The bylaws also allow for the establishment of ad hoc Committeess. From UCGIS Bylaws, Article VI (6)3, the Board may "approve the appointment of other committees or subcommittees formed by the Council or the Board of Directors. Such committees or subcommittees will have a life of one year which may be extended annually as needed. However, over the last few months a number of new committees have been formed to deal with specific sets of responsibilities and to permit more members to contribute to Consortium activiies. These more operational groups are likely to be filled with a specific appointed set of qualified individuals. These committees need to operate over a longer time frame than an ad hoc committees which operate within the one year cycle of a specific board. For example, the "Research Management Committee" is an example of a permanent function that UCGIS intends maintain over a multi-year time frame. As well, since the environment in which UCGIS exists is quite dynamic and UCGIS itself is in a period of rapid growth, this year's solutions may not be optimum for next year's environment so one could make the case for the existence Committee on Committees itself over a longer term.
Thus, a general task for the Committee on Committees (ConC) is examine the current set of committees to ensure that each committtee has a set of appropriate and necessary functions, that responsibilities don't overlap, and that UCGIS has appropriate mechanisms for managing committees and committee participation. The ConC also needs to develop a mechanism within the bylaws for more permanent committees to operate, comprised of appointed members with multi-year terms and rotation schedules.
Executive Committee
"By a vote of the majority of all the Directors in office, the Board of Directors may designate an Executive Committee consisting of the President, President-Elect, and immediate Past President, which shall have authority to act for the Board of Directors in between meetings of the full Board. The Board of Directors may designate one or more of the Directors as alternate members of the Executive Committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the Committee upon the request of the President. Vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled by the Board of Directors at a regular or special meeting." (from the Bylaws)
Research CommitteeMembership - Greg Elmes (chair), David Mark, William Huxhold Reconfirmation date - November annually, following elections
"The research committee will articulate ongoing research priorities for advancing theories and methods in geographic information science; assess the current and potential contributions of GIS to national scientific and public policy issues; track federal and state programs, accomplishments, and needs; foster multidisciplinary research in geographic information science, particularly in support of national needs; and engage in other related activities such as appropriate recognition of outstanding research by faculty and students at its member institutions." (from the Bylaws)
Education CommitteeChair - Robert McMaster Chair's reconfirmation date - biannually in odd years
"The education committee shall consider priority issues in geographic information science education and public service from which positions, policies, and strategies may be recommended for implementation by UCGIS and its member institutions at local, state, national, and international levels. Major issues might include trends in enrollments, adequacy of the number of graduates and their skills to meet marketplace demands, curriculum and courses, innovations in education, role of faculty and institutions, and other issues that affect education in geographic information science." (from the Bylaws)
Policy and Legislation CommitteeChair - Richard Wright Chair's reconfirmation date - biannually in even years
"This committee identifies, acquires, analyzes, and reports to UCGIS member universities any geographic information science related policies or legislation being adopted or considered by local, state, federal, or international law bodies that might be relevant to the goals set forth in Article III or otherwise affect the research and teaching programs related to geographic information science. The committee shall propose and develop legislation if needed in support of the goals of Article III, propose and draft responses to legislation that may be adverse to the goals set forth in Article III, and develop approaches for communicating with legislators, agency personnel, and other policy makers." (from the Bylaws, as amended June 1998)
Communications (to be designated standing at next Council Meeting)Chair - Harlan Onsrud Chair's reconfirmation date - biannually in odd years
"The role of the Communication Committee is to ensure timely communication between and among the Board, the Council and all members of UCGIS and between the UCGIS and individuals and organizations outside. As a primary vehicle for communication, the Communication Committee is responsible for the design, content and maintenance of the UCGIS website, and should also try to ensure that member institution's web sites are informative and up to date. Information to be available through the website includes, but is not limited to member portfolios, membership lists, bylaws, announcements, whitepapers, press releases, etc. Using appropriate web-based technology (e.g. push technologies, newsgroups, ;list servers, etc), the Committee will maximize the probability that relevant information reaches all delegates before each meeting of the council. The Committee also will develop methods and policies for distribution of a UCGIS Newsletter at least twice a year." (from David Mark's charge to the committee chair, July 1998)
Current chair - Dawn Wright Chair's reconfirmation date - biannually in even years
"A nominating committee shall designate four nominees chosen from among the delegates and alternates for each annual election of two Board members and shall designate two nominees chosen from among the delegates and alternates for each annual election of the Vice-President (President-Elect)." (from the bylaws as amended June 1998) "The nominating committee shall consist of five members representative of the various professional interests encompassed by the Council, three of whom shall NOT be members or immediate past members of the Board. The nominees proposed by the nominating committee shall reflect the geographic and professional interests of the Council." (from the Bylaws)
Duties - "to nominate candidates for regular vacancies on the Board of Directors and to make such other nominations as may be requested by the Council and Board of Directors", solicits offers, selects the slate, publicizes nominees
Duties - to receive and review new membership applications and to make recommendations for acceptance to the Council twice annually, to define criteria for emerging categories of membership, eg multicampus, foreign, government, to advise and assist in recruitment, to review membership portfolios for membership renewals (to begin in 1999).
Duties - to plan the program for the Annual Assembly
NOTE - this committee's name needs to be resolved
and its ongoing charge clarified
"The Research Management Committee is an ad hoc committee appointed
by the Board to advise the Board on all matters of externally-funded projects
(grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts) to UCGIS. Funded
projects are defined as any payments to UCGIS that oblige UCGIS to provide
deliverables to the organization providing the funding. The UCGIS
Board retains the final authority over such funded activities, cooperative
agreements, and contracts." (from David Mark's charge to the committee,
July 1998)
Duties - to receive and review applications, to interview qualified candidates, to make recommendation for top candidate(s) to the Board of Directors.
Duties - list all official committees and membership, summarize their mission and duties, identify whether they are or should be standing or adhoc, if standing determine the reconfirmation date, if adhoc determine the termination or review date (from Minutes of November 1998 Board meeting)
"The Finance Committee is an ad hoc committee appointed by the Board to advise the Executive on financial matters, including expenditure priorities and income requirements and sources. Initially, the Finance Committee will estimate the costs of each action item in the Strategic Plan, as well as action items arising from the Member Needs Survey. Costs will be specified in terms of time commitments of the Executive Director; time commitments of any paid consultants, and of other direct costs." (from David Mark's charge to the committee, July 1998) Note, the June 1998 minutes also note that this committee should "identify and solicit potential funding sources", but the original committee apparently was not charged with this task.
Duties - ?
Duties - to implement the MOU between NSGIC and UCGIS groups and to participate in meetings of the NSGIC/UCGIS Coordination Committee.
Duties - is this committee a variation of the NSGIC/UCGIS Partnership Committee???
Duties - to suggest actions to the UCGIS Board that might increase the diversity of academic backgrounds of individuals actively participating in UCGIS
Established - at founding Membership - Will Craig (chair) Incorporated into Communications Committee, June 1998