years, a number of members have failed to renew their membership.  The BOD felt that this was due to several factors including difficulty in the process of renewing memberships and a need to provide additional benefits to members.   In order to expedite membership applications and renewals, ASEP will be initiating an online credit card method of payment.  If you, your colleagues, and/or your students have yet to renew your membership, please do so at your earliest convenience.  ASEP is not a very large organization.  Therefore, it is highly dependent on membership revenue to fund the services it offers.  Additionally, as you renew your membership, please work to recruit new members.   ASEP has made great progress in professionalizing exercise physiology.  However, ASEP needs continual growth if it is to make the impact that is needed in our profession. 

ASEP and Other Organizations
At the beginning of the meeting, there was a frank discussion about the perceived image of ASEP among non-members who belong to other exercise science/sports medicine organizations.  Several BOD members felt that some of the passionate articles written about the need to professionalize exercise physiology through ASEP may have been misinterpreted to mean that ASEP is somehow at odds against other organizations.   Let me be clear.  There are a number of excellent organizations that exercise physiologists’ belong (e.g., ACSM, NSCA, AACVPR, NATA, APTA, AKTA, etc).  ASEP supports its membership’s involvement in these organizations.  In fact, a number of ASEP members have or currently serve in leadership positions in these organizations.  ASEP welcomes members from various professional associations who are interested in the professionalization of exercise physiology through academic accreditation, Board Certification, and licensure to become active members of ASEP.  In addition, ASEP welcomes developing professional affiliations with other organizations so that we can work together to meet the needs of exercise physiologists.   We will only be successful as a profession if we work together. 

Increasing Membership Interest and Involvement
A dynamic professional organization is one in which members take an active role in moving the organization forward.  If ASEP is to move forward, we need more members to take an active role in ASEP.   There are plenty of opportunities for ASEP members to participate.  For example, you can help ASEP move forward by recruiting new members, organizing a student and/or state ASEP chapter, volunteering to serve on various committees, and contributing articles to JEP and PEP Online.  In order to facilitate membership interest, Dr. Lonnie Lowery recently launched the ASEP E-newsletter.  ASEP members and individual’s who sign up for the the E-newsletter receive monthly updates about ASEP activities.  If you haven’t received your copy through e-mail, please sign up for the E-newsletter.   There was also discussion about developing a “members only” area on the ASEP web page in order to provide access to membership directories, certification resources, journal .pdf files, etc.  Several members of the BOD felt that since most ASEP materials are free, additional incentives needed to be provided in order encourage individuals to join ASEP and maintain their membership.  The BOD will be working to provide additional benefits for ASEP members.  In the meantime, remember that professional engagement is needed to develop and move a profession forward.  Membership in ASEP is an important part of securing a future profession for exercise physiologists. 

A Call to Faculty
There was significant discussion about what it will take to move the exercise physiology profession forward.  It was acknowledged that most students join professional organizations with encouragement of their faculty mentors.  Almost 100 ASEP members serve as faculty members at various institutions.  The BOD calls on faculty members all over the country to encourage their students and colleagues to join ASEP, develop student chapters, and to participate in efforts to professionalize exercise physiology through seeking academic accreditation and offering board certification exams through ASEP.  Although we understand than many older exercise physiology faculty are set in their ways, it is time that younger who understand the importance in professionalizing exercise physiology step up to move our profession forward. 

Committee Reports
Finance
Overall, the financial status of ASEP is sound.  However, additional work needs to be done to secure a stable financial future in the years to come.  The primary source of ASEP funding comes from memberships and revenues generated from the annual meeting.  ASEP will be posting a summary for members which describes how ASEP revenues are spent for various ASEP services.  Since the next annual meeting will be held in February 2003 (see information below), there was some concern that expenses may exceed revenues in 2002 for the first time in ASEP’s history.  For this reason, the BOD authorized additional efforts to encourage existing members to renew their membership, a marketing plan to solicit additional members, and pursuit of external sponsorships to support ASEP’s national meeting and research awards.  It is our goal to keep ASEP on sound financial footing for many years to come.

Annual Meeting
After careful deliberation, the BOD decided to host the next national meeting in Las Vegas, NV in February of 2003.  The BOD felt that hosting the national meeting in Las Vegas would serve to increase interest and participation in the ASEP national meeting.  In addition, the consensus from the BOD was that Las Vegas was a more affordable (and warmer) location to host the meeting than other cities under consideration.  Dr. Rob Robergs has been charged with finding a suitable location and date.   As soon as the hotel location is finalized, we will provide additional information.  Plan your schedules to attend the ASEP national meeting in Las Vegas next February!

Accreditation 
Accreditation of academic programs is essential to professionalize exercise physiology.  Over the last few months, Wright State University, the University of New Mexico, and Slippery Rock University received academic accreditation for their exercise physiology programs by ASEP.  Marquette University is currently under review and a number of other universities are in the process of applying for academic accreditation of their programs.  The realization of accredited academic programs in exercise physiology is a very exciting part of ASEP’s mission and an important hallmark in the history of exercise physiology.  I would like to personally thank members of the Board of Accreditation who have developed accreditation guidelines, reviewed application materials, and conducted site visits at these institutions.  If your program isn’t accredited, its time to tell your colleagues, faculty mentor’s, and administrator’s that accreditation in exercise physiology is now a reality.  I encourage you to make sure you teach and/or obtain a degree from an ASEP accredited academic program in exercise physiology.  For more information, click the link on Academic Accreditation. 

