Nominating Chair
Role Responsibilities
The class nominating chair plays a pivotal role in the class’s election process. The nominating chair is appointed by the class president in consultation with the class executive board during the summer prior to the class meeting at Reunion.
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The nominating chair, together with the website and communications chairs, should issue two calls-to-action to all members of the class in the fall reminding them that class officer roles are for a term of 5 years, and the next slate of officers will be elected before Reunion and installed at the class meeting during Reunion. The WCAA can assist you with sending these calls to action through your class website.
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The calls-to-action are a good opportunity to contact alumnae without emails on file via regular mail and remind them that they have no email listed in their profile.
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The first call-to-action is for volunteers to serve on the nominating committee. These volunteers are ineligible to stand for any elected office during the upcoming class elections. The deadline to express interest in serving should be mid-September to give you enough time to fill the rest of the nominating committee. Your call-to-action email and announcement on the website (your class secretary and website chair can assist you with these) can link to a Google Form where interested alumnae can submit a statement of interest. The nominating committee is a fairly intense, but time-limited way to become more involved with the class.
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Once you have the names of those alumnae willing to serve on the nominating committee, you need to build a committee of at least 3 members pursuant to your constitution. The nominating committee should represent the broad diversity of the alumnae body. The members of the nominating committee should be announced in the class newsletter and on the website no later than mid-October.
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Set times for the nominating committee to meet, in person or via phone, Skype, Google Hangout, etc.
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The second call-to-action is for volunteers to stand for election for the executive board roles of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and Wellesley Fund representative. This request should go out to the entire class as soon as the nominating committee is created in mid-October. The message should remind classmates that class officer roles are for a term of
5 years and the next slate of officers will be elected before Reunion and installed at the class meeting during Reunion. -
For the Wellesley Fund representative position, the class nominating chair should consult the class contact in the Development Office. The office can provide a list of potential nominees, as well as feedback on any alumnae who have come forward for election to the role. The Wellesley Fund representative will need to be approved by the Development Office in conjunction with the class nominating committee.
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You can send a Google Form with a call-to-action email with links to the role specific toolkits and also invite classmates to indicate any and all positions in which they would be interested. Most class constitutions allow for officer roles to be shared by two classmates as co-officers. Please include a request for a statement of interest. Your class secretary and website chair can assist with sending emails, or you can submit a request via our Email request form.
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The deadline for the officer call-to-action should be December 1 so the nominating committee has time to reach out to each nominee and compose the slate of officers for ratification. The deadline to submit the slate to the WCAA is the end of January as the WCAA posts the slates with the Reunion registration materials in early February.
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Once the nomination deadline has passed, meet with the nominating committee and develop a process for how each of you will evaluate the candidacy of the nominees. It is recommended that the committee call each nominee to discuss their interest.
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Remember the nominating committee is crafting a slate of officers who they believe will work together for the good of the class and who represent the broad diversity of Wellesley alumnae.
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If there is not a nominee for a specific role, the nominating committee should engage in outreach to prospective officers.
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The slate should also be posted on the class website and social media channels.
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The slate should be emailed with the ballot (which can be a Google Form or a Word document they can download and complete) to all alumnae with emails and via hard copy to those alumnae who have not yet added an email to their profile.
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The ballot should be active for a set period of time that is long enough to allow for the mailing and return of hard copy ballots. Voting is confidential. Remember, the vote is whether or not to approve the slate of officers presented by the nominating committee.
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The nominating chair should track the voting progress.
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Together with the communications, newsletter, and website chair, the nominating chair should announce and encourage voting during the voting period.
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Once the voting period has ended, the nominating chair should verify the vote count and announce if the slate has been ratified.
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At the class meeting the nominating chair announces that the slate has been ratified and introduces the new class officers.
Communications and Social Media
As nominating chair, you should reach out to alumnae on a regular basis in the fall before Reunion and use every opportunity to encourage alums to sit on the nominating committee or stand for office on the class executive board. You should also work closely with the class communications team to distribute the ballot to ratify the proposed slate of officers and encourage timely voting. Your class communications team may include your class secretary, website chair, or other board members.
Newsletters/Emails/Social Media
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Together with the club communications leader, establish a timeline for regular communication. Highlight the calls to action, announce the proposed slate of officers, and encourage voting to approve the slate.