Committees Descriptions & Charges

Executive Committee: The Executive Committee includes the current President, Past President, President Elect, and Treasurer. The Editor-in-Chief of Agriculture and Human Values and the Administrator serve as ex-officio members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee exercises any powers of the Board of Directors between meetings of the Board, except that the Executive Committee cannot: amend articles of incorporation or by-laws, reverse a decision previously made by the Board, select or remove an Executive Director, or make or withdraw an official endorsement of the Editor-in-Chief of Agriculture and Human Values.

Graduate Student/Early Career Professional Committee: The AFHVS Graduate Student/Early-Career Professional Committee (GSECC) organizes both social and professional development events of interest to students and early-career professionals (within the first five years after graduation) at the annual conference. In addition, the GSECC arranges webinars throughout the year, organizes sessions during the annual conference, and holds a business meeting during the annual conference to begin planning events for the following year, and to prioritize other tasks for this group.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee: The JEDI committee is a cross-cutting committee aimed at upholding AFHVS’s commitment to racial justice, equity, and inclusion. In its first year as a formal committee, JEDI is working to identify and develop tools and resources that AFHVS committees and members can use to examine how current processes and structures reproduce marginalization and inequality and to take actions to resist and dismantle them.

Membership, Communications, and Social Media Committee: The AFHVS Membership and Communications Committee aims to expand and engage the membership, build institutional memory, facilitate communication, and foster networking—both between members and with external organizations.

Nominations Committee: It is the responsibility of the Nominations Committee to secure candidates for the ballot and present a slate of qualified, acceptable candidates to the Executive Committee for approval and to the membership for a vote.

Professional Awards Committee: The AFHVS Professional Awards Committee has oversight of all AFHVS professional awards.  These include the awards for Excellence in Scholarship, Excellence in Instruction, Excellence in Public Service, Excellence in Innovation, and the Richard P. Haynes Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in Agriculture, Food, and Human Values. The Committee can also propose or consider proposals to establish new awards. 

Student Paper Awards Committee: The AFHVS Student Paper Awards Committee manages the student paper award process, making awards at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The committee is tasked with encouraging student scholarship related to AFHVS, nurturing new and future AFHVS members, and facilitating student participation in AFHVS through recognition of strong scholarship. 

Conference Program Committee: Liaises with conference host in organizing and planning annual conference; takes leadership in conference planning responsibilities for conferences in even-numbered years.

Site Selection Committee: The site selection committee solicits and reviews proposals to host the joint annual meeting, and makes a recommendation to the board.