Steering Committee Selection and Rotation
Nomination/Search and Selection of New Steering Committee Members
The VEXAG steering committee is composed of 14-20 volunteer community members (depending on year and workload) plus Chair and Deputy Chair along with the Prior Chair. This small group seeks to be representative of the full spectrum of the Venus community. This includes, as much as possible, equitable representation of different career stages, discipline (e.g., science and its sub-specialties and engineering/technology and its sub-specialties), institutions (e.g., academic, center, industry), backgrounds, ethnicities, identities, cultures.
Solicitations for new members of the VEXAG SC begin in the run up to the annual November meeting. Requests for self-nominations should begin with the late announcements about the meeting program.
Requests for Self-nomination are repeated/formally announced in an October Listserve newsletter, PEN announcement(s) and in the VEXAG meeting itself. Nominations close two weeks after the end of that year’s VEXAG meeting, to give the SC time to review applications. Additional announcements in non-traditional venues, such as engineering/industry/academic meetings/newsletters, including areas not currently heavily involved in Venus science, will increase diversity of applicants.
Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to self-identify gender, whether they are from an underrepresented group in STEM, etc. Applicants are required to send a current CV, and short ~1-page statement of interest, goals, and experience to the Steering Committee (emailed to Chair). Nominees may select a preferred Jan or July start time and that will be taken into consideration.
Review and voting on new SC members takes place in the December SC meeting.
Draft Evaluation Rubric - to be released with request for self-nominations for transparency.
Scoring Criteria (each category has the same scale) (adapted from SBAG template)
- Participation in VEXAG/Venus community organizations (normalized to career stage)
- Understanding of VEXAG
- Desire to Support Community
- Organizational Experience (normalized to career stage)
- Leadership Experience (normalized to career stage)
- Experience in Community Activities (normalized to career stage)
Sums and standard deviations of scores will be calculated for evaluation.
Representation Criteria (considered after scoring is tallied)
- Career stage balance (Early: Post-Bacc-10 years Postdoc; Middle 10-20 years Post EC); Advanced (20+ Years Post EC)
- Field (Geology, Atmosphere, Interior, and other science fields; Technology & Engineering)
- Institution (Academic, NASA Center/Lab, Industry)
- Gender – only if self-identified or common knowledge. No guesswork.
- Underrepresented group in STEM – only if self-identified or common knowledge. No guesswork.
Scoring Criteria are used to rank-order candidates based on community contribution and potential, establishing an acceptability cutoff based on the needs and community landscape of the current year. Some applicants may become obvious selections based on these scores alone. The balance of selectable candidates are discussed by the SC, aided by the Representation Criteria, to sort among the qualified candidates for membership balance and diversity.
Steering Committee term of service is nominally three years. Selected SC members begin service staggered over the year. Two begin on the committee in January following the December of their acceptance. Two begin in July.
Steering Committee members who must vacate their positions due to circumstances beyond their control, or choose to for other reasons may be replaced by interim selections offered to qualified candidates from the last solicitation, should they still be available, or through an interim solicitation.
The VEXAG Steering Committee
2023 Steering Committee and Scribe Self Nominations are open through November 17, 2023
The VEXAG steering committee (SC) is composed of 14-20 volunteer community members (depending on year and workload) plus Chair and Deputy Chair along with the Prior Chair. This small group seeks to be representative of the full spectrum of the Venus community. This includes, as much as possible, equitable representation of different career stages, discipline (e.g., science and its sub-specialties and engineering/technology and its sub-specialties), institutions (e.g., academic, center, industry), backgrounds, ethnicities, and identities. SC members serve 3-year terms, after which they may not serve on the VEXAG SC for a period of 3 years (unless selected as Chair or Deputy in that time).
