It was announced at the Annual Meeting in January that the report of the Board of Managers on the condition of the affairs of The Institute for the year 1947, as provided for in the By-laws, would be deferred until a later meeting in the spring. The President now presents such report herewith on behalf of the Board of Managers.
Membership.
Our Membership at the end of the year 1947 totaled 5,425, a net loss of 137 for the year, the majority of whom were student members. During the year there were elected 867 new members.
Your officers, membership committee and membership department are conscious of the importance of a stabilized membership. After a careful study it was decided to increase our efforts in general and to place emphasis on two major programs for the purpose of retaining the interest and support of our membership:
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The series of popular talks under the general topic of "Science is Fun," which have proved so popular that on several occasions the seating capacity of the Lecture Hall has been exhausted. Five or six such talks of this nature are planned for 1948.
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Active cooperation was sought by our members during the past year in suggesting prospective members. This has proved most helpful. It is planned to cultivate further this close cooperation during 1948 for the purpose of creating in our membership a warmer feeling of interest in their membership directly and in the affairs of the Institute generally.
Meetings.
During the year a total of sixteen stated and joint meetings with other technical societies were held at which the average attendance was 214. The dinners preceding these meetings were apparently enjoyed by the members and their guests who attended. An outstanding meeting was the first public demonstration of color television by one of our medallists, Dr. V. K. Zworykin, of the Radio Corporation of America.
The tenth series of piano lecture-recitals by Mr. Guy Marriner, Director of Music, continued during the spring of 1947 with an extra request recital given in April. The eleventh series opened in October. The increase in attendance, during 1947 amounted to 13.8 per cent over 1947, indicating continued appreciation by the public.
It has always been our practice to allow organizations whose aims parallel those of The Institute to use our Lecture Hall and other rooms for their meetings at a nominal charge covering our costs. During the year 1947, thirty-two organizations used these facilities for a total of 252 meetings.
Committee on Science and The Arts.
The Science and Arts Committee met nine times during the year. Twenty-six subcommittee meetings were held. Seventeen medals and two Certificates of Merit were awarded at the annual Medal Day exercises including two Franklin Medals