RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SECTION ON STATISTICS IN DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION 

1. Timeline

2. Job Descriptions

2.1 Chair

2.2 Chair Elect

2.3 Past Chair

2.4 Secretary/Treasurer

2.5 Program Chair

2.6 Program Chair Elect

2.7 Publications Officer

2.8 Council of Sections Representative(s)

2.9 Committee on Fellows and Awards Chair

2.10 SDNS Student Paper Award Committee Chair

2.11 SDNS Speaker Series Committee Chair

3. Section Activities

3.1 Conference on Applied Statistics in Defense

3.2 Publications

3.2.1 SDNS Column in Amstat News

3.2.2 SDNS Website and Community Pages

3.3 Current Committees

3.3.1 Charter

3.4 Awards

3.4.1 SDNS Distinguished Achievement Award

3.4.2 SDNS Student Paper Award

3.5 SDNS Speaker Series

3.6 Dues

1. Timeline

2. Job Descriptions

1.  Chair

The Section Chair is the chief administrative officer of the Section and is responsible for the conducting of all Section business. The term of office for the Chair is officially one year, although the position requires a total of three years of service to the Section. In year 1, the person is elected as Chair-Elect, then automatically transitions to Chair in year 2, and then becomes Past Chair in year 3. The responsibilities of the Chair include, but are not limited to, the following:

Executive duties. Serves as the chief executive officer, serves on the Executive Committee of the Section, and handles all matters that arise between Business Meetings. On matters of import that occur between formal meetings, the Executive Committee should be consulted by telephone or mail and, if necessary, asked to vote on the issue.

• Schedules periodic meetings or conference calls with the Executive Committee as necessary or in accordance with Section practice.
• Presides at all Section meetings and coordinates the work of the officers and Committees of the Section.
• Submits requests for meeting rooms (and refreshments, if applicable) for the annual Section business meeting and Executive Committee meeting at the JSM.
• Determines, in conjunction with the COS Representative(s), topics to be presented to the COSGB either to inform that body of plans or to elicit comments and reactions to Section activities or suggestions, whether accomplished or planned. Topics may also affect more than one Section. Examples of such topics are: a proposal to sponsor a Section journal or other publication; webinar use policy; Section experiences with workshops or tutorials; exchange of Executive Committee representatives between Sections with common interests; proposed charter changes; and program participation in ASA regional meetings or in meetings with other professional societies.
• Serves as Chair of the Executive Committee.
• Serves as a member of the Committee on Nominations.
• Notifies the ASA Section Liaison of all awards to be presented by the Section in conjunction with the Joint Statistical Meetings.

Appointments. Appoints Section committees and individuals to represent the Section on ASA Committees as the need arises. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may designate Committees or individuals to carry out functions of the Section.

Selects a Chair for the Committee on Fellows and Awards.

• Selects a Chair for the Charter Committee.
• Selects a Chair for the SDNS Speakers Series Committee.
• Selects a Chair for the SDNS Student Paper Award Committee.
• Appoints a representative to the Steering Committee of the Conference on Applied Statistics in Defense.
• Appoints new members to the Committees on Nominations, Fellows and Awards, Charter, Speakers Series, and Student Paper Award.
• Appoints interim replacements promptly, with the concurrence of the Executive Committee, for any elected or appointed officers who become unable to fulfill their duties. The Chair shall also make all other Section-related appointments to meet the obligations of the Section to the Association.

New Officer Transition. The outgoing Chair is responsible for ensuring a smooth transition as new officers and appointed persons assume their offices each January. To accomplish this, the Chair:

• Provides all records and assistance essential to the transfer of the Section business from the outgoing Chair to the incoming Chair, including identification of persons likely to be cooperative and effective in conducting Section business.
• Prepares and transmits to the incoming Chair a list of Section Committees, their charges and membership.
• Reviews Section-related correspondence and other materials and provides copies to the Section Secretary if not done previously.
• Updates the description of duties, if necessary.

1. Chair Elect

Executive duties.  During the year as Chair-Elect, duties include attending the Section Executive Committee meetings and the Section Annual Business Meeting, assuming the responsibilities of the Chair when necessary, and providing assistance in conducting the ongoing business of the Section.         

Appointments.  The Chair Elect is responsible for preparing committee appointments so that new committee members will be ready to start as soon as possible after January 1 when the Chair-Elect becomes Chair.

