Mission & History

1970–1975

Following the 1970 annual meeting of American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) at The Pennsylvania State University, the intersociety presidents (American Dairy Science Association [ADSA], ASAS, and Poultry Science Association [PSA]) established a committee to study the feasibility of a certification program. Since the original committee did not come up with recommendations, O. D. Butler, president of ASAS, appointed another committee composed of D. E. Becker, chairman, and J. L. Williamson, W. M. Beeson, and B. O. Cardon to continue work on the study. In addition, the executive committee of ASAS sponsored a symposium, “Professionalism of Animal Science,” at the 1972 annual ASAS meeting. The participants of that symposium supported the idea of a certification program for animal scientists, and the proceedings were published in the Journal of Animal Science (36:1004–1005, 1973). At the annual meeting of ASAS in 1973, D. E. Becker moved for approval of the proposal as published and implementation of the program. The motion was approved by voting members present.

In 1973, President Frank Baker instructed D. E. Becker, chairman of the new Professional Standards and Status Committee, to activate such a program as soon as possible. The committee laid the foundation for what was to become the American Registry of Certified Animal Scientists (ARCAS), the forerunner of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS).

In a survey of the membership, the proposal for a registry elicited mixed reactions: some said it was not needed, some said it was a great idea, and some said the program was inadequate and not sufficiently rigorous.

The first bylaws were published in the Journal of Animal Science (41:440–487). A total of 444 people were certified in the first year. At the 1975 ASAS annual meeting, D. E. Becker, chairman of the Professional Standards and Status Committee, proposed that ASAS and the newly formed ARCAS embark on a new publication to be called The Animal Scientist. The committee proposed that this journal could include much of the applied research that was not being published in the Journal of Animal Science. President Verle Bohman appointed a committee to study Becker’s proposal that the ASAS membership subsidize the new journal for two years, after which time it was projected the new journal could be self-supporting through page charges, gifts, advertising, and grants. However, the proposal did not come into being for a while.

1975–1980

The records showing when the ad hoc committee became the official committee on professional standards and status are not clear. The committee for 1976–1977 included D. E. Becker, chairman, L. L. Wilson, C. R. Adams, J. L. Williamson, W. M. Beeson, B. P. Cardon, G. E. Mitchel, D. W. Cassard, and W. D. Price. The committee for 1977–1978 included Becker, Wilson, Adams, Williamson, Mitchell, and Cassard, with W. E. Dinusson and K. Dolge replacing Beeson and Cardon.

In 1978, ARCAS was authorized to hire a full-time director with concurrent responsibility to serve as the editor of a professional publication. At the 1978 mid-year meeting, ASAS authorized $25,000.00 to supplement ARCAS dues in launching the ARCAS organization. Edwin A. Trout was employed as the first director and editor for ARCAS, and the first issue of Animal Industry Today was published in July 1978. Publication of this journal continued into 1979 with volume 2, no. 5, the final issue. The cost of publishing the magazine, plus the salary of the director, greatly exceeded the combined resources of membership dues plus seed money from ASAS. The membership had grown from 420 to 550 members from May 1978 to March 31, 1979, but this was not sufficient income to maintain the status of the organization.

The 1979–1980 committee included V. W. Hays, J. Algeo, W. E. Dinusson, K. Dolge, W. D. Price, E. D. Naber, Zerle Carpenter, Mr. Kelley, and D. D. Becker.

ARCAS had formed a committee to a publish guidelines for the use of production animals in research and production, including guidelines for housing, care, record-keeping, and quality assurance. The goal was to publish such recommendations within a few weeks; however, with the virtual shutdown of ARCAS, this work was pretty much in limbo.

1981–1994

Nevertheless, at the 1981 business meeting of ASAS (at Cornell University), President Milt Wise reported ARCAS was still active and he urged ASAS members to consider becoming members of ARCAS. He announced Wayne Perry had agreed to be the editor of a quarterly ARCAS Newsletter.

