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UCGIS Winter Meeting
Set: Potential changes to the by-laws by Suzy Jampoler The semi-annual UCGIS meeting will be held in Washington DC February 11, 2003. There are several very important items on the agenda. Traditionally, UCGIS has met twice a year, with elections held in the winter. A by-law change is being presented to require a business meeting at least once a year (during the Summer Assembly). UCGIS will continue to hold a Congressional event in the winter. Elections are held at the winter meeting. At present, the UCGIS by-laws require that election is “votes by secret ballot [which] shall be cast from the slate of nominees by all delegates present”. Mail-in or electronic ballots are not allowed. Another by-laws change will allow for mail-in balloting for officers. White papers for the short-term research challenges are being completed. These white papers will be discussed at the winter meeting. If the by-laws changes are approved, the balloting on these short-term challenges will be held by mail. Your participation is important for both how UCGIS operates and the form and content of the short-term research challenges. Committee meetings will be held in the morning of Tuesday, February 11th. The Council meeting is Tuesday afternoon. Plan to attend and represent your institution.
Congressional and Federal Agency Briefings UCGIS hosts a Congressional education event each year in Washington, DC. This February, the Policy & Legislation Committee is sponsoring a briefing highlighting UCGIS member institution research projects funded by the federal government. Each project will demonstrate the benefits for the state or nation, and be related to the UCGIS research agenda. Members of Congress and their staffs, federal agency personnel, and GI Science professionals will be invited to the morning briefing on Wednesday, February 12th. The briefing is an excellent opportunity for introducing decision makers to the powerful contribution GI Science makes to the nations well-being. Selected presentations will be announced on the UCGIS web site in late October. Several federal agencies will be invited to brief UCGIS delegates on current and future research funding opportunities at the national level. These briefings have been invaluable to our members over the years. For example, the National Institutes of Health presented a briefing in 2000 on new GI Science research opportunities. Several UCGIS member institutions applied for, and received, grants through this program. This meeting will be held in the afternoon of the 12th. NIH, among other agencies, will be announcing new opportunities at this year’s briefing. Mark your calendar now to attend both the Congressional event and the Federal agency briefing. More details are available at http://www.ucgis.org . |
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