IASNR Committee Updates for
Volume 2021, Issue 1 of Keeping in Touch
In early 2021, the IASNR council voted to amend the committee structure. IASNR committees is where much of the progress in organization mission occurs. Some committees were de-commissioned (communications and finances) with those roles consolidated to Board members and staff. Two new committees were formed, including the Membership Committee and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In addition, the Site-Selection Committee was reorganized as the Conference Support Committee. Council members have stepped up to chair IASNR committees, which are staffed by other council members and IASNR at-large members. Each Committee also is assigned an Executive Board liaison. Help IASNR fit your needs by joining a committee! To do so, contact Jessica at [email protected].
Although IASNR Council has approved moving forward with our change in the committee structure, our membership will be voting on these changes too. Along with changes in the committee structure, we also have some minor updates to our constitution and by-laws that will be part of the all membership vote starting June 25 and running through July 2. We hope to have your support in these slight re-organization of our committees which we are doing to better serve our membership needs. If you have questions about them, please ask Bill Stewart, Executive Director at [email protected].
A Note from the Treasurer
IASNR continues to be in a solid financial position, thanks in large part to the stewardship of our previous treasurer Courtney Flint. Fortunately, Courtney and Jessica were able to avoid any financial losses due to the 2020 and 2021 conferences being transitioned to virtual formats.
Our endowment is growing well, membership and journal subscriptions are growing, and our 2021 virtual conference participation has covered all of our conference costs!
Join our All Members Meeting at the 2021 conference to get a full treasurer report and discussion of ways to reinvest our endowment dividends and conference revenue back into our membership and mission.
Becky Schewe, Treasurer
Syracuse University, USA (2021-2023)
Chloe Wardropper, Council Member
University of Idaho (2019 – 2021)
Updates from the IASNR Elections Committee
This committee coordinates the election processes, including developing a call for nominations, correspondence associated with the elections and works closely with the executive officers.
An important concern for this committee is the monitoring of nominees to ensure diversity and representativeness of the slate of candidates. The activities of this committee work closely with IASNR Council and the Executive Officers during the nomination and election processes.
2021 Council Election Results
We held our election in April and the results are in. We had a strong slate of nominated council members both in number and quality. Thank you to the Elections Committee for your efforts to organize and implement the election. And, thanks to everyone who voted. Congratulations to our newest IASNR Council Members:
- Chun-Yen Chang (National Taiwan University)
- Sarah P. Church (Montana State University)
- Mysha Clarke (University of Florida)
- Dana Johnson, Student Representative-Elect (University of Illinois)
Updates from the Conference Support Committee
This active committee has been engaged in the planning of the 2021 IASNR Virtual Conference. Looking ahead, the Committee is already planning a fabulous program for the 2022 Conference in Costa Rica, hosted by the University of Costa Rica. And, we look forward to holding the 2023 conference in Portland, Maine. The Conference Planning Committee also is developing guidelines for identifying future conference venues. In addition to identifying future meeting sites, the group is seeking ways to improve regional connections through IASNR hubs, which in the future can generate regional content for IASNR conferences, offer affiliated seminars in shared time zones, and host localized workshops. These steps will move us closer toward our goal of expanding opportunities for international recruitment and engagement.
Jesse Abrams, Council Member
University Georgia, USA (2021-2023)
Gladman (Glad) Thondhlana, Council Member
Rhodes University, South Africa (2020 – 2022)
Updates from the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
Our newest committee is also one of our largest and most diverse with 11 active members from four continents. This committee is putting its talents to use and creating sub-committees to tackle some interesting themes, such as barriers to membership and providing greater access to conferences.
Other conversations are occurring around intersectionality and working to reduce marginalization associated with any given identity group. This committee is also addressing representation in IASNR committees.
Please come to the Round-table on Diversity at the 2021 IASNR Virtual Conference!