The 1981–1982 Professional Standards and Status Committee included Z. L. Carpenter, chairman, E. C. Naber, T. W. Perry, H. Brown, H. B. Guerin, W. G. Luce, C. J. Elam, and R. J. Gerrits. By this time, approximately 600 members had been certified. At a meeting of this committee on December 1, 1982, the future of ARCAS was discussed and alternative actions were considered, including the following:

Continue as-is: low profile, few services
Continue only as a registry at much reduced fees and function only as a registry
Establish reasonable, definable goals, perform services to members, and go back to the Board of ASAS with an aggressive program
Establish a separate organization and develop a program consistent with ARCAS goals
Recommend dissolution of ARCAS

The committee voted to recommend to the ASAS Board:

"That the directors of ASAS approve the concept of ARCAS incorporating as a separate organization. Further, it was recommended that the ASAS Board appoint a committee of representatives of the ASAS Board, and for the Professional Standards and Status Committee to proceed to develop the necessary credentials and operational procedures for the new organization."

The ASAS Board accepted the above resolution and appointed a Transition Committee consisting of V. W. Hays, chairman, L. J. Boyd, D. G. Braund, Z. L. Carpenter, C. J. Cruse, W. G. Luce, E. C. Naber, and T. W. Perry. The committee was charged to "chart the course of ARCAS in becoming a registry in its own right, incorporated separately from ASAS." The committee was asked to have a draft proposal to be presented to the ASAS Board at their 1983 annual meeting.

On behalf of the Transition Committee, appointed by President Robert Oltjen, committee chairman Virgil Hays presented a detailed report to the ASAS Board at their 1983 annual meeting, which was accepted by the board. Highlights of the report included a suggested name change to The American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). The committee recommended that the ASAS Board appoint a nominating committee from the ARCAS membership to develop a slate of officers and board members no later that September 15, 1983, with mail balloting by ARCAS members to be completed by October 15, 1983. The first set of officers was to include a President, President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and four Directors to represent the four regions of the continental United States. The officers and governing board members were to be ARCAS members elected by the current ARCAS members. Further, the committee requested that ARPAS be allowed to have their first annual meeting and sponsor a symposium in conjunction with the 1984 annual meeting of ASAS. The Transition Committee recommended strongly that ARPAS maintain close ties with the scientific societies (ASAS, ADSA, AMSA, and PSA). To facilitate strong ties with these societies, they recommended these societies have a representative on the Board of Directors of ARPAS; such members, however, must be members of ARCAS. The Transition Committee had drafted a proposed charter and bylaws.

The ASAS Board approved and presented the Transition Committee report to the ASAS membership at the annual business meeting in the form of a motion, which was approved by the ASAS membership. A companion motion was adopted to endorse ARCAS (now ARPAS) becoming an independent organization. President Robert Oltjen directed the Transition Committee to serve as Nominating Committee for officers, and also to serve as the Program Committee to plan the first annual meeting of ARPAS to be held the day preceding the 1984 ASAS meeting on the campus of the University of Missouri.

Several members should be cited for their efforts in nursing the fledgling ARCAS into the present ARPAS. However, for fear of omitting names, the historian of ARPAS did not try to list all these individuals in this historical presentation.

The first meeting of the newly elected Board of ARPAS was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, in November 1984. Many concerns faced the first Board of ARPAS, including such questions as

How can the Registry succeed with such limited resources and still communicate with the membership?
There was need for a newsletter and/or magazine. How should this be developed, and what should it contain?
An organization must have either annual or semi-annual meetings—preferably the former—how can we tie into the meetings of the scientific societies and still provide the image of a separate organization?
Certification and the process utilized to accomplish such was a major topic of discussion, particularly, how does one provide an opportunity for certification, as well as requirements for continuing education for certified members?
What recognition should be given to members and what type of certificate should members receive in order that their qualifications receive high visibility?
Membership has to grow to give viability to the organization. How is this to be accomplished?
Naturally, financing of the organization was of major concern.

Since its beginning in 1984, the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists has published The Professional Animal Scientist (PAS), currently four times per year; its Governing Board has met twice per year; it has sponsored several symposia speakers, without operating at a loss in any one of its years of operation since its establishment in 1984, and it has shown a gradual increase in monetary reserve since its establishment. The Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society and the American Meat Science Association became affiliate members of ARPAS in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

1995–1998

In late 1995 and early 1996, the ARPAS Colleges were formed, consisting of (1) American College of Animal Nutrition, (2) American College of Animal Physiology, (3) American College of Animal Genetics, (4) American College of Food Science, and (5) American College of Animal Behavior (changed to American College of Applied Animal Behavior Science.)

The educational tape, "The Animal Science Professional," was completed and shown publicly for the first time, at the Midwest Section, ASAS, in Des Moines, Iowa, April 10 to 12, 1995.

