Nominations are invited for vacant Council position each year and are ratified at the December AGM.
How to stand for a postion:
Candidate can self-nominate or be nominated by another Member of the Association for any vacant role on Council. The role of Council Members is set out in the Association's Constitution. There are no geographic restrictions on who may stand for election and we encourage nominations from candidates from diverse backgrounds (especially those that historically have been underrepresented). Each nomination must be accompanied by the candidate’s written agreement to stand for election, and a short personal statement (less than 200 words) describing their interests for publication (before the AGM) in the Newsletter. In addition, each candidate must be proposed by at least two members of the Association and any individual may not propose more than two candidates. If more than one nomination is received for any one position a vote of the Membership will be undertaken in advance of, and ratified at, the AGM in December. In rare cases candidates may be nominated for more than one position, in these cases we will ask the candidate to state an order of preference, as no person may hold more than one role simultaneously. The order of voting for Council positions will, where possible, take candidates’ preferred positions into account.
What to include in the submitted nomination document:
- Candidate's full name, email address, and Assoication Membership number (if known)
- Candidate's two nominators' full names, e-mail address, and (if known) their Assoication Membership mumbers.
- A short written statment from the candidate of their agreement to stand for election. This can take the form of: "I [full name] agree to stand for election to the Palaeontological Assoication Council and, to the best of my knowledge, I am eligible for [this role/these roles] under the rules set out by the Association's Constitution."
- The postion(s) the candidate wishes to stand for; if more than one please state a preference order.
- A short personal statement from the candidate (less than 200 words) describing their interests for publication (before the AGM) in the Newsletter.
- A completed Professional Standards and Behaviour Self-Declaration form filled in by the candidate. The stated reason on the form should be 'Standing for Council'. Form can be downloaded here: .
The nominations should be sent in PDF format to the Secretary: secretary@palass.org
Deadline for Nominations
The closing date for nominations is 1st September 2024.
Council Vacancies at the 2024 AGM
Vice-President (x1 | two-year term)
The Vice-President is one of the more loosely defined Council offices. Vice-Presidents are normally long-serving Council members who have previously held one of the other offices. They have no formal portfolio or duties other than to deputize for the President if and when required, but are present on Council to provide independent input on all matters, backed up by experience arising from their long service. They are also expected to lead or at least participate in important subcommittees, particularly those tasked with making recommendations for the awards of grants.
Editor in Chief (three year term)
The Editor in Chief is one of the most important Council and Trustee positions. Primary roles: Oversee the production of the Association’s publications and provide vision and leadership for their future development; act as line manager for the Publications Officer and set priorities and goals for the journals; Select and invite members onto the Editorial Board to ensure gender balance, geographical coverage and disciplinary representation is achieved; Vet the quality of papers being accepted for publication in Palaeontology and Papers in Palaeontology; act as a member of the Editorial Board in the preliminary sift of all papers submitted. Assign papers of suitable quality to a science editor and write rejection letters to the rest; Vet the recommendations made by the Editorial Board with respect to whether papers are fit and ready for publication in light of referees’ reports received. Make final decision; Fire-fight any issues arising from the publication process (e.g. disgruntled authors, referees or readers). Secondary roles: Carry out a final check of all papers accepted to catch grammatical errors prior to typesetting; Have oversight of the Field Guides to Fossils series (each has its own editors to steer through to production, so input required is minimal); Identify key topics and seek submission of high-quality review papers from potential authors; Chair and organize the selection of Best Paper Awards for each journal.
Publicity Officer (three year term)
Together the Publicity Officer, Outreach Officer and Education Officer comprise the Public Engagement Group (PEG). These posts have responsibility for the Palaeontological Association outreach activities. Currently they include organizing the Association’s presence at Lyme Regis Fossil Festival and the Yorkshire Fossil Festival, co-ordinating the Engagement Grants, answering relevant enquiries, and initiating other activities that promote and develop palaeontological outreach and education for the Association. The members of PEG work closely together and their roles often overlap; responsibilities particularly associated with the Publicity Officer post include leading the Association’s publicity and promotion via social media and other outlets.