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MGA SCOOP, May 2008 (A monthly newsletter for IEEE Section, Council, Subsection, and Area Chairs, Treasurers, Newsletter Editors, and Webmasters) HEADLINES
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MGA vTOOLS MEETING PILOT PROGRAM A new tool to schedule and advertise section and chapter meetings is being piloted. vTools.Meetings is a tool for managing meetings that will be available to IEEE sections and chapters at no charge. It is piloted by Membership and Geographic Activities as a part of the MGA vTools project that will provide section and chapters with a set of volunteer-developed tools to assist them in managing their ongoing activities. In the pilot release of the vTools.Meetings officers can create meeting announcements with no dependence on a webmaster. Members and the public may then see the upcoming meetings, drill down for details, and register (accepting credit card payments is not yet supported). The tool offers a vCalendar feature providing an easy mechanism for users to add meetings to their personal calendar systems. It also provides meeting RSS feeds and has a simple way of integrating them into section and chapter websites. Information for meetings in neighboring sections or for the Region can be also integrated. Future releases of the tool will include feeding meeting information into myIEEE. vTools.Meetings is currently running in a pilot phase with a plan to announce the results at the Sections Congress. More information is available at http://jape.ieee.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/Meetings/WebHome. If you have any questions or if you would like to be part of the pilot program please e-mail the vTools.Meetings team at vtools-meetings@ieee.org PUBLICIZE YOUR CONFERENCE As a reminder, IEEE Conference Services is asking all Regions, Chapters and Sections to submit an Information Schedule for all Conferences, Symposia, Workshops, Tutorials, Short Courses, Expositions and Conventions. The Information Schedule is a request for basic conference summary information and will allow Conference Services to develop a complete and accurate IEEE conference business profile. In addition, better information will help facilitate a stronger negotiating position with service providers and the information will be used to help you promote your conferences through the IEEE website. As an extra benefit, this conference information is also fed to regional calendars for additional coverage for your unit.This request for information through the Information Schedule does not imply any changes in financial reporting policies. The same threshold for financial reporting remains in effect: which requires that any conference with budgeted income or expense of greater than $25K USD must follow IEEE conference financial reporting rules.The Information Schedule is a powerful tool that benefits IEEE Conference Services and the Regions, Chapters and Sections. Submit the Schedule and it will be used to benefit all. Contact: IEEE Conference Services, 1-732-562-3878, conference-services@ieee.org IEEE CONFERENCE NEWSLETTER - MONTHLY The Conference Organizers' Newsletter is distributed monthly to IEEE Conference Organizers. It contains all the relevant news and information from IEEE Conference Business Services, including tips, industry insights, IEEE compliance reminders, and a Conference Organizer Profile of the Month. Past issues of the newsletter are available at http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/ieeemeet/issues/. To subscribe to the Conference Organizers' Newsletter, please email ConferenceNewsletter@ieee.org. IEEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESIGNS Jeffry Raynes has submitted his resignation as IEEE Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer to President Lew Terman effective 5 June 2008. "It has been a privilege to work with the IEEE during these exciting times," Raynes said. In a message to employees dated 16 April, Raynes applauded the staff and volunteers for their many accomplishments during his tenure. Among the achievements he cited were the adoption of a new strategic plan, the launch of the new Business Management System, and the strengthening of IEEE’s global presence with a new focus on international operations. Raynes noted, "I have every confidence that the IEEE will continue the forward progress towards its envisioned future. The future is so very bright for the IEEE." In response to Raynes’ announcement, IEEE President Lew Terman said, "Jeff has ably served the IEEE in his role as Executive Director. IEEE is a better organization as a result of his contributions. I want to thank Jeff for his service to IEEE." The IEEE Board of Directors will soon begin the search process for a new IEEE Executive Director. Comments may be sent to president@ieee.org. IEEE.tv ANNOUNCEMENT - TWO NEW PROGRAMS RELEASED IEEE.tv is an internet based television network made possible by the members of IEEE. IEEE.tv produces and delivers special-interest programming about technology and engineering for the benefit of IEEE's members and the general public. The following programs have been released recently.
IEEE Expert Now Pilot Program Enables Members to Earn Free Continuing Education Units – Extended Through 2008 IEEE Expert Now courses are available for use by IEEE Regions, Sections, and Chapters interested in participating in the IEEE Expert Now Section-Chapter Pilot Program. The program helps local IEEE volunteers organize an event where attendees can view one or more IEEE Expert Now course(s) and discuss the materials with a local expert on that topic. There is no charge for participating in this program in 2008, and IEEE Regions, Sections and Chapters who do participate this year will have the ability to award Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to event participants free of charge. IEEE Regions, Sections and Chapters interested in participating should contact IEEE Educational Activities (EA) staff to begin planning their event. IEEE EA staff provides access to the selected course(s), can make recommendations or provide “best practices” for organizing the event, provide surveys for attendees’ feedback and issue CEUs to attendees who return completed surveys. For more information visit the IEEE Expert Now Section-Chapter Program Web site or send a message to expertnowinfo@ieee.org. IEEE POWER ENGINEERING SOCIETY OFFICIALLY CHANGES NAME TO IEEE POWER & ENERGY SOCIETY After a final vote from the Society membership, the IEEE Power Engineering Society has officially changed its name to the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), effective 22 April. In an announcement at the 2008 IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference in Chicago, Ill., 2008 PES President Wanda Reder outlined the benefits of the name change:
The name change also:
The Society’s mission will remain "to be the leading provider of scientific and engineering information on electric power and energy for the betterment of society and the preferred professional development source for [our] members."The IEEE PES is the oldest IEEE Society, and will celebrate its 125TH anniversary in 2009, along with the IEEE itself. For full coverage of the PES Transmission and Distribution conference, read the show’s official blog at http://ieee-pes-td.com/. CALL FOR FELLOW NOMINATIONS – CLASS OF 2010 Nominations are being accepted for the IEEE Fellows class of 2010. The rank of IEEE Fellow is the institute’s highest member grade, bestowed on an IEEE Senior Member who has had an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The deadline for nominations is 1 March 2009.Senior Members can be nominated in one of four categories: application engineer/practitioner, research engineer/scientist, educator, or technical leader.The Fellows Web pages contain information regarding the history of the IEEE Fellows program, the nomination process, access to the Fellows Nomination Kit, lists of Fellows who are eligible to be references and more about the Fellow program. WEB TEAM COMMUNICATIONS SECTION LAUNCHED TO REPORT IEEE WEB PRESENCE DEVELOPMENTS The IEEE Web Team has launched a Web section designed to provide updates on IEEE Web-related plans and activities. The newly-formed IEEE Web strategy is a greater push toward user-centered design, so that users can accomplish their tasks faster and with less frustration. The section will include project descriptions, updates and deliverables, as well as a feedback mechanism and contact information. The Web team will also issue a quarterly eNewsletter that will provide an overview of recently completed projects. Access the IEEE Web Team Communications Web section using your IEEE Web account. Contact Candace Beach, Web Presence Manager, with any questions at c.beach@ieee.org. PREVIOUS HEADLINES
Note: This newsletter is intended for the interest of IEEE volunteers and may be shared with other volunteers. The newsletter, in its entirety or in part, should not be sent to public bulletin board systems. Archival issues of SCOOP are available at the following URL: http://www.ieee.org/scoop. IEEE Member and Geographic Activities, May 2008 |