The Professional Animal Scientist, volume 11, no. 1, March 1995, took on a new look. Editor James Oldfield, with the authorization of the Governing Council of ARPAS, made significant changes in the journal. Two of the changes included (1) a greatly expanded News and Notes section, and (2) review articles or interpretive summaries of timely research areas. Because it would not be possible to make a page charge for invited articles, the registry hoped to defray such charges by selling advertising. In addition, the "new look" magazine was bound in glossy paper with two-color pictures.

In 1997, after considerable discussion, it was decided that an executive director of ARPAS should be appointed, with primary duties to increase membership and seek additional funding for ARPAS. A motion to appoint such a director was made and passed at the May 30, 1997, meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. At the Governing Council meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, in January 1998, actions were taken to implement the decision.

1998–2000

At that meeting, the title was changed to Executive Vice President. The search and agreement process was completed in 1998, and Bill Baumgardt was appointed to fill the position of Executive Vice President on a part-time basis beginning October 1, 1998.

After a couple of years of study, it was decided ARPAS should seek corporate sponsorship. At the May 30, 1997, meeting, the business manager reported that $5,750.00 had been received from six corporate sponsors.

In 1998, corporate sponsorships were formalized. The levels of support included Gold ($1,500), Silver ($1,000), and Bronze ($500). During 1998, $5,500 was received from corporate sponsorships. In 1999, a fifth level was added, that being Platinum ($2,500). By the end of 1999, annual corporate sponsorship had increased to more than $20,000. Membership dues and page charges were increased effective in 1999.

Significant enhancements were made to the ARPAS web page during 1998 and 1999. Continual improvements are being made. The web URL was changed to http://www.arpas.org.

In 2000, the ARPAS membership voted overwhelmingly to approve the Ethical Review Process, as was mailed to all members. That process, which was developed by the Ethics Committee under the leadership of Lesa Griffiths, was added to the bylaws under Article I, Section 6, which deals with revocation and reinstatement of registration. According to Bill Baumgardt, ARPAS Executive Vice President at the time, this was a positive indication of the importance of the Code of Ethics to ARPAS.

2001–2004

In 2001, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) invited ARPAS to have a representative on the Nutrition Council. Bill Baumgardt, ARPAS Executive Vice President, was accepted as the ARPAS representative.

In 2001, ARPAS members were offered the opportunity to become trained to be on-farm assessors for the On-Farm Assessment and Environmental Review Program being operated by Environmental Management Solutions (EMS), LLC. The program was developed for all food animal species. Several ARPAS members took the training to be an assessor in one or several species.

In 2003, Dick Frahm replaced the retiring Bill Baumgardt as ARPAS Executive Vice President. Baumgardt had served since 1999. Frahm had an animal science career at Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech (department head) and as National Animal Genetics Program Leader for USDA. With this appointment, Frahm took over as editor of the ARPAS Newsletter that Baumgardt started in 1999.

In 2004, ARPAS became a founding member of PAACO (Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization). PAACO is composed of members of ARPAS, FASS (animal, dairy and poultry sciences), AABP (bovine veterinarians), AASV (swine veterinarians), and AAAP (poultry veterinarians). The objective of PAACO was to establish scientifically sound and practical standards, training, and certification for on-farm auditors of animal welfare, a role open to ARPAS members who fulfill the requirements. In 2004, the governing council decided it was important for ARPAS to be represented on the PAACO board, as the outcome of its deliberations could profoundly affect animal scientists and livestock producers. Ken Cummings, Larry Chase, and Will Seymour were the official ARPAS representatives, and were joined by Dick Frahm, who was involved in the discussions leading to the creation of PAACO and by then incoming President-Elect Wayne Green, who took Cummings' position in 2006.

2005–2008

In 2005, the Northeast Director was designated to the head of the Publications Committee, one of whose duties was to publish the Newsletter. Up until this time, the Executive Vice President had been the editor of the Newsletter. Bill Price, who was the Northeast Director at the time, published the first newsletter under this directorship in August 2005.

