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Dear ASA Members,<br>
<br>
The Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Astronomy (IDEA) Chapter of the ASA aims to promote and assist the career development of underrepresented groups working in astronomy in Australia, raise awareness of issues faced by these groups and undertake to establish
best practice guidelines for supporting the inclusion of these groups in our community.<br>
<br>
The IDEA Chapter has been active for over a decade (initially as the Women in Astronomy Chapter) and has driven activities that have been beneficial to the diversity of people working in astronomy, including:<br>
<br>
<ul>
<li>Organised highly successful national workshops (Women in Astronomy/Diversity in Astronomy)</li><li>Conducted special meetings at the ASA Annual Science Meetings</li><li>Organised ‘Speed-Meet-a-Mentor’ sessions at the ASA Annual Science Meetings</li><li>Organised Rainbow Dinners at the ASA Annual Science Meetings</li><li>Collated statistics on the demographics of Australian astronomy</li><li>Provided advice on, and lobbied for best practice for organisations in STEM, and</li><li>Organised the Pleiades Award initiative, now awarded biennially at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels</li></ul>
<br>
ASA members are welcome to join the Chapter by registering at the ASA’s membership site (<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/szf8ClxwB5C229LJDuG4Hkj?domain=asa.wildapricot.org">https://asa.wildapricot.org</a> - click on the CHAPTERS tab to do this).<br>
<br>
The IDEA Chapter is run by a steering committee that plays a leading role in devising and implementing initiatives to fulfil the Chapter’s goals. The nominal composition of the committee is as follows:<br>
<br>
<ul>
<li>a Chair</li><li>a Deputy Chair (with the intention to Chair in the future)</li><li>a Secretary / Webmaster</li><li>an ASA Council representative</li><li>an Early Career Researcher Chapter representative</li><li>a student representative</li><li>3 - 4 additional committee members</li></ul>
<br>
As this election is taking place later than usual, the terms for new regular members will be two years, while the terms for renominating regular members and the student representative will be one year.<br>
<br>
We are now inviting nominations for all positions, with a deadline of Monday, 16 March. These positions are open to all Chapter members, and we particularly encourage members from diverse backgrounds to consider nominating for one of these positions; we would
like the committee to reflect a reasonable degree of the geographic and demographic diversity of Australia’s astronomical community. Existing steering committee members can renominate if they wish. If there are more nominations than positions (taking the above
diversity considerations in account) we will then ask the chapter members to vote online in due course.<br>
<br>
The nomination / election schedule is:<br>
<br>
- deadline for nominations: 16 March<br>
- election period (if required): 25 March – 8 April<br>
- results announced, and new positions commence: 22 April<br>
<br>
Please email your nomination to the ASA Officer for this election (Debra Gooley: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:debra.gooley@sydney.edu.au">
debra.gooley@sydney.edu.au</a>). Each nomination must 1) indicate the position you are seeking and 2) include a brief paragraph summarising your interest in the position and how you envisage contributing to the broad goals of the Chapter. Please note that
this information will be made available to voters in the event of an election.<br>
<br>
Best regards,<br>
<br>
Daniel Zucker, on behalf of the IDEA Chapter<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature">--
Daniel Zucker
Associate Professor
Macquarie University
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:daniel.zucker@mq.edu.au">daniel.zucker@mq.edu.au</a>
+61 (02) 9850 4442
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