July Board Brief

Welcome to Board Brief, a summary of recent decisions and actions from the CEC Board of Directors. The following is a brief summary of key outcomes from the July 2021 Board of Directors meeting.

Strategic Planning

The Board of Directors participated in a one-and-a-half day facilitated retreat to discuss strategic planning using feedback from data collected from focus groups and other sources in the Spring and Summer.

President-Elect Appointment

The Board appointed Andrea “Angie” Jasper, Ph.D., to the position of 2022 President-Elect. Dr. Jasper is Chair of the Department of Counseling and Special Education at Central Michigan University and served on the CEC Board of Directors from 2016 through 2018.

Bylaws Revisions

Following the 60-day comment period on adding an Affiliate Membership, the Board finalized approval. While Affiliate Membership does not include the right to vote or petition, Affiliate Members can serve as public members or thought leaders at the local, state, provincial, Division, or international level for such committees or appointed bodies as available.

The Board approved the following motions, which would require revising the CEC Bylaws. Members can submit comments on the proposed revisions by 11:59 pm Eastern, September 28, 2021.

Allow the Executive Director to serve as an ex‑officio non-voting member of all appointed bodies, including those making nominations or conducting elections, or designate a member of the staff to serve as an ex-officio non-voting designee.

Revise the minimum membership criteria to serve on the Leadership Development Committee from being a member for the past three years, with a minimum total of five years membership, to a minimum total of three years membership.

Finance

In addition to the Treasurer’s quarterly financial report, the Board received an update from CEC’s investment advisor and approved a motion to expand the asset classes of electronically traded funds allowed for long-term investments.

Committees

At the meeting, the Board established a policy for the President to appoint members of the Board of Directors to serve as liaisons to committees.

They also approved the charter for a new Committee on Division Relations. The purpose of the committee is to:

1. Represent all CEC Divisions by serving in an advisory capacity to the Board of Directors and staff on the mutual implication and impact of activities of CEC and Divisions
2. Facilitate collaboration and communication among Divisions and between Divisions and CEC
3. Provide leadership to enhance the functioning and benefits offered by Divisions and the diversity of the association’s members
4. Make proposals to enhance structural, functional, and policy relations between CEC and Divisions and among/within Divisions
5. Support Division member recruitment, engagement, and retention initiatives
6. Act as a facilitator in the resolution of disputes among Divisions
7. Review Division annual reports and ensure compliance with all CEC policies

project20/20

Chair Endia Lindo provided an update on the work of the three project 20/20 subgroups.

In addition, the Board of Directors approved a motion to establish Diversity Travel Stipends to support travel to CEC’s Annual Convention & Expo for student and early-career (first 5 years in role) members from Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) backgrounds. Learn more about the new BIPOC Travel Awards.

Membership

Regarding membership, the Board:

• Used data from focus groups to model CEC lifespan engagement of diverse professionals
• Surveyed members to assess the nature of barriers and incentives for engagement across the lifespan (in concert with the Engagement subgroup)

The Board will also be creating an annual self-audit tool for organizational use.

Engagement

With regards to engagement activities, the Board:

• Surveyed (with the Membership subgroup) engagement across the membership lifespan
• Conducted research regarding developing a leadership identity
• Met with CEC and Division publication chairs/editors regarding increased diversity, equity, and inclusion in journals (editorial representation, authors, and content) and held an equity audit information session
• Discussed promoting advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion in funding/supports, including IES and NCSER

Programming

In terms of programming, the Board will be:

• Asset mapping to catalogue what resources CEC already has in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as for what audiences, what level of accessibility, what is still needed, and how these resources can best be stored, sustained, and updated
• Issuing calls for targeted resources

Questions? Contact CEC Executive Director Chad Rummel.