Meet the committee

The Chair of the committee liaises with the Honorary Secretary regarding agendas for meetings, and chairs at least three Committee meetings per annum as well as the AGM of members. This also entails agreeing minutes with the Honorary Secretary, checking that actions agreed in minutes are followed up, and writing an annual report on the Committee's activities.

The role of Chair involves discussion with the Honorary Treasurer over decisions on spending matters, wherever possible in conjunction with the remainder of the Committee. There is also liaison with other Committee members over their various tasks and decisions.

The Chair is in touch with various outside bodies, including:

• Heads of UK Anthropology Departments
• Royal Anthropological Institute
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• British Academy
• Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS)
• HEFCE
• World Council of Anthropological Associations

The Chair responds to consultation documents and to requests for nominations for their committees, representing the ASA at joint meetings. The role also includes chairing the applications committee for the Radcliffe-Brown and Firth Funds joint ASA/RAI panel twice a year, and conveying the panel's decision to the RAI administrator.

The role of Chair also involves giving support to members who are in dispute with their employers or have other problems connected with their professional work as anthropologists.

The Chair of the committee liaises with the Honorary Secretary regarding agendas for meetings, and chairs at least three Committee meetings per annum as well as the AGM of members. This also entails agreeing minutes with the Honorary Secretary, checking that actions agreed in minutes are followed up, and writing an annual report on the Committee's activities.

The role of Chair involves discussion with the Honorary Treasurer over decisions on spending matters, wherever possible in conjunction with the remainder of the Committee. There is also liaison with other Committee members over their various tasks and decisions.

The Chair is in touch with various outside bodies, including:

• Heads of UK Anthropology Departments
• Royal Anthropological Institute
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• British Academy
• Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS)
• HEFCE
• World Council of Anthropological Associations

The Chair responds to consultation documents and to requests for nominations for their committees, representing the ASA at joint meetings. The role also includes chairing the applications committee for the Radcliffe-Brown and Firth Funds joint ASA/RAI panel twice a year, and conveying the panel's decision to the RAI administrator.

The role of Chair also involves giving support to members who are in dispute with their employers or have other problems connected with their professional work as anthropologists.

The Honorary Secretary organises committee meetings and prepares the Agenda for these, in consultation with the Chair; collects reports from committee members; and writes up and distributes the Minutes of committee meetings and the AGM. The Secretary may also provide the RAI with appropriate items of ASA News for inclusion in Anthropology Today. The Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer deal with matters arising between meetings of the ASA Committee, including ASA/RAI support to postgraduate students.

The Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the financial administration of the association, approving transactions, working with the administrators to produce an annual budget, and approving the accounts produced by the association's accountants. As such the Treasurer is responsible for the financial health of the ASA.

The Publications Officer has general oversight of ASA publications; the role involves liaising with the editors of the annual conference monograph and ASAonline, and coordinating relations between the ASA Committee and the Association’s publishers. The Publication Officer also organises peer review for the monograph and is responsible for receiving and granting requests for copyright permissions.

The Conference Officer provides advice and support to the convenors of ASA conferences and establishes links and facilitates communication between the ASA and other organisations, institutions, universities and academics who participate in these. Together with the Chair, the Conference Liaison Officer also represents the ASA at WCAA events.

The Networks Officer promotes ASA contacts with anthropologists working outside the academy, or within the academy but outside university anthropology departments. The officer also encourages the formation of ASA Networks, brings formal applications to establish networks to the ASA Committee, and supports the functioning of established networks. This officer also co-ordinates the ASA representatives involved in networks, and reports to the ASA Committee about network activities.

The principle responsibilities of this position are to coordinate the running of the ASA Globalog; to advise on the ASA's Ethical Guidelines; to encourage discussion of the ASA's ethical recommendations, and if necessary to propose revisions of the Guidelines to the AGM, and – with the AGM’s approval to add such revisions to the guidelines. This officer also co-ordinates with other ethics bodies and aids the discussion and development of ethics in social research, including working with RCUK and international funding bodies on ethics issues.

The Media and Publicity Officer’s primary task is to enhance the public profile of the ASA and anthropology in general, by responding to media enquiries and engaging proactively with the media. It involves liaison with the RAI, anthropology journals, leading on film festival collaborations, and working with other members of the Committee to support the ASA’s promotional activities.

The task of the Membership officer is to support the development of the ASA through encouraging a broad and diverse membership of the Association. In collaboration with the Committee and the ASA’s administrators, this officer is expected to develop and carry out programmes to achieve this aim, for example by composing and disseminating effective communications to target groups, and working with Universities and post-graduate networks.

The Education officer promotes the development of learning and teaching initiatives in anthropology. The role also involves liaison with the Higher Education Academy and other bodies supporting learning and teaching in higher education, to represent the interests of anthropologists and anthropology students. The officer also acts as a representative for the postgraduate network to ensure that the network remains active, that its concerns are represented on the ASA Committee.