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The Nominating Committee (NC) is one of two standing committees of the Executive Council (the other is the Program Committee). The charge and composition of the NC, from Section IIA of the ACH's Bylaws, is as follows:
A closed majordomo list, achnom@lists.village.virginia.edu, is
available for the use of the NC, courtesy of the Institute for
Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of
Virginia. The list also affords password-protected archives:
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/achnom/
The first action of the chair of the NC should be to ensure that all current members of the committee are subscribed to achnom, and that no members whose terms have expired still retain their subscription.
Given the uniquely sensitive nature of the NC's charge, its annual membership should be formally reminded of the importance of confidentiality in their deliberations. Moreover, the archives of achnom should be wiped clean each year so that new committee members are not privy to the prior years' proceedings. (The purpose of this document is to ensure continuity in the practices of the NC from year to year, and any new wisdom or alterations in procedure should be recorded here, not in the achnom archives.)
The presence of the ACH President or Vice-President on the NC serves to ensure the equity of the committee's deliberations.
An October 1 deadline for delivery of the candidate slate to the Executive Secretary is stipulated in the bylaws (above). It is therefore imperative that the NC convene at an early enough date to allow sufficient time for the process to unfold. Given that the nomination process requires contact with a number of individuals, and given that multiple cascading contacts may well be required as some persons accept and others decline their nominations, at least six weeks for deliberation and contact of potential nominees is recommended.
The constitution and bylaws dictate no restrictions on the qualifications of nominees beyond the fact that they "are (or are willing to become) ACH members in good standing and represent as wide a variety of disciplines as possible." Note that if a nomination is to be extended to a non-member of the organization, that person must be willing to join the ACH immediately upon acceptance of the nomination--they cannot wait and see how the election turns out before joining or not!
The Bylaws stipulate at least two nominees for every vacancy. There may be more. However, care should be taken that too big a slate is not produced, for while people may be flattered to receive a nomination one can only assume they will be less flattered (however good-natured) to lose the election, and it's not fair (or productive) to ask someone to stand for election as part of a slate that will contain disproportionate numbers of losers to winners.
The Constitution states that the President, the Vice-President, and the Members at Large of the Executive Council (EC) "shall be eligible for immediate re-election." Note, however, that the Constitution does not specifically state that any of these officers shall automatically receive a second term nomination--only that they shall all be "eligible." The intent of the Constitutional language with regard to second terms is thus ambiguous. In the past, the President and the Vice-President have always been nominated for immediate second terms--but this has not necessarily been the case with Members at Large of the EC. It should be noted that the Members at Large serve terms that are twice as long as those of the President and the Vice-President, and that it is important that the composition of the EC reflect the interests of a diverse and sometimes changing membership. Thus, while the Constitutional language provides no clear directives, there is some rationale for the President and Vice-President receiving second-term nominations as a matter of course, but not so with Members at Large of the EC. While there may certainly be instances in which Members at Large of the EC should receive an immediate second-term nomination, it is probably best that this be neither the norm nor the expectation, and that a single term of service be taken as indicative of a successful and warmly appreciated contribution to the organization.
Past officers of the organization (i.e., those who did not just complete a term of service) are also, of course, perfectly eligible for nomination for any office in a given year.
Discussion of the merits of individual candidates for the nominating slate must of necessity be candid and objective. In the recent past the committee has operated through consensus, i.e. its members have agreed on the composition of the slate and its alternates rather than casting ballots to decide. However, the chair may absolutely reserve the right to call the committee to vote if circumstances dictate.
The person submitting the nomination for an individual whom the NC has accepted for the slate shall normally assume responsibility for contacting that person to determine whether he or she is in fact willing stand for election, and also for subsequently collecting his or her candidate statement, this to be forwarded to the committee chair. Under no circumstances should potential nominees be contacted before they have been added to the slate by formal action of the NC.
In your contact letter, you should congratulate the candidate for his or her nomination and ask for an affirmation that they are willing to stand for election. The duties of the office as described in the Constitution, including the obligation to attend the annual Executive meeting at the conference, should be clearly stated. You should inquire as to whether they are a current member of ACH with dues paid (and if not, and if they'd still like to stand, then they must become a member and pay their dues immediately--put them in touch with the Treasurer). The need for a timely reply should be emphasized.
Candidate statements may be in either the first or the third person and in the past have not exceeded 500 words. They should describe relevant professional accomplishments and indicate why that person would like to be elected to the office in question.
The committee chair shall deliver the slate, together with supporting candidate statements, to the Executive Secretary, who will then deliver the slate to the EC and arrange for balloting.
All committee business is to be transacted through achnom. No committee business shall be regarded as binding unless it is transacted through achnom, save at the discretion of the NC chair.
It is best that in any given year members of the NC not be persons who might be eligible for nomination to the vacant offices. If a member of the NC is nominated to stand for election, he or she should immediately indicate whether they wish to have their nomination further considerd by the NC, and if so must be recused from the remainder of the NC's deliberations. Their subscription should be dropped from achnom at once, though technically they may remain a member of the NC.
The chair of the NC shall deliver a report on the committee's activities at the annual EC meeting. The chair of the NC should take care to ensure that appropriate confidentiality is preserved in his or her reporting to the EC.
Last updated by Matt Kirschenbaum on June 07, 2003.