2. Past Chair

The Past Chair serves as a member of the Executive Committee and attends the Executive Committee meetings and the Section Annual Business Meeting to maintain continuity and continued communication within the Executive Committee. The Past Chair may also serve as Chair in the absence of the latter. The Past Chair gives guidance to the current Chair, Executive Committee, or other officers within the Section. The Past Chair leads the Section’s officer nomination committee for the next year’s elections. The Past Chair may also be invited to participate in the COS Committee on Nominations, which selects candidates for COS office.

3. Secretary/Treasurer

The Secretary/Treasurer serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer serves a two year term.

Executive Duties. Attends and participates in all Executive Committee meetings, Annual Business Meetings, and other Section activities. This involves a minimum of two meetings a year: the Executive Committee meeting and the Section Annual Business Meeting, both held during the JSM. Participation in these meetings includes presenting a report on the minutes of previous meetings and recording the minutes of the present meeting and may also include assisting the Chair in preparing agendas for these meetings.

After review by the Chair (and other Executive Committee members, if desired), the Secretary/Treasurer distributes the minutes of the Executive Committee meetings to all members of the Executive Committee Director. It is suggested that approval of minutes occurs within four to six weeks via teleconference or e-ballot.

Correspondence Duties. The Secretary/Treasurer should assist the Section Chair in correspondence activities.

File Maintenance Duties. The Secretary/Treasurer should maintain the file of relevant Section documents. For SDNS, this file is maintained online as part of the Section website. Such a file should include at least the following:

• The charter of the Section
• The names and contact information and duration of terms of all Executive Committee members, additional Program Chairs, and Committee Chairs
• The Section Responsibilities and Procedures document, to include updated descriptions of the duties of Officers of the Section
• Minutes of Executive Committee Meetings and the Annual Business Meeting
• All Section correspondence
• Copies of agreements between the Section and any other scientific body and all reports relevant to this agreement
• Other relevant Section documents and reports

Financial Duties. The Treasurer should be able to find the link to the Section's budget online through https://www.amstat.org/membersonly/index.cfm. Log into “Members Only” then select “My Volunteer Activities” to view the Treasurer’s report. The Treasurer is expected to undertake a number of financial activities for the Section. These activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Monitors and reports on the Section's dues collections and expenditures.
• Coaches and trains the Section Treasurer Elect and Chair Elect on the financial responsibilities and the budgeting process.
• Prepares the annual budget and reports on the financial condition of the Section at Executive Committee meetings.
• Submits the budget (electronically) to the ASA by October 31; however, drafting and discussion of this budget is encouraged at the preceding JSM. Submitting budgets on-time is important because they serve as a financial oversight mechanism for the COSGB.
• Submits Section’s budget under ‘My Volunteer Activities’ when logging into ‘Members Only’ from www.amstat.org.
• Contacts the COSGB Treasurer and/or the COS Fiscal Oversight Committee (FOC) with any Section questions or concerns about Section financials.
• Contacts ASA to approve transfer of funds from and between Section accounts.

ASA Duties. Additional duties of the Secretary/Treasurer include:

• Notifying the ASA Section Liaison of all new officer appointments. SDNS currently elects all officers, so this duty does not currently impact the Section.
• Becomes cognizant of legal and tax information for the Section.
• Ensures that the Section meets COS financial guidelines.
• Strives to maintain less than two years' cash-on-hand by the end of each calendar year, with a written plan for how the Section intends to allocate surplus funds.
• Contacts the COS Treasurer and/or the COS FOC with any Section questions or concerns about Section financial matters. May serve as a member of the FOC, if appointed by the COS Chair-Elect.
• Works with the ASA headquarters personnel in matters pertaining to the financial needs of the Section. (Actual checks are written by the ASA upon notification by the Treasurer.)
• Contacts ASA to approve transfer of funds from and between Section accounts.
• Transmits copies of any financial resolutions or motions to the ASA office and any other relevant organization unless the Chair specifically assumes the responsibility for doing so.
• Alerts ASA Section Liaison of changes to membership dues.

Transition Duties. These duties include:

• Engages the succeeding Secretary/Treasurer in the formation of a following year Section budget prior to the JSM Executive Committee meeting. Explains the process of delivering a final budget to the Association by the fall deadline.
• Introduces Secretary/Treasurer-Elect to financial information per www.amstat.org.
• Explains recent policy decisions and ongoing Section business, calling attention to matters requiring immediate action.
• Submits suggested updates of this section to the Secretary/Treasurer if needed.

1. Program Chair

The Program Chair serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The Program Chair transitions to that position after serving as Program Chair-Elect.