Updates from the Professional Development Committee
This team is focused on providing value-added activities for members throughout the year. Their first task is revamping the mentorship strategy to explore both customizing and extending it across different time frames from a conference-only to a year-long set of exchanges. They are examining mentoring programs offered by other academic associations and examining data from the membership survey. Other work will focus on developing a series of workshops or opportunities targeted to members to continue to develop professional skills, build professional networks, and stay engaged in IASNR.
The Professional Development Committee is hosting a Roundtable at the 2021 IASNR Conference on mentorship for both mentors and mentees. Please join us!
Tanya Howard, Council Member
University of New England, Australia (2020 – 2022)
Student Affairs Committee Co-Chairs
Susan Sidder, Student Representative-Elect
Oregon State University, USA (2019 – 2021)
Kindra De’Arman, Student Representative-Elect
University of Oregon, USA (2020-2022)
The SAC includes eight students, along with the Chair and Co-Chair. The Student Affairs Committee is planning several events in association with the IASNR Virtual Conference, including the Student Forum (June 20), the annual Student Quiz Bowl (June 23), and a Happy Hour event (June 23). Additionally, this year SAC provided input into the future of mentorship programming within IASNR, contributed to the development of the member survey, and explored the status of student IASNR chapters at universities.
Future tasks for SAC include investigation of the membership and conference fees. SAC continues to actively seek input from students on ways that the organization can best serve student members. New members are always welcome! Susie is handing off the baton of Student Representative off to Kindra De’Arman (the current Representative-Elect) during the IASNR Virtual Conference. Thank you, Susie for your past year of leadership and commitment to IASNR.
We are pleased to announce that the winners of the 2021 Best Student Paper Award competition have been determined! Special thanks to the 2021 Paper Award Committee for their hard work in reviewing all of the paper submissions. Please join us at the 2021 All Member’s Meeting during the 2021 Virtual IASNR Conference where Robery (Bobby) Jones, University of Tennessee will formally recognize the paper winners.
Carla Koons Trentelman, Council Member
Weber State University, USA (2020 – 2022)
Updates from the Ethics Committee
In years past, the IASNR Code of Ethics was developed to address difficult situations related to IASNR member behavior and to provide guidelines for appropriate actions to address harassment and other concerns. While this is an essential function, the Ethics Committee is exploring whether the Code of Ethics could be something more proactive and principles-based, rather than punitive.
In 2021, the Ethics Committee plans to review and revamp the IASNR Code of Ethics. You can find the Code of Ethics on the IASNR website. We seek input from all IASNR members to make the Code responsive to our members.
Join us at the 2021 Virtual IASNR Conference for a presentation of the current Code of Ethics and dialogue on “working together to make ethics relevant and real to members.”
Updates from the Membership Committee
Another newest committee for IASNR, the Membership team is mighty and motivated with 10 members and many ideas! The Committee is focused generally on the recruitment and retention of IASNR members. This group has begun by understanding insights garnered from the 2021 IASNR membership survey.
A sub-committee has been organized to focus on IASNR awards to recognize the outstanding contributions of our members. To learn more, please join us at the New Members Meeting on June 20 at the IASNR Virtual Conference which is open for all members!
Kate Sherren, Council Member
Dalhousie University, Canada (2021-2023)
Updates from the Publications Committee
The committee focuses on IASNR publications and includes representatives from editorial boards of both the Society and Natural Resources Journal and the Society and Natural Resources Press. Early efforts are focusing on developing a business model for the SNR Book Series.
Ideas being discussed with the Editorial Board of the Press include: soliciting book proposals from regional hubs, providing a venue for long-term research projects or interdisciplinary studies with multiple authors, and a book series or publication focused on professional development. For the SNR Journal, the major goal is to build on regional hubs and to encourage proposals for special issues globally. Encouraging geographic diversity of the SNR editorial team is also a priority.
Tasos Hovardas, Council Member
University of Cyprus, Cyprus (2021-2023)