14 October 2008

In global world, ISA votes for name change

ISA is now The International Society of Automation.

The ISA Council of Society Delegates voted Monday to rename the 63-year-old organization to ISA: The International Society of Automation.

Prior to the vote, ISA President Kim Miller-Dunn accented and clarified the significance of the name change that may have been in doubt, pointing to the enormous banner behind her declaring, “This will not change if we vote to change the society’s name. This banner will still read and the logo will remain as ISA and the tag line will continue to say: ‘Setting the Standard for Automation.’ ”

The resolution then passed, after brief comment, by a show of hands. While it was by no means a landslide, there was a clear majority favoring the name change.

The 30,000-member organization conducted the vote whereby the member sections vote for their constituents via their district. The Council of Society Delegates controls the policies of the Society. Members are represented by one delegate for each geographic ISA Section.

Renaming the organization became an emotional issue after the defeat of the name change from ISA – The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society last year.

In a recent letter to membership, Miller-Dunn said, “We need to recognize the massive changes that have taken place and reshaped our Society since its inception. We are no longer just instruments and systems. We are more.

“We need a name that is timeless and not tied to any specific technology or job function,” said Dunn.

Tom McAvinew, a member of the Denver section, pointed out there is a history of name change in the organization.

“Originally, ISA was the American Society for Measurement and Control. That was in 1945. Within two years, members voted on and changed the name to ISA, the Instrument Society of America,” McAvinew said during the comment period of yesterday’s meeting.

Earlier this decade, when systems became so important to instruments and their connectivity, and the concept of “automation” became more established, the names changed again to ISA – The Instrumentation, System, and Automation Society. Several years later, ISA dropped the tagline altogether and tried to go with only the three letters. 

In a memorable line Miller-Dunn earlier said, “It is my fervent hope that when this name change passes, ISA will not need to modify the name again until we colonize the universe and have to change it to the Inter-galactic Society of Automation.”

In other business, the Council approved the increase of member dues from $85 to $100 starting in 2009.

Earlier Dale Merriman, long time ISA member, Fellow, and luminary, predicted the dues increase would pass. “I think the increase will pass, yes, however there may be more problems in passing the subsequent resolution which reorders the distribution of those funds to the divisions and sections.”

In fact, both resolutions passed though voting was close enough that the Chair had to resort to a roll call vote.

—Nicholas Sheble