Executive Duties. The duties of the Program Chair are to create a comprehensive program for the interest of the Section’s members at key conferences. The Section Program Chair must:

• Be willing to assist organizers of invited paper sessions and invited speakers in adhering to the policies and procedures of the ASA Committee on Meetings.
• Meet JSM Program Committee deadlines.
• Become familiar with all Program material and adhere to the policies and procedures of the ASA Committee on Meetings regarding organization of invited paper/poster sessions, contributed paper/poster sessions and roundtable coffees/luncheons.
• Be accessible for contact by the ASA Program Chair and the ASA Meetings Department, via telephone, e-mail, or fax, at periods critical to the program development during the term of office.

The key to success of this office is planning and adherence to deadlines. A detailed timeline is included in the Program Committee Manual that the Program Chair will have received while serving as Program Chair-Elect. The following, in chronological order, are the key activities of the Program Chair:

• January 1: Officially begins term as Program Chair
• January:

• Monitors abstract submission for contributed papers and posters
• Monitors topic contributed session proposal submissions, due mid-January
• Confirms that individuals submitting papers to topic contributed sessions have the correct session number

• February: 

• Organizes contributed abstracts into sessions
• Finalizes list of contributed session chairs
• Submits contributed sessions electronically to the ASA office. There are several types of contributed paper sessions (invited sessions will have already been determined):

• Regular Contributed Papers.  The regular format consists of an oral presentation of 15 minutes in a session with 4-7 related papers
• Topic-Contributed Paper Sessions.  Five 20-minute presentations arranged in advance by an organizer or a discussant. There also may be four paper presentations with a discussant or three speakers and two discussants.
• Topic-Contributed Panel Sessions.  Three to five panelists provide commentary on a topic arranged in advance by an organizer. Panel presentations require one abstract submitted by the organizer.
• Poster Contributed Papers.  Poster sessions run for 2 hours and permit face-to-face extended discussions with individuals or small groups interested in the topic. This provides direct feedback and reaction to the author. Poster Sessions also provide a means for the display of extensive graphical and/or tabular materials (this does not preclude a handout).
• Speed Sessions. Twenty oral presentations of five minutes each are followed later that same day by a display of e-posters on LCD screens provided by ASA.
• Attends Program Committee meeting in Alexandria, VA

• March: 

• Reviews online program produced by the ASA office
• Considers ideas for late-breaking sessions and, if any are developed, submits proposals

• April:  Prepares article for June Amstat News (and, if applicable, Section newsletter) on the Section’s JSM program
• May:  Submits final JSM program corrections and names of authors who failed to submit draft manuscripts
• July/August: 

• Attends the JSM
• Visits each session to confirm that the session chair is present and to offer assistance as the need arises.  Ensures sessions are running smoothly.
• Attends the Executive Committee Meeting and the Section Annual Business Meeting. Reports on the year's program.

• Mid-to-late August:  Briefs the incoming Section Program Chair (current Program Chair-Elect) on lessons learned from the JSM

Transition Duties. To ensure that the quality of the Session’s JSM program is maintained or even enhanced, the Program Chair communicates with the Program Chair-Elect regarding tasks to be performed prior to and during the meetings as well as any lessons learned in organizing and monitoring sessions for the current program year. Information pertaining to invited sessions will be useful early in the year, as the Program Chair-Elect begins to work on these sessions for the next JSM.

2. Program Chair Elect

The Program Chair-Elect serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The responsibilities of the Program Chair-Elect begin several months prior to the official start of the Program Chair-Elect’s term.

Executive Duties. These include the following:

• Solicits, prepares, and organizes the roundtable coffees/luncheons for the JSM.
• Attends the meeting of the ASA Program Committee at JSM to begin planning the program for the next year's JSM.
• Solicits and develops invited session, topic contributed session, and Continuing Education proposals for the year in which this individual will serve as Program Chair.

The key to success in this office is planning and adherence to deadlines. Before attending the program committee meeting at JSM, the Program Chair-Elect will receive the Program Committee Manual for the next year’s JSM, for which this individual will be Program Chair. The manual contains a detailed timeline for that JSM, with comprehensive descriptions of the tasks to be performed. The following, in chronological order, are the key activities, beginning seven months before the Program Chair-Elect takes office as Program Chair.

• June (after election, during the year before becoming Program Chair-Elect):

• Shortly after notification of being elected or appointed to Program Chair (or 6 months prior to advancing from Program Chair-Elect to Program Chair), studies the program for the current year's JSM for format and current topics

• July/August: 

• Attends the JSM
• Consults with the current Section Program Chair and Program Chair-Elect
• Attends Section business meeting

• November/December: 

• Requests and receives mentorship from the current Section Program Chair-Elect
• Organizes speakers for JSM roundtables (coffee and luncheons) and, if applicable, speaker with lunch

• January 1:  Officially begins term as Program Chair-Elect
• January:  Submits JSM roundtable (and speaker with luncheon, if applicable) abstracts
• May:  Promotes Section roundtable sessions
• May through August:  Solicits ideas for invited session topics and works with organizers to develop proposals
• July/August: 

• Attends the JSM
• Attends the JSM Program Committee Meeting with ASA staff to report on preliminary plans, to coordinate these plans with other Sections, and to receive schedules and further instructions for next year's JSM
• Consults with the current Section Program Chair
• Attends Section business meeting

• September:  

• Confirms that final invited program proposals—due near the beginning of the month—are submitted
• Assigns invited session proposals to allocated versus competition slots and submits these to meetings@amstat.org by the deadline
• Solicits proposals for JSM Continuing Education courses that would be appropriate for the Section to sponsor
• Prepares article for November Amstat News soliciting poster and contributed paper abstracts
• Votes on invited sessions submitted for competition

• November/December: 

• Selects time slots for invited sessions
• Reviews invited program
• Determines if any invited speakers from outside North America will require travel funds
• Secures letters of support for proposals for JSM Continuing Education courses that the Executive Committee has chosen to sponsor
• Solicits proposals for topic contributed sessions

• December:  Monitors the early submission of abstracts for contributed sessions and posters

Transition Duties. To maintain continuity in the Section’s program for the JSM and any other conferences the Section may sponsor, the Program Chair-Elect:

• Transmits to the incoming Program Chair-Elect any material that will ensure an orderly transition and provides assistance as necessary.
• Sends copies of all Section-related correspondence to the Secretary.
• Updates this description of the duties of the Program Chair-Elect, as necessary.

1. Publications Officer

The Publications Officer serves as a member of the Executive Committee and is the one link between the Section and the editorial Boards of ASA publications, bringing the concerns of the Section membership to the attention of the Editors and reporting their responses back to the membership. This officer is concerned with the Section website as well as professional journals. The duties of the Publications Officer include the following:

• Attends the Executive Committee meetings and the Section's Annual Business Meeting.
• Understands the publication lead times of Amstat News, determines material to be presented in each issue, and requests documents or text to be provided in a timely manner.
• Submits relevant information for publication in Amstat News, including announcements of other Section activities (including upcoming award opportunities), and other items of interest to the Section. Information for submissions should be solicited with sufficient advance notice to accommodate the lead-time required by Amstat News.
• Keeps the Section website up to date.
• Transmits to the incoming officer any material that will ensure an orderly transition and assists the successor in understanding the duties of the Publications Officer. Due to the lag time of publication and the lead time necessary to request material from authors, care must be taken to assure that there is an effective transition between an outgoing officer and an incoming officer; an effective transition will ensure that the materials for the issues of Amstat News that appear early in the year for the new officer are attended to late in the year of the outgoing officer.

1. Council of Sections Representative(s)

The Representative to the COS serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The Representative has duties and responsibilities to the Section and the ASA as prescribed by the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws.

COS Rotation Policy. The terms of office for COS Representatives, normally three years, are set to enable, insofar as possible, one-third of the Representatives to be serving the first year of their term, one-third to be serving the second year, and one-third to be serving the third year.

Changes in Representation. If the number of Representative slots for a Section is reduced, the Section shall decide (in accordance with its charter) which Representative’s term will end prematurely—that is, at the end of the current year. If the number of Representative slots is increased, the Section shall decide how to select an interim representative to serve until the position is filled through the next annual ASA election (or later, if a current slot is scheduled for re-election in the next year). The term of the first elected Representative will be three years.

Executive Duties.  Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

• Attends all meetings of the COS or asks the Section Chair/Executive Committee to appoint a proxy.
• Transmits Section messages that are proposed by the Executive Committee, to the COS.
• Represents the Section on matters before the COS.
• Reports to the Section Executive Committee any COS activities that require action and reports back to COS with the Section's response to action items.
• Attends all Section Executive Committee meetings and the Annual Business Meeting. May be appointed to the COS Nominations Committee by the COS Chair-Elect.
• Presents a summary of COS activities during the year at the Annual Business Meeting
• Sends copies of Section-related correspondence to the Section Secretary.
• Transmits to the incoming Representative any material which will ensure an orderly transition and provides assistance as appropriate.

1. Committee on Fellows and Awards Chair

The Chair of the Committee on Fellows and Awards is responsible for annually considering nominations for Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the SDNS Distinguished Achievement Award, and for other awards presented by the ASA. The Chair is responsible for soliciting nominations for Fellow and the SDNS Distinguished Achievement Award from the Section membership.

