SSSA Board of Directors

Purpose of the CSSA Board

The SSSA board of Directors serves several purposes, including:

  1. To serve as the policy-making arm of SSSA as directed by the SSSA bylaws, except for those matters which the bylaws specify are under direct authority of society membership or are specifically designated responsibilities of stated SSSA officers. The SSSA Board of Directors establishes policies and revises them when deemed advisable.
  2. To have, hold, and administer all property and funds of SSSA, in conformity with the SSSA Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
  3. To engage the SSSA Chief Executive Officer and other employees as needed. However, SSSA does not directly employ personnel, but has an agreement with the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS) to handle its operational activities on a cost-input basis.
  4. To continually reassess the current operations and future role of SSSA and of soil science as a profession. This includes updating the society’s strategic plan regularly and monitoring the plan’s progress.
  5. To meet to conduct society business. The presence of 50% of the voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum. Official action by the board is based on a majority vote. Agendas and board materials are emailed by the Director of Governance prior to the Board Meetings. Resources such as bylaws, strategic plans, rosters, and board minutes are posted online at: https://www.soils.org/about-society.

Fiscal Decisions: The SSSA Board of Directors has a Budget and Finance Committee (B&F Committee) that reports financial results during board meetings. The board of directors approves the annual operating budget that is recommended by the B&F Committee (prepared in collaboration with headquarters staff), generally at CANVAS. If SSSA receives special requests for funding not in the approved budget, the B&F Committee may review the request and make a recommendation for the board to approve the new funding requests.

Board Committees: Several committees tackle tasks for the SSSA Board of Directors. These committees include:

Board Memberships and Responsibilities

Individuals serving on the SSSA Board of Directors must have an active membership. The term of office for members of the board begins on January 1 and ends on December 31. The SSSA Board of Directors includes the following members who serve for the terms indicated.

Executive Board Members: The SSSA executive board members are the president, president-elect, and past president of SSSA. The SSSA President serves as the presiding officer of the board.

Group Representative Board Members: SSSA divisions will be organized into the following four groups for determining representation on the SSSA Board of Directors: