If selected to serve on a committee, your appointment would last three years. It would begin at the conclusion of the Winter 2023 National Meeting and end at the conclusion of the Winter 2026 National Meeting.

All members of Area Committees must have current membership in AAPT throughout their terms of office. As a committee member, you would be expected to attend three out of the six national meetings that occur during your term. During meetings, you would be expected to suggest topics, speakers, or organizers for sessions and workshops at National Meetings. Occasionally, an Area Committee might form a task force or subcommittee in response to perceived needs or a request from the  Board of Directors. Committee members have the option of taking an active role in furthering the work of such task forces or subcommittees.

If you have any questions regarding membership responsibilities for a specific Area Committee, please contact the corresponding Area Committee Chair(s). Contact information for Chairs can be found here:
https://aapt.org/aboutaapt/organization/chairs.cfm

Mission statement for each committee:
https://aapt.org/Publications/upload/one_sentence_committee_descriptions_final_2.pdf

You can only serve on 1 Area Committee at a time.

Serving as a member of an Area Committee is volunteer work. There is no compensation for serving on a committee, and it is not a policy for AAPT to fund Area Committee members to attend National Meetings. When considering nomination, please keep in mind that fairly regular attendance to National Meetings is required by members.

Committee members may vote in decisions made by the committee; apply for a Special Projects Grant in collaboration (with other members' knowledge and consent); or list their service to AAPT on their resume, curriculum vitae, or NSF biosketch. In addition, AAPT will add committee members' names to  Area Committee websites, list committee members' service in the online AAPT member directory, and send committee members an appointment letter on official AAPT letterhead that can be included in one's professional portfolio.

Because it is impossible to know who will be appointed to an Area Committee in the future, you might unknowingly serve on a committee alongside someone who has harmed you, in which case attending committee meetings might be risky for you. People might be unhappy with choices made by the Area Committee on which you serve, and they might say hurtful things to you or otherwise take out their frustration on you. And, the Board of Directors or the general AAPT membership might make unanticipated requests of you in your capacity as a member of an Area Committee, and you might feel pressure to do unpaid work above and beyond what you have already committed to.

In order to be considered for nomination as an Area Committee member for the 2023-2026 cycle, you must fill out this form by the conclusion of the Summer 2022 National Meeting. The Nominating Committee will then go through the nominations and follow up with those who are being considered for selection. You should expect follow up from a Nominating Committee member during August 2022. The Nominating Committee will then forward the selected names to the Board of Directors, and those names will be up for Board approval during the Fall 2022 Board Meeting. Appointments will be announced after the Fall 2022 Board Meeting but before the Winter 2023 National Meeting.