In summary, Board Members of The College Music Society (1) serve as members of the Board of Directors; (2) Chair and identify members of Advisory Councils; and (3) represent their areas of expertise in the activities in the major service areas of the organization.
Authority of the Board Members
The authority of the Board Members is provided in Article IV, Section 7 of the Bylaws:
The Board Members shall represent the interests and concerns of their areas of expertise.
Responsibilities and Goals of the Board Members
The Board Members of The College Music Society have two responsibilities: (1) to serve as members of the Board of Directors of the Society and (2) to serve as representatives of the area in which they were elected.
The primary goals of the Board Members are to (1) consider the intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary concerns of the music field and (2) increase communication within and among the disciplines of music. The Board Members oversee the identification and analysis of professional concerns, as well as the programs and projects in the Society’s major areas of the Society’s activity.
Responsibilities of Board Members to Assist the Executive Committee
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors are further defined in Article IV, Section 7 of the Bylaws:
The Board Members shall advise and assist the Executive Committee concerning the operations of the Society.
Advisory Councils
Each Board Member is assisted by an Advisory Council consisting of at least three members. Council members, appointed by the President in consultation with the Board Member, serve concurrently with the term of the Board Member. The council assists the Board Member and the Society in the identification and analysis of educational concerns, and in the development of projects, programs, or publications.
Work of the Board Members in the Society's Service Areas
The College Music Society sponsors activities in six major service areas: (1) professional activities, (2) books & monographs, (3) College Music Symposium, (4) career development, (5) information services, and (6) engagement and outreach. The expertise and participation of the Board Members is needed in each of the Society’s major service areas. Each area is served by general coordinating committees, as well as subcommittees that focus on specific areas of interest and work. Suggestions by the Board Members for committee members, as well as communications with committee Chairs, are needed in order to extend the Board Member’s ideas into the Society’s service areas.
The Board of Directors has delegated much of its authority for work in the Society’s service areas to oversight committees and subcommittees. For example, with College Music Symposium, the Board of Directors has delegated responsibility to (1) the General Editor and Board of Editors, (2) Editors of Symposium's components, and (3) editorial boards of individual components. The various processes and procedures for work of the Society in each of its service areas are described in detail in appropriate sections of this Handbook.
The Board of Directors reviews regularly the programs and publications in the Society’s service areas to maintain and increase their quality. \
Fostering Communication and Communicating Ideas
The work of Board Members will be greatly enhanced if ideas are communicated in two directions: (1) to the Board of Directors and Committee Chairs, and (2) to the membership.
To assist the Board of Directors and membership of the Society in considering the condition and needs of the music teaching community in higher education, the Society requests a written report from Board Members by January 15 of each year. As representatives of the fields of composition, ethnomusicology/world music, music education, music in general studies, music theory, musicology, performance, and other areas, this is an important opportunity for Board Members to share with colleagues ideas concerning music and its relation to higher education. The report is used in three ways: (1) as part of the annual report to the membership published in the January; (2) as part of the deliberations of the Board of Directors at its meetings; and (3) by coordinating committees and subcommittees of the Society in setting their agendas and priorities for their work. The reports from Board Members are important in the Society's continuing effort to consider topics of concern to music and higher education, and to develop programs designed to meet emerging needs.
As a point of departure, information and comment from Board Members is requested concerning (1) issues within their discipline; (2) issues between their discipline and the other disciplines of music; and (3) their perspective on music, on higher education, and on general cultural life.