DISC '99

13th International Symposium on DIStributed Computing

September 27-29, 1999

Bratislava, Slovak Republic, Europe


Elections for Steering Committee Members of DISC

The International Symposium on DIStributed Computing (DISC, formerly named as WDAG), is run by a Steering Committee, that consists of 7 members: chair, vice-chair, last three PC chairs, and two additional SC members.

The current members of the Steering Committee are Andre Schiper (vice-chair), Marios Mavronicolas, Shay Kutten and Prasad Jayanti (PC chairs of DISC 1997,1998 and 1999), Bernadette Charron-Bost and Vassos Hadzilacos, and Shmuel Zaks (Chair).

In the coming DISC conference (September 27-29, 1999, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, http://www.disc99.sk/), Bernadette and Vassos will step out of the SC, and elections will be held for these two posts.

These positions are open to anyone in the Distributed Algorithms community.

Anyone interested in being a candidate, is asked to send me a note (zaks@cs.technion.ac.il) (please cc it to schiper@lsesun6.epfl.ch and to prasad@bhaarata.cs.dartmouth.edu), or to approach me during the conference.

FYI, enclosed are the rules of the Steering Committee.

See you all in DISC99.

Shmuel Zaks, Chair


----------------------------------

| Professor Shmuel Zaks          |

| Department of Computer Science |

| Technion, Haifa, Israel        |

| Tel: (+972)-4-8294329          |

| Fax: (+972)-4-8221128          |

| Email: zaks@cs.technion.ac.il  |

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	  DISC Steering Committee Structure and Rules

          -------------------------------------------

          

The SC consists of 7 elected members.

All decisions/approvals must be by a majority of at least 5 out of 7.

 

* An SC chair (2-year term).

----------------------------

 

   Provides overall leadership.

   S/he is ultimately responsible for selecting the

   location of DISCs, and finding a local arrangement chair.

   S/he forges ties with other related conferences and workshops,

   and is also our contact with Springer-Verlag, and

   with possible sponsors from professional organizations.



   S/he chairs DISC business meetings and SC meetings.

 

* An SC vice-chair (2-year term).

--------------------------------

 

   Works with the current SC chair, and ensures smooth

   transition of responsibilities.

   The SC vice-chair becomes the SC chair at the end of its two-year tenure:

   So the SC vice-chair remains on the SC for 4 years:

   first two as the vice-chair, second two as the chair.

   This ensures organizational continuity.

 

* Rotating troika of past, present and next PC Chairs.

------------------------------------------------------



   This troika selects the next PC Chair, who replaces

   the longest-serving of the three.

   The SC members must approve this choice

   (by a majority of at least 5 out of 7, as for all SC approvals).



   In the event that the troika's initial choice is not approved,

   the troika must select another candidate.



   The newly selected PC chair may co-opt a PC co-chair,

   if s/he chooses to do so. In such a case,

   the co-chair must also be approved.



   The co-opted member of the PC does not become

   an ex-officio member of the SC: His/her role ends

   with the conference s/he is associated with.





* Two additional SC members (2-year term each).

-----------------------------------------------



   Provide further guidance and some degree of fault-tolerance

   for voting on steering committee matters.





(A) The PC Chair role and responsibilities:

-------------------------------------------



	The PC Chair is a position of prestige

	to be filled by a well-known respected leader in the area.

	

	The PC Chair is in charge of ensuring the

	technical quality of the workshop.

	S/he is ultimately responsible for, and decides on,

	all the	technical aspects of the workshop.

	In particular s/he forms the Program Committee,

	issues the Call-for-Papers, and selects invited speakers.



	(The PC Chair can of course ask the advice of the Steering Committee,

	or a co-Chair, on the above matters if s/he elects to do so).



(B) Choosing the DISC location and local arrangement chair:

----------------------------------------------------------



	The SC members (and ultimately the SC chair)

	decide on the DISC location and

	on the corresponding local arrangement Chair.

	This choice is entirely decoupled from the

	selection of the DISC Program Committee Chair

	(which is done by the PC chairs troika).



	Deciding on the location and the

	local arrangement chair can be done as in PODC:

 

	(1) at the DISC business meeting the SC chair

	asks participants for volunteers to host DISC

	(this location issue is now completely

	decoupled from who is the PC chair).

 

 	(2) The conference participants vote on the proposals at hand.

	This vote is non-binding: it gives the "sense of the community"

	to the SC, who is ultimately reponsible for the decision.

	Typically the SC decides according to the community wishes.





Steering Committee Election Process:

------------------------------------



   Public elections occur annualy at the business meetings of DISC as follows:

 

   1. Every even year:

   -------------------



   The current SC chair steps out,

   the current SC vice-chair becomes chair,

   and a new SC vice-chair is elected.

   

   If the newly elected vice-chair was already an SC member

   then a replacement for that SC member is also elected.

 

   2. Every odd year:

   ------------------



   The two additional SC members are elected.

 

   These positions are open to anyone in the Distributed Algorithms community.



   Note that the next PC chair is *not* chosen by public election:

   as explained above, s/he is chosen by the current troika of PC chairs

   and approved the SC (this internal election happens every year).


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Last modified: September 14, 1999