Duties of a Steering Committee Member include:
- Attending and participating monthly SC meetings when able – and supplementary meetings when necessary
- Attending and participating annual VEXAG meeting if able
- Upholding VEXAG policies where applicable
- Leading and/or participating in one or more SAW and/or other VEXAG workgroups and initiatives
- Represent VEXAG and Venus exploration interests to the greater planetary and lay community
Most SC members are “At Large,” and associated with one or several Science Analysis Workgroups (SAWs), but the committee occasionally designates “Officers” in areas of key activity or interest. Officers engage the community or specific liaisons in direct relation to their specialty to arrange/attend meetings, work efforts, coordinate with external initiatives, etc.
VEXAG may have international SC members; international liaison may change with the advent of VesCoor. One or more international members may be members of the SC at any given time, (travel support to meetings may not be available, however).
Nomination/Search and Selection of New Steering Committee Members
Solicitations for new members of the VEXAG SC begin in the run up to the annual meeting. Requests for self-nominations should begin with the late announcements about the meeting program. Nomination and selection process is reviewed annually and revised as necessary.
Requests for self-nomination are repeated/formally announced in an October Listserve newsletter, PEN announcement(s)and in the VEXAG meeting itself. Nominations may be solicited by members of the SC. Nominations close two weeks after the end of that year’s VEXAG meeting, to give the SC time to review applications. Additional announcements in non-traditional venues, such as engineering/industry/academic meetings/newsletters, including areas not currently heavily involved in Venus science, will increase diversity of applicants.
Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to self-identify gender, whether they are from an underrepresented group in STEM, etc. Applicants are required to send a current CV, and not-to-exceed 1-page statement of interest, goals, and experience to the Steering Committee (emailed to Chair).
- The statement is encouraged to include a candidate’s interests and ideas in improving furthering VEXAG goals and reach, (e.g. community engagement, improving access to resources, or other).
- The statement is encouraged but not required to includes a candidate’s ideas on furthering IDEA goals.
Nominees may select a preferred Jan or July start time and that will be taken into consideration.
Review and voting on new SC members takes place in the December SC meeting. SC members may recuse themselves from voting on any given candidate if they feel they are overly conflicted on that candidate.
Draft Evaluation Rubric - to be released with request for self-nominations for transparency
Scoring Criteria (each category has same scale):
- Participation in VEXAG/Venus community organizations & activities (CV and statement, normalized to career stage)
- Understanding of VEXAG (Statement)
- Desire to Support Community (Statement – interests and ideas)
- Organizational & Leadership Experience (CV and statement, normalized to career stage)
Participation and experience is also normalized as much as possible to opportunity - lack of funding and/or mentorship should not be a penalty.
Averages and standard deviations of scores will be calculated for evaluation.
Representation Criteria (considered after scoring is tallied)
- Career stage balance (Early: Post-Bacc-10 years Postdoc; Middle 10-20 years Post EC); Advanced (20+ Years Post EC)
- Field (Geology, Atmosphere, Interior, and other science fields; Technology & Engineering)
- Institution (Academic, NASA Center/Lab, Industry)
- Gender – only if self-identified or common knowledge. No guesswork.
- Underrepresented group in STEM – only if self-identified or common knowledge. No guesswork.
Scoring Criteria are used to rank-order candidates based on community contribution and potential, establishing an acceptability cutoff based on the needs and community landscape of the current year. Some applicants may become obvious selections based on these scores alone. The balance of selectable candidates are discussed by the SC, aided by the Representation Criteria, to sort among the qualified candidates for membership balance and diversity.
Steering Committee term of service is nominally three years. Selected SC members begin service staggered over the year. Half begin on the committee in January following the December of their acceptance. Half begin in July.
Steering Committee members who must vacate their positions due to circumstances beyond their control, or choose to for other reasons may be replaced by interim selections offered to qualified candidates from the last solicitation, should they still be available, or through an interim solicitation.
VEXAG Scribes
Also seeking Scribes are self-nominated, non-voting attendees of VEXAG meetings with the duties of note- and minutes taking and dissemination to the SC.
The scribe attends and takes minutes of monthly SC meetings, town halls, and VEXAG annual meeting. 2 scribes are sought to ensure coverage and reduce workload. The scribes would work out between themselves and the Chair which meetings will be covered by which person.