Volunteer Structure: Executive Committee Council Boards

Headquarters: Office of Executive Director Office of Chief Operating Officer/Deputy Executive Director (Administration, Personnel, Policies and Procedures, Information Systems (IS), Finance) Office of Membership Office of Publications Office of SIG Services

Membership is the vital component of the organization, out of which emerges a very special class of ACMers called volunteers. Volunteers serve on the ACM Council, boards, committees, task forces and other subgroups that comprise ACM's governing structure.

The Executive Committee consists of the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, the Past President and other members of Council as prescribed by the Bylaws. The Executive Committee is responsible for managing the affairs of ACM between Council meetings except in those matters for which Council action is required by the Constitution or by the Bylaws.

• ACM Committee on Women in Computing (ACM-W)
• Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC)

Standing Committees

• US Public Policy Committee of ACM (USACM)
• Committee on Computers and Public Policy (CCPP)
• Constitution and Bylaws
• Nominating
• Elections
• Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE)
• ACM History Committee
• Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)
• ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC)

Council

The ACM Council, consisting of 16 members, is the highest governing authority in ACM. Council is composed of the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, the Immediate Past President, the Special Interest Group Governing Board (SGB) Chair, three SGB Council Representatives, the Chair of the Publications Board, and seven Members-at-Large.

Committees of Council

Awards Committee

Five boards, comprising numerous volunteer committees and subgroups, work together with the Headquarters staff to manage ACM's products and services.

• Publications Board
• SIG Governing Board
• Education Board
• Membership Services Board
• Professions Board

Publications Board

The Publications Board is responsible for the production and management of all ACM publications. The ACM Digital Library was launched in July 1997 and provides online access to tables of contents and full text of ACM journals, magazines and conference proceedings. The Digital Library also supports searches by author or keyword in either the publicly available biblographic reference pages or in the full text of articles.

Officially, the Board has authority over conference proceedings and SIG newsletters, but these functions are delegated to volunteer conference committees and SIG newsletter editors. The major ACM journals, with volunteer Editors-in-Chief, publish research papers, articles, and reviews written by volunteer experts. The production functions -- editing, proofreading, composition, artwork, advertising and printing -- are managed by the Publications Department at Headquarters.

SIG Governing Board

ACM has 34 Special Interest Groups, each covering a defined computing discipline. SIGs set their own dues (collected by Headquarters), write and edit their own newsletters (printed and distributed through Headquarters), and are governed by their own elected officers. The SIG Governing Board (SGB) establishes financial and other policies which relate to all SIGs.

Education Board

A key mission of ACM is the education of computer and information specialists. Various volunteer committees under the Education Board develop and recommend computer curricula for all educational levels and provide self-assessment procedures, home study courses and professional development seminars for persons already in the field. Through its participation in the Computer Sciences Accreditation Board, ACM is instrumental in evaluating and accrediting computer science programs in colleges and universities.

Membership Services Board

The Membership Services Board encourages the development of programs that enhance the value of membership in ACM. It is responsible for developing policies and providing guidance on all matters regarding ACM membership. Some of its goals include increasing the value of membership by recommending member benefits and services that support the needs of the information technology community and developing programs to market ACM membership.

Local Activities: More than a hundred local ACM Chapters and 500 Student Chapters at colleges and universities publish newsletters and meet regularly to hear lectures and conduct workshops and conferences. Chapters collect their own dues, elect their own officers and manage their own activities. They benefit from a number of ACM-funded programs like the Professional Activities and Technical Outreach Programs, and the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.

Professions Board

The Professions Board focuses on products and services that support and enhance the professional and technical development of practicing computing professionals, including engineers, architects, IT specialists and managers. The Professions Board is responsible for developing programs that support the professional needs of ACM members as well as promoting computing as a profession.

Headquarters

Through its formative years and until 1960, ACM was managed entirely by volunteers without a paid Headquarters staff. In that year office space was leased in New York City, an Executive Secretary was hired, and staff personnel were gradually added to provide the administrative and clerical services necessary to support a growing number of professional activities and publications.

The following represents the major offices and their areas of responsibility:

Office Facilities/Services
Mail Room and Stock Room

Receptionist Area

Council/Executive Committee
Elections
Constitution and Bylaws
Policy and Procedure Guidelines
Key People Roster
Awards
Certificate of Recognition Program
Fellows Program
Senior Member Program
Distinguished Engineer/Scientist/Member Program

The Office of Information Systems participates in the overall direction of ACM through interaction with all levels of headquarters staff and volunteers. IS provides reliable, secure and cost effective information systems and services that support the activities of ACM, including the development, implementation and maintenance of custom solutions as well as the management of outsourced solutions. IS also provides custom application and database development; custom reporting; Web site development, hosting and optimization; and mailing list and email services.

Overall responsibility for Headquarters financial matters, specifically:
Accounting Department
Monthly and quarterly financial statements and reports
Preparation of the annual ACM budget

Membership and Marketing Services
Membership Processing
Single Copy Sales Operation
Local Activities
Education
Public Relations

Responsible for the overall management of ACM's 34 special interest groups. This includes financial services, conference support, promotion, publicity, membership development and newsletter activities for each group.