In addition to numerous endowed funds administered by various component groups of the Society, there are three SOT Mission Funds that are 
administered by SOT Council that support activities and awards consonant with the Society’s strategic plan. I have previously written about the Education Fund and the Global Activities Fund. This week’s topic is the Strategic Priorities Fund.
One of SOT’s strategic goals is to build relationships with other biomedical societies. In recent years, revenue from the Strategic Priorities Fund has been used to support a joint session with a sister society at our Annual Meeting. This year, the SOT Council has designated revenue from the Strategic Priorities Fund to expand that support into partnering with other societies to develop scientific sessions not only for our SOT Annual Meeting but also for other meetings. Another strategic goal is to expand SOT’s outreach and impact globally. Previously, Council has used revenue from this Fund to support trainees from developing countries to attend toxicology meetings, and plans are afoot to do that again this year.
JSOT-SOT Joint session at 2018 SOT Annual Meeting
SOT has a strategic goal to improve the understanding of the value of toxicology among clinicians and to promote the translation of toxicology into the clinic. One way to do this is to bring clinicians to our annual meeting or to other toxicology meetings. Accordingly, this year some of the revenue from this fund will support the travel of clinicians to toxicology meetings.
SOT/SOT Endowment/IUTOX 2018 Award Recipients
The Strategic Priorities Fund provides a stable source of income and enhances flexibility in implementing key aspects of the SOT Strategic Plan. The current plan focuses on strengthening the impact and relevance of toxicology, developing and supporting toxicologists to capitalize on future opportunities, and expanding our global outreach and impact. Through such efforts, the Society can work more effectively to create a safer and healthier world by advancing the science and increasing the impact of toxicology. If you have questions about the Strategic Priorities Fund, please contact me (rothr@msu.edu) or Martha Malone in the SOT Office (martha@toxicology.org).
Bob Roth, Endowment Fund Chair