You are in: Home » Communication & Education » Notes from the President
Notes from the SCAR President, number 1 (21 July 2008)
Colleagues,
I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for the confidence you have placed in me by electing me the next SCAR President. I plan to promptly begin to address the many critical internal and external issues that SCAR faces. Since candidates were allowed to express their vision of SCAR and to highlight their view of the pressing issues ahead I will not repeat them here (view a copy of my candidate statement notes). I intend to proceed in an inclusive manner based on full consultation and discussion with all of SCAR's member nations, partners and participants. Transparency in action, openness and honesty in interactions, consensus building, and appreciation of all viewpoints are fundamental to my approach to addressing tasks assigned to me and I intend to follow these same precepts during my Presidency.
As a first step to improving communication and consultation, I am initiating a series of electronic correspondences with SCAR National Delegates called "Notes from the President". These "Notes" will be occasional email postings to you that will highlight specific issues, communicate actions, highlight accomplishments, and identify challenges. As all of us are very busy with other duties and our email boxes are always full, I promise to keep these occasional, concise, and limited to important topics. I do request that when they appear, that you take a few minutes to review them, whether you choose to respond or not. Since we only have three short days together every two years, these intersessional contacts will be an important mechanism for all of us to stay in touch.
While not a formal requirement, SCAR Vice Presidents (VPs) are requested to assume "portfolios" that ensure that major portions of SCAR's mission and remit have a designated lead person. I am pleased to announce that the following assignments were agreed at the Executive Committee meeting following the XXX Delegates:
- Science - Sergio Marenssi
- Administration - Anthony Meloni
- Finance - Ad Huiskes
- Outreach and Education - Rasik Ravindra
- IPY Legacy - Chris Rapley
While the ExCom will be engaged in all of these issues, the designated VPs are responsible for leading associated efforts, presenting outcomes, facilitating discussions, and identifying actions to be taken in each area. If you have specific questions or concerns in regard to these issues please contact the designated VPs, but as always the Secretariat or myself can be directly contacted as well on any and all issues that might arise.
As a first action, I have initiated discussions amongst the ExCom in regard to "Reform of the Conduct of SCAR Delegates and Business Meetings". As these discussions progress, we will be in contact with you on this important issue. In the meantime, I welcome and solicit your opinions regarding the conduct of our biennial meetings, both what is working and more important, what is not working from your perspective as a SCAR Delegate and the source of much of SCAR's revenue.
In all of my dealings, I have always had an "open door" policy and my Presidency will be the same. In this case, since we are distributed around the world, it is more of an "open email and telephone policy", though I would be glad if your travels allow you to visit me in person. Please do not hesitate at any time to contact me, your Ex Com or the Secretariat. I also intend to visit as many SCAR nations as possible over the next 4 years.
As I concluded at the meeting, the challenges are many, but the opportunities are endless. If all SCAR nations work together I am convinced that the future of SCAR is bright!
Chuck K.
President of SCAR
About Acrobat/PDF files