The ASPB PUI section needs new leadership! Currently, the section is led by a five-member steering committee, a chairperson, and a section representative to ASPB council and Membership committee. This year we have several members of the leadership team rotating out of their positions. Therefore, we need to elect a new section representative to Council/MemCom and at least two new section steering committee members. If a current member of the steering committee is elected to the representative to Council/MemCom position, then we will have a third steering committee position to fill as well.
Please consider whether you are willing and able to serve the ASPB PUI Section in a leadership capacity. Nominations are due to Derek Gingerich (gingerdj@uwec.edu) by Friday, May 14, 2021. Read on for more details.
Members of the steering committee commit to a three-year term. These persons will assist in leadership tasks according to their interests and abilities. The committee may choose to assign specific responsibilities (e.g. treasurer, secretary, outreach/communication) to individual members or may choose to spread those responsibilities over the group. Keeping this flexible allows the steering committee freedom to make their decisions based on the composition of the group.
Tasks for the steering committee include (but are not limited to):
- Initiating and implementing PUI-focused activities that benefit the ASPB membership and the larger plant community.
- Working to grow the membership of the section and ASPB in general.
- Establishing funding sources to help support the section’s activities.
- The steering committee meets (virtually) as a group once a month.
- Also, the Section Chair is selected from current steering committee members and serves in that position for one year. Thus, steering committee members may have an opportunity to serve in that role. At the end of the Chair term, the person rotates back to their steering committee position, if their three-year term has not concluded.
The section representative to ASPB Council and Membership Committee is also a three-year term. This individual will fill the PUI section seat in ASPB Council and the ASPB Membership Committee as a liaison between the section and ASPB leadership. Specific duties include:
- Participate in ASPB Council meetings every other month (read documents, contribute to discussion, vote on initiatives).
- Occasionally support small task force efforts of Council.
- Participate in ASPB Membership Committee meetings about four times per year (read documents, contribute to discussion, participate in initiatives and electronic voting).
- Support MemCom and Council efforts and meetings at the annual conference
- Report on the section activities to MemCom and Council
- Connect the section with other committees and sections for synergistic activities.
We will hold the election in June and the new steering committee members will begin their three-year terms during the Plant Biology 2021 conference in late July. The representative to Council and MemCom will also begin their term during the conference.
Please consider serving ASPB and the PUI section by nominating yourself or encouraging your well-qualified colleagues for one of these positions!