Responsibility of Officers

President-Elect

• Attend ASHG Board meetings (typically one in the spring and one at the time of the Annual Meeting).

• Attend the ASHG Business Meeting at the time of the Annual Meeting.

• Serve ex officio on the Program Committee. Keep abreast of committee activities during the year via mailings sent by the Administrative Office. If at all possible, meet twice with the committee during the Annual meeting to provide input for the next year's meeting. This serves two purposes: It assures good communication between the Board and the Program Committee, and it gives the President-elect the opportunity for input on the meeting that will occur during his or her presidency.

• Serve on the Executive Committee and Finance Committee.

President

• Provide leadership for an organization that is growing steadily but has not fully developed ways of providing service to its members or to the public.

• Serve ex officio on standing committees as follows:

  • Awards Committee: Participate in choosing award recipients by mail/phone. At the Annual Meeting, review papers presented by student award finalists and meet briefly with the committee to select winners.

  • Program Committee: Keep abreast of committee activities during the year via mailings sent by the Administrative Office. Like the other ex officio members of the committee, the President may choose to attend the committee meetings, but often is too busy to do so.

  • Serve on two subcommittees and the Office Management Committee of the Board:

  • Executive Committee: Other members are the Immediate Past President, the President-Elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the EVP. Typically this committee conducts its business by mail or phone in response to requests from the Executive Director.

  • Finance Committee: Other members are the Treasurer (who chairs), President-Elect, and Editor. The committee occasionally deals with financial matters by mail or phone between Board meetings.

  • Office Management Committee: This committee oversees the running of the Administrative Office. In addition to such matters as hiring staff and setting their salaries, the committee serves as a vital interface between GSA and ASHG. This committee meets once via conference call in the fall.

Past Presidents

• For two years, attend all ASHG Board meetings.

• For two years, attend the Executive Committee meetings.

Executive Vice President

• Represent the Society on a day-to-day basis.

• Guide and implement the broad agenda of the Society in consultation with the President and the Board.

• Identify issues that require the attention of the President and the Board,

• Respond to both professional and media inquiries regarding human genetics and Society activities

• Interact on an ongoing basis with Society committees.

• Serve on the Executive committee, the Finance committee and as ex officio on the Nominating Committee.

Journal Editor

The Journal Editor shall be responsible for editing and publishing the Journal. The Journal Editor shall appoint Associate Editors, who, together with the Editor, shall constitute the Journal Editorial Board. Each Associate Editor shall serve for a three-year term and may be reappointed. The Journal Editor shall stagger the terms of the Associate Editors so that, to the extent possible, one-third is appointed each year.
 

Secretary

• General Duties
  The Secretary shall keep the records of the Society, submit the names of candidates for membership to the Board of Directors and conduct all necessary correspondence with the members. Necessary correspondence includes the annual mailing of election materials.

• Records of the Society
  The Executive Director keeps important records in the Administrative Office. These include the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Board and committee lists, IRS materials, audits, leases, contracts, etc. The Secretary has been responsible for periodic review of the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws, working in conjunction with the Executive Director and the ASHG attorney.

• Membership
  The Secretary reports membership data at each Board meeting and Business meeting. Numbers are provided by the Administrative Office, which maintains the membership files on computer.

• Elections
  The Executive Vice President works with the Nominating Committee chairperson and the Secretary to be sure election materials are produced and mailed on time and in accordance with Bylaws specifications.

• Ballots are tallied in the Administrative Office. The Executive Vice President notifies the Nominating Committee, the President, the President-Elect and the Secretary of the results, and writes to the winners and losers in the Secretary's name. The results are not considered public knowledge until the Secretary announces them at the Business Meeting.

• Board Meetings
  The Secretary is expected to attend two Board meetings per year, one at the time of the Annual Meeting and one in the spring. The Secretary takes notes and, together with the President, reviews the draft minutes prepared by the Executive Director.

• Business Meetings
  The Secretary attends the Business meeting held during the Annual Meeting to report on membership statistics, election results, and other pertinent matters. The Secretary should take notes and, together with the President, review draft minutes prepared by the Executive Director.

• Committees
  The Secretary serves on the Executive Committee and ex officio the Program Committee and is a member of the Office Management Committee.

Treasurer

• General Duties
  The treasurer is in direct charge of the funds of the Society and is responsible for the management of revenues and payment of obligations of the Society. Receipt, disbursement and accounting for all ASHG funds, with the exception of receipts for nonmember subscriptions to The American Journal of Human Genetics is centralized in the Administrative Office. The accountant has primary responsibility and is assisted by the auditor, the Executive Director, and the Treasurer.

• The Administrative Office provides the Treasurer with quarterly and annual financial statements with a comparison to budget figures. Thus the Treasurer can verify on a regular basis that the Society's funds are properly handled and accounted for.
  The Treasurer is also responsible for handling the Society's investments. Primary responsibility for advice rests with the Society's financial advisor at Merrill Lynch. According to the policy set by the Board of Directors, money should be invested conservatively in a balanced portfolio.

• Board and Business Meetings
  At each Board meeting, the Treasurer is expected to present a statement of the receipts and expenditures of the funds of the Society. The Society's fiscal year is the calendar year. Typically an audit for the previous year is ready each spring and the Treasurer presents it for Board review. A summary is provided for the Business meeting, and the Treasurer may highlight such points as he or she wishes in the verbal report to the membership. Usually this report is prepared in conjunction with the Administrative Office and is reported in detail in the minutes of the Business meeting.

• The Treasurer can make only such expenditures as are authorized by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer and all others handling fiscal matters on behalf of the Society are bound by the budget approved by the Board of Directors in tentative fashion each fall and reviewed in the spring. When it becomes apparent that a given line item will run over budget, the Executive Director consults with the Treasurer.

• Committees
  The Treasurer serves on the Executive Committee, chairs the Finance Committee, and is one of three ASHG representatives on the Office Management Committee.