Our Ethic of Leadership
Because the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) is one of the most critical intellectual anchors for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Governing Council (GC or Board) members should be able to demonstrate:
- substantial experience with transformative, collaborative, and creative leadership in NWSA and/or WGSS as a whole;
- a breadth of knowledge about the field (not only their subfield or particular areas of specialization) through their publishing, teaching, and/or leadership experiences;
- and an ability to galvanize resources in support of strengthening Association operations (e.g., pedagogical and programmatic materials in support of the Association’s new Resource Library, collaborations with colleagues in support of membership engagement initiatives, and/or praxis opportunities for student workers and/or volunteers).
NWSA holds elections every year in the summer season for open positions, both within the GC and for leadership positions in our Constituency Groups. Members can learn more about GC positions by exploring our bylaws. This process is managed by the Vice President and facilitated by the National Office.
This process is a critical aspect of NWSA's governance, and we encourage all members to take advantage of the opportunity to vote. To ensure an ethic of integrity and accountability, NWSA works with a third-party vendor to process election ballots. We also strive to offer as much support as possible so that our candidates can participate confidently in this process.
The Process
The Election season typically runs through a 6-8 week period which includes the following:
- Call for nominations.
- Nominees must hold active membership with the Association.
- We welcome self-nominations and that of your peers/colleagues/co-conspirators.
- Candidates accept/decline their nominations.
- Candidates submit their support materials.
- Ballots open for voting.
- Active members are eligible to vote.
Sample Support Materials
Candidates may submit written or audiovisual responses to the prompts below. Written responses should not exceed 150 words per prompt, and audiovisual responses should not exceed 1 minute each. For the sake of our ever-evolving commitments to accessibility, please be sure any audio and visuals are clear. Otherwise, it will be necessary for you to revise and resubmit or submit written responses.
- Describe the candidate’s preparedness for being a member of the Governing Council, conversing directly with at least one of the following parameters and providing specific examples to the extent possible:
- experience with transformative, collaborative, and creative leadership in NWSA and/or WGSS as a whole;
- has developed and also demonstrates a breadth of knowledge about WGSS as a whole (not only their subfield or particular areas of specialization) through their publishing, teaching, and/or leadership experiences;
- and/or ability to galvanize resources in support of strengthening Association operations (e.g., pedagogical and programmatic materials in support of the Association’s new Resource Library, collaborations with colleagues in support of membership engagement initiatives, and/or praxis opportunities for student workers and/or volunteers).
- Describe the candidate’s preparedness for this particular position, conversing directly with the above description and providing specific examples to the extent possible.
- Optional: Describe anything else about the candidate that might be of interest to voting members.
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