HathiTrust's Board of Governors has ultimate responsibility for HathiTrust's activities, functions, finances, and operations. It includes six at-large members elected by the membership and six members appointed by the founding institutions. Elected members serve three year terms. Information about the Board of Governors, its membership, and its responsibilities may be found at https://www.hathitrust.org/board_of_governors.
Timeline
- Nominations will be accepted beginning July 25 and no later than August 15.
- Nominees must submit all required information by August 19.
- The nominees will be reviewed and the ballot finalized between August 22 and August 30.
- Elections will open on September 12 and conclude on October 3.
Open Seats
Four seats will be filled in the 2016 election:
- Two seats with terms running from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019. These seats are currently held by Richard Clement, University of New Mexico (elected in 2012 to a four year term) and Beth McNeil, Iowa State University (elected in 2015 to a one year term, completing the term of Patricia Steele who retired from University of Maryland in 2014).
- One seat with a term running from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. This election is necessary because of Anne Kenney's planned retirement from Cornell University.
- One seat with a term running from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017. This election is necessary because of Robert Wolven's retirement from Columbia University.
Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee solicits and reviews nominations from the membership and presents these to the Board of Governors, which finalizes the ballot. The Nominating Committee will receive nominations from the membership from July 25 to August 15, 2016.
The members of the 2016 Nominating Committee are:
- Richard Clement, University of New Mexico (Chair)
- Carol Mandel, New York University
- Sarah Michalak, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- Brian Schottlaender, University of California, San Diego
- Peggy Seiden, Swarthmore College
Qualifications
To be selected to be part of the final ballot, nominees should have a record of significant administrative responsibility, have demonstrated leadership within the community, and currently serve as the official member representative of a HathiTrust member institution. Board members should expect to continue in that role for the duration of their term on the Board.
Representatives of founding members (the University of California, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, and the members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation) are not eligible for election because these schools appoint members to the Board.
Submitting a Nomination
Nominations may be made by any individual affiliated with a HathiTrust member institution. Self-nominations are permitted.
If you are nominating someone other than yourself, please confirm that they will agree to run if they are selected for the final ballot. Nominations should be sent to Melissa Stewart at mmstewa@hathitrust.org no later than August 15, 2016.
Nominations must include:
- Name, Library, Title, Phone, and E-mail of nominee
- Name, Library, Title, Phone, and E-mail of nominator
- A brief statement describing the nominee's qualifications
Individuals who nominate themselves are asked to submit the additional information described below.
Directions for Nominees
As nominations are submitted, the Nominating Committee will request the following additional information from nominees.
- CV of nominee
- Photo of nominee
- A narrative statement (250 words or less) describing:
- Qualifications of nominee
- Experience in any or all of the following areas: fiduciary and management roles, strategic planning, vision-building, decision-making, conflict resolution, communication
- Interest in serving on the board
- One or two future issues that the Board should address & how the nominee would approach these issues
- The nominee’s perception of the Board of Governor’s role in leading and guiding the HathiTrust general body
Nominees should submit the above to Melissa Stewart mmstewa@hathitrust.org by August 19, 2016.
Voting
The 2016 Board of Governors election will run from September 12 through October 3, 2016. An electronic ballot will be sent to official member representatives for their vote. The candidates with the two highest weighted vote totals will be appointed to three-year terms. The candidate with the third highest weighted vote total will be appointed to a one and three-fourths-year term. The candidate with the fourth highest weighted vote total will be appointed to a one-year term and will be eligible to stand for election again in 2017.
Votes will be calculated following the weighted voting model in use since the 2011 Constitutional Convention:
- Votes are weighted by calculating the square root of the volumes contributed and dollars spent.
- Minimum vote weights will be rounded up to a value of one (1) so that no institution has a vote with a weight of less than one.*
Voting weights for the 2016 election will be calculated using data current as of August 31, 2016.
Questions
Questions about the process or qualifications may be directed to Melissa Stewart at mmstewa@hathitrust.org.
* More information about the selection of the voting model and accompanying tables can be found online. Weighted Voting Models: http://www.hathitrust.org/documents/VotingModels.pdf; Voting Models Table: http://www.hathitrust.org/documents/voting_table.xls.