Association Models and Board Governance Recommendation
This document outlines all association types considered by the restructuring workgroup. MLA appears at the top of the chart. The chart is designed to allow for comparisons with real data about our current structure, member base, and, very importantly our financial situation.
There are four governance models that the restructuring work group considered. MLA currently has in place the Constituency governance model. The board is built primarily from elected leaders of smaller subgroups with defined agendas and special interests.
The next model is Strategic. In this model, the staff is professionally trained and the board is selected to reflect skills and needs of the association election cycle to election cycle. The work of the board is to adopt the policies, direct the work of the executive director, and to scan the profession to determine association priorities for professional development opportunities, new sources of revenue,and opportunities for partnerships and collaborations that keep the work of the association relevant to its members.
The third type is Policy Governance. In this model, the work of the Board and that of the Executive Director and Staff are very separate. The board adopts policies and the Executive Director has the trust of the Board to operate within those policies with limited involvement by the Board.
The fourth type is corporate. In this type of governance profit is the primary driver for decision-making and priority setting. The restructuring workgroup recommended that the MLA Board accept a recommendation to adopt the Strategic Model of governance.
The MLA Board approved this recommendation at its October Board meeting. Strategic Governance will be recommended for adoption to the membership in early 2008.
| Attachment | Size |
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| assn models.doc | 60.5 KB |
| Governance Powerpoint.ppt | 110.5 KB |
restructuring and nominating committee
We have a few more questions that came out of our CSD meeting this past Friday. They are mostly in regard to the Nominating Committee and process.
The Board Governance Recommendation Model states...
"Seven member committee including three board members and four at-large members. Appointed by President and Chaired by the immediate Past-President. Consideration will be given to developing a diverse committee. Board nomination form can be found in Appendix C.
§ Nominates individuals for Board of Directors positions consistent with the needs and initiatives identified in the strategic plan and the strategic skills identified by the Board.
§ The Nominations Committee reviews all applicant/nominees and may also seek out individuals who meet identified needs.
§ The Nominating Committee will present at least one nominee for each vacancy on the Board of Directors."
Our questions are...
1) We understand that Leah Black is the chair, but who is on the nominating committee? We are all working hard either nominating and/or gathering information for self nominations and don't even realize who our nominating committee is. We do not feel that this is transparent.
2) How many people will be on the Board of Directors slate [old MLA term now? :)]? Or are slates no more? Does the membership, at least, get to vote for it's executive board members? It states above that the "nominating committee will present AT LEAST ONE nominee for each vacancy on the Board of Directors." Is the goal to simply fill the 13 seats with qualified individuals or to create a slate of over 13 qualified individuals that the membership will vote on?
Thanks for taking the questions!
MLA Nominating Committee
As current president of MLA it is my responsibility to appoint the nominating committee. The above questions were posted on January 24 and I made the appointments after the deadline for nominations for MLA Board. There are many great people in MLA qualified to serve on a strategic board, and I did not wish to ask them to serve on the nominating committee if they were considering serving on the Board, so I waited.
The nominating committee is now appointed. Leah Black, as past president of MLA serves as Chair. The three other current MLA Board members serving are: Gail Parsons, Karren Reish, and Zandra Blake. The three at large appointments are Eva Davis, Christine Berro, and Richard Cochran.
The newly adopted bylaws do not require a competitive slate for the Board of MLA with the exception of the office of President. The slate may or may not include more names than open positions depending on the number of nominations and the experience of the candidates. Because the Board will be a strategic board going forward, skill sets and experience needed to serve MLA will change depending on the direction of MLA and the Board will seek candidates to fill the need. It is impossible to say at this point in time whether or not the slate that will be presented to the membership in May will be competitive or not. The Board selects its Secretary and Treasurer from those elected, and these positions with the President, Past President and President Elect serve as the Executive Committee.