Minutes of the August 24, 1999 SGB EC Conference Call

1) Review status of current action items -

The following action items were reported as complete:

7/22/99 Ellis will inform SIGDOC of their election results and let them know that they should be prepared to discuss this issue and a remedy during their next program review.

7/22/99 Notkin to begin an e-mail discussion with the SGB with regard to program review procedures.

2) SIGNUM Dissolution -

Action: Via e-mail, Cassel and Notkin should update SGB EC on the dissolution of SIGNUM.

3) Grant Revenue and Allocation and Service Issues Action item -

HQ liaison Baglio informed the SGB EC that although previous reporting on this area showed little to no impact on the allocation assessment, the most recent analysis indicates that there could be a short fall. This would cause ACM to draw down the SARF to offset the recovery of expenses. She recommended that the SGB EC endorse a policy not to assess the allocation on grant money. Should it become necessary to draw down the SARF they could recommend raising the percentage of the allocation in the future. The SGB EC believed this might be an agenda item for the October meetings. Much background work will need to be done to bring the newer participants to speed. Baglio suggested that they review the materials put together by DeLorenzo prior to making a decision on what to present to the SGB.

Action: Baglio to forward report from John Delorenzo regarding allocation and grant revenue to SGB EC.

Baglio was asked by the SGB EC to work with her staff to develop a list of the top 5 ACM HQ service issues, based on their most recent SIG experiences and present them to the SGB EC.

a) Financial Reporting -

Leaders have indicated that financial reports need to be clear, concise and easy to read. Baglio reported that ACM is working with new financial software which should provide better reporting.

b) Publications -

Baglio reported that ACM is working with those editors and has had success with SIGCHI, SIGCSE and Fortran Forum.

Changing camera-ready copy or having the appropriate software to change electronic copy opens the gate for human error, particularly if the newsletter editor is unable to proof the changes. The HQ staff tries to be as accommodating as possible.

b3) On-line submission and review of conference papers -

Baglio reported that the committee now led by Cassel is expected to make a recommendation on this issue. In addition, ACM's electronic publishing program is scheduled to make this available.

c) Make Cooperation status for conferences easier -

Baglio is reviewing the requirements and process. She is planning on working on this project with Heather Levell.

d) Response time from staff and communication between staff -

Baglio reported that she conducts weekly department meetings to discuss issues within the SIGs and other areas of ACM. Communication is emphasized and there are reminders about response time. She will continue to educate the staff on the importance of this.

e) More electronic communication with members -

Baglio reported that this will occur as part of ACM's plan to process renewals on-line, welcome members, etc. Lillian Israel will describe these programs during her orientation workshop. Baer indicated that conducting the elections on-line would please many of the SIGs. He will discuss possible recommendations with the election committee he is chairing.

4) Updating Program Review Procedures -

The call participants reviewed the program review documentation distributed by Notkin prior to the call. All were enthusiastic about the suggested changes to the procedures. It was recommended that Notkin highlight the changes for the benefit of new SGB members and review the amount of time that's allotted for a review. It should be more realistic than a 5 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes of open discussion.

5) Update on Society Committee - VC Soffa will report on the Society Committee structure. (5 minutes)

No update was available on the Society Committee.

6) Update on SIGAPP -

No update was available on SIGAPP. Two open action items cover this topic and it's expected that they'll be handled shortly.

7) Publications Update -

No update was available on Publications.

8) SIGSIM appointments -

Chair Ellis reported that appointment for the Chair of SIGSIM had concluded and that the Chair, Roger Smith had recommended that the Vice Chair, Ernest Page be appointed to serve the next two year term. She spoke to him and indicated that he was enthusiastic and excited about the position and the role he'd play. The SGB EC agreed that Ellis should move ahead with the appointment. Action: Ellis to inform Ernest Page that his appointment as Chair of SIGSIM has been approved and he should name the other members of his EC.

9) SGB EC Member Reports - All EC members may provide a report if they wish to. It would be helpful if the following people could provide information: Furuta - Technical Standards Committee (If time allows)

Furuta and Baer asked the SGB EC for comments on a recent proposal brought forth by SIGDA to change their bylaws regarding their election procedures. There proposal indicates that their "intent is to have an executive council, where every two years, two new people are elected by the membership to serve. People are voted in for four years. However, after each election, that is every two years, the members can change hats. The council members decide amongst themselves what positions they each take: Chair, Vice Chair, Sec/Treas, and Newsletter Ed. The only limitation is that a chair cannot serve as chair for more than four years. The "Past Chair" stays on the council as past chair for next two years whether or not they are an elected member of the council. (This means that in most cases there would be five members on the council. Since most of the time, a person would be chair for the second two years of their four year term and then stay on as past chair.) The advisory committee which has been appointed by the Chair will still exist, but they are not part of the bylaws."

Some members of the SGB EC voiced concern over the Chair position not having two candidates since it's a position which requires more time than the others. What if none of the elected officials were willing? Others believed that the SGB EC should simply endorse the experiment, they're one of the best groups to try something like this. The SGB EC all agreed that SIGDA was the appropriate SIG for an experiment of this nature. The Nominating committee could be instructed to find at least two candidates willing to take on the role of Chair and this could be refelected in the bylaws. Baglio reminded the group that in order to proceed the SGB EC would need to endorse, the appropriate procedures to change the SIG bylaws would need to be followed and the ACM EC would need to exempt them from the ACM election policy requiring two candidates for each named position. Johnson agreed that this was the appropriate procedure.

Action: Furuta will contact Steve Levitan of SIGDA and inform him of the concern regarding the Chair position to find out their stance on the situation and then will inform the SGB EC of Levitan's response along with a recommendation on moving ahead.

Furuta suggested that the SGB EC should consider finding ways in which SIGs can share resources with each other. Perhaps they could take an action to put together prototypical evaluation sheets for conferences. Forms could be made available for those that wish to use them. It is somewhat of an expansion on the paper management software issue. Ellis suggested he discuss this idea with Cassel. This idea could be folded into the actions her conference software committee is responsible for.

Action: Furuta will discuss other needs, such as standard conference evaluation questions with Cassel for consideration of the committees she's chairing.

Participants:

Jean-Loup Baer
Donna Baglio
Alain Chesnais
Carla Ellis
Rick Furuta
Mark Scott Johnson
Mary Whitton

Absent

Boots Cassel
Jim Cohoon
Doris Lidtke
David Notkin
Mary Lou Soffa