ASCO Committee Appointments Made

ASCO Committee Appointments Made

Open call for nominations results in outpouring of volunteers

ASCO’s committee nomination process has been completed, with more than double the number of nominations received as there were positions to fill. This increase in volunteerism was all the more noticeable due the first ever open call for volunteer nominations held this cycle.

In addition to the open call for nominations, this year’s committee appointment process was unique in several other ways as a result of it being the first appointment process under ASCO’s revised bylaws, approved in June 2020. These bylaws changes resulted in important changes to ASCO’s volunteer structure:

• The creation of two new committees (Education Committee, Fundraising Advisory Committee)
• One task force becoming a committee (Communications Committee)
• Four task forces becoming sub-committees (Future Faculty Program Subcommittee, Optometric Education Leadership Institute Subcommittee, Summer Institute for Faculty Development Subcommittee, and the Optometry Application Test Subcommittee)
• Three committees becoming sub-committees (Partnership Endowment Advisory Subcommittee, Optometry Residency Match Subcommittee, and the OptomCAS Subcommittee)
• The creation of a new Task Force (Emphasis Area Recognition Task Force)
• The restructuring of one committee (Nominating Committee)
• The formalization of linkages between committees and SIGs
• The renaming of several committees (Research Committee, Awards and Resolutions Committee) and one Special Interest Group (Advancement SIG).

Committee appointments are typically made by the ASCO President, and appointment terms typically run for one year, from July 1st to June 30th, with volunteers being eligible to serve up to three consecutive terms. Because this volunteer appointment process was intentionally delayed for the implementation of the above-mentioned bylaws changes, the volunteer cycle has been extended to run through June 30th, 2022. ASCO’s President John Flanagan and President-elect Kelly Nichols worked collaboratively to make the appointments for this longer cycle.

All told, ASCO has more than 1,500 volunteers, with 26 committees and task forces manned by 212 volunteers, and 18 Special Interest Groups and other groups (such as the Chief Academic Officers and Student Affairs Officers groups) composed of 1300 participants.

For more information about ASCO’s committees, task forces, groups, and special interest groups, visit the ASCO website.