Women in German Nomination and Election Task Protocol

(for the Nomination and Election of a Vice President / President-Elect)

Created by Michelle James, October 2004

Modified and updated by Kris Vander Lugt, November 1, 2006

With inclusion of language from Steering Committee Minutes, December 19, 2006

 

NB:  3rd year SC members are responsible for running search,

with assistance from Pres. / Vice Pres. & webmses

 

Timeline

                  

October                                                           Appoint Nomination / Election Committee

February                                                          Solicit WiG members (esp. senior members) for nominations

March                                                              Contact potential candidates

April                                                                Finalize candidate list after ascertaining qualifications (see ŇCandidate StatementÓ below)

Summer                                                           Candidates prepare statement – 500 words

Include WiG involvement in statements

September                                                       Candidate statements on Website and Elections (with help from webmistresses)

October                                                           Winner determined and notified; Announced at WIG conference (Candidates should plan on being present at that yearŐs WiG conference)

 

Deadlines

(as suggested by K. Vander Lugt)

 

April 1st                                                              Deadline to submit nominations

August 1st                                                          Deadline for CandidatesŐ Statements

September 1st                                                     Ballot and Cand. StŐs go online

October 15th                                                       Deadline for voting

Prior to conference                                             SC members notified of results

 

Notate Bene:

The following suggestions were submitted to S.C. for approval by Kris Vander Lugt on November 2, 2006.  There were no replies specific to this content, except for Julie KlassenŐs request to include language of S.C. minutes in protocol.

 

1. The Nomination / Election Committee

o      should consist of at least 2 members

o      should be appointed by the Steering Committee (SC) either at the WiG conference during an election off-year or via the SC listserv at least 2 months prior to publication of the Spring newsletter

2. The call for nominations

o      should be issued in the Spring newsletter and on the membership listserv (and, as suggested in S.C. meeting, senior members should be especially encouraged to make nominations)

o       should clearly indicate:

¤       A full description of the duties and expectations for the Vice-President/President Elect

¤       A stipulation that those who nominate a person first contact that person to make sure that she will accept the nomination, is in a position to fulfill the requisite responsibilities, and is willing and able to attend that yearŐs WiG conference and to participate in all Steering Committee meetings (as well as all conferences and SC meetings during her tenure as VP/President-Elect, i.e. for a total of four years)

¤       Clear information as to where to send the nomination (typically via email to the Nomination / Election Committee)

¤       The deadline for submitting nominations (June 1st)

o      Upon receiving the name of a nominee, the committee member(s) should acknowledge the receipt of the nomination. If the nominator has failed to contact the nominee and confirm that the nominee fulfills the requirements for nomination, the nomination should, be rejected with a quickly generated form email requesting (re-)submission of this information

3. After the nomination process has ended, the committee should

o      compile a list of candidates[1]

o      contact each candidate to

¤       confirm her willingness to run and her qualifications for the position

¤       confirm that, if elected, she will be present at the WiG conference and at any meeting/s of the WiG steering committee in the year elected and every year thereafter for the duration of her service (4 years)

¤       ask for a response to the following questions (the ŇCandidate StatementÓ):

 

1. State previous involvement in WIG and other qualifications for this position (possible qualifications include: a) previous term on SC; b) involvement in Newsletter, Yearbook, Prize committee; Web design; c) attendance of WiG conference within the last 10 years.

 

2.  Please describe the impact that your participation in WiG has had on your professional career.

 

3.  Why do you want to be WiGs VP Pres-Elect?

 

4. How do you envision working with the WIG steering committee and other officers?

 

5.  In your view, what role(s) can and should WIG serve for graduate students preparing for a profession in academia?

 

6.  How do you envision the future of Wig and the organizationŐs position within the profession as a whole?

¤       The candidatesŐ statements should be received by the Nomination / Election Committee no later than August 1st

 

4.     When the Candidates' Statements have been received, the committee should compile the statements and prepare the ballot, following the model archived online (<LINK>). The ballot, including candidatesŐ statements, should be sent as a Word file to the webmses, who will transform it to an .html format. The committee should contact the webmses by August 15th to make arrangements for the ballot preparation and delivery.  The ballot should be online by September 1st, and the deadline for voting should be no later than October 15th.

5.     After the deadline for receiving votes, the designated committee member should count the votes and announce the results of the voting to the Steering Committee. The results can then be announced to the new Vice-President/President-Elect and the WiG membership in whatever manner the Steering Committee sees as most appropriate and effective.


[1] NB: If the WiG membership does not supply enough nominees for a successful election, the Nomination Committee must assume the responsibility to find candidates who will accept the nomination.