Ad Hoc Committee on Organization and Governance-5AD651F6
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The charge of this committee was:
To investigate the status and structure of AAPM's committee tree, identify dead (functionaly, not literally) or moribound committees, liasons, and task groups, and to make recommendations on consolidation, mergers, and/or restructuring.
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE AAPM BOARD FINAL REPORT
PROLOGUE
The participatory nature of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine is among its greatest strengths. Examples of this characteristic include the Association's annual meeting where members present scientific papers and exhibits, its complex committee structure that encourages member participation in areas of scientific, educational and professional concern, and its journal that publishes scientific articles across a wide spectrum of member interests. The Association offers many opportunities for its members to achieve scientific identity and professional recognition. For many of its members the Association is the principal pathway towards these objectives. It is the opinion of the Ad Hoc Committee that the participatory nature of the Association is a highly valued attribute, and that its preservation should accompany any proposed change in the Association's administrative structure.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine consists of 37 members elected and several nonvoting ex officio members. The 37 members include 12 members elected at large form the Association s membership, 20 representatives from the Association s regional chapters, and 5 Association officers. The Board meets twice yearly, during the annual meeting of the Association and the Radiological Society of North America. An advantage of the Board s present composition is its ecumenical character consistent with the Prologue above. But the present composition has several disadvantages as well, including:
a. a size that makes it unwieldy
b. infrequent meetings that interfere with continuity of decision-making.
c. relatively short meetings that create a rushed agenda focused principally on business rather than policy.
d. too much meeting time devoted to educating uninformed chapter representatives.
e. lack of attention to specific issues and needs of chapters.
f. too much time devoted to trivial issues and too little time devoted to major policy and procedural issues impacting medical physics.
The challenge for the Ad Hoc Committee is to preserve the ecumenical character of the Board while increasing its functional effectiveness. In submitting this report, the Ad Hoc Committee believes it has met these challenges. The Ad Hoc committee proposes a streamlined structure for the Board of Directors in which the Board consists of the 5 officers of the Association, 6 elected at-large members (2 elected per year for 3-year terms), and 4 council chairs including the chair of a new Council of Chapters, plus nonvoting ex officio members. The process to create this 15 voting member board is outlined below.
COUNCIL OF CHAPTERS
To address chapter issues and concerns more effectively, the Ad Hoc Committee recommends formation of a Council of Chapters with one representative from each AAPM chapter. Representatives may not serve more than one 3-year term without a 3-year lapse in service. The chair of the council shall be elected by and from the council membership and shall serve for 3 years in a nonvoting capacity. Once elected to the chair, this individual no longer serves as chapter representative and may be replaced on the council by another person from the same chapter. Two years of experience as a chapter representative is required before a person may serve as chair. The chair of the Council of Chapters serves on the AAPM Board of Directors.
The agenda of the Council of Chapters shall be the issues, concerns and welfare of chapters and their members as brought to the council by chapter representatives, together with requests directed to the Council by other AAPM entities, including the Board of Directors. The council shall be obligated each year to appoint a committee to select two nominees for each vacant at-large position on the Board of Directors for the coming year. These nominees must be ratified by the Council of Chapters.
The Council of Chapters will be the largest council in the Association. It will serve as a forum for discussion of chapter issues and concerns. As a member of the Board of Directors, the council chair will provide a voice for these issues and concerns. The Council of Chapters may form its own committees and undertake various projects within its interest range and resource limits. These processes will enhance the influence of chapters on the Association as a whole.
AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS
There shall be six at-large board members who serve three-year terms. Two at-large members shall be elected each year from four nominees selected by the nominations committee and ratified by the Council of Chapters. Nominees shall be identified within the AAPM voting membership but are not required to possess chapter affiliation. Additional nominees may be added to the ballot by petition of at least 1% of the voting membership of the Association. Nominees should be persons of high stature within medical physics who have demonstrated their dedication to the discipline and to the mission and objectives of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Geographic distribution of the nominees may be a secondary consideration.