• Nominations for Fellow of the American Statistical Association can be submitted between October 1 and March 1 each year.
• The SDNS Distinguished Achievement Award is presented at JSM, and notification of the winner should be made to ASA by July 1.

1. SDNS Student Paper Award Committee Chair

The SDNS Student Paper Award Committee Chair shall be responsible for publicizing the award in August/September and soliciting submissions. According to ASA guidelines, submissions must be made on or before December 15, and notification to the student winners must be made by January 15.

2. SDNS Speaker Series Committee Chair

The SDNS Speaker Series Committee Chair shall be responsible for maintaining an updated list of speakers and topics related to defense and national security. The chair shall also be responsible for publicizing the program early in August/September.

3. Section Activities

1.   Conference on Applied Statistics in Defense

SDNS is the sponsor for the Conference on Applied Statistics in Defense (CASD). CASD is a forum for the presentation and discussion of theoretical and applied papers related to the use of probability and statistics in solving problems in defense and national security. The conference provides an invaluable opportunity for interaction among academic, industry, and government scientists. It also serves a nurturing role in the elevation of statistical competence among researchers in other disciplines who find themselves statistical practitioners because of the compelling benefits statistical science brings to research, development, and testing.

SDNS shall provide a representative to the CASD Organizing Committee. The SDNS Secretary/Treasurer shall be an ex officio member of the CASD Organizing Committee to provide coordination.

When the date is determined for CASD, it should be communicated to the ASA Director of Member and Customer Systems. The next step is to complete a Meeting Fact Sheet to set up the ASA registration system and form. This should be completed not later than three weeks before registration is to open.

If ASA is allowing sections to sponsor other conference proceedings into the JSM Proceedings, this shall be offered as an option to the CASD Organizing Committee.

2. Publications

1. SDNS Column in Amstat News

SDNS publishes news of section activities in the Section News portion of the American Statistical Association's news magazine, Amstat News. Amstat News is published 11 times a year (monthly, except for a combined August-September issue). The Publications Officer is responsible for collecting input to the column and should work toward publishing news in each issue. Articles should be submitted by the first of the preceding month to insure appearance in the next issue (e.g., June 1 for the July issue).

2. SDNS Website and Community Pages

The Publications Office shall maintain web pages for the section that describe at least the section officers, committees, conferences, awards, and news.

3. Current Committees

1. Charter

Every three years, as requested by the Council of Sections, the Chair of SDNS shall appoint a committee to review and recommend changes to the SDNS Charter.

4. Awards

1. SDNS Distinguished Achievement Award

This annual award recognizes an outstanding accomplishment or sustained contribution at the intersection of the statistical profession and national defense.

The requirements for nominations and the details to be addressed in nominations can change each year. For this reason, nominations from previous years are not automatically carried over to the next year and packages for re-nominations should be prepared anew with appropriate modifications and updates of the nominees activities. This award is presented at JSM, and notification of the award winner should be made to ASA by July 1.

2. SDNS Student Paper Award

SDNS annually solicits entries for a young researcher paper competition. Each year the section offers the winning author a plaque and a travel award to defray costs for attendance and presentation of their work at the Joint Statistical Meetings. This competition is open to all undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers that are at most 2 years beyond their terminal degree. The student must be a member of the SDNS Section or should join the section at the time of the paper submission. The contribution may be a theoretical development or it may cover any of the numerous applications related to defense or national security. Papers that have been accepted for publication are not eligible for the competition. The winner will present her/his paper in a JSM session sponsored by SDNS.

Application materials include:

• A list of authors and contact information (the contestant must be the first author).
• A double-spaced manuscript in two versions: a regular manuscript with author information and a blinded manuscript without author information or other identifying information (such as references). Both versions should include an abstract.
• A reference letter from a faculty member or senior colleague familiar with the submitted work, stating the status of the applicant and the publication status of the manuscript.

Manuscripts are judged based on relevance and interest of the subject matter, the quality of writing, and the quality of the research.

5. SDNS Speaker Series

The ASA SDNS Speakers Program Committee identifies experienced statisticians working in defense and security readily available to describe their work and share their enthusiasm for this important field. The series is intended to expose students to work in defense and security, so the primary venue for talks will be colleges and universities, although other venues where a large number of students might be reached (for example, a student-focused chapter event) will be considered. SDNS provides a budget to the committee that is used to offset some of the travel costs for the speakers.

6. Dues

Section dues are set by the Executive Committee of the Section and may be altered annually. Current annual dues for SDNS are $5 for regular members and $1 for students.