The following information is excerpted from the current college bylaws. It describes in more detail exactly who is eligible to serve on the Community Board for the various categories of seat, and provides more detail on how these individuals are chosen.

Candidates for public interest seats on the Community Board may include individuals from the local community, the Academy’s current or former patient populations, the broader national and international Five Element practitioner and patient community, or other general domains relevant to nonprofit governance such as education, law, medicine, business, or finance. Every effort shall be made to ensure that public interest members represent diverse communities, including geographically local members and underrepresented communities. With the exception of clinic patients, candidates for public interest seats shall be generally independent of the Academy and its activities, and shall not have other existing (current) stakeholder affiliations, either directly or indirectly, e.g., via family, professional or other business or client-based connections.

Candidates for public interest seats on the Community Board shall be initially identified informally by the Board Development standing committee, under the leadership of the board Vice-Chair. Resumes of interested potential candidates shall be circulated to committee members, and other board members. Opportunities to discuss candidates shall be made available prior to any approval process. Candidates for open public interest seats shall be appointed by a majority vote at a regular board meeting, following an appropriate nomination, review, and deliberation process. Open public interest seats may be filled at any time, at the discretion of the board. Individuals may self-nominate for open public interest seats by sending letters of interest to the chair of the Board Development standing committee. Self-nominated candidates shall electronically submit a resume (or equivalent) and a statement of interest, in PDF format.

Candidates for faculty seats on the Community Board shall be drawn from the pool of current Academy instructional staff, including classroom instructors, clinic supervisors, and teaching assistants. Eligibility for faculty status shall be defined by current rosters maintained by the Academy’s Academic Dean and Clinic Director at any given time. Candidates for faculty seats shall have worked at the Academy for a minimum of one (1) year before being eligible to seek election to the board. Candidates for faculty seats on the board may hold other stakeholder affiliations (e.g., alumni) in addition to their faculty role at the time of appointment.

Candidates for faculty seats on the Community Board may self nominate or may be nominated by others. Candidates shall be selected to serve on the board by their peers, i.e., by other current classroom instructors, clinic supervisors, or teaching assistants. The selection mechanisms shall involve a transparent nominations process, and timely circulation of a resume (or equivalent) and a statement of interest to the voting group prior to decisions. Online election processes shall be utilized if nominations to fill available seats are contested. Election processes, if utilized, shall include secure secret ballot procedures, and ranked choice voting methods where applicable. Election processes for faculty seats, and any applicable policies, shall be overseen and maintained by the Board Development standing committee.

Candidates for staff seats on the Community Board shall be current Academy employees or independent contractors, who provide non-instructional services at the time of appointment to the board. Current staff status shall be defined by the current rosters maintained by the Academy’s Executive Director at any given time time. The Executive Director shall not seek election to the board as a staff member. To be eligible to seek appointment, candidates for staff seats shall have worked at the Academy for a minimum of one (1) year. Candidates for staff seats on the board may hold other stakeholder affiliations (e.g., alumni) in addition to their staff role at the time of appointment.

Candidates for staff seats on the Community Board shall be appointed by their peers, i.e., other current staff members or employees. The Executive Director shall play no role in either encouraging or discouraging the nomination or election of staff members for seats on the board. The selection mechanism shall involve a nomination process, and the timely circulation of a resume (or equivalent) and a statement of interest to the voting group prior to decisions. Online election processes shall be utilized if nominations to fill available seats are contested. Election processes, if utilized, shall include secure secret ballots, and ranked choice voting where applicable. Election processes for staff seats, and any applicable policies, shall be overseen and maintained by the Board Development standing committee.

Candidates for student seats on the Community Board shall be current Academy students in one of the Academy’s accredited programs. Current student status shall be defined by the current rosters maintained by the Academy’s Registrar at any given time time. To be eligible to stand for a student seat on the board, candidates shall have been enrolled at the Academy for a minimum of three months (including completion of at least one full teaching intensive) before standing for election. Students may be permitted to participate as observers in meetings of the Community Board, at the discretion of the board. Candidates for student seats on the board may hold other stakeholder affiliations (e.g., staff) in addition to their student role at the time of appointment.

Candidates for student seats shall be chosen by their peers, i.e., other students. The selection process shall involve a nomination process, and the timely circulation of a resume (or equivalent) and a statement of interest to the voting group prior to decisions. Online election processes shall be utilized if nominations to fill available seats are contested. Election processes, if utilized, shall include secret ballots, and ranked choice voting where applicable. Election processes for student seats, and any applicable policies, shall be overseen and maintained by the Board Development standing committee.

Candidates for alumni seats on the Community Board shall be graduates of one or more of the Academy’s programs, or programs previously offered by the Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture (Classes 1 through 8). Current Academy (or WICA) alumni status shall be defined by the current alumni rosters maintained by the Academy’s Registrar at any given time. Alumni of the Academy and WICA shall be eligible to seek appointment to the board at any time conditional upon formal graduation from an Academy or WICA program. Candidates for alumni seats on the board may hold other stakeholder affiliations (e.g., staff) in addition to their alumni role at the time of appointment.

Candidates for alumni seats shall be chosen by their peers, i.e., other alumni. The selection mechanism shall involve a transparent nominations process, and the timely circulation via email of a resume (or equivalent) and a statement of interest to the entire voting group prior to decisions. Online election processes shall be utilized if nominations to fill available seats are contested. Election processes, if utilized, shall include secret ballots, and ranked choice voting where applicable. Election processes for alumni seats, and any applicable policies, shall be overseen and maintained by the Board Development standing committee.

• General Introduction for Potential Board Members
• Eligibility Criteria and Selection Processes for Joining the Board
• How Much Time Will Be Involved?
• Compensation Questions
• Useful Skills for Board Members to Have
• Challenges of Being a Board Member
• Interested in Serving? - Submit a Statement of Interest

• Community Board Handbook -- Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members

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