When it became apparent that the main thriving college of those originally established by ARPAS was the College of Animal Nutrition, the 2005 ARPAS President, Larry Chase, appointed Past President Ken Cummings to form a committee to study the issue. The Committee consisted of Cummings, Dale Hill, and Bob Wettemann. A single College of Animal Sciences, with board representation from each of the five discipline colleges, was recommended. At the annual meeting in 2007, the Governing Council voted to accept the committee's proposal, and it was soon ratified by the general membership. Mich Etchebarne, who was the current College of Animal Nutrition President, became the first President of the American College of Animal Sciences (ACAS). The bylaws change called for the ACAS President to be a member of the ARPAS Governing Council. There are five discipline colleges. The first organizers of the Certification Boards for each of these were Animal Behavioral Science, Janice Swanson; Animal Food Science, Benji Michel; Animal Genetics, Ron Bates; Animal Nutrition, Jack Garrett; and Animal Physiology. The first election of the new College of Animal Scientists was held in the spring of 2008.

Current board-certified members of any of the previous colleges are at liberty to use the same certification designation previously used. The descriptive titles are

Diplomate American College of Applied Animal Behavior Science, or Diplomate ACAABS
Diplomate American College of Animal Food Sciences, or Diplomate ACAFS
Diplomate American College of Animal Genetics, or Diplomate ACAG
Diplomate American College of Animal Nutrition, or Diplomate ACAN
Diplomate American College of Animal Physiology, or Diplomate ACAP

In 2006, with the passing of Lowell Wilson, editor of PAS, Wayne Kellogg became the editor of PAS. Wilson had held that position since 1999, longer than any previous editor of PAS.

In late 2007, Executive Vice President Dick Frahm decided to retire, and Ken Cummings was named to fill the position beginning in January 2007.

In 2007, Wayne Kellogg, editor of PAS, requested and the Governing Council approved the use of Manuscript Central to facilitate the review of journal articles. In 2008, the Governing Council approved entering into a contract with HighWire, which allows scientists worldwide to access PAS articles through web-based literature searches. This gave a big boost in attracting authors to publish in PAS.

In 2008, ARPAS added the Examining Board Chair as a paid position. Steve Schmidt was the first person to hold that position. He established an 18-member committee to represent the 12 areas of specialization.

In 2007, Warren Gill, ARPAS Membership Committee chair, outlined how members who had been delinquent in their dues or continuing education units (CEUs) could be reinstated. In the first year after expiration, they could be reinstated by simply paying membership dues ($85) and/or catching up on CEUs. If over one year, they would have to pay an additional $20 reinstatement fee and provide CEU information. If retired, and if a member for at least three years prior to retirement; Emeritus status could be obtained by simply paying the dues. No CEU credits are required for Emeritus status. Further, Life Emeritus status could be gained by paying 2.5 times the yearly dues.

In 2008, President Darrell Johnson initiated a committee headed by Bill Price to create a new logo. The design Joshua Benkelman, son of ARPAS dairy nutritionist Scott Benkelman, was selected by a vote of the membership.

Also in 2008, the Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist awards were started. The names of the awardees are listed here. See the Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist Awards section of the ARPAS history for more details. The first awards were given in 2008–2009. The awardees were Bill Baumgardt, Dick Frahm, Virgil Hays, Connie Kercher, James Oldfield, and Wayne Perry. In 2010, the awardees were Irv T. Omtvedt, James L. Williamson, and Walter Woods. In 2011, the awardees were Dean E. Hodge, Robert Totusek, and Lee H. Boyd. In 2012, the awardees were Leonard Bull, Raymond Hinders, and Vernon G. Purse, and in 2013, Wayne Kellogg and Bill Price were the awardees.

The Governing Council approved the formation of the ARPAS Foundation in 2008. Ken Cummings, executive vice president, made a generous donation to initially fund the foundation. The money is to be invested and only the earnings are to be used to fund worthwhile educational projects.

In 2008, the ARPAS symposium commemorated the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Animal Science. Included in the symposium was a PowerPoint presentation by ARPAS historian Bill Price, which is available on the ARPAS website in the history section.

2009–2010

In 2009, ARPAS renewed its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), which provided training and certification of our members as service providers for the Feed Management Component of Nutrient Management Plans. Joe Harrison and Randy Shaver led this project.

In 2010, bylaws changes were approved by the membership. Specializations were expanded to 15, and the Governing Council was given authority to add more as needed. Testing was affirmed as the only method of gaining membership to ARPAS. The section on revocation and reinstatement procedures was updated along the lines outlined in 2007 by Warren Gill. The members of the Governing Council were expanded to include the editor of PAS and chairman of the Examining Board. The chairman of the Publications Committee is required to serve as editor of the ARPAS Newsletter.

