While it is true that the restraint of trade complaint brought by the
US government against AIC had nothing to do with certification, it
did indeed cost a considerable amount of money (and time) to resolve
the problem. AIC has retained legal counsel to advise it on issue
such as restraint of trade. Our counsel has apparently given us his
best advice on the problem of using pre-qualifications such as
requiring PA status before applying for certification. While we may
not like (or agree) with his opinion, it clearly serves no purpose to
argue the point here. The AIC Board has a duty to protect the
organization, based on such advice, and we could well find ourselves
in very deep trouble if we ignored the advice. If members disagree
with the advice, then they should raise the issue directly with the
Board and perhaps ask for a second opinion. (Who should pay for that
would one of my immediate questions.) Personally, I believe we would
do better trying to use PA (perhaps upgraded) and Fellow as
qualifications, and drop certification all together. The enormous
cost to AIC of certification seems inappropriate at a time when some
members may find it increasingly difficult just to pay their dues.
Until the economic climate improves, I think we should table the
entire proposed program!
Paul Himmelstein
certification for conservators 