Committee on Committees

The Committee on Committees (hence COC) consists of nine members elected for a three year term by the entire membership of the Association and the Vice President of the PSA who serves as chair and is an ex officio non voting member. Each year, three members, one from each division of the PSA (North, South, Central), begin and three end their term of office. The Committee recommends appointments to each non elected committee of the Association in such manner that the Northern, Southern, and Central regions are represented.

1. Responsibilities and duties of the committee.  The Committee recommends appointments to each non elected committee of the Association in such manner that the Northern, Southern, and Central regions are represented in so far as this is possible.
2. Duties of the chair.  The chair conducts the meeting of the COC which is scheduled at the annual PSA meeting, prepares the agenda, maintains the committee's file or archive, and passes the archive on to the new chair. The chair also makes certain that committee members are kept informed via email and/or letter of the agenda and the committee's work during the year between annual meetings. The chair reminds members of the committee of their individual assignments and of time deadlines (see below). The chair also writes the committee's annual report and sends it to the Secretary for publication in the Association's newsletter. The deadline for sending the report is May 1.
3. Procedures and Calendar of the Committee.  Since the decisions of the COC regarding appointment of new members to various PSA committees must be made no later than December 15th, most of the work of the committee will occur via e-mail during the months of September to December. Hence, the work of the COC can occur in two stages. It can commence work at its annual meeting which is held during the annual PSA meeting in March or April and then be completed during the following fall from September to January. New members of PSA committees are appointed in January, and then the new members begin their term at the scheduled meeting of the committee they are appointed to during the annual PSA meeting, which is normally held in March or April. However, the process for any cycle of appointments, should commence during the Committee on Committees annual meeting which takes place during the annual PSA meeting in either March or April (see below).

March-April (During the Annual PSA Meeting)

1. During the annual meeting of the committee, the work of the committee, will begin. The chair will distribute a list of vacant positions for each PSA standing committee. This list details each committee's open positions by region (North, South, Central) of the association. The list of open positions along with a complete list of PSA members is sent to the chair of the COC by the Secretary/Treasurer. In addition, the chair will distribute a list of potential committee nominees who have volunteered or been nominated by others. This list contains the names of all PSA members who have volunteered for committee work when they renewed their dues. This volunteer list is provided by the Executive Director. The list also contains the names of potential committee members that have been sent to the chair of the Committee on Committees by committee chairs, PSA officers, Council members and others.
   At the annual meeting of the committee, the Chair will ask committee members to add to the above list additional names they would recommend. The goal is to first assemble a fairly complete list of volunteers and others recommended for committee assignments. The list contains not only the names of potential nominees, but also their institutional affiliation, their membership status in the PSA--students or faculty--and the region they are from. Students can be appointed to all PSA standing committees, except the Awards Committee.
2. During the annual committee meeting, using the list of potential nominees, the COC as a whole will develop a list of names and alternates for each open position for each committee.
3. During the annual meeting, the chair will assign committee members (or ask for volunteers) to contact nominees for vacant positions on several PSA committees. Currently, the PSA has sixteen standing committees. Each of the nine members of the committee will be assigned from one to three PSA committees and provided the list of potential nominees for each committee vacancy which the COC as a whole has decided upon--ranked in order from first choice to alternate--along with the nominee's email address and phone number. The chair will keep an accurate account of which committee member has been assigned which committee and the names of potential nominees in ranked order by committee. A chalkboard or flip chair should be used to list committee openings with region specified for each opening and the COC member who is responsible noted by the committee so that all members of the COC will be clear about their assignments and the names of those they are to contact in the future. Hence at the end of the COC annual meeting, members should have a pretty good idea of the work that awaits them during the fall (see below).

September-December

In early September, the Executive Director will send to the chair the list of openings for various PSA committees. This will be an updated list from the list that will be circulated during the COC's previous annual meeting (see below). In addition, the Executive Director will send two membership lists, one for students and one for faculty and non-students; a list of current members of PSA Committees, a list of members who recently volunteered for committee membership; and a copy of a form letter to members of the COC describing their duties and the procedures to follow in carrying out their work.

Beginning in September or October, the Chair will assign to each COC member two or three committees to be responsible for, if the assignments were NOT done during the annual meeting. Once the Chair has made the assignments, the COC members will be informed via e-mail of the committees each is accountable for and of the procedures to follow. (Note, it is also possible to do the above assignments at the annual meeting of the COC, rather than wait until September or October. See above.)

After each member is given committee assignments, they need to do the following:

1. Come up with a nominee and an alternate or alternates (since the nominee may refuse) for each open position on each committee they have been assigned.
2. Keep in mind that student members of the PSA can serve on all PSA appointed committees, except the Awards Committee.
3. Keep in mind that most of the committee appointments are for three years. The list of openings will indicate in parenthesis the terms of the positions.
4. If possible try to nominate someone who represents the region in which there is an opening (North, South, Central) as indicated on the list of open positions. The PSA tries to have regional representation on its committees. If there is no suitable nominee or alternate who represents the region, a member from outside the region can be nominated. The regions of the PSA are explained on the list of open positions.
5. Once the nominee and alternate or alternates have been selected, their names should be sent via e-mail to the Chair of the Committee on Committees. The deadline for sending the names is November 15th. When the entire list has been received for all committees of the PSA, the Chair will then send the entire list via e-mail to each of the Committee on Committee members. If there is approval of the overall list by the committee members, the Chair will then contact each nominee first seeking acceptance of their appointment. If they refuse, the Chair, will then contact the alternate or alternates and continue until all open positions on all committees have been filled.
6.  The Chair of the COC will then send the names of the newly appointed committee members to the Executive Director by December 15th. The Executive Director will then send an email to each new member formally informing then of their appointment and indicating to them that their term begins during the PSA annual meeting.

Committee Members

• Denise Segura (13) UCSB, ex officio Co-Chair
• Karen Pyke (14), UCR, ex officio Co-Chair
• Kari Lerum (13) University of Washington Bothel
• Vickie Smith (13) UC Davis
• Dana Collins (13) CSU Fullerton
• Judith Hennessy (14) Central Washington University
• Marta Elliot (14) UN Reno
• Sandra Way (14) New Mexico State University
• Vikas Gumbhir (15) Gonzaga University
• Jennifer Reich (15) University of Denver
• Michael Perez (15) CSU Fullerton
• Charles Hohm, Executive Director, liaison from Council

Past Committee Reports

We are in the process of making all committee reports accessible through the web. 
In the meantime, for information on past meeting programs, please contact the PSA Executive Office. 

 

 

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