The 2010 bylaws change also has a revised the ethical review section to provide greater guidance.

The 2010 bylaws change also clarified Emeritus status. An individual that has been an ARPAS member for at least 3 years at the time of retirement from the active practice of animal science is eligible for Emeritus status. Privileges include participation in meetings and being able to fill all offices except President, President-Elect, Regional Director, or member of the Examining Board. Emeritus members are exempt from the CEU requirement.

Two new Chapters were accepted by the Governing Board in 2010. They were the Northeast and Midwest. The other active chapters were Arkansas (1989), California (1986), Colorado/Wyoming/Nebraska, Midwest (2010), Pacific Northwest, Southern Plains (2007), and Washington DC Area (1986). The 2010 bylaws update included more specific information on Chapter formation and regulations.

An associate editor position for PAS was approved by the Governing Council in 2010. Bob Goodband was selected to fill this position. Also, PAS Editor Wayne Kellogg noted that there had been increased interest from equine researchers, and approval was granted to merge the reviewers of the Equine Science Section into one Editorial Board and to manage it as a single unit.

2011–2012

A delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) headed by the Institute President, Dr. Placid Njoku, attended the 2011 annual meeting. The Governing Council approved an MOU with the NIAS to help with an ARPAS-type organization in that country. The delegation returned to the 2012 and 2013 annual meetings; in 2013, they asked for and received the support of ARPAS for the concept of the establishment of a world organization for animal husbandry.

In 2011, Kenneth Cummings reported that the ARPAS Foundation had $64,000 in the account. The money is invested in the same way as ARPAS funds—75% in fixed income and 25% in equity investments. Interest from investments is used for educational purposes, scholarships, etc. A Foundation Committee was formed to help with this and other tasks. The committee was composed of three immediate past presidents (Bill Braman, Randy Shaver, and Marit Arana) plus two other appointees (Moe Bakke and Dale Hill). Kenneth Cummings was an ex-officio member of the committee.

ARPAS was invited to consider joining the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Dale Hill attended the AAFCO 2011 summer meeting to discuss the invitation further.

Also in 2011, ACAS considered an alternate method of examination for board certification of "highly qualified" applicants. To be considered a "highly qualified individual," a person must make significant contributions to the industry, be an expert in their field, and have at least 10 years of experience in the industry. The Governing Council requested that ACAS provide recommendations for a verbal exam that would be comparable with the basic PAS exam.

In 2011, the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) insurance company offered liability insurance coverage for ARPAS members. In this agreement, ARPAS served as a conduit between the members and the insurance company. (Agreement discontinued.)

In 2012, the Governing Council approved the ARPAS Foundation to: (1) organize a series of webinars; and (2) finance the ARPAS exam for top students majoring in animal science. Also, the Examining Board was granted permission to explore the possibility of administering the basic exam online to individuals living in foreign countries. The issue of proper designation for feed management and animal nutrition certifications was resolved. Feed management and animal nutrition certificates would have the letter "S" added to the existing PAS with the name of the specialty in parenthesis—for example, the designation could be "PAS-S (Feed Management in Beef and Dairy)."

The 2012 ARPAS Symposium was conducted in memory of the late Dr. Ray Hinders, who was very active in ARPAS as Western Director (1998–2001), ACAS, and the California Chapter.

2013–2014

In 2013, dues were raised by $10.00 for 2014 renewals to cover losses in funds from other areas. The ARPAS Foundation had enough earnings coming from investments to sponsor university animal science students to take ARPAS exams free of charge. Further, the ARPAS Governing Council investigated the use of online tests for PAS, as well as standard tests for graduating animal science students. Also, the ARPAS Foundation sponsored webinars on the US Food Safety Act that was being implemented. Not related to testing, an ad hoc committee was formed to review and revise the ARPAS Code of Ethics.

In 2013, ARPAS entered the second decade of working with PACCO; it was a founding member, along with FASS and two other societies. PACCO was established to set standards for auditing instruments for animal welfare auditing. ARPAS' original $5,000 investment helped create PACCO, which is now financially self sufficient. Thanks are owed to the ARPAS reps to PACCO for their work. PACCO reported that it is working with the Brazilians to implement a certification program in Brazil.

