As your Region 2 Director it is my privilege to represent you on the ASCE Board of Direction. At the July 28-29 Board meeting in Baltimore, members rolled up their sleeves and did a deep dive into strategy planning in what proved to be a very productive weekend. We began the process in January, looking at ways to sharpen goals, strategies, and metrics for our work as a Board and for ASCE. We workshopped six goal statements and prioritized a variety of strategies and programs to achieve each. It’s exciting to see diverse perspectives combining to form a cohesive and focused strategy for our Society. Additional highlights were as follows:
• The Board voted to adopt a new canon to the Society’s Code of Ethics that expresses a professional obligation to provide fair and equal treatment for all (see story in ASCE News).
• The Board received annual reports from several committees, which generated valuable debate and high-level conversation among Board members. The Member Communities Committee stressed the importance of student transition as we continue to develop new strategies for engaging and retaining our Younger Members.
• The Task Committee on Governance Structure reviewed Board feedback. The Board voted in a straw poll to allow the Committee to revise its final recommendations for the next Board meeting.
• The Committee on Sustainability presented the four priorities of its strategic roadmap – sustainable project development, standards and protocols, expanding technical capacity, and communication and advocacy.
• Several Department Heads and Chairs from around the country addressed the Board, calling for ways to collaborate with ASCE to attract students to civil engineering programs by fostering more innovation and creativity in college curricula. The Board agreed to work on this objective.
The next ASCE Board meeting is Oct. 7-8 in New Orleans, kicking off the ASCE 2017 Convention. The 2017 ASCE Region 2 Assembly will be Saturday November 4 at the University of Pittsburgh. Please email John Casana ideas on how ASCE can better serve you and our profession. Thanks.
Until next time,
John
John Casana, PE, F ASCE, D WRE, LEED AP
ASCE Director, Region 2