*****2021* Elections Committee Message******
We are seeking nominations for President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, 2 seats on the Awards Committee, 1 seat on the Elections Committee, and 1 seat on the Social Media Committee. Please nominate yourself or other members who you feel would be well qualified for the job (self-nominations are very much encouraged). Please email your nominations to Adam Dolezal (adolezal@illinois.edu) by October 15th.
Details for each of these positions are below. A list of current and past officers can be found here: http://iussi.cyberbee.net/about/. Specifics of the roles of the committees can be found here: http://iussi.cyberbee.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/NAS-IUSSI_Constitution_Oct2016.pdf
- President-elect for IUSSI-NAS. The President-Elect serves on the Executive Committee for 3 years; first as President-Elect, then President, then as former President. Duties of the President-Elect and President include presiding over the IUSSI-NAS annual business meeting, making changes to society by-laws as agreed upon by the society, and working with the Elections Committee for future elections of officers. Other (optional) duties have included seeking funds to support travel to IUSSI conferences, helping to organize symposia at IUSSI and ESA meetings, and organizing social gatherings after section business meetings.
- Secretary. The Secretary serves on the Executive Committee for 2 years plus a 3rd year as an advisor to the incoming Secretary. They keep the records of the Section, convey information between the executive committee and the membership, maintain the Section website, and prepare documents for meetings including program preparation and taking minutes. The Secretary also maintains an updated list of active members, officers, and award recipients.
- The Treasurer serves on the Executive Committee for 2 years plus a 3rd year as an advisor to the incoming Treasurer. They are authorized to handle all accounts of the Section, collect annual dues and any other payments or contributions, manage financial accounts, disburse awards, keep accurate books of the Section finances, and present a statement of the receipts, expenditures, and funds of the Section at the annual business meeting. The Treasurer is also responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the Section’s tax-exempt status and EIN with the U.S. IRS, and filing all tax forms as required on an annual basis. For banking purposes, the Treasurer must reside in the US.
- Awards Committee Member (2 positions). The new members of the Awards Committee would join the four current members (Qian “Karen” Sun, Olav Rueppell, Rachelle Adams, and Floria Mora-Kepfer) to collectively oversee the administration of all awards for the Section. The Awards Committee is responsible for soliciting and ranking nominations, selecting and notifying the awardees, and announcing the award to members. This is a 3-year commitment.
- Elections Committee Member (1 position). We are also seeking nominationsto fill
an empty seat on the Elections The new member of the Elections Committee would join the current members, Chelsea Cook and Rebecca Clark, in organizing elections for President-Elect of the NAS-IUSSI and other open positions. This is a 3-year commitment. - Social Media Committee (1 position). The Social Media Committee shall oversee/post to social media accounts for the society. The Committee shall post relevant events, job announcements, grant opportunities, recent research, etc. and solicit from the membership “profile highlights” to share with members/followers. The Social Media Committee shall consist of one member per social media platform serving staggered terms of three years, with a new member elected each year. The addition of new platforms (and a new committee member to oversee the platform) can be suggested by the committee or members and will be voted on during the annual business meeting. New platforms can be added by a simple majority of members voting at the business meeting. The senior member shall serve as chair of the committee during the third year of their term. For continuity, the committee chair should have login information for all accounts. Members shall be from separate institutions. Consideration should be given to representation from a diversity of social insect taxonomic groups and research specialties when electing the new member. The new member will join existing members Rachel Bonoan, Sara Helms Cahan and Tyler Quigley.
Thank you from your IUSSI-NAS Elections Committee,
Adam Dolezal (chair)
Chelsea Cook
Rebecca Clark