From the Chair….

Laurie Probst
Penn State University

It was an eventful fall, from our meeting in Madison on the shores of Lake Mendota, through the drama of the presidential election, to the early arrival of the New Grove, and the end of another busy semester. Now, as we slide, literally and figuratively, into winter I would like to remind you of coming attractions in the life of the
chapter. 
The national meeting in New York (February 19-25, 2001) will be a challenging mix of meetings in the hotel and cultural attractions outside the hotel. Our chapter meeting will be on Thursday evening from 8:00-10:00pm after the reception at the Pierpont Morgan Library. The agenda will be distributed on the chapter listserv (mwmla-l@listserv.indiana.edu) in early February and available on the chapter webpage <http://www.mlamidwest.org/>. If you have agenda items for this meeting, please send them to me by February 5.
Our next chapter meeting will be in Bloomington, Indiana on October 18-20, 2001. The local arrangements chairs, Ralph Papakhian and Sue Stancu are working with program chair Rick Jones to pull together another great chapter meeting. Committees interested in sponsoring program sessions should contact Rick Jones as soon as possible. We will again be providing scholarships to students interested in attending the meeting. Please encourage students you know to take advantage of this opportunity. Application materials will be published in the May newsletter.
Before I close, I would like to thank everyone who helped organize our Madison meeting. The local arrangement committee, led by Steve Sundell, and the program committee, led by Lynn Gullickson, pulled together a stimulating and diverse program. I would also like to thank the corporate and institutional sponsors whose participation and financial support contributed to the success of the meeting. You have demonstrated, yet again, that the sum is greater than its parts.

See you in the Big Apple!!