New England Archivists - Program Committee Duties

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Program Committee

Revised January 2000.
Approved by the Board January 2000.

Chair
Committee Member
Session Chairperson

Chair Major Duties

Appoints the Program Committee in consultation with the Vice President/President Elect (committee to include one member of previous program committee to ensure balance in program topics).
Distributes job descriptions to Program Committee members.
Arranges for and chairs meetings of the Program Committee.
Communicates with Local Arrangements Committee Chair concerning meeting room assignments, technical needs of speakers, times for registration, lunch, business meeting (spring only), and reception.
Keeps President apprised of all activities.
The chair or a designee must attend all Executive Board meetings during his/her appointment and report on draft program set up by the Program Committee.
Request Board approval of all honoraria to be offered to outside speakers (see attached guidelines) six months prior to the meeting.
Distributes to each Session Chairperson a Session Chairperson job description.
Writes to speakers/session chairs officially confirming their participation. Correspondence also includes:
- Outline of duties and responsibilities
- Draft description of session as it will appear in the program flyer
- Definitions and goals of session as outlined by the Program Committee
- Complete list of speakers/chair for the particular session including addresses and telephone numbers. Information on the Local Arrangements Chair and Registrar should also be sent.
- Registration form for non-NEA members to account for lunches
- Draft outline of entire program.
- Request for information concerning technical needs (assistants do not need to register)
- Offer of honorarium to each outside speaker. All NEA members who are speakers at the sessions must pay the registration fee; see guidelines for honoraria for non-NEA speakers and program participants. In addition to honoraria and travel, they will have the lunch and registration fee waived.
Consults with Local Arrangements Chair about the preparation and typing of the program flyer which will include:
- Schedule of times
- Session titles, descriptions and complete list of participants
- Directions/map to meeting site
- List of nearby motel accommodations with prices and telephone numbers
- Registration form
- Fees
Forwards program to Local Arrangements Chair to prepare program.
Provides publicity information to Public Relations Coordinator.
Submits meeting announcements to the newsletter for two issues prior to the meeting (generally January and April for spring meeting; July and October for fall meeting.
Submits drafts of the program up to one year in advance of the meeting to the Webmaster(s) and submits the final program to the Webmaster(s).
Insures that all non-member speakers are sent programs and that they are asked to indicate which events they will be attending.
Maintains contact with session chairpersons to monitor development of sessions.
Prepares an evaluation form and has copies ready as hand-outs at the registration desk.
Is available before and during meeting to assist with any problems that might develop.
Thanks all meeting participants in writing.
Submits Program Committee final report in consultation with Program Committee members to the Executive Board and requests for honoraria/travel reimbursements for outside speakers two Board meetings prior to the program meeting for approval (spring board meeting for fall program/fall board meeting for spring program).
Updates program committee manual and forwards to next Program Chair.
Serves as liaison to successor program or appoints a designee. May attend initial meeting.

Committee Members Major Duties

Attends meetings of the Program Committee.
Holds responsibility for determining theme of meeting (if not directed by the Executive Board), number of sessions, types of sessions, session chairs and speakers.
Makes initial contact with speakers and session chairs.
Provides the Program Chair with assistance where needed before and during meeting.
Reviews the Program Committee's final report and recommends additions and/or corrections as needed.
May act as the sessions chair or delegate this responsibility.

Session Chairperson Major Duties

Assists Program Committee with choosing any speakers not already chosen by the Committee.
If necessary, further defines the session topic with the Program Chair.
Contacts speakers to determine what the content of their talks will be, to determine their audio-visual needs, and to set any deadlines. Session chairperson may also serve as a speaker.
Insures that all speakers review the draft of their session description before it is printed in the registration packet.
Receives and reviews a draft or outline of the speaker's presentation in advance to insure it is consistent with assigned topic and time allowed for it.
Reports any audio-visual needs to the Local Arrangements Chairperson as soon as possible.
Arranges for someone in the audience to take notes and write a session report for the NEA Newsletter.
Introduces the speakers to the audience, defines the topic of the panel in brief introductory remarks, and insures that the speakers follow the predetermined time schedule.
After the talks, briefly sums up the session and directs the question and answer segment.
After the meeting, contacts the Program Committee Chair to review the strengths and weaknesses of the session.