MPSA Governance
Click on the links below for information about each topic.
The MPSA board members comprise the Council, which includes the following officers:
• President-Elect
• President
• Immediate Past President
• Vice Presidents (two serving staggered, two-year terms)
• Councilors (15 serving staggered, three-year terms)
• Editor(s) of the American Journal of Political Science (serving three- or four-year terms)
• Chairperson(s) of the Program Committee (serving one-year terms)
• Executive Director
The President-Elect appoints the following:
• Nominations Committee
• Program Committee Chair(s)
• Awards Committees
• Investment Committee (one appointment)
• Scholarship Committee
Nominations Committee. Nominations for officers are solicited from the membership, and the nominations committee selects a slate of officers, including:
• President-Elect (who will serve as President and then as Immediate Past President)
• Five Councilors, serving three-year terms
• One Vice President, serving a two-year term
• Any other vacancies on the Council; these Councilors will serve the remainder of the term
The election of officers occurs at the annual business meeting, which is held during the MPSA National Conference. The Executive Director/Treasurer, Program Chairperson(s), and Editor(s) are appointed officers.
Program Committee Chair(s). The Program Chair(s) appoint the conference program committee no later than February of the year prior to the conference for which they are responsible. Each committee member serves as chair of a section (a subfield or a slice of a subfield) and is responsible for accepting or rejecting proposals submitted to their section. In addition, committee members/section chairs organize accepted papers into panels and identify chairs and discussants for each panel. Committee members meet in September at the American Political Science Association conference, about six months prior to their MPSA conference, where they receive a program manual with detailed instructions.
Awards Committees. MPSA sponsors a number of awards for papers presented at the Annual National Conference. Nominations are solicited from panel chairs immediately after the conference, and recipients are selected the following autumn and winter by committee. Awards are presented the following year. There is an award committee for each award sponsored by MPSA. Committee members appointed by the President-Elect determine who will receive the award.
The committee members who are appointed in 2008 will make their selections in the autumn and winter of 2008, and the chair of the committee will present the award at the MPSA Business Meeting during the 2009 MPSA Annual National Conference. There are three members of each committee, and the appointments should be made by February. The MPSA office solicits nominations and provides the nominated papers to the committees. (The appointments for the Simon Award Committee are made after receiving suggestions from the President of the Midwest Public Administration Caucus.)
Investment Committee. The President-Elect appoints one member to this committee, which is composed of the two Vice Presidents, three council members (one from each cohort), and the Executive Director. The committee evaluate any changes to the investment plan if requested by the President. The committee is chaired by the senior Vice President.
Scholarship Committee. The members of this committee selects recipients of any competitively awarded travel scholarships to attend the MPSA Annual National Conference. Their decisions are made by March 1.
The President appoints members to ad hoc committees, such as selection committees for a new publisher, editor, or executive director, and other committees that may be needed to assist with specific issues.
President. The President serves a one-year term. She or he chairs all Council Meetings and appoints ad hoc committee members as needed.
President-Elect. The President-Elect serves a one-year term before assuming the presidency. She or he nominates all the members of the standing committees by February.
Immediate Past President. The Immediate Past President serves a one-year term following her or his term as president. She or is a voting member of the Council.
Editor(s). This appointed position serves from three to four years. The Editor(s) appoints the Editorial Board, which is approved by the Council. The Editor(s) oversees the American Journal of Political Science, one of the top journals in the discipline.
Vice Presidents. The two Vice Presidents are voting members of the Council, and they also serve on the Investment Committee. The senior Vice President chairs Council meetings if the President is unable to do so.
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