The Society Board of Direction (Board) held its July Meeting on July 10 and 11 at Society Headquarters in Reston, VA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Board members, presenters, and attendees participated virtually. The Board discussed and made decisions on a number of challenging topics. Highlights from the Board meeting are summarized below.
FY 2021 Budget and Reorganization
The Board approved a FY2021 budget that included continued work on the Society’s digital strategy, a significantly increased emphasis on virtual activities, and an organizational realignment to make ASCE more nimble in addressing ongoing changes to the association business model that have accelerated due to the pandemic and will likely become permanent.
While details are still being finalized, these changes will allow the Board to focus on our strategic priorities, including growing membership, better meeting the needs of our students and early career professionals, and helping our members practice and lead in the near term and into the foreseeable future. At the same time, the Society will be better positioned to engage a broader global audience, conduct Society activities more sustainably by reducing our carbon footprint and the time and cost of participation, and making the Society more attractive to the next generation of professionals while sustaining it for long-term success.
ASCE is a financially healthy organization, with sufficient reserves, an active and growing membership, and countless programs that advance both professionals and the profession. Nonetheless, our duty to our members is to be stewards and ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of the organization.
Like other professional associations, ASCE is experiencing COVID-19 impacts and increased competition for membership, continuing education, publications, conferences, and other products and services. This competition comes from for-profit businesses, other associations, and from the proliferation of online information that is often free. These products and services have historically generated significant revenue for ASCE, that along with the extensive contributions from our active volunteers, have allowed us to fund many more member programs than we can through dues alone.
The Board values the contributions and input of our active volunteer members, who deliver significant value to the profession. As such, we continue to make strategic investments in key areas, including expanded programs and an enhanced digital presence to better meet the needs of our increasingly digitally savvy younger and more global audience. We are also investing in helping our members to practice and lead in the near and foreseeable future by embracing emerging trends and navigating unpredictable forces. Our restructuring and budgeting processes will continue to be focused on finding new efficiencies and being more effective. A greater focus on digital and virtual products will generate more products, services, and member value providing financial and environmental benefits, while also enabling greater participation from members who serve as active volunteers. One example is the shift to virtual meetings and events, which has made us nimbler and more efficient. Other areas we are considering include streamlining our headquarters operations, consolidating and realigning our committee structure, and sunsetting some programs that may not be as critical today.
ASCE currently has 23,000 Life Members. Recognizing that life expectancy is increasing, as are the years of practice, beginning with the 2022 membership year the Board voted to adjust the years needed to achieve Life Member status from 35 to 40 and require that Life Members are retired from practice. Life Member candidates would no longer need to be 65 or have 10 years continuous years of membership immediately preceding the attainment of Life Member. Finally, following consultation with many of our dedicated Life Members, in 2022 we will replace the current $50 Life Member service fee with a due for each Life Member set at 50% of member dues. This will better align Life Member fees with our overall dues structure and enable us to continue to support the programs and services valued by our growing number of Life Members. At the same time, we do anticipate aiding those Life Members who cannot afford to contribute.
The timing for many of these changes is being finalized and will be announced and implemented before or with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2020. Changes to the Life Member program will take place in 2022. Other changes will be implemented after careful review and study by the Board and executive director.
Your Region 8 officers will share information after it is finalized. Changes will be reported in the ASCE News, Leadership Letter and Section Informant, and communicated directly to affected stakeholders.
Dues Model
Staff working with a consultant continue to review different types of dues models to make ASCE membership appealing to non-members while maintaining financial stability for the organization. A suggested dues structure to 1) eliminate Affiliate and Associate Member grades, 2) eliminate Institute-only membership, and 3) replace the Associate Member graduated 5-year dues increase with a 50-percent discount in Member dues rate for members 28 and younger were voted down by the Board.
Future World Vision
The Board authorized an investment spending amount of $443,000 to execute a follow-on contract with Experimental to continue production of the Mega City and Floating City. Continued authorization of funds will depend on the amount of fund collection or pledges from partners.
Code of Ethics
The Task Committee on the Code of Ethics provided their final report on the proposed revisions. The Board approved the first reading of the revised Code of Ethics. The second reading will take place at the October Board meeting.
Governing Documents
The Governing Documents Committee presented proposed revisions to the Society Bylaws and Rules of Policy and Procedure related to the Constitutional Amendments that the membership approved in the 2020 election. The Board approved the second consideration of the Bylaws revisions. The Board approved the revisions to the Rules of Policy and Procedure.
At its March meeting, the Board approved a motion to allow Student Members the right to vote in Society elections. The Governing Documents Committee was charged with preparing amendments to the Society Constitution accordingly. At the July meeting, the Board approved the first reading of the proposed revisions to the Constitution to allow Student Members the right to vote. The second reading will take place at the October Board meeting. If approved, the membership will vote on the proposed Amendments in the 2022 Society election.
Society Officer Appointments
The Board approved the appointment of Elizabeth Ruedas, P.E., QSP, ENV SP, M.ASCE as the At-Large Director for the term 2020-2023. Ms. Ruedas was nominated by the Western Regional Younger Member Council and her appointment was recommended by the At-Large Director Review Panel.
The Board approved the appointment of Maria C. Lehman, P.E., F.ASCE as Society Treasurer and F. Jay Burress, P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE, as Society Assistant Treasurer for FY21. Ms. Lehman served as the Society’s Assistant Treasurer for the last two years. Mr. Burress previously served as a Society Director from Region 7.
