The Program Chair serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The Program Chair transitions to that position after serving as Program Chair-Elect (see Part 1.8).
Executive Duties. The duties of the Program Chair are to create a comprehensive program for the interest of the Section’s members at key conferences. The Section Program Chair must:
• Be willing to assist organizers of invited paper sessions and invited speakers in adhering to the policies and procedures of the ASA Committee on Meetings
• Meet JSM Program Committee deadlines
• Become familiar with all Program material and adhere to the policies and procedures of the ASA Committee on Meetings regarding organization of invited paper/poster sessions, contributed paper/poster sessions and roundtable coffees/luncheons
• Be accessible for contact by the ASA Program Chair and the ASA Meetings Department, via telephone, e-mail, or fax, at periods critical to the program development during the term of office
The key to success of this office is planning and adherence to deadlines. A detailed timeline is included in the Program Committee Manual that the Program Chair will have received while serving as Program Chair-Elect (see below). The following, in chronological order, are the key activities of the Program Chair (see Part 1.8 for the key activities of the Program Chair-Elect):
• January 1:
o Officially begins term as Program Chair
• January:
o Monitors abstract submission for contributed papers and posters
o Monitors topic contributed session proposal submissions, due mid-January
o Confirms that individuals submitting papers to topic contributed sessions have the correct session number
• February:
o Organizes contributed abstracts into sessions
o Finalizes list of contributed session chairs
o Submits contributed sessions electronically to ASA office. There are several types of contributed paper sessions (invited sessions will have already been determined):
Regular Contributed Papers. The regular format consists of an oral presentation of 15 minutes in a session with 4-7 related papers
Topic-Contributed Paper Sessions. Five 20-minute presentations arranged in advance by an organizer or a discussant. There also may be four paper presentations with a discussant or three speakers and two discussants.
Topic-Contributed Panel Sessions. Three to five panelists provide commentary on a topic arranged in advance by an organizer. Panel presentations require one abstract submitted by the organizer.
Poster Contributed Papers. Poster sessions run for 2 hours and permit face-to-face extended discussions with individuals or small groups interested in the topic. This provides direct feedback and reaction to the author. Poster Sessions also provide a means for the display of extensive graphical and/or tabular materials (this does not preclude a handout).
Speed Sessions. Twenty oral presentations of five minutes each are followed later that same day by a display of e-posters on LCD screens provided by ASA.
o Attends Program Committee meeting in Alexandria, VA
• March:
o Reviews online program produced by the ASA office
o Considers ideas for late-breaking sessions and, if any are developed, submits proposals
• April:
o Prepares article for June Amstat News (and, if applicable, Section newsletter) on the Section’s JSM program
• May:
o Submits final JSM program corrections and names of authors who failed to submit draft manuscripts
• July/August:
o Attends the JSM
o Visits each session to confirm that the session chair is present and to offer assistance as the need arises. Ensures sessions are running smoothly.
o Attends the Executive Committee Meeting and the Section Annual Business Meeting. Reports on the year's program.
• Mid-to-late August:
o Briefs the incoming Section Program Chair (current Program Chair-Elect) on lessons learned from the JSM
Transition Duties. To ensure that the quality of the Session’s JSM program is maintained or even enhanced, the Program Chair communicates with the Program Chair-Elect regarding tasks to be performed prior to and during the meetings as well as any lessons learned in organizing and monitoring sessions for the current program year. Information pertaining to invited sessions will be useful early in the year, as the Program Chair-Elect begins to work on these sessions for the next JSM.
Section-Specific Activities. The Program Chair of some Sections are appointed rather than elected, have different lengths of service or have responsibilities that are not required of all section Program Chairs. See the Section Charter for details at http://www.amstat.org/sections/charters.cfm.