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 News & Notices

Minutes of 71st Bureau
26-27 September 1998, Frankfurt, Germany


7. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSAL BY DIVISION PRESIDENTS FOR REORGANIZATION OF THE BUREAU

Prof. Jortner introduced the subject by noting that an annual meeting of the Division Presidents, with participation by the Secretary General, is required by the Bylaws. The meeting last November was an extraordinary meeting called to discuss a proposal by Prof. Leigh for reorganization of the Bureau. Dr. Becker noted that he was not present at this meeting but that he had been asked by the Executive Committee to prepare a summary discussion paper for the Bureau. The discussion paper reviews the history of the proposals by Prof. Leigh. The report from the meeting of Division Presidents was distributed to the members of the SDIC and relevant recommendations were incorporated in the report of the SDIC. The recommendations of the Presidents' meeting regarding greater responsibility for the individual Bureau members have been incorporated in the recommendations of CPEC. Comments were made that both the Presidents meeting and the analysis of the Report by the Secretary General had been valuable as part of the process of developing the SDIC proposals and the report of CPEC.

Subsequent discussion concerned the function and purpose of the Division Presidents meeting. The meeting is seen as a valuable opportunity to discuss interdivisional projects. The comment was made that the relegation of scientific matters to the Division Presidents meeting should be avoided. The addition of a regular item to future Bureau meetings of a review of the scientific program of one or more Divisions was proposed. One of the major functions of the Division Presidents meeting is to discuss implementation details that are inappropriate for discussion by the full Bureau. It was noted that the meeting on Friday had clarified a number of operational details about the SDIC and CPEC proposals. It was suggested that a summary of the Division Presidents meeting should in future be provided to the Bureau. The Executive Director was asked to arrange future Bureau Agendas to allow at least an oral presentation by the Chairman of the meeting of Division Presidents. The comment was made that consideration should be given to a bylaw change to have the meeting of Division Presidents chaired by a person from outside the Divisions.

It was noted that the Secretary General's discussion paper included the comment that it might be useful to appoint Bureau members to the Standing Committees. There was also discussion of the value of Bureau members attending Division or Commission meetings during the General Assembly. This proposal was seen as being especially valuable in the case of IDCNS. It was felt that implementation of these suggestions should wait until after the reorganization has been implemented.

The President asked the Secretary General to develop, in consultation with the Division Presidents, a document regarding the structure and purpose of the annual Division Presidents meeting.


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