SUNY POTSDAM
COMPUTER SCIENCE
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Adopted in Principle at the Board’s Meeting on April 3, 2000
Revised April 20, 2002
NAME
This establishes the Computer Science (CS) Board of Advisors of the State University of New York College at Potsdam.
GOAL
The primary goal of the CS Board of Advisors is to ensure the success of the CS program by providing advice and expertise, and assisting in securing resources -- both personal and corporate -- to augment the College’s investment in the program. Specifically, the Board’s activities will include:
• Making recommendations to the CS department chair and faculty on curriculum and curriculum-related issues. Note: the authority to establish and change curriculum resides with the faculty of the College with final approval from the College President and SUNY System Administration.
• Identifying internship opportunities for students and faculty;
• Assisting with job placement of graduates;
• Assisting students in organizing professional development activities;
• Assisting in recruiting students to SUNY Potsdam;
• Assisting the College in acquiring resources from individuals and corporations, including monetary contributions as well as donations of equipment and other assets.
MEMBERSHIP
The Board will be made up of no fewer than 20 and no more than 40 voting members, in addition to ex officio members to include faculty of the CS program, two students (President of the Student Chapter of the ACM and President of Epsilon Delta Pi), the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Vice President for College Advancement or his/her designee.
The majority of the Board will consist of SUNY Potsdam alumni who are working in a computer-related field, however, membership on the board will not be limited to alumni. Members may include non-alumni representatives of corporations, governmental agencies or academic institutions.
Selection of members shall be the responsibility of the CS Chair in consultation with the Advisory Board Chair and the Director of Alumni Relations. Recommendations from other Board of Advisors members and College personnel are welcome. Board membership should be diverse in terms of gender, age/class year, types of corporations/institutions represented, professional responsibilities and geographic location.
Voting members of the Board will serve for a period of up to three years and may be reappointed for a second term. Initial appointments will be made so that approximately one-third of the individuals will serve for one year, one-third for two years, and one-third for three years. Eventually reappointment/replacement will renew one-third of the membership each year while two-thirds continue in their appointment.
Appointments will be made for the year starting on January 1. Should membership fall below the minimum of 20 members, immediate appointments to fill vacancies may be made at any time.
GOVERNANCE
Chair
The CS Board of Advisors will be chaired by a voting member of the Board. The chair will conduct regular meetings of the Board of Advisors and be a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Advisors. The chair will serve a two-year term of office and will be elected at the fall meeting prior to assuming office January 1.
Vice Chair
A Vice Chair will be selected in the same manner as the Chair. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair will officiate at meetings. The Vice Chair will serve on the Executive Committee and perform other duties as requested by the Chair.
Secretary
A Secretary will be selected in the same manner as the Chair. The Secretary will be responsible for coordinating the recording of deliberations, motions and actions of the Board and its committees. The Secretary also will work with appropriate individuals at the College to coordinate dissemination of minutes and other documents relating to Board activities.
Executive Committee
The members of the Executive Committee are the Chair of the Board of Advisors, the Vice Chair of the Board of Advisors, the Secretary of the Board of Advisors and the CS Department Chair. The Executive Committee prepares meeting agendas and may act on the Board's behalf when circumstances necessitate. The Executive Committee also will serve as nominating committee for the slate of officers.
Meetings
Meetings of the full Board of Advisors will be held at least two times a year -- both meetings on the SUNY Potsdam campus. Meetings at the professional site of one of the members may be scheduled in future years. Meetings will be announced at least two months in advance - preferably set at meetings - with an agenda distributed at least two weeks in advance. General target times for the biannual meetings will be early April and early October.
Meetings will be conducted informally but under the scope of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised when order is necessary or voting is to take place.
Committees
Working committees of the Board may be established as necessary to conduct special efforts. Some areas which may be considered for the establishment of committees are: CS Curriculum, Internships, Student Recruitment, Job Placement, Student Professional Development, and Resource Acquisition. Committee members may or may not be members of the larger Board of Advisors.