Based on recommendations from PAS Editor Wayne Kellogg, ARPAS will allow authors to publish papers with open access. The arranged fee was $750.00 plus page charges.

In 2014, President Galyean ask the Foundation Board (Bill Sanchez, Chair; Moe Bakke, Carl Hunt, Ken Cummings) to review the Foundation investment strategy, develop any changes needed, and report to the Executive Committee at a fall meeting. He also appointed a committee to consider the following items concerning our PAS journal: impact factor, broader publishing group (member, non-member, international), case studies. The committee members were Carl Old, Bob Wetteman, Jack Garrett, Susan Pollock, Stacy Gunther, Paul Beck, and Wayne Kellogg (Chair).

Also in 2014, the Governing Board voted to eliminate the need for a member signature on ARPAS applications when applying to take the exam. This paved the way for online exams. The Board voted to still require an ARPAS member to proctor anyone taking the exam. Other items to initiate online exams included making the Code of Ethics a separate primary button and changing other website items, such as highlighting three primary functions.

Later in 2014, Steve Schmidt, Chairman of the Examining Board, reported that an assessment trial run was conducted with The Pennsylvania State University to accommodate animal science department requests for evaluating graduating students. A set of questions was developed relating to the basic animal science disciplines (genetics, nutrition, reproduction, physiology, introductory animal science course, etc.). This category is for those undergraduate students who pass the exam. However, this exam does not follow our ARPAS platform of being species specific. Thus, it cannot be used as a Professional ARPAS membership exam. This was thought of as another enlistment method to bring students into ARPAS, and a RAS-Student membership category was created.

Schmidt also reported that all ARPAS exams were now online through a platform developed by FASS. Although the exam can be taken through a computerized system, there is still the requirement for a proctor to be present. The candidate receives instant notification of pass or fail. They may take the exam one additional time, after a 30-day waiting period, without an additional fee.

ARPAS honored three Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist Awardees in 2014. The criteria for the award include: 10 years of active membership, must have held a leadership role in ARPAS, and must have made significant contributions to the industry. Dr. Gary Potter, Dr. William Olson, and Dr. Art Raun were the three award recipients in 2014.

The Nigerian Delegation successfully formulated a sister organization in 2014; however, they regretted that due to the turmoil they could not attend that year’s meeting.

In 2015, the Governing Board voted for ARPAS to proceed with contract negotiations with Elsevier as provided in a FASS-provided analysis. The Editorial Board was instructed to develop a fee structure to allow non-members of ARPAS and/or non-registered affiliations to publish in the journal. The Governing Board also voted to seek 501(c)(3) for the ARPAS Foundation and to transfer $20,000.00 to the ARPAS Foundation.

2015

Also in 2015, the Governing Board voted to charge graduate student dues for those who pass the exam at JAM the $10.00 student rate and put their membership through the following year. Discussion was had regarding membership retention, tracking, and how best to keep track of lapsed members. Chapters were becoming more involved in increasing membership as well. Discussion was had regarding reaching out to lapsed members to encourage reinstatement. ARPAS has a policy that once a member, always a member, as long as CEUs and dues are current. Lapsed members are allowed to be reinstated at a cost of $20. Members who retire were allowed to switch to the Emeritus option. Lifetime membership is also available.

FASS advised the Governing Board that ADSA bought out PSA and ASAS shares in FASS ownership. PSA and ADSA continue to use FASS services, but ASAS has chosen to manage themselves. It was noted that 2016 would be the last JAM. ARPAS had to decide with whom and where future annual meetings would be held.

In 2015, ARPAS continued to do well financially, with $129,027 received for regular membership dues. Corporate sponsorships stood at $16,000 for 2015. Total ARPAS Membership Services revenue was $154,400, which was 98% of the 2015 budget for that line item. Membership Services accounted for 59% of ARPAS’ operating revenue.

ASAS sold their equity share of FASS to ADSA. FASS' shared services had grown, and ASAS did not wish to use volunteer time to provide support for an association management enterprise. ARPAS had to decide how and where future annual meetings would be held in order to ensure the greatest membership participation. ARPAS still employs FASS to manage its affairs. 2016 was to be the last joint meeting of the two societies for the immediate duration. A majority of ARPAS members are members of ADSA, ASAS, or both; thus, JAM was the location of choice to have ARPAS annual meetings and symposia.

