We have more open calls out for the adjunct chair (AC) roles below. You can apply here.
Having appointed our Vice-Presidents for Conferences, Operations, Publications, Chapters, and Adjunct Chair (AC) for Awards in our first round of open calls, we now look to fill additional AC roles: for Sustainability, Partnerships, Knowledge Sharing, Community Support, Volunteer Support, and Equity. We also solicit suggestions from our community for additional potential roles to be included in the future (“Name Your AC”). Read the SIGCHI bylaws to learn more about the adjunct chair role.
We look forward to a diverse slate of candidates! Please read over this post, and pose any questions/comments you have on Sli.do (anonymously) or via email. We will append our responses to the FAQ section below.
AC for Sustainability — to address sustainability-relevant challenges across conferences, within the EC, as well as virtual and hybrid forms of functioning (link to apply)
AC for Partnerships — to help address the barriers to participation in our venues that are experienced by practitioners, designers, researchers from other communities and cultures (link to apply)
AC for Knowledge Sharing — to facilitate knowledge sharing across our conferences and other venues, whether this is about our equity and inclusion or our community support initiatives (link to apply)
AC for Community Support — to help focus on creatively and effectively tailoring our funding (and other) support mechanisms to community needs (link to apply)
AC for Volunteer Support — to grow our support for leadership and mentorship within SIGCHI, and how we are supporting and nurturing our student and early career members, who are the future of SIGCHI (link to apply)
AC for Equity — to maintain and grow our focus on bringing equity into all our functionings, across the EC and beyond (link to apply)
“Name Your AC” — to keep room for members of the community to tell us what additional focus areas they might want us to consider in the future by “naming their AC” (link to apply)
Process & Timeline
The deadline to apply is August 27 AoE for our current set of open calls for adjunct chair (AC) roles. You are invited to nominate yourself or someone else. We will review applications and conduct 25-minute calls with candidates in groups consisting of at least three Executive Committee (EC) members, aiming to find the best fit for the role in terms of prior experience, future aspirations, and willingness to make time for serving as a member on the EC. In the event that a candidate is not selected, we will do our best to convey our reasons promptly and clearly, and make recommendations for alternative means of contributing. We ask for your patience throughout this process. Our timeline will be as follows:
July 6: the first set of open calls is posted
July 22: The EC Handover—1pm to 3pm (read meeting notes)
July 23: applications close (AoE)
By August 7: review of applications is complete
August 9: the second set of open calls is posted (this!)
August 27: applications close (AoE)
By September 15: review of applications is complete
How We Work
We are committed to creating an open and inclusive environment where our committee members represent a wide variety of perspectives, work according to preferred schedules, treat each other with collegiality and respect, follow through individual and team responsibilities with integrity, and stay in communication with the committee. We target representation in the broadest sense, and are continually pushing boundaries on this front. We aim for facilitating mutual learning, strengthening local and global ties, and equity throughout — across all levels.
Towards achieving the above goals, we organize monthly EC meetings, in addition to smaller, impromptu working group calls as the need arises. In pre-COVID times, we would meet in person four times a year for 2.5 day meetings, but we cannot say yet when physical travel will resume for our meetings and at what frequency. During COVID, we have organized these meetings to take place over several hours and days, every three months. EC members may also need to budget time for meeting with their committees, weekly for some, and less frequently for others. Most importantly, we ask that EC members be willing to distribute the inconvenience of attending meetings outside of our comfort (time) zones.
We use Slack and Zoom to communicate, and Survey Monkey and Submittable to run our surveys (because they support a global audience, are accessible, and GDPR-compliant). We also aspire to stay engaged with our community through various platforms, including Discord, Twitter, and Facebook. Our Operations and Communications teams help us out with using these (and other) platforms. Members of the EC typically have their own committees, which they can coordinate with as and where they prefer.
Please also note that the burden on individual roles is likely to rise and fall over the course of the three-year EC term (2021-2024). For example, the AC for Awards is likely to be far busier during the solicitation of nominations and in planning the announcement and distribution of awards than at other times. However, we would like all EC members to participate in all EC activities as they like and see fit, supporting each other in their and EC goals. Members frequently collaborate on projects of shared interest; for example, there are a number of synergies across the roles of our VPs at Large and VP for Chapters, or across the VPs for Operations, AC for Accessibility, and VP Conferences. Applicants are requested to consider whether they would be able to make time for continued engagement. If not, we would gladly make recommendations for potential involvements that involve lighter contributions.
Note that newly appointed ACs will work closely with at least one assigned EC member to determine and pursue the scope within which they will operate (read SIGCHI bylaws). Each AC role is intended to last the current EC’s full three-year term (until June 2024). It may not be the same individual to fulfill this responsibility for three years; we are open to accommodating multiple volunteers who may be willing to take on this charge over the three years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How best can I learn about these roles before applying?
The best way to learn about them would be to (1) read meeting notes from the EC Handover, (2) read the open calls descriptions (on the above SurveyMonkey link), (3) review blog/Medium posts from those who have held these or similar positions, and/or (6) get in touch with us via email (to set up a call) or Sli.do. - Do I need to pay to attend any in-person meetings?
No, ACM will cover all our costs for meetings, if/when we meet in person again. - Do I need to be a registered SIGCHI member to apply?
Not all applicants need to be registered SIGCHI members, but once on the SIGCHI EC, all officers must sign up to become SIGCHI members, as per the Bylaws. - Are these paid positions?
Unfortunately not. SIGCHI, like ACM, runs on volunteer effort. That said, we are committed to identifying roles that are of interest to our volunteers, and doing what we can toward acknowledging and making volunteering labor more visible. - Do I have to be a full professor to apply?
Not at all. We value relevant experience, drive and vision, and commitment. Candidates with these qualities may look like full professors, or they may not. We are open to considering all candidates, and aim to identify suitable ways of participating for all those who are willing to make time for SIGCHI. - What time commitment do I need to make for an Adjunct Chair role?
We ask that appointed ACs be willing to make a time commitment of 3–5 hours per week on average. But again, it is really up to each volunteer to determine how they might have the most impact in their role and what they are willing to offer.
Please pose any additional questions/comments you have via email or Sli.do (anonymously). We will post answers here.
Thank you for your time and interest.
The SIGCHI Executive Committee
