ARG Procedures
Preliminary Procedures
Election of the Chair
The ARG members elect the chair from the current, eligible and voting ARG membership. The chair is elected in November, prior to the beginning of the annual ARG cycle, and serves as chair-elect during that year's cycle, and then becomes chair during the following year's cycle. Normally, the chair serves a one-year term.
Nomination Procedures for ARG Candidates
The NCAR Directorate accepts nominations via the ARG web application site at http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/central/arg/. Detailed instructions for submission are available on the site. Nominating NCAR units prepare the following materials for each nominee. Candidates are encouraged to participate in the development of the nominating materials, and should work closely with the director(s) to present the most compelling case for the appointment. Please note: items asterisked (*) are sent to the referees.
NEW: Nominating NCAR units should ensure that the process for ARG consideration is transparent and understood by scientific staff. The nominating entity should document and make available its own internal procedures for selecting and preparing cases for the ARG. Entity directors should consult each other to ensure the internal procedures are consistent.
Nominating Materials
Please see detailed information on required Nominating Materials under “Nominations”
Detailed ARG Meeting Procedures
Confidentiality
The ARG proceedings, including the names of selected referees, are confidential.
Conflicts of Interest
In the event that a conflict of interest would prevent an ARG member from voting on a particular candidate, the ARG member can state so in advance of the first meeting of the ARG cycle and be excused from that cycle by the Director of NCAR with the advice and consultation of the ARG chair. The appropriate entity director will make a replacement for the duration of the ARG cycle.
NEW: Withdrawing a Case
The ARG represents a significant institutional and individual commitment to scientific excellence at NCAR. Nominating NCAR units must prepare each case with the highest level of due diligence. While some circumstances may warrant withdrawing a case, the practice is strongly discouraged. To withdraw a case, the nominating director must submit a written request to the NCAR Director for his/her approval of the request. The request will outline the circumstances that warrant the withdrawal.
Attendance
The ARG members are responsible for attending both ARG meetings. The ARG members are also expected to participate in and fulfill all aspects of the ARG's responsibilities.
Definition of Quorum
A quorum consists of three-quarters (3/4) of all voting members. A quorum is required to proceed with the activities of the committee.
Meeting Minutes
The Recording Secretary takes detailed notes on the discussions. Official minutes do not contain subjective description unless such discussion leads directly to a specific action by the ARG.
First Meeting
The following activities are required at the first meeting of the annual Appointments Review Group process and are governed by the following rules. The first meeting of the ARG is held in late winter.
Approval of Minutes
The chair requests approval of the meeting minutes from the last meeting of the ARG.
- Announcement of the ARG Chair Election Results
- The chair announces the election results
Presentation of the Case
The nominating director(s), or appropriate scientist, presents the case.
Discussion of the Case and Identification of Issues
The ARG Members should be prepared to discuss the case and offer or comment on additional aspects of the nominee's case. During the discussion, the ARG will identify issues for the investigative subcommittee to consider. The investigative subcommittee will explore these issues and address them in its report and at the second ARG meeting.
Selection of Referees
The ARG members should be prepared to consider the list submitted by the nominating entity and make recommendations to augment the list.
For scientist III nominations, a total of eight (8) referees are selected. The nominating entity is permitted to select three (3) referees and should indicate these selections in the nominating materials. The ARG will select up to five (5) more. In the final list, at least three (3) of the referees will be international. A short biography (2-3 sentences, including affiliation) should be included for each referee named.
For Senior Scientist nominees, a total of ten (10) referees are selected. The nominating division is permitted to select four (4) referees and should indicate these selections in the nominating materials. The ARG will select up to six (6) more. In the final list, at least five (5) of the referees will be international. A short biography (2-3 sentences, including affiliation) should be included for each referee named.
