Announcement of the Formation of the NWIC Subcommittee on Wheat Genomics and the Call for Nominations.

 

At the most recent meeting of the National Wheat Improvement Committee, they approved the formation and Rules of Procedure of the Subcommittee for Wheat Genomics.  The Rules of Procedure of the subcommittee are as follows:

 

The National Wheat Improvement Committee (hereafter designated NWIC) was formally organized in Fargo, ND, January 22, 1959.  The original “rules of procedure” were published in the Annual Wheat Newsletter, Volume VI, 1959 and modified thereafter (most recently January 2006).  The NWIC “rules of procedure” are published in the Annual Wheat Newsletter and include “The chair shall appoint such committees as deemed necessary to conduct activities of the NWIC.  Personnel on such committees need not be limited to NWIC members.”  The Subcommittee on Wheat Genomics is such a committee.    The goal of the Subcommittee for Wheat Genomics is to facilitate communication among U.S. researchers, assess national genomics research needs and goals, develop strategies and organize research efforts, facilitate communication with national granting agencies, and advocate for funding of wheat genomics research at the national level through the NWIC. The Subcommittee on Wheat Genomics will also foster communication with and facilitate participation in international wheat genomics initiatives.  All individuals listed on GrainGenes as being members of the U.S. Wheat Community will be eligible to nominate, vote and participate in elections and the national assessments of genomics research needs and goals. 

 

  1. Members:  To ensure broad representation, the Subcommittee on Genomics shall consist of a chair, two members from the USDA-ARS, two members from universities, two members from industry or nonprofit organizations, one member appointed by the NWIC, and one member elected at large (9 voting members).  In addition, if the elected committee does not include a representative(s) from GrainGenes, the Head of Graingenes will appoint an ex officio member representing them to the subcommittee.  Not more than two members of the subcommittee should come from the same location.  International organizations emphasizing one or more aspects of wheat genomics may be given ex officio status.  Each member will serve a term of three years, with the possibility of serving a second term.  No more than two consecutive terms can be served.  The initial terms will be staggered so that one third of the committee rotates every year.  The members of the subcommittee and chair will be elected.  Organizations with ex officio status will also appoint their representatives. The secretary of the subcommittee will oversee elections, specifically, solicit nominations and tabulate election results. Any member of the U.S. Wheat Community can make a nomination and vote in the election.   An electronic ballot will list all nominees (subject to the nominee’s ability[PSB1]  and willingness to serve).  The nominee with the most votes and at least 35% of the votes shall be elected.  If no nominee receives more than 35% of the votes, the top three nominees for each vacancy will be advanced to a run-off election with the nominee receiving the most votes being elected.   
  2. Officers:  The officers of the Subcommittee shall be a chair and a secretary. 
    1. Any individual actively engaged in U.S. wheat research is eligible for election as chair.  Nominations shall be solicited from members of the U.S. Wheat Research Community, with elections held every three years.  The term shall be for three years, and shall commence on January 1 subsequent to the year of election.  The chair is eligible for re-election.  If a chair is elected from current Subcommittee members, a special election will be held to find a successor to fulfill the remainder of the individual’s term.
    2. A secretary shall be elected by and selected from current Subcommittee members.  The secretary shall serve a term concomitant with that of the chair. 
  3. Meetings: The Subcommittee shall hold at least one meeting per year, preferably at the time of a major wheat workers or genomics meeting.  The annual meeting will be publicly announced and open to all interested parties.  Special meetings may be called by the chair.  
  4. Quorum: A quorum shall consist of not fewer than five members.  Mail and electronic ballots may be used to ensure all members have the opportunity to vote. 
  5. Surveys:  The Subcommittee will electronically survey the U.S. Wheat Research Community on a regular basis (at least once every three years) to determine the national assessments of genomics research needs and goals.  All members of the community are encouraged to participate.    
  6. The results of the survey and the minutes of the Subcommittee will be submitted to the NWIC at their regularly scheduled meeting, and thereafter be publicly available, electronically distributed, and published in the Annual Wheat Newsletter.   They will be considered as recommendations until they are approved by the NWIC.  
  7. These rules of procedure may be amended by the NWIC using their normal voting procedures.  

 

The next step in forming the NWIC Subcommittee for Wheat Genomics is to nominate individuals to serve on this subcommittee.  Please remember that any member of the U.S. Wheat Community can make a nomination including self-nominations.  Dr. Jim Anderson, member of the NWIC, has agreed to receive nominations and oversee the election.  If you wish to nominate someone please contact Jim by February 2, 2007 at:

 

 

Jim Anderson                                       ander319@umn.edu

Dept. of Agronomy & Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota
411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108
PH. (612) 625-9763, FAX (612) 625-1268

 

The nominator is expected to provide the current contact information for the nominee and state in which category the nominee will serve.  Once the list of nominees is finalized, we will hold the election.  To stagger the initial terms, some nominees will serve for one, two or three years (see table below). 

 

 

Finally, we wish to recognize and thank those who served on the enabling committee to develop the Rules of Procedures (bylaws)  for this subcommittee:  Stephen Baenziger (Chair), Jim Anderson, Olin Anderson, Gina Brown-Guedira, Robin Buell, Forrest Chumley, Katrien Devos, Justin Faris, Scot Hulbert, Shahryar Kianian, Mark Sorrells, and Luther Talbert.

 [PSB1]I added this because we may have to eliminate a nominee due to the location rule of not more than two members will come from the same location.