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2003 Committee on Committees Report
The Committee on Committees is composed of
representatives elected by the Steering Committees of each of the 12 APS
sections as well as two Councillors. Its primary duty is to nominate
individuals to serve on other APS standing committees, as well as to outside
bodies where the APS is represented.
This year, the Commit-tee on Committees undertook a
major overhaul of the way in which nominations are solicited and processed.
Concerns had arisen that the process had become cumbersome and unfair.
Moreover, because there was the widely-held impression that individuals
needed to secure multiple nomination forms to have any hope of selection,
some sections appeared to be disadvantaged in the nomination process, and at
the very least, talented and well-qualified individuals were often unwilling
to make the extraordinary effort needed to solicit large numbers of forms.
Similarly, although the process generated reams of paper, which had to be
duplicated and circulated to all committee members before the committee
meeting held at Experimental Biology, often the additional nomination forms
did not add significant additional insights into the candidate’s
qualifications for and commitment to the charge of the appointment sought.
Likewise, the process appeared to reward numbers and candidates were not
always the beneficiaries of an informed discussion due to the brevity of the
actual face-to-face meeting at EB. Overall, it was the impression of the
Committee on Committees that it was hampered in its charge to identify and
nominate the best among our members for committee service.
To address these concerns, the Committee on Committees
held a one-day retreat in July 2002 that was led by outgoing chair, Hannah
Carey. At this meeting, the sectional representatives to the Committee on
Committees made a commitment to the idea that their role was twofold—to
identify and promote members of their section who might serve on committees,
but then to set aside section affiliations to work with the committee as a
whole to nominate the best-qualified individuals to serve the society,
keeping in mind the desire to promote diversity and the involvement of
younger members in the committee structure. To discharge this second role in
a more informed way, the Committee on Committees designed two new forms to
solicit nominations. The two-page Candidate Information form now includes
information about prior activities relevant to the committee on which the
individual wishes to serve, a statement of interest, information about prior
APS service, and citations to two recent publications as well as a statement
of academic interests. The one-page Endorsement Form, on the other hand, is
used by someone who knows the candidate, to comment on the ability of that
individual to carry out committee responsibilities. In a major procedural
shift, the Committee on Committees agreed that only one Endorsement Form
would be accepted per nominee. Candidate Information forms would also be
accepted without an endorsement, and then forwarded to the self-nominee’s
section to solicit endorsement from the section steering committee. All of
the materials involved were made available electronically via the APS
website, allowing electronic dissemination of the nominations to committee
members. No nominations were removed from consideration ahead of the EB
meeting, and the meeting of the Committee on Committees at EB was doubled in
length to allow full discussion of all candidates. Finally, nominations
received for a specific committee were forwarded to the chair of that
committee prior to EB, for input as to each individual’s suitability for
service.
After this first year’s experience with the new
process, the Committee on Committees is very gratified with its apparent
success. It was obvious at the meeting held at EB that members could provide
a more informed perspective on candidates under consideration, and also that
the information available allowed section representatives to support
individuals from outside their section if they appeared to be a
more-qualified candidate for a given committee opening. Committee members
also commented how helpful it was to have input from committee chairs as to
the characteristics that would make for an effective new member. Other than
suggesting minor modifications to the Candidate Information form, and
requesting that the nomination web page contain links to the charges for
each of the committees with vacancies, the Committee on Committees
recommended that the process continue essentially unchanged in 2004. There
was, however, a substantial decline (185 to 76) in the absolute number of
candidates brought forward for consideration. However, inspection has
revealed that a large portion of this decline derived from the fact that the
Committee on Committees will no longer hold over nominations from one year
to the next, believing that those interested in service on committees should
be required to indicate a continuing interest and to provide updated
information about qualifications. Overall, the process as currently
constituted is “self-driven,” and the section representatives agreed to
stress this message when communicating with their constituencies. The
Committee on Committees is eager to consider the qualifications of all APS
members with an interest in serving the Society, and hopes that many will
consider applying in the coming year.
Based on the process described and the committee’s
lively deliberations at Experimental Biology, the Committee on Committees
recommended individuals to fill vacancies on a range of APS standing
committees, as follows:
- Animal Care and Experimentation - 2 plus chair
- Awards - 2
- Career Opportunities in Physiology - 3 plus chair
- Communications - 2
- Ray G. Daggs - 1
- Education - 2 plus chair recommendation
- FASEB Publications & Communications - 1
- Finance - 1
- International Physiology - 1
- Long-Range Planning - 1
- Membership - 1
- Perkins Memorial Fellowship - 2
- Porter Physiology Development - 3
- Public Affairs - 2 plus co-chair
- Publications - 1
- Senior Physiologist - 2 plus chair
- Women in Physiology - 1
The Committee on Committees also recommended an
individual to represent the APS on the AAMC Council of Academic Societies.
The Committee on Committees restated charge is to
identify the best individuals to fill committee vacancies, regardless of
sectional affiliation. However, all other things being equal, the committee
seeks to instill diversity in the committee structure on the basis of
section of membership, geography, gender and seniority. Thus, the APS
members nominated to fill vacancies had the following sectional
affiliations:
- Cardiovascular Section - 7
- Cell & Molecular Physiology Section - 7
- Central Nervous System Section - 2
- Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Section - 0
- Endocrinology & Metabolism Section - 1
- Environmental & Exercise Physiology Section - 6
- Gastrointestinal & Liver Physiology Section - 0
- Neural Control & Autonomic Regulation Section - 1
- Renal Section - 2
- Respiration Section - 1
- Teaching of Physiology Section - 3
- Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section - 3
There were eight members less than 45 years of age
nominated for committee vacancies and 12 women nominated.
The membership is urged to consider serving the society
as a member of one of its standing committees. Applications can be submitted
via the APS website, and are due (with or without an accompanying
endorsement form) by January 15, 2004, although earlier submissions are
welcome. Applications received without an endorsement will be forwarded to
the section of primary affiliation for support. Nominations are then
reviewed by chairs of committees on which there are vacancies, and by the
Committee on Committees as a whole. At their meeting at Experimental
Biology, the Committee on Committees develops their recommendation for each
committee vacancy, along with alternates, and submits this for approval by
Council at their July meeting. Approved nominees begin their term of
appointment the following January. Those who are unsuccessful at securing a
committee appointment initially are encouraged to re-submit their
credentials for consideration for the same or another committee in the next
cycle.
Kim E. Barrett, Chair
Council Actions
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Council accepted the report of the Committee on Committees.
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Council approved the slate of nominees for committee vacancies with minor
exceptions.
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