Election Letter

24 October 2007
Dear NCSSSMST Member,

We are seeking nominations to the Board of Directors of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology.  Please consider nominating one or more of your faculty and professional staff to the Board.  A Director must be a full-time professional employee of your institution.  He or she may be a teacher, administrator, counselor, or other professional staff member.  Elections will take place at the Professional Conference in Dallas, February 27 – March 1.  Elected Directors will begin their terms Friday, February 29, 2008.

Directors manage the business of the corporation.  Because there is no full-time administrator associated with the corporation, the corporation has a working Board of Directors.  Board members deal with strategic planning, implementation of initiatives, and business issues.  In addition to deciding general issues that come before the Board, Directors manage the business of the corporation, engage in long range planning, undertake implementation of new initiatives of the corporation, and serve as standing and ad hoc committee members.  The work of the Board of Directors leads to student and professional conferences, student symposia, publications, et cetera, through which the NCSSSMST fulfills its mission.  Therefore, Director attendance at Board meetings is important.  A Director who is unable to attend a regular meeting of the Board shall be expected to notify the President at least one week prior to that meeting in writing and shall designate a substitute to attend in his or her place.  A Director who (a) fails to attend one regular meeting without a substitute identified and supported by your institution, or (b) who fails to attend two regular Board of Director’s meetings in any one fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) of his or her term, even with a substitute, shall automatically be considered removed from the Board.

Terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the Directors are elected each year in an effort to maintain some stability while providing for new ideas and approaches.  Directors typically serve for terms of three years each, but no Director shall serve more than two consecutive 3-year terms.  (In order to fill vacancies, some terms are shorter.)  All Board members are expected to attend the quarterly Board meetings.  These are typically held Thursday through Saturday at the professional conference in February/March, at the end of June, at the student conference in October, and immediately before Martin Luther King’s Day in January.  Executive Officers are selected by the Board at the annual spring meeting, in conjunction with the professional conference.  This year we are hope to fill five three-year and positions.

Enclosed you will find a Nominee Information form and a Financial Commitment/Institutional Support form to complete.   We ask that the completed materials be returned by December 1, 2007, to the address below so that the biographies and ballots can be prepared for mailing in January. Additionally your candidate will need to send an electronic copy of the questionnaire to Michael Reidy (reidy@ncssm.edu).  This information will be compiled and placed online at www.NCSSSMST.org.

Thank you for your continued support of the NCSSSMST.

Sincerely,

Mary Jo Parker, Secretary

Enclosures:    Nominee Information form
Financial Commitment/Institutional Support form
 
Please forward nomination and nominee information (by postal mail) to:
Michael Reidy
1219 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27715-2418
(919) 416-2961