After
an introduction on the morning of June 10 to the newly elected officers
of the AIA—2008
President Marshall Purnell, FAIA; Vice Presidents George Miller, FAIA,
and Mike Rodriguez, AIA; and Secretary David Proffitt, AIA—the
delegates to the AIA National Convention in Los Angeles voted affirmatively
on two Bylaws Amendments and a Resolution proposing a study of the
use of AIA electronic documents by small firms and sole practitioners.
Bylaws Amendment 06-A “Board Membership
for Associate and CACE Representatives to the Executive Committee” was
adopted by the two-thirds majority vote required. The Associate and
Council of Architectural Component Executives (or CACE) representatives
to the Executive Committee attend all Board meetings, where they share
their expertise. This amendment addressed whether—for equitable
reasons and to help ensure a full voice on the Board for their respective
constituencies—they
should be able to vote on the Board until their service on the Executive
Committee has concluded. The amendment, which was sponsored by the
Board of Directors, revises the Bylaws to make both the Associate and
CACE Representatives to the Executive Committee full voting members
on the AIA Board of Directors throughout their period of service on
the Executive Committee.
Associate reps on the Board and Executive Committee
can now vote on member dues: Delegates
also voted to adopt Bylaws Amendment 06-B, “Voting Rights of Associate
Director and Associate Representative to the Executive Committee Regarding
Architect Member Dues.” The Institute’s
Bylaws provide that “Associates and International Associates may
not vote on dues for Architect members.” The evident purpose of
this provision was to ensure that only Architect members will have the
right to vote on dues changes affecting their category of membership.
It had an apparently unanticipated consequence—it prevented the
Institute’s
Associate Director from voting (as a Board member) on Board actions and
(as a delegate-at-large) on convention actions that have to do with Architect
dues. It similarly restricted the Associate representative to the Executive
Committee from voting on Architect member dues in actions before that
body. Because neither of these positions existed at the time the relevant
Bylaws language was adopted, there seemed no reason to think that adoption
of the language was meant to cause this result. The amendment adopted
by the delegates at convention eliminated the pertinent restrictions
on the Associate representatives to the Board of Directors and the Executive
Committee with respect to voting on dues for Architect members.
Resolution on electronic docs for small firms
and sole practitioners passes: Sponsor
AIA East Bay also put forth Resolution 06-1, “Full Function Electronic
Documents for All Firms, Small and Large,” designed to ask for
a study on the use of AIA electronic documents by small firms and sole
practitioners. The AIA Board took no position on this resolution.
Work has been underway since early 2005 within the Institute to
determine options to best serve members— small firms, small project
practitioners, and sole practitioners.
Recognition and appreciation
As is traditional, delegates also voted to recognize newly licensed members;
departing members of the Council of Architectural Component Executives
Ken Englund of AIA Indiana and the Ohio Valley Region, Barbara Rodriguez
of AIA New York State, and Alice Sinkovich of AIA Chicago; and retiring
Executive Committee and Board members. They also voted by acclamation
to extend appreciation to the host chapter; convention committees;
exhibitors; and AIA President Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, and her husband,
Barry Jones, AIA.
A note of special appreciation
AIA Vice President Michael Broshar, AIA, brought a special Certificate
of Recognition for AIA President Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, from Iowa Governor
Thomas J. Vilsack. It said:
“Kate Schwennsen has made signal contributions to the life of
her community and the State of Iowa. She has taken the values nurtured
by the State to both a national and international stage.
“At home, she has added to her community’s design legacy
with her work; educated and mentored generations of students who will
enrich the State and the nation with their gifts; been a role model for
Iowa’s women; and has led her fellow Iowa architects to a creative
engagement with the 21st century.
“Abroad, she has taken her love for the land on which she grew
up and translated it into a passion for sustainability. She has been
a champion of diversity and inclusiveness so that the architecture profession
might mirror the society it serves. She has demonstrated that although
Iowa may be America’s heartland, it has a global vision. She has
applied well what she has learned in the classroom and her work—an
inspirational quality of compassion and caring that reflect well on the
values of her birthplace and identify her not only as a national leader
of the 77,000-member American Institute of Architects, but as a global
ambassador for everything positive about the State.
“On behalf of the Citizens of Iowa, I congratulate you for your
personal commitment and thank you for your unwavering support.”
Delegates honored Schwennsen with a standing ovation.
Copyright 2006 The American Institute of Architects.
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