Nominating Committee Statement

We come to the season of ACSP elections. This is an important time for all of us. Your department vote will determine who provides organizational leadership so vital to maintaining the quality and relevance of our programs within the academy. There are many issues facing ACSP in the upcoming years. Please vote, and discuss your issues among the faculty and with the candidates. The regional representatives take office after the Fall 2000 business meeting. The President-elect assumes office one year after the fall 2000 business meeting. Each eligible program receives a single ballot (including slates for the regional representatives for their own region only). The ballots are to be signed and returned by April 7th.

On behalf of the ACSP Nominating Committee, thank you and please vote.

William Siembieda, Chair

President-elect

I have had the pleasure as ACSP vice president to work with Sandi Rosenbloom and Bruce Stiftel on the growth of the organization through the professionalization of the conference, the development of the institutional database, and the development of a shared research agenda. Areas of possible future growth include increasing the visibility of the planning degree, more efforts at student recruitment, and increased connections with national research and policy organizations--all within the constraints of budget and volunteer effort. Also, the challenging process of enhancing our relations with the APA needs to continue, because the growth and development of academic planning is integrally tied to the health of the planning profession generally. In addition to my work as vice president, I organized the 1999 ACSP Administrators conference, chaired the Committee on the Academy and the Profession, and coordinated the Economic Development track. As dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago I have helped raise the planning program to a highly visible leadership role within the institution and the metropolitan area. While such opportunities will vary by institution, I believe ACSP can play a critical role in enhancing the capacity and stature of planning programs.

Western regional representative

The greatest challenge in representing this important region is keeping the lines of communication open and that you get the information you want and need. I will put my energies into making sure that faculty at all the member schools in the western region are kept updated on issues being discussed and decisions being made by the ACSP leadership. I have had four years of experience representing the Faculty Women’s Interest Group in this capacity and have worked hard to insure that the group has remained an important part of ACSP and the decisions affecting the interests of its members. I will dedicate my enthusiasm, creativity and forethought into representing the Western Region.

ACSP as a volunteer organization is integrally involved in all aspects of planning education and scholarship. We need to maximize our effectiveness by providing welcoming opportunities for participation and fostering leadership. My specific interests include facilitating regional communication among ACSP schools; a listserve is being created for this purpose. I am also interested in working toward the development of conference formats that foster rigorous scholarly discussions and improved opportunities to network. My ACSP involvement includes serving as Regional Representative, chairing the Faculty Women's Interest Group and the Global Perspectives Committee and serving on the Nominating, Review and Appraisal, and Strategic Marketing Committees.

I would like to serve a second term as Western Region representative for two reasons. First, I would like to continue to develop a more active role for the regional representatives within ACSP. Deborah Howe and I established a list-serve for western region faculty; now we are exploring possibilities for more interaction between the western programs. Second, I continue my commitment to improving planning research and elevating its visibility as programs around the country face increasing scrutiny.

South Central Representative

An active member of the ACSP since 1981, I have rarely missed the opportunity to organize sessions and present papers at the annual conference. As Co-editor of the Journal of Planning Education and Research, I have served as an Ex-Officio member of the ACSP Executive Committee for the last four years. This has been exiting service and I relish to opportunity to continue that service as a South Central regional representative. As a member of the Executive Committee I would concern myself with fostering ACSP's roll in mentoring emerging planning educators and scholars, strengthening our annual conference, promoting and nurturing the JPER and other ACSP publications, and the fiscal stability of our maturing organization.

ACSP has experienced much positive momentum this decade, and has broadened its membership, leadership, agenda, and influence. ACSP has also deepened its efforts along many fronts, has been recognizing and honoring the extraordinary efforts of its members, and has been forging strong links, once again, with APA and AICP. I would like to add to this energy, and commit my efforts to reaching out, strengthening ties to practitioners in North America and their various organizations, as well as to AESOP, and our Latin American and Asian colleagues. My main interest is in furthering the aims of the planning academy along these lines, and in providing more opportunities for our students in the form of scholarships, recognition, travel, post-docs and other employment. Establishing more industry and government links are two of the avenues that ACSP can pursue to attain these aims.

I would like to be reelected as a South Central Regional Representative to the ACSP Executive Committee so that I can continue to expand communication with you, the members. I'll actively seek input from all member schools before each Board meeting, and report back to everyone afterwards. My goal for ACSP is to expand the lines of communication to all regions, so we can improve the organization's service to all of you. I also want to work with APA/AICP on certification courses, and work to improve university administrations' understanding of our field's importance.