In 2015, ARPAS entered into an agreement with Elsevier with the PAS journal in order to get greater exposure and impact factor for its members publishing their research in PAS. Corporate sponsor ads were no longer be given for free. The ARPAS Governing Board voted to allow non-members to publish with an additional page charge. Page charges were made consistent with JAS and JDS. In January of 2016, Editor Wayne Kellog reported a 40% increase in paper submissions.

In 2015, the ARPAS Foundation was doing well. Current assets were approximately $150,000, 75% being fixed-income securities and 25% 68 in equities, and estimated 5% earnings. Money from the earnings was used to finance the exam fees for graduate students taking the exams at annual meetings as well as the ARPAS Annual Meeting Symposium.

In 2015, with current pass/fail rates, Dairy Cattle had the best passing rate. Companion Animal was becoming popular with undergraduates but had a low passing rate. The Equine exam still had a very low passing rate. The Equine exam had been reviewed multiple times and the questions were adequate. Discussion on how best to prepare students resolved that the majority of learning for the exam comes with experience and is not teachable. However, the exam questions are those that are extracted from courses that are taught in any recognized college curriculum for the species/product areas of certification for ARPAS.

2016

In 2016, with the dissolution of FASS, PAACO was significantly affected, as FASS represented its founding societies. As a result, each founding society had to petition PAACO to become members. The petitions were approved, and ASAS, PSA, and ADSA had their own representatives on PAACO. The number of representatives decreased to two members for each member society, which resulted in 14 representatives for the 7 member societies, including ARPAS.

The Governing Board decided that the annual meeting of ARPAS should rotate between the Annual Meetings of ADSA and ASAS to have successful meetings because travel costs and time would prevent ARPAS members from attending a standalone meeting.

In 2016, ARPAS became a member of CAST at a cost of $1,000 per year.

There were now eight ARPAS Chapters, which were important for continuing education and networking. The chapters were California, Colorado/Wyoming/Nebraska, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, South Central, Southern Plains, and Washington DC.

At the annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, in July 2016, PAS Editor Wayne Kellogg advised the transition to Elsevier had gone well. He highlighted recent updates: a new cover design, copyrighted by Elsevier; the PAS website offered a new advantage with the ability to pull graphs into PowerPoint slides; and the usage statistics included 14,000 individual article downloads from the Elsevier website. The new cover included interchangeable photos. At the same meeting, it was decided that the membership directory would include chapter affilations, and chapter dues would automatically be added to online membership renewals.

In 2016, ARPAS Executive Vice President Ken Cummings reported that NRCS was looking to renew the MOU with ARPAS. Cummings reported that the past MOU had not much benefited ARPAS members, and our members had little involvement. However, if the MOU was not continued, the ARPAS Feed Management Certification would not be recognized by NRCS. Thus, it was decided to renegotiate the NRCS MOU, and extend it if the MOU was deemed acceptable.

At the mid-year January 2017 Governing Council teleconference, Wayne Kellogg announced he was stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of the Professional Animal Scientist journal, a position he had held for 11 years. During his tenure, he edited over 7,000 published pages. Also, during the teleconference, it was decided that the $25 exam fee be paid at the time of the exam by graduate students. If they pass, it will be reimbursed by the Foundation. This motion came about because of a small number of students that followed up if they did not pass the exam.

At the annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, in July 2017, Steve Schmidt, Examining Board Chair, reported that all exam databases had been completely renewed and all questions had been reviewed and updated, except for one exam. The number of exams had been stable over the years but had been a little down in the fall due to some classes using ARPAS exams as a gauge of learning. There was a good turnout at ESS and a high percentage of passing exams. One of the members, Dr. Ortiz, received a USDA grant for teaching dairy, and he planned to get students to take the exams in the hopes of increasing membership from Puerto Rico. The Governing Council supported online testing, which any PAS member can proctor. Schmidt said he and the National Staff will investigate the option to take the exam on a phone or tablet and provide login set-up access to members while at a meeting electronically, since that was the preferred option for most people.

2017

At the 2017 meeting, it was decided that the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor would have renewable three-year terms. Emma Brunn, the Elesvier representative, reported that the application to PubMed was in its final tweaks and would be submitted soon. April 2017 received 2,268 downloads on ScienceDirect, which is double the amount received in a typical month; three marketing campaigns went out between March and May of 2017; and the look of the printed journal changed from three columns to two columns. Aside from the journal changes, a 2017 to 2022 Strategic Plan was submitted and accepted.

ARPAS Executive Vice President Kenneth Cummings reported the PAACO reorganized and the number of member organizations expanded to eight. The number of representatives from each member organization was reduced from three to two.

At the 2018 mid-year Governing Council teleconference, a proposal was approved to add a Graduate Student Representative to the ARPAS Governing Council. The Graduate Student Representative will serve a one-year renewable term beginning January 1. This position would be set up as a $1,000 travel scholarship to attend the summer annual meeting. The Governing Council requested that the Foundation fund the scholarship. Under the proposal on Term and Responsibility, the last bullet point states the Graduate Student Representative must be an active committee member on the membership committee. At the teleconference, a change in the ACAS bylaws was approved to allow for members to be appointed in July.

Also at the 2018 mid-year teleconference, David Beede was selected as the new PAS Editor-In-Chief. A name change for the journal to make it more attractive to potential authors was discussed. Beede took the lead in creating a working group to explore a name change. Further, the Governing Council voted to have a non-ruminant-associated editor.

Annual Meetings of the Registry

1984: August 7, University of Missouri, Columbia, with ASAS.
1985: March 28–29, Chicago, Illinois, with Midwest Section, ASAS.
1986: June 26–27, University of California, Davis, with ADSA.
1987: April 13–15, Henry VIII Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri.
1988: April 19–20, Henry VIII Hotel, St. Louis, Missouri.
1989: August 1, Lexington, Kentucky, with ASAS and ADSA.
1990: August 7, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, with PSA.
1991: August 7, University of Wyoming, Laramie, with ASAS.
1992: June 22, The Ohio State University, Columbus, with ADSA.
1993: August 3, Michigan State University, East Lansing, with PSA.
1994: July 12, Minneapolis, Minnesota, with ASAS and ADSA.
1995: June 25–28, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, with ADSA.
1996: July 7–11, Louisville, Kentucky, with PSA.
1997: May 28–31, Fort Worth, Texas, with ENPS.
1998: July 27–31, Denver, Colorado, with ADSA and ASAS.
1999: July 21–23, Indianapolis, Indiana, with ASAS.
2000: July 24–28, Baltimore, Maryland, with ASAS and ADSA.
2001: July 24–28, Indianapolis, Indiana, with ASAS and ADSA.
2002: July 21–25, Quebec City, Canada, with ASAS, ADSA and CSAS.
2003: June 22–26, Phoenix, Arizona, with ASAS, ADSA and WSASAS.
2004: July 24–28, St. Louis, Missouri, with ASAS, ADSA and PSA.
2005: July 25–29, Cincinnati, Ohio, with ASAS, ADSA and CSAS.
2006: July 7–11, Minneapolis, Minnesota, with ASAS and ADSA.
2007: July 8–12, San Antonio, Texas, with ASAS, ADSA, PSA and AMPA.
2008: July 7–11, Indianapolis, Indiana, with ASAS, ADSA, PSA and AMPA.
2009: July 12–16, Montreal, Canada, with ASAS, ADSA and CSAS.
2010: July 11–15, Denver, Colorado, ASAS and ADSA.
2011: July 10–14, New Orleans, Louisiana, with ASAS and ADSA.
2012: July 15–19, Phoenix, Arizona, with ADSA, AMPA, ASAS, CASAS, and WSASAS.
2013: July 8–12, Indianapolis, Indiana, with ADSA and ASAS.
2014: July 20–24, Kansas City, Missouri, with ADSA, ASAS, and CSAS.
2015: July 12–16, Orlando, Florida, with ADSA and ASAS.
2016: July 19–23, Salt Lake City, Utah, with ADSA, ASAS, CSAS and WSASAS.
2017: July 8–13, Baltimore, MD, with ASAS and CSAS.
2018: June 23–26, Knoxville, TN, with ADSA.
2019: July 8–11, Austin, TX, with ASAS and CSAS.
2020: June 22–24, held virtually with ADSA.
2021: July 14–18, Louisville, KY, with ASAS.
2022: June 19–22, Kansas City, MO with ADSA.
2023: July 16–20, Albuquerque, NM, with ASAS, CASAS, and WSASAS.
2024: June 16–19, West Palm Beach, FL, with ADSA.