Art’s commitment to the American Cytogenetics Conference which has spanned over 30 years, from when he first chaired a session on Cancer Genetics at the 1987 Annual Meeting of Somatic Cell Genetics in Santa Fe. This, however, was not his first meeting with this group of both human and other animal cytogeneticists who had been meeting under the name of Somatic Cell Genetics Conference since 1961. He has been attending and participating in this conference since the late 1970’s. During these many years with the conference, Art has been on the Program committee or chaired the meetings four times, at Norfolk, VA in 1988, Lake Tahoe, NV in 1991, Virginia Beach, VA in 1992, and Snowbird, UT in 2018. Along with organizing the meeting, he has chaired or moderated a session for more than a quarter of the meetings since 1987. When cytogenetics officially incorporated to a genetics organization in 2005, Art served as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the new American Cytogenetics Conference. As such, he was instrumental in developing the mission and goals of the organization. He has continues to play an active role in ACC to this day.
Art not only brings a wealth of knowledge, energy, and unique ideas, but also a marvelous sense of humor to ease the work that needs to be accomplished. However, his most admirable trait is his ability to maintain a healthy balance between work and leisure, which has been central to the success of the American Cytogenetics Conference.
Art has been an invaluable contributor and sustainer of the organization for so many years, even coming out of retirement to chair the planning committee at the 2018 meeting in Snowbird. It is truly a pleasure and a privilege to bestow the first Outstanding Service Award from the American Cytogenetics Conference to such a dedicated and deserving colleague.
Submitted by Debra Saxe
Awards