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Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee consists of six members with staggered terms: the Past-President, President, President-Elect and three At-Large members. All have been elected by the membership, albeit at different times due to staggered terms (see final paragraph below that describes voting by the membership). Each year one At-Large member will be elected for a three year term. The President of the Society acts as chair. The committee has the responsibility of nominating individuals for consideration for the following key leadership positions: President, Secretary-Treasurer, Council members, and Nominating Committee Member-at-large. Nominations are solicited at the fall Council meeting and through member communications such as the APS Newsletter and E-News. The deadline for nomination suggestions from the membership is December 15. Each year the Nominating Committee is provided with a list of suggested names for open positions, in addition to listings, broken out by year, of people nominated in previous years. In addition, lists of the various committees, with committee members, are reviewed. The Nominating Committee is then asked to circulate other potential names of candidates to the APS office for inclusion in the list already circulated The Nominating Committee then has a conference call in the fall, typically in October or November, to discuss the various candidates, and choose a slate, with back-ups. 1. Candidates for Council Members (3-year term) are chosen based on their perceived ability to steer the organization in a beneficial manner. There are multiple factors that are considered in the selection. 1) The Council should be diverse and representative of the general membership. Gender, minority status, professional identity (MD, PhD, clinical science, basic science) and international (non-US) status should be adequately represented. The by-laws also require diversity in the Council membership based on scientific specialty. Thus, the selection of new Council members is made in light of these considerations, who is rotating off of Council and who will remain on Council. In general, prospective Council members should have demonstrated some knowledge of and experience with the organization, as exemplified by previous service on standing committees, although such prior service is not essential if the background of the candidate will otherwise serve an important purpose for APS. The Nominating Committee typically chooses 3 or 4 new Council members to replace those seats that are being vacated, plus one additional alternate in the event that a selected nominee declines to serve. 2. Candidates for Secretary-Treasurer (3-year term) have typically served as Council members or in some other position of authority within the organization and are very familiar with APS. Individuals in this office traditionally ascend to the Presidency. Thus, they must be senior people in the field of psychosomatic medicine, must have made academic contributions to the field that are considered significant, and must have unquestioned ethics. Candidates for Secretary-Treasurer should be good with numbers, have an interest in financial matters, have demonstrated responsibility in their careers in other leadership roles, are deemed likely to work well with personnel in APS Central Office and should be willing to make a 3-year commitment. The Nominating Committee selects the top candidate and a runner-up. 3. Candidates for President (1-year term with 3-year term on Executive Committee) have typically served in APS in a variety of capacities including as a Council member and often as a committee chair. They must have been active participants in previous APS annual meetings. Years of service to APS in a variety of roles is an important consideration. They must be senior people in the field of psychosomatic medicine, must have made academic contributions to the field that are considered significant, and must have unquestioned ethics. As with the selection of Council members, there is some consideration of the need to have adequate representation of gender, minority status, and professional identity (MD, PhD, clinical science, basic science), although there is no formula or any requirement in this regard. The timing of the selection may be influenced by pressing needs of the organization that will better enable APS to achieve its strategic objectives. Those who have been considered previously and have ranked highly in the voting are automatically given serious consideration in future years. The Nominating Committee selects the top candidate and a runner-up. 4. Candidates for Nominating Committee Member-At-Large (3-year term) are typically very senior and well established members of the Society. Such individuals have typically served as a Committee Chair and/or Council Member, and not uncommonly, have served as President of APS. Selections are made with an eye toward maintaining adequate representation of gender, minority status, and professional identity (MD, PhD, clinical science, basic science), although there is no formula or any requirement in this regard. Candidates for this position should know the organization, the leaders and the members well, and should be actively involved in the organization currently or in the recent past. Those who serve as Nominating Committee Member At Large may not serve as an officer or occupy a seat on Council during the 3-year term. The selected candidates for all positions are contacted by the Chair to inform them that the nominations committee has selected them. Runner-up candidates are contacted as needed until the slate is filled. The APS By-Laws state that candidates for Officer or Council positions, other than those selected by the Nominating Committee, may be placed on the slate by petition. Petitions must bear the signatures of at least five percent of the members in good standing who are eligible to vote. Petitions must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer at least 60 days prior to the Annual Business Meeting. Officers, council members, and a nominating committee member at large shall be elected by members at the Annual Business Meeting, or by mail or electronic ballot, as determined by the Council. Election shall be plurality vote. Mail ballots, if utilized, shall be distributed to members in good standing no later than 45 days prior to the Business Meeting and shall specify a due date which may not be less than 15 days from mailing.
March 2008-March 2009 Nominating Committee: Page last updated 5/02/08 |