BY BETH BALES AND BRYAN KAY
The results were announced during the second session of the SVS Annual Business Meeting Saturday, June 20, when Dalman officially became SVS president, succeeding Kim Hodgson, MD.
The meeting took place at the close of the opening day of the SVS ONLINE digital conference. Hodgson opened proceedings with a State of the SVS address, which was followed by the William J. von Liebig Forum, the first of the scientific sessions on the slate of the digital alternative to the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), and the E. Stanley Crawford Critical Issues Forum, put together by Dalman—and this year focused on the future of vascular surgery.
Dalsing is the director of vascular surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is currently professor emeritus of surgery within the division of vascular surgery and is the medical director of the IU Health Non-invasive Vascular Laboratory, which has been accredited since 1993 under his direction. He is based in Indianapolis, and currently chairs the SVS Political Action Committee, Steering Committee and is a member of the SVS Policy and Advocacy Council.
Calligaro is chief of the section of vascular surgery and director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Pennsylvania Hospital and clinical professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia. He is a member of the SVS Appropriateness, Audit, Conflict of Interest and Professional Conduct, and Document Oversight committees.
SVS members voted during the first Annual Business Meeting on Monday, June 15, to amend bylaws to not only permit voting virtually but also to provide for choosing from a slate of candidates for open officer positions. The bylaw changes subsequently passed, with 98.2% of voting members approving. They had been under consideration for approximately a year, with opening up the election process a key initiative of Hodgson. Voting opened that same evening and closed at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 20. SVS Nominating chair Ronald Fairman, MD, announced the results during the second Annual Business Meeting on June 20.
A total of 482—15.6%—of eligible members cast votes during the period.
“I can’t begin to say how grateful and humbled I am to become president,” said Dalman, especially “on the verge of celebrating our 75th anniversary.”
“I’m not sure what the future will hold this year,” he added, but it will include efforts to maintain momentum on ongoing initiatives mentioned throughout the meeting and to “figure out the best ways to support our members in a time of great uncertainty. I encourage everyone to reach out to me if they have ideas on how to do our jobs better.”