CESS Board Nominations

CESS invites nominations for two new members of our Board of Directors and an incoming President. These positions are for three years, starting from the Annual Conference in 2023 and ending at the Annual Conference in 2026.

The incoming President will serve as President-Elect from 2023/24, President from 2024/25, and Past-President from 2025/26. Please see below for further details about the role of CESS President.

CESS Board members play an active role in determining the direction of the major scholarly association working in our area. Joining the CESS Board offers you extensive networking and outreach opportunities. As a Board Member, you can gain or further your professional expertise by supporting the effective running of CESS through your active participation in board meetings and in our committees (current committees are dedicated to academic freedom, awards, communications, conferences, elections, endowment and fundraising, institutional linkages, membership, and regional outreach).

SELECTION CRITERIA

According to the CESS Bylaws, all CESS Board Members must have:

Professional or scholarly expertise in a field relevant to the Central Eurasia region;
Current CESS membership;
Working proficiency in English.

A strong candidate will have:

A demonstrated commitment to CESS (for example, through membership, conference participation, and past/present active involvement in committee work);
Excellent communication skills;
Active involvement and preferably leadership experience in CESS or another similar organization;
Working proficiency in one or more Central Eurasian or other language(s);
Willingness and availability to commit time to the work (expected to average 10–12 hours per month), including participating in email correspondence, monthly Virtual Board Meetings (held by email), and the face-to-face Annual Board Meeting.

PRESIDENT ROLE DESCRIPTIONS (FROM THE CESS BYLAWS)

The President shall be the Corporation’s principal executive officer and preside at all Board meetings. The President shall be responsible for seeing that Board resolutions and actions are carried into effect and for reporting to the Board on the conduct and management of the affairs of the Corporation.

Besides providing intellectual, managerial, and organizational leadership, the President shall, in consultation with the Executive Committee and the Treasurer, prepare an annual budget, considering the Corporation’s estimated income and expenditures, for review and approval by the Board at the beginning of each year. At the same meeting, the President, together with the Treasurer, will prepare and present an annual report summarising the Corporation’s financial status, including a comparison of estimated and actual income and expenditures for the year and an analysis of any budgetary issues that may require the Board’s attention.

The President shall also perform such other duties as are usual to this office, and that may from time to time be assigned to him or her, or specifically required to be performed by him or her, by these Bylaws, by the Board, or by law.

CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President-Elect 2022/23, President 2023/24, Past President 2024/25: Ablet Kamalov
President 2022/23, Past President 2023/24: Jeff Sahadeo
Board Members: Barbara Junisbai (2021–2024), Nargis Kassenova (2021–2024), Emil Nasritdinov (2022–2025), Akram Umaarov (2022–2025).

Board Members whose term ends in October 2023 (and whose positions will be replaced at this election):

Past President 2022/23: Jennifer Murtazashvili
Board Members: Noor Borbieva (2020–2023), Christopher Atwood (2020–2023)

HOW TO APPLY/MAKE A NOMINATION

If you know someone who would be a good candidate, or if you would like to run in the upcoming elections, please contact CESS Administrator Katia Clod-Svensson at info@centraleurasia.org.

To apply, please send an application statement of no more than 400 words, which details how you meet the selection criteria. Please also explain which areas of CESS activity you would expect to work on developing, improving, or sustaining during your tenure.

Nominations acceptance ended on September 22, 2023.

Voting will commence at the end of September, 2023.