October 3, 2023
The Governing Board met virtually on September 13 for its third quarter meeting.
During the meeting, the Board approved:
- The launch of a pilot program supporting the needs of scientific educators. The program would create a new, provisional Section of ESA, which might over time develop into a fifth official membership Section once specific growth milestones are met.
- The appointment of Donald R. Cook, Ph.D., to be editor-in-chief of Arthropod Management Tests.
- The creation of a new fund to support science policy programming.
The Board also took the following actions:
- Rejected the adoption of the aforementioned Section pilot program as standing policy for how additional future Sections might be created;
- Acknowledged the work and thanked the members of the Presidential Task Force on “Serving the needs of scientific educators within the ESA governing structure”;
- Acknowledged the work of the past presidents who founded today’s science policy program;
- Charged staff to continue to operationalize the ESA’s strategic principles regarding the influence of insect science on greater society;
- Authorized staff to negotiate a new contract with the Society’s advocacy partner, Lewis-Burke Associates;
- Approved a revised definition of equity for the Society, as recommended by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee.
- Considered and rejected a draft procedures manual from the DEI Committee. The Board intends to work with the committee on several edits and encouraged the committee to resubmit the manual for the next meeting;
- Approved several committee reports; and
- Approved the minutes from recent Board meetings and cyber discussions.
The Board also discussed:
- The outcomes from the June 2023 strategy session focused on publications and the continuing efforts to define the publication program’s goals and to set priorities for the publishing partner RFP process, which is expected to be finalized in June 2024;
- Proposed changes to the Society Policy Manual as requested by the Publications Council;
- Artificial intelligence and its impact on ESA and its programs;
- A number of operational issues, such as future Annual Meeting site selection, the recent elections, 2024 membership dues, and the Society’s year-to-date financial performance; and
- A proposed 2024 governance review process, in accordance with the strategic plan.
The ESA Governing Board also convened as the ESA Certification Corporation Governing Board. The Board received updates on the certification program’s 2023 performance and approved the minutes from the prior meeting.
See past news and updates from the ESA Governing Board.
Minutes from past Governing Board meetings are available online following Governing Board approval.
For more info, visit the ESA Governing Board page.