Susan Duff brought organization to the administration of the IAPR, enabling volunteer officers and committee members to execute their duties more easily and efficiently. During her 12 years of service to the IAPR (1992–2004), she transformed its administrative and operational landscape.
For the first 20 years after its conception in 1972, the IAPR was managed by officers of the Executive Committee, with various organizational styles and physical locations. Initially, work was relatively focused, with fewer member societies, no technical committees, and only a few standing committees, and the primary activity was preparing for the biennial conference.
By 1992, the field of Pattern Recognition had broadened, and with it, the sphere of the IAPR. The number of member societies had increased from 13 to 31, and 13 technical committees had been added. Conferences and workshops were larger and more frequent.
It was at this juncture that Susan Duff and her Membership Services firm offered an administrative proposal, and at its meeting at ICPR 1992, the Governing Board voted to establish the Office of the IAPR Secretariat as the “permanent point of contact” for the IAPR. Susan was named as the office manager.
In 1994, due to the ever-increasing activity and global reach of IAPR, newly appointed IAPR Newsletter Editor-in-Chief Maria Petrou described being “…quite overwhelmed by the daunting task,” and Susan took on the additional role of Layout Editor for the IAPR Newsletter.
Susan’s daily contributions touched every aspect of the Associations’ activity, communication, finance, and reporting. In a time before social media, she was the face of the IAPR at ICPR and the voice of much of its administrative and Newsletter correspondence. She was the support behind all other IAPR structures.
Her impact was recognized in the Certificate of Achievement citation Susan received at ICPR 2000 in Barcelona, “For excellent secretariat services and maintenance of the IAPR archives.” Upon her retirement, the IAPR community officially thanked her for “faithful and dedicated service” and “efficient and kind service.”
It is without doubt that Susan’s steady presence has helped the IAPR consolidate its global position and reputation.