RANC Procedures

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc.

REPRESENTATION & NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE

Nomination Procedure

The Representation and Nomination Committee (RANC) is charged with presenting a slate of nominees to the Board of Representatives for election to positions identified in the ACPE Bylaws. The Committee functions as follows.

• JANUARY

• The Roster of newly elected persons is published on the website noting the classes of the elected person (year ending the term) and the individual's eligibility for re-election at the conclusion of the current term.

• The Regional RANC Chairpersons and ACPE Commission/Committee Chairs are notified of openings that will occur for the following year. They are asked to provide recommendations for nomination to the positions by June 30. Persons recommended for nomination must provide an acknowledgement of the position responsibilities and acceptance of nomination. A statement of qualifications and acceptance form is provided to the Chairpersons.

• MARCH

• At-large positions for the following year will be sent to the ACPE office for inclusion in the late spring and early summer ACPE News . There is a request of recommendations for nomination to be sent to the ACPE RANC Chair by June 30. A statement of qualifications and acceptance form is provided to recommended nominees.

• Acknowledgement of the responsibilities and acceptance of the person for possible nomination must accompany the recommendations to RANC.

• JULY to SEPTEMBER

• Recommendations for nomination are received by ACPE RANC Chair by June 30.

• Persons who have not given permission for the name to be nominated are contacted and will have until September 30 to respond.

• OCTOBER

• The ACPE RANC Chair sends all recommendations to the RANC Committee for review.

• Candidates are screened for eligibility and appropriateness for the position.

• The ACPE RANC Committee meets by phone to finalize a slate of nominees for the Board.

• A Roster of nominees is prepared for review by the ACPE Board by the RANC Chair.

• NOVEMBER

• The ACPE RANC Chairperson will present the roster of persons for election to the ACPE Board of Representatives.

• The names of the persons elected will appear in the Board Minutes.

• DECEMBER

• The new Roster of Commission/Committee Members is readied for publication.

• Recommendations for positions that not filled by Board election is considered and recommendations are made to the ACPE President for appointment.

Terms of Office

Officers: Officers are elected nationally. President-Elect is by popular vote. President & President-Elect assume office per the bylaws. Secretary & Treasurer are elected by majority vote at the national meeting. RANC manages these processes.

Board of Representatives: Board of Representative members are elected regionally. Each Region has one Representative completing a two year term of office each year. Representatives may serve a maximum of three terms.

Commision and Commitee Members: Terms are three years. Persons may succeed themselves once. The exception to this is the Budget & Investment Committee whose members may be elected to three complete terms of office. Persons appointed to complete the term of another member are eligible for election to the maximum number of full terms. The terms of office are established by the Board of Representatives via its election of members. Regions do not elect or set terms of office.

ACPE Representation and Nominations Committee

Board of Representatives Report

October 24, 2005

• RANC met by phone on September 22, 2005. The open positions were reviewed and nominations were made. Al so we discussed procedural issues that need the attention of the Board.

• NOMINATIONS – Attached is a listing of the open positions beginning January 2006 and the nominees from RANC for election by the Board.

• PROCEDURAL ISSUES – There continues to be a disparity between our policy and our practice when it comes to electing people to ACPE Commissions and Committee. The following is a summary of the situation as understood by RANC.

The election process was established with Bylaws and Governance Manual adopted in 1991. The documents have been reviewed and revised regularly – 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002. None of those revisions approved by the Board have substantially changed the election process.

Nationally all committees and commissions are elected by the Board of Representatives from nominations from the national RANC committee. The only people the Regions elect directly are the two Board Representatives. What was maintained from the former governance structure was that people would be selected on a geographical basis utilizing regional boundaries to account for the distribution. RANC was charged with receiving names from Regions, but make nominations that built diversity into the elected ranks of ACPE. The procedure we proposed and the Board approved is attached which intends to fulfill that responsibility.

What has happened over the years is that our practice has returned to our old system of Regions sending representatives to each commission and committee. Additionally the four at-large positions on the Board that were to be available to allow RANC to increase the diversity on the Board have been designated and no longer part of RANC's responsibility. The Board has made these decisions itself.

Most of our Membership has continued to operate as though the elections happen in the Regions. This has contributed to the confusion of who is serving, the terms of office, and who is eligible for election/re-election. The belief for many people is that “regional chairs” of certification and accreditation automatically serve on those commissions. But that is not the case according to our Bylaws.

If all Regions had election cycles that matched what the national Bylaws and Governance Manual prescribe, it would be less confusing. However, it would still not solve the dilemma of the national office knowing who serves where or when. Regions making independent decisions regarding their own terms and selection of people have led to a situation of constant confusion. We could provide several examples, but we believe that most people in leadership positions have encountered this many times and know about what we are describing.

The shift that took place in 1991 was to move our polity from a completely regional representative system in which all national officers are sent from there, to a national system in which only the Board is elected regionally and functions on behalf of the entire membership. As such the Board elects or appoints the people who will serve on the commissions and committees that report to the Board. Between meetings, the authority to appoint members rests with the ACPE President. As we understand from some of the people who established the system years ago, the intention was to continue having wide geographic distribution of commission/committee members so regional slots were identified under the 1991 system as well. But since the commissions/committees report to the Board, the election happens by the Board at the annual meeting. That election by the Board sets the rosters and terms of office. What is identified in the ACPE Board Minutes is the official record of election. Except for the two Board Representatives, no appointments, replacements, substitutions or whatever happen except through the Board or in their absence, the ACPE President. When Regions utilize their regional policies/practices to “elect” to national offices, they are actually only recommending names to RANC for nomination which finally go to the Board for election.

Having reviewed this problem in more detail than may be necessary, RANC believes this situation of confusion that has existed for 15 years needs to be rectified. RANC affirmed at our meeting that we will follow the Bylaws and Governance Manual in deciding difficult or confusing situations until any other decisions about our polity are made. This has caused some discomfort for people who thought they were “elected by their region” only to find out they are ineligible to serve. We are attempting to resolve these situations on a case by case basis with the least impact on nominees and the Association.

To address this situation, we would recommend the following:

• The Board agree with RANC that following the approved Bylaws and Governance Manual will be the operational process until any changes are made in those documents.

• The Board work with RANC to inform the Association of the Bylaw and Governance Manual procedures to help minimize any difficulties.

• The Board charge RANC with reviewing the ACPE election process and recommend changes that best serve Association and its Membership both nationally and regionally.

• The Board provide sufficient funding for a working group of 3-4 RANC members to meet to draft proposals for correcting the current dilemma.

If approved, it would be our goal to complete this review and bring recommendations to the Board not later than the Annual Meeting in Tampa , FL.

4. REM INQUIRY -- It was reported that to some members of RANC that REM has asked for certain people to be nominated and elected to the At-Large position the Board of Representatives designated for REM who have not been considered. They would like to know how selections are made and what they could do to contribute to the nomination process. Since the Board took charge of designating and filling the positions, RANC was not able to respond to the inquiry. We agreed to convey the concern to the Board for your review and discussion.

5. NOMINATING CONVENTION -- There will be a Nominating Convention for the identification of two nominees to be the ACPE President Elect (2007) at the Annual Meeting in Honolulu , Hawaii . No declared candidates have come to the attention of the committee. The procedure followed in Wisconsin will also be utilized at the forthcoming meeting. The election will be by mail ballot in the summer 2006.

Respectfully Submitted:

ACPE Representation and Nominations Committee