[ASC-list] ASC National AGM 2013 - Presidential Nomination andProxy Instructions

Fri Nov 22 12:03:50 UTC 2013

Apologies - the attachment was lost on the first email. Proxy form is attached for those members who require it.

-----Original Message-----
From: ASC-list on behalf of Sarah Lau
Sent: Fri 11/22/2013 6:07 PM
To: asc-list at lists.asc.asn.au
Subject: [ASC-list] ASC National AGM 2013 - Presidential Nomination andProxy Instructions

Proxy Instructions

Members unable to attend the AGM in person are able to give proxies to
other members attending the meeting. This means that unless members are
at the physical meeting in Canberra or hub point in Perth, you will need
to designate a proxy to vote.

To designate your proxy:

*         Download and complete the proxy form, and ensure a copy of
this form is with your proxy to take to the AGM

o   Check one box only for the proposed Constitutional amendment

o   If you do not provide voting instructions in these sections, you
authorise the proxy holder to decide how the proxy will vote

*         Notify the National Secretary, Sarah Lau
(slau at chemcentre.wa.gov.au) - this must be done or the proxy and vote is
not considered valid

*         Ensure that the proxy form is completed prior to 4.00pm AEDST
on Friday 29 November 2013

Please note that votes will remain confidential at all times. All voting
instructions and proxy forms will be collected and destroyed at the
conclusion of the AGM.

The form is attached to this email, or you can download it via the ASC
website: http://wp.me/p1Zzkn-kGi.

Presidential Nomination

I am pleased to announce there is one nomination for the position of
National President of Australian Science Communicators for the upcoming
AGM: Assoc Prof Joan Leach.

Joan has been nominated by Claire Harris and seconded by Nancy
Longnecker.

Please see below for Joan's nomination statement.

************************

Assoc Prof Joan Leach

j.leach at uq.edu.au <mailto:j.leach at uq.edu.au> 

I am keen to become ASC's next President and to work with the National
Council and executive to further strengthen ASC in 2014. I have already
given some thought about a few of the issues (some discussed quite
recently in the ASC online community) that I would pursue over the next
year, if elected President. 

First, though, a bit of background on me might be useful. I am Associate
Professor and Convenor of the Postgraduate program in Science
Communication at the University of Queensland. Having moved from
Imperial College, London (Science Communication Group) and prior to
that, the University of Pittsburgh (Rhetoric of Science Program), I am
about to celebrate my 10th anniversary in Brisbane. Over that time, I
have cemented my place in Australia's science communication community
both on the academic front and on the practical front. I have global
experience in science communication research and training and I
frequently serve as reviewer, committee member and examiner for
programs, PhDs and projects around the world. I publish in the field and
have edited a tier 1 journal where I continue to serve on editorial
board. I am also involved in Federal steering committees and have
collaborated on practical science communication projects around the
world. While I am first and foremost an academic, I always have an eye
on applicability. 

I am enormously proud of the growth of the field of science
communication; some of my first students in science communication are
now at the top of the field in media organisations, scientific
institutions, NGOs, consultancies, and academia. Part of that pride
resides in the diversity of what my students have done. I see Science
Communication as a big umbrella that covers activity in science
journalism and media, community engagement, informal education,
advocacy, policy, evaluation, and research (and probably much more
besides). I have always thought that this was the strength of the field.
I also am currently on the National Committee for the History and
Philosophy of Science at the Academy of Science. I have advocated
strongly in this group that science communication is central not only to
science, but also contributes to a broader awareness of what science
means (and has meant), what the nature of science is, and how
communication is central to both the doing and the dissemination of
science. 

Finally, why do I want to do this now? Over the last few years, my
involvement in the "Inspiring Australia" strategy has meant opportunity
to work with a wide range of ASC members. I value my fellow academic
colleagues in Australia enormously (indeed, we rely on each other) and
I've been inspired by what ASC members do when they are given resources
and encouragement. I have been active in supporting the 2014 ASC
conference in Brisbane and think some of our important conversations
will have pride of place then. I also have had the opportunity while
visiting colleagues to go along to regional ASC meetings (some very
robust, others needing a bit of a boost) and am aware of the different
issues on the burner across the country. I have personally gained from
being a member of ASC and of the science communication community in
Australia-I have gained knowledge, insight, and professional support
from ASC. I will now put my hand up in hopes of returning some of what
I've gained. 

The Issues:

Raising awareness of the field

While I think the field of science communication is increasingly
recognised and respected, the ASC needs to be a continual presence on
the national scene. ASC should be the 'go to' organisation when
policy-makers and other institutions have questions about the field. I
was somewhat taken aback in 2012 when the Office of Learning and
Teaching wanted to create guidelines for Science Communication teaching
and practice-and had no idea whom to ask. This is just one example of
how important it is to have an advocate for the organization across
research, teaching and learning, and engagement. Members in the ASC do
all of these things and the organisation needs that recognition. I will
make it a priority to move ASC and its members to the front of minds of
key organisations when they are thinking about science and
communication. 

Benchmarking/Certification/'Professionalisation'

This issue is part of a conversation that Rod Lamberts and Will Grant
pursued at the start of this year. I would like to pick up this
conversation with members. On the one hand, we now have data from
Inspiring Australia about the kinds of engagement and communication that
goes on in Australia. We are well-placed to benchmark our activity
globally and part of ASC's mission has been to make these activities and
their evaluation visible to ASC members (thank you Jesse Shore, Jenni
Metcalfe, and Nancy Longnecker). Certification and professionalisation
in the field are trickier matters worthy of cautious investigation. On a
practical front, though, one interesting emerging trend in MOOCs is to
use them for continuing professional development and even certification
in key or emerging skills (I recently did the data visualisation course
from the Knight Centre in the US). AusSMC is great partner here in
online briefings and I know ASC members who do similar things. This will
be something I will explore with members over the coming year. 

Special Interest Groups

At least one of these already exists within ASC. The SCERN (Science
Communication Education and Research Network) spearheaded by Professor
Sue Stocklmayer at ANU met 4 years ago in Canberra. The conversations
that started there have continued and have actually placed this network
in good stead for helping to impact and participate in (and even
constructively criticise) the "Inspiring Australia" programs when they
arrived. Online, members seem to have an appetite for more of these. I
will make it a priority to investigate what ASC can do to 'seed' more of
these productive networks of members. 

Ethical Guidelines/Code

I have listened to the debates about ethical guidelines for science
communication with great interest. Some of you may know that Iowa State
University held its 3 conference on Science Communication Ethics in 2013
(and are putting together a useful volume from the discussions there).
This issue has local interest as well as global interest-it seems time
we put it higher on the agenda for ASC. We can certainly pursue this in
February at the ASC conference in Brisbane as well as at regional
meetings and online. A national guideline does not seem out of reach.
More conversation about applying such a guideline is probably needed.
I'd be very keen to have those conversations. 

Sarah Lau [slau at chemcentre.wa.gov.au]

Communications Manager

ChemCentre

Post: PO Box 1250, Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983

Location: Cnr Manning Road and Townsing Dr, BENTLEY WA 6102

T +61 8 9422 9823

F +61 8 9422 9801

M +61 414 507 739

www.chemcentre.wa.gov.au <http://www.chemcentre.wa.gov.au/> 

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