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Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

  • 1.  Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 4 days ago

    The ASCE board approved recommendations from the Task Committee on Governance Restructuring that aims at better equipping leadership to act more nimbly; a board that is more strategic and agile.

    The approved measure would reduce the board from 18 members to 12. It would create a new Geographic Board of Governors comprising the chairs of each Region Board of Governors, similar in structure and function to the current Technical Region Board of Governors.

    Do you have questions? Members of the committee are here to answer your questions.

    All submitted questions will be reviewed by committee members and receive a response by Monday, December 22 on this thread. Click reply to submit your question. 

    Quick reminder: All questions must comply with the ASCE Collaborate Code of Conduct. 

    I look forward to hearing from you! 

    ****This event is for ASCE members only. You can join ASCE here. 

    Read about the committee members here: View the committee leaders



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    Tirza Austin
    Senior Manager, Online Community
    American Society of Civil Engineers
    1801 Alexander Bell Drive
    Reston, VA 20191
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  • 2.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 3 days ago

    What drove the decision to reduce the board from 18 to 12 members?  Specific examples could help others who sit on or manage boards.

    What are the different outcomes you expect to see with the new board size? This would help determine whether the new board is working as planned.

    What is done or planned by way of training and coaching? Ditto for how priorities are established. In my experience, making boards work effectively is challenging.



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    Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago
    Winkler:
     
    Thank you for your questions and comments. We agree that making any size Board work effectively is a challenge. This Reframing is a continuance of a discussion and journey that started about 25 years ago when the Board was 27 directors. At that time, the smaller districts of ASCE were regrouped into somewhat larger geographic regions.  The region structure allowed issues facing the Board to be brought to the Region Governors, who are closer to the membership and could provide relevant feedback. The Society Directors were still needing to wear two hats. One hat is the Corporate Board Director, challenged with keeping the corporation focused on the members and looking at the future of the profession and how the future may affect our members. The second hat is being the Chair of the geographic region from where they were elected. This promotes the further development of the governors and future Society Directors by giving them more opportunities for leadership. The new structure will allow the smaller group of Society Directors to focus on the future (strategic) and give more administrative duties to the Regions who can then approve and implement changes within their region. Key to success is proper training, and efforts are underway to adjust that effort by re-establishing the Committee on Geographic Units to focus on training. There have also been discussions of some higher level training opportunities for Board Members. Having a smaller size Board, with an additional level of leadership experience, will allow for better interaction around the table and a creation of the Geographic Board of Governors, will allow for sharing of information and ideas closer to the regions and members. 


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    Mario Ricozzi P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE
    Board Member
    Regional Water Authority
    Branford CT
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago
    Thanks for your response. 
    Could you please clarify the intent here? Do you mean training for the geographic units (e.g., to improve their effectiveness) or that the geographic units should focus on training (e.g.,  skill and knowledge building within the geographic unit)  
    Key to success is proper training, and efforts are underway to adjust that effort by re-establishing the Committee on Geographic Units to focus on training.


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    Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago

    Mr. Winkler,

    The Committee on Geographic Units is part of the Leader Training Committee that is focused on providing training opportunities to improve the effectiveness of ASCE's Geographic based units leaders (Sections, Branches, and Region Governors).  Identifying the training needs is done through various interactions with the local leadership and observations of gaps through review of reports and meetings. 



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    Mario Ricozzi P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE
    Board Member
    Regional Water Authority
    Branford CT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 3 days ago
    1. How does the restructuring make the Board more strategic?
    2. Does it increase layering of Society governance, insulating the Board from members? 

    Bill Mc



    ------------------------------
    William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
    ENGINEER
    Columbus MS
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago
    Edited by Tirza Austin 2 days ago

    Mr. McAnally:

    Thank you for your questions. The proposal to reduce the Board size comes with a proposal to bring decision making closer to the membership at the geographic region or technical institute level. The proposal will reduce the administrative matters from the Society Board and give them more time to consider future focused or strategic issues facing the profession. There is not another layer of governance as the geographic region boards already exist, this will give them more responsibility to make decisions closer to the members. The creation of a Geographic Board of Governors is a coordination and idea sharing opportunity mixed with more leadership skills to be learned from experience. 



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    Bradley Kubiak P.E., M.ASCE
    Syracuse NY
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago

    Thanks for the logical explanation, Mr. Kubiak. Where is that change in responsibilities described? Is there a document I've overlooked?

    Bill Mc



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    William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
    ENGINEER
    Columbus MS
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago

    Quite welcome. Our Task Committee on Governance Restructuring (TCGR) has been tasked by the Board of Direction to develop recommendations in the change of responsibility along with a framework of what the proposed Geographic Board of Governors (GBG) could look like. With our TCGR in development mode of these items, we do not have a formal document to share. As our work progresses, we will continue to seek feedback on our TCGR work via engagement opportunities.



    ------------------------------
    Bradley Kubiak P.E., M.ASCE
    Syracuse NY
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted 2 days ago

    Thanks for you reposne. So the new structure is 

    Board of Directors (12 members)

    Geographic Region Board of Governors (new)

    Technical Region Board of Governors

    Is there a simple chart that shows the roles and responsibilities of each group? If not, this would be very helpful for both transparency and accountability. 



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    Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
    Houston, TX
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Proposed Changes to ASCE Governance - Ask the Committee

    Posted yesterday

    That is correct, the proposed new structure is 12 Society Directors. Similarly to my response to William's post, Our Task Committee on Governance Restructuring (TCGR) has been tasked by the Board of Direction to develop recommendations in the change of responsibility along with a framework of what the proposed Geographic Board of Governors (GBG) could look like and potential modifications to the Technical Region Board of Governors. With our TCGR in development mode of these items, we do not have a formal document to share quite yet. As our work progresses, we will continue to seek feedback on our TCGR work via engagement opportunities. The ASCE Board of direction will continue to review and assess the proposal and anticipate making a decision in March on the final Constitutional amendment language that would appear on the ballot in May for final approval by the membership



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    Bradley Kubiak P.E., M.ASCE
    Syracuse NY
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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