Board Certification
There are currently 67 Board Certified Exercise Physiologists (EPC) in the United States.  The BOD discussed ways to increase the number of sites offering and interest in the EPC exam.  One recommendation was for the Board of Certification to consider developing a video segment for part II of the examination.  The rationale was that this may allow for a standard assessment  of knowledge about practical skills in exercise physiology, increase the number of candidates who sit for the EPC exam, and, allow for more sites to offer the examination.   The Board of Certification will be investigating and test piloting the practicality of administering an exam in this format.   In addition, the BOD discussed the possibility of waiving the practical component of the EPC exam for students who graduate from an ASEP accredited academic program.  The BOD also approved offering an EPC workshop and exam in Italy next fall in collaboration with the Federation of Italian Fitness.  This will serve as the first international offering of ASEP’s EPC exam. 

ASEP Journals
Dr. Rob Robergs provided a report on the number of submissions and acceptance rate for the Journal of Exercise Physiologyonline.  The journal has consistently grown over the last few years with over 30 articles published in 2001.   ASEP has been approached by a publisher to develop a printed version of JEPonline. The BOD approved moving forward on discussions about doing so as long as the electronic nature of the journal is maintained.  Dr. Robergs also discussed the very difficult process for becoming indexed on Medline.   This has been a lengthy process for a number of journals.  There are evidently a limited number of journals that Medline will index so most are not accepted following the first submission.  Unaccepted applications must observe a probation period prior to resubmission and there is a limit to the number of times a journal can be considered.  Therefore, the consensus from the BOD was that ASEP needed to move slowly in order to develop a strong case for inclusion in Medline prior to making an application.  In the meantime, the BOD did encourage seeking inclusion of JEPonline in several alternative indexing services.  Additionally, the BOD recommended development of a search device so that articles published in JEPonline could be searched for key words.  While JEPonline is moving forward at an impressive pace, there was concern that Professionalization in Exercise Physiologyonline (PEPonline) has not experienced as much growth in recent years.  PEPonline is a very important journal focusing on professional issues for exercise physiologists.  The BOD encourages ASEP members to consider submitting papers to PEPonline.

Licensure 
The BOD discussed the success of the National Summit on Licensure held in Indianapolis, IN last March.  In addition, the BOD discussed a licensure template developed by ASEP chapters in Minnesota and Ohio that is currently under review.  The goal in developing this template is to provide a uniform licensure bill that can be submitted in various states so that exercise physiologists would receive reciprocal licensure.  In order to move licensure forward, each state must develop an exercise physiology association affiliated with a national organization completely dedicated to exercise physiology.  For this reason, the BOD encourages members of ASEP to organize and develop state exercise physiology associations affiliated with ASEP.  So far, eight states have developed associations and a number of states are in progress of organizing associations.  For more information about setting up a state association, see the ASEP State Chapter Manual. 

Research and Resources
Dr. Ziegenfuss was unable to attend the BOD meeting due to a prior engagement.  However, he passed along information to the BOD regarding research committee efforts.  The BOD approved moving forward on discussion with several potential sponsors of the national meeting and research awards. The goal is to obtain support to invite a number of quality speakers to the national meeting as well as submission of quality research. In addition, the BOD encourages development of an ASEP foundation so that individuals can contribute to ASEP. 

International Affairs and Professional Affiliations
Dr. Robergs provided a brief report regarding the progress of establishing international affiliations with various professional organizations.  The BOD encouraged moving forward on establishing professional affiliations with interested organizations.  In addition, the BOD discussed drafts of affiliation documents developed to formalize various collaborations.  The BOD felt that if ASEP is to move forward, it should work to collaborate and affiliate with like-minded professional groups. 

Organizational Structure and Responsibilities
The BOD discussed evaluating and revising the ASEP organizational structure and responsibilities to accommodate the growth ASEP has observed over recent years.  In addition, the BOD discussed developing separate organizations to oversee administration of the Board of Certification and the Board of Accreditation programs.  Although the BOD recognized that these changes make time, it approved investigating moving forward in these areas. 

Summary and Membership Challenge
The BOD meeting was an important step in the history of ASEP.  It served to encourage those involved through reflection of the many accomplishments of ASEP.  It also served to challenge us to do more to move our profession forward.  It is clear that ASEP has grown in scope and professional impact.  It’s time that each ASEP member takes an active role in supporting the growth and development of an exercise physiology profession.  As President of ASEP, I ask that you to renew your dedication to ASEP and participate in a meaningful way in one or more of its activities.  ASEP has laid the foundation so that we can build a better future for exercise physiology.  Now it is up to us to make it happen.  We can make a difference through ASEP if we work together to realize our vision. 

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OHAEP 
News Brief

The 7th state affiliation with ASEP has finally been created!  Ohio has taken its place among the pioneers who have committed themselves to promoting the profession of exercise physiology.  Drs. Ron Mendel, Lonnie Lowery, and Tim Ziegenfuss founded the Ohio Association of Exercise Physiologists to:
 

1. Unite all exercise physiologists in Ohio, and 
2. Help promote certification for exercise physiologists.

OHAEP will help gain credibility for exercise physiologists at all levels and, therefore, help to ensure new and increased career opportunities throughout the state of Ohio.  The association is looking for dedicated and motivated individuals to assist in all facets of the development of the profession. 

Visit OHAEP at  http://www.OHAEP.org  for more information. 

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