Solicitation of References
The Director's office solicits the letters of reference from identified referees, receives and collects them as they arrive, and distributes them to the ARG in a timely manner via the ARG website: http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/central/arg/
Selecting the Membership of Investigative Subcommittees
The responsibilities of the subcommittees are to evaluate the nomination with respect to the appointment criteria, evaluate the letters of recommendation received, and investigate specific issues and questions posed by the ARG. The ARG selects the three investigative subcommittee as follows:
- Two members are expected to be current ARG members
- All members must be voting members of the ARG or NCAR Senior Scientists
- No member may be from the candidate's nominating division(s)
- ARG members are not required to serve on more than one investigative subcommittee
- If having two ARG members on each subcommittee would require multiple service, subcommittees may be formed with just one ARG member
One resource person, selected by each candidate's nominating division(s), is appointed to provide expertise and assistance to the investigative subcommittee.
The procedures for the investigative subcommittee are available here.
Second Meeting of the ARG
The following activities are required at the second meeting of the annual Appointments Review process and are governed by the following rules. The second meeting is usually held in May.
Approval of Minutes
The chair requests approval of the meeting minutes from the last meeting of the ARG.
Consideration of the Case
The ARG will consider all Sc. III nominations in a single group to be followed by all the Senior Scientist nominations in a single group. Should the number of candidates for both appointments be large enough to take more than one day to consider, all the candidates in one category are considered and balloted on the same day. The remaining category of candidates is considered and balloted on at the next day's meeting.
- Investigative Subcommittee Report
- General Discussion
- Balloting
- Results
- Attendance
No substitutes are allowed for ARG members. Subcommittee members who are not ARG members are invited to attend during discussion of their nominee's case at the second meeting to answer questions or provide clarification.
Presentation of the Report of the Investigative Subcommittee
The chair of each investigative subcommittee gives a brief summary of the report on the candidate. Members may ask for specific clarification or amplification of points in the report. After this discussion, any non-ARG members of the investigative subcommittee who are present are excused.
General Discussion of the Candidate
At this time, the Members enter into a general discussion of the merits of the nomination, considering all materials presented to date.
Secret Balloting
The ARG votes on each nomination by secret ballot. Favorable votes by two-thirds of those present are required to support a recommendation for appointment. The ARG conveys these results as a recommendation to the Director of NCAR.
ARG members are encouraged to write in the ballot the reasons for their recommendation. In the case of a negative vote such written comments are mandatory. The comments are transcribed to preserve anonymity and communicated to the candidate regardless of whether the recommendation of the ARG as a whole is positive or negative.
No abstentions are allowed on the ballots for appointments.
Ballot Count
The Human Resource Director and the ARG Administrative Assistant count the ballots and provide the results to the ARG Chair.
Notification of Results
Candidates to the position of Scientist III who are recommended for appointment by the ARG may be appointed by the Director of NCAR by letter. Nominating NCAR units should send salary recommendations, approved by UCAR Human Resources, to the NCAR Directorate within two weeks of the ARG recommendation. Letters of appointment will include the effective date of the appointment and the salary for the first year.
Candidates to the position of Senior Scientist who are recommended for appointment by the ARG may be appointed by the Director of NCAR with authorization by the UCAR Board of Trustees. These appointments are reviewed by the UCAR Personnel Committee at the summer meeting. The UCAR Personnel Committee makes its recommendation to the full UCAR Board of Trustees. For nominations authorized by the UCAR Board of Trustees and accepted by the Director of NCAR, the Director of NCAR will send letters of appointment to the respective nominees upon completion of the UCAR Board of Trustees' meeting. The letters will include the effective date of the appointment and the salary for the first year. Nominating NCAR units should send salary recommendations, approved by UCAR Human Resources, to the NCAR Directorate within two weeks of the ARG recommendation.
When a candidate is not recommended by the ARG for appointment, and such a negative recommendation is accepted by the NCAR Director, the candidate will be informed of the result by his or her entity director. Additional communication from both the Director of NCAR and the ARG Chair on the specifics of the ARG discussions and recommendations for future actions will be made on an individual basis. Depending on the individual case, the NCAR Director and the ARG Chair may also communicate to the candidate such specifics of the ARG discussions and recommendations for future actions which the ARG considers useful to the candidate.