Page 83 - Summer 2021

pertains to the president or the executive director, then contingencies are provided in the procedures. In either situation, once the case has been brought to the EGC, the committee meets, reviews the facts of the case, may seek more facts, deliberates on the case, and provides rec- ommendations to the president and the EC at the next available EC meeting. The EC discusses the case and the recommendations in a closed executive session. Every effort is made to keep the entire proceedings confiden- tial. The EGC may or may not be part of implementing the solution, depending on the discretion of the president and the EC.
Some hypothetical examples of cases that might be brought before the EGC are given here. One might imag- ine a dispute between two parties about authorship of a paper in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA). This could involve a paper being submitted to or published in an ASA publication without the proper collection of authors, whether that be too many or two few authors. The complainant may first contact ASA pub- lication staff, associate editors, or the editor in chief, who might find it useful for the EGC to collect and examine facts associated with the case. In such a case, the editor in chief would suggest to the complainant that they file a formal complaint on the matter (following the proper procedures). It is always suggested that the complainant first try to resolve the issue within the locality of the issue itself, that is, within the publication in this example.
Another hypothetical example may have to do with the unethical disbursement of discretionary funds, such as within an ASA committee. Again, the procedures suggest that the parties try to resolve the issue within the commit- tee, but failing that, the complainant could file with the president and ask that the EGC examine the issue.
In summary, the EGC exists to help members solve prob- lems that cannot be resolved in other ways. The interested reader is directed to read the full set of procedures and rules governing the EGC (see Section 29). Thanks to Elaine Moran, director of operations, for searching past meeting minutes pertaining to the EGC.
Contact Information
Preston S. Wilson wilsonps@austin.utexas.edu
Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering The University of Texas at Austin
204 East Dean Keeton Street
Mail Stop: C2200
Austin, Texas 78712-0292, USA
ASA WEBINARS
The Acoustical Society of America has established a Webinar Series with the goal to provide ongoing learning opportunities and engagement in acoustics by ASA members and nonmembers throughout the year, as a supplement to content presented at bi- annual ASA meetings.
ASA Webinars will be scheduled monthly and will include speakers on topics of interest to the general ASA membership and the broader acoustics community, including acoustical sciences, applications of acoustics, and
careers in acoustics.
Find a schedule of upcoming webinars and videos of past webinars at acousticalsociety.org/asa-webinar-series
Summer 2021 • Acoustics Today 83