Comparative and Veterinary Specialty Section

The CVSS is governed by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of the President, Vice-President, Vice-President elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and three councilors (consisting of the immediate past President, and