CHAIRS OF THE SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL COUNCILS
The chair of each of these councils shall serve for a 3-year term, and shall be selected from individuals who have served on the respective council. Service in this capacity for up to two terms is permissible, provided the terms are not consecutive. The terms of office of the council chairs are staggered, so that each year the president-elect shall have the privilege of nominating one council chair, to be confirmed by the Board of Directors. The chairs of these councils serve as members of the Association s Board of Directors.
OFFICERS
The officers of the Association are the President, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and, without vote, the Executive Director. These individuals constitute the Executive Committee of the Association which is empowered to advise and direct the Association s Executive Director in the business and financial management of the Association . The Executive Committee is not empowered to develop policy for the Association, since that is the business of the Board of Directors. It is however, responsible for implementing policy decisions of the Board of Directors under the supervision of the Board.
Each year the President shall recommend a 3 member nomination committee which the President shall chair as a fourth member without vote. This committee shall be compromised of members of high stature such as former Association presidents. This committee shall recommend two nominees for president-elect and, when appropriate, for secretary and treasurer. The recommended nominees must be confirmed by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Additional nominees for these positions may be entered onto the ballot by a petition of 5% of the voting membership of the Association.
TRANSITION
The transition to a new organizational structure for the Board of Directors can be initiated in January 1998 and implemented at the time of the 1998 annual meeting. At that time, the Council of Chapters could be inaugurated and a nominations committee established for selection of at-large Board members. For each of 3 years, two at-large Board members, will replace four previous at-large members. At the end of the 3-year transition period, the Board of Directors will have reached its preferred composition of 15 voting members.
This report fulfills the assignment to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Composition of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. With the presentation of the report to the President and Board at its July 1997 meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee is dissolved.
William Hendee, Chair
Paul deLuca
Donald Frey
Wendell Lutz
Richard Morin
Randolph TenHaken
May 28, 1997
To investigate the status and structure of AAPM's committee tree, identify dead (functionaly, not literally) or moribound committees, liasons, and task groups, and to make recommendations on consolidation, mergers, and/or restructuring.
AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE AAPM BOARD FINAL REPORT
PROLOGUE
The participatory nature of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine is among its greatest strengths. Examples of this characteristic include the Association's annual meeting where members present scientific papers and exhibits, its complex committee structure that encourages member participation in areas of scientific, educational and professional concern, and its journal that publishes scientific articles across a wide spectrum of member interests. The Association offers many opportunities for its members to achieve scientific identity and professional recognition. For many of its members the Association is the principal pathway towards these objectives. It is the opinion of the Ad Hoc Committee that the participatory nature of the Association is a highly valued attribute, and that its preservation should accompany any proposed change in the Association's administrative structure.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine consists of 37 members elected and several nonvoting ex officio members. The 37 members include 12 members elected at large form the Association s membership, 20 representatives from the Association s regional chapters, and 5 Association officers. The Board meets twice yearly, during the annual meeting of the Association and the Radiological Society of North America. An advantage of the Board s present composition is its ecumenical character consistent with the Prologue above. But the present composition has several disadvantages as well, including:
a. a size that makes it unwieldy
b. infrequent meetings that interfere with continuity of decision-making.
c. relatively short meetings that create a rushed agenda focused principally on business rather than policy.
d. too much meeting time devoted to educating uninformed chapter representatives.
e. lack of attention to specific issues and needs of chapters.
f. too much time devoted to trivial issues and too little time devoted to major policy and procedural issues impacting medical physics.
The challenge for the Ad Hoc Committee is to preserve the ecumenical character of the Board while increasing its functional effectiveness. In submitting this report, the Ad Hoc Committee believes it has met these challenges. The Ad Hoc committee proposes a streamlined structure for the Board of Directors in which the Board consists of the 5 officers of the Association, 6 elected at-large members (2 elected per year for 3-year terms), and 4 council chairs including the chair of a new Council of Chapters, plus nonvoting ex officio members. The process to create this 15 voting member board is outlined below.
COUNCIL OF CHAPTERS
To address chapter issues and concerns more effectively, the Ad Hoc Committee recommends formation of a Council of Chapters with one representative from each AAPM chapter. Representatives may not serve more than one 3-year term without a 3-year lapse in service. The chair of the council shall be elected by and from the council membership and shall serve for 3 years in a nonvoting capacity. Once elected to the chair, this individual no longer serves as chapter representative and may be replaced on the council by another person from the same chapter. Two years of experience as a chapter representative is required before a person may serve as chair. The chair of the Council of Chapters serves on the AAPM Board of Directors.
The agenda of the Council of Chapters shall be the issues, concerns and welfare of chapters and their members as brought to the council by chapter representatives, together with requests directed to the Council by other AAPM entities, including the Board of Directors. The council shall be obligated each year to appoint a committee to select two nominees for each vacant at-large position on the Board of Directors for the coming year. These nominees must be ratified by the Council of Chapters.
The Council of Chapters will be the largest council in the Association. It will serve as a forum for discussion of chapter issues and concerns. As a member of the Board of Directors, the council chair will provide a voice for these issues and concerns. The Council of Chapters may form its own committees and undertake various projects within its interest range and resource limits. These processes will enhance the influence of chapters on the Association as a whole.
AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS
There shall be six at-large board members who serve three-year terms. Two at-large members shall be elected each year from four nominees selected by the nominations committee and ratified by the Council of Chapters. Nominees shall be identified within the AAPM voting membership but are not required to possess chapter affiliation. Additional nominees may be added to the ballot by petition of at least 1% of the voting membership of the Association. Nominees should be persons of high stature within medical physics who have demonstrated their dedication to the discipline and to the mission and objectives of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Geographic distribution of the nominees may be a secondary consideration.
CHAIRS OF THE SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL COUNCILS
The chair of each of these councils shall serve for a 3-year term, and shall be selected from individuals who have served on the respective council. Service in this capacity for up to two terms is permissible, provided the terms are not consecutive. The terms of office of the council chairs are staggered, so that each year the president-elect shall have the privilege of nominating one council chair, to be confirmed by the Board of Directors. The chairs of these councils serve as members of the Association s Board of Directors.
OFFICERS
The officers of the Association are the President, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer and, without vote, the Executive Director. These individuals constitute the Executive Committee of the Association which is empowered to advise and direct the Association s Executive Director in the business and financial management of the Association . The Executive Committee is not empowered to develop policy for the Association, since that is the business of the Board of Directors. It is however, responsible for implementing policy decisions of the Board of Directors under the supervision of the Board.
Each year the President shall recommend a 3 member nomination committee which the President shall chair as a fourth member without vote. This committee shall be compromised of members of high stature such as former Association presidents. This committee shall recommend two nominees for president-elect and, when appropriate, for secretary and treasurer. The recommended nominees must be confirmed by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Additional nominees for these positions may be entered onto the ballot by a petition of 5% of the voting membership of the Association.
TRANSITION
The transition to a new organizational structure for the Board of Directors can be initiated in January 1998 and implemented at the time of the 1998 annual meeting. At that time, the Council of Chapters could be inaugurated and a nominations committee established for selection of at-large Board members. For each of 3 years, two at-large Board members, will replace four previous at-large members. At the end of the 3-year transition period, the Board of Directors will have reached its preferred composition of 15 voting members.
This report fulfills the assignment to the Ad Hoc Committee on the Composition of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. With the presentation of the report to the President and Board at its July 1997 meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee is dissolved.
William Hendee, Chair
Paul deLuca
Donald Frey
Wendell Lutz
Richard Morin
Randolph TenHaken
May 28, 1997