AREA CHAIR GUIDELINES
Serving as a MAPACA area chair can be quite a rewarding experience. It
helps area chairs keep in touch with the latest ideas in their
subjects and network. Sometimes, however, it can be a bit
confusing. Therefore, we offer the following guidelines. Included in
the guidelines are some of MAPACA's policies, such as the need to
register before the conference and that presenters pay for audio-visual
equipment they order at the conference.
1) Write a description of your area to help potential presenters
determine if a topic is appropriate. This is posted on-line
in the "Conference Information" section of MAPACA's website.
2) Occasionally, review the on-line description to make sure it
continues to reflect your vision of the area.
3) When contacted in the spring about serving as the area chair for the
upcoming annual conference, reply to the program chair as quickly as
possible. It is also a good time to make changes to your area
description and contact information.
4) If you are no longer going to serve as the area chair, please
suggest an appropriate replacement. This person should probably be a
former presenter who has already shown interested in the area and
MAPACA. Of course, if you think someone else would make a good area
chair, then please suggest that person. The best area chair is someone
with a keen interest in the subject.
5) Area chairs help solicit proposals for the upcoming conference by circulating
the general call for papers. It is a good idea to make up a flyer
for your own area. Photocopies of these documents can be put into
colleagues' mail boxes, posted in shared areas (lounges, computer
centers, libraries, etc.), distributed at other conferences or events
like lectures. For those who teach, in-class announcements may be
appropriate.
6) After the general call for papers has been sent to the MAPACA
membership, it is good to touch base with former presenters to
stimulate their interest in the upcoming conference. One subtle way to
do this is to remind them that the on-line Gazette and the
peer-reviewed Almanack need submissions.
7) MAPACA is an inclusive organization that encourages people with an
interest in an area to submit proposals. Undergraduate students,
graduate students, professionals, academics, independent scholars, and
hobbyists are among the appropriate presenters. As long as a proposal fits into
an area's perimeters, it is fine to accept it. There is no limit to
the number of panels an area may have, but, the chair should not have
so many panels that the conference is overwhelming.
8) If a proposal or inquiry is not right for your area, please direct
the person to a more appropriate area. If you cannot think of one,
direct the person to the program chair. Consult the general call for
papers or website to find out who is currently serving as program chair. Please
let the person know if you are forwarding the proposal.
9) As a courtesy, it is good to send confirmation upon receiving a proposal.
10) The deadline for proposals is June 15. If something comes in
between June 15 and July 15 and you're willing to accept it, fine. It
is NOT possible to accept proposals after July 15, the deadline for
submitting organized panels to the program chair.
11) Notify presenters whose proposals have been accepted as quickly
as you can. This will help prevent the anguish of double-dippers
(people who submit proposals to more than one area) and keep the
person committed to presenting at the upcoming conference.
12) Organize your panels according to the submissions. Panels can have
three or four presenters if the traditional format is followed. A
presenter on a three-person panel has 20 minutes to present; a
presenter on a four-person panel has 15 minutes to present. It is also
possible to submit entire panels, round table discussions,
inter-active panels, presentations, or other non-traditional formats.
Check with the program chair to make sure MAPACA can accommodate the
format.
13) If you have an extra proposal or something that doesn't fit, send
it to the program chair who can usually figure out a way to include it
in the conference. Please let the person know if you do this.
14) Be familiar with what type of audio-visual equipment is available
for the current conference. Rooms are usually assigned according to
audio-visual requests. If a proposal requires something that MAPACA
does not provide, let the person know right away. Sometimes presenters
can bring their own equipment. If the presenter requests the
specialized equipment at the conference, the presenter will have to
pay for it. MAPACA will not pay for expensive special requests.
15) July 15 is the deadline for sending your organized panels to the
program chair. It is CRITICAL that area chairs respect this deadline.
Any delay will probably mean that special needs cannot be met which
might encourage presenters to drop out. Not meeting this deadline can
also delay the organization of the conference which might encourage
presenters to drop out. Remember there is a reason for the
July 15 deadline: The program chair needs to check for double-dippers,
determine if there is a need to add more conference rooms, organize
the conference, schedule audio-visual equipment, get registration
letters out, set up the on-line registration, etc.
16) Touch base with your presenters once or twice a month. This will
make it easy to deal with any problems, such as lost registration
letters or confusion about on-line registration or the need to change
panel members. If there are any special events, it is good to notify
presenters so they don't miss the opportunity to participate. It also
helps to keep the presenters focused on the upcoming conference.
17) If any presenter needs to change the title or contact information
or must withdraw, please let the program chair know as quickly as possible.
18) At the appropriate times, remind presenters of deadlines such as
the cut-off dates for regular conference registration, late registration and the
discounted hotel rate.
19) The program is usually on-line in early September. Please ask
presenters to look over their information to be sure it is correct.
The information in the on-line program will be the same as the
information in the printed conference program. If something needs to
be corrected, the sooner the better.
20) The on-line program will also show who has registered for the
conference. It is a good idea to keep track of which of your
presenters have registered and send gentle reminders if necessary.
Presenters must register before the conference to be included in the
conference program (usually a requirement for reimbursement) and to
present at the conference. It is NOT possible to register at the
conference. Any presenter who has not pre-registered will be dropped.
21) DO NOT advise people to simply add themselves to the conference.
If someone approaches you with the desire to present at the upcoming
conference, but the deadlines have passed, contact the program chair
to see if there is an opening. People who insert themselves into the
conference program cause many problems. It may be possible to add
someone if the proper procedures are followed. If there is no spot for
this person, suggest they submit the proposal to the upcoming national
conference or to the MAPACA conference in the following year. It is
fine for someone with no intention of presenting to register for the
upcoming conference by following the sameprocedure as presenters; the
person will answer the questions about presenting with "no" or "none".
22) A couple of weeks before the conference, ask your presenters for
introductions. Brief introductions, a sentence or two, are best. This
also gives you an opportunity to remind them of time limits and panel
organization. Remind them to bring back-ups if they are using any
audio-visual equipment. There are instructions on the MAPACA site for
converting a power point presentation into a CD.
23) MAPACA expects area chairs to attend the conference. There are
times when area chairs cannot or cannot attend all of their panels. In
these cases, area chairs need to notify their presenters. It is necessary
to appoint a panel chair who will run the panel. It is important to
inform the program chair that you will not be attending so
arrangements can be made to check in on your panels.
24) At the conference, check in at the registration desk from time to
time. Presenters may leave messages at the registration desk for area
chairs.
25) The panel introductions can be all at once at the beginning or
right before the presenter begins. It is usually best to field
questions after all the presenters have given their papers. The area
or panel chair should try to ensure that each presenter is asked at
least one question.
26) Facilitate the smooth and on-time running of your panels. Panels
need to end at the indicated time to allow enough time for the
transition into the new panel. Before the panel begins, remind
presenters of their time limit and let them know they will be asked to
stop if they go over. It is a good idea to let presenters know as they
draw close to the end of their time. A 5 minute warning is good. If
someone is running over, it is possible to let them know they need
to wrap it up by circling an index figure. If the person ignores the
warnings, interrupt. It is not fair to the other presenters if one
person takes excessive time.
27) Be sure to remind presenters of the Thursday night reception and the
Saturday night dinner. The cost of the dinner is complimentary and the
dinner is considered part of the conference. No, it is not possible
for those who do not attend to have the cost of the dinner reimbursed.
28) After the conference, it is nice to send a congratulatory note to
presenters. At this time, you can also remind them about submitting to
the Gazette and the Almanack.
29) MAPACA encourages area chairs to submit scholarly papers to the
peer-reviewed Almanack and other materials to the on-line Gazette. There is an
annual Area Chair Meeting at the conference during which chairs can
make suggestions or air their concerns. Interested area chairs are
welcomed to attend Board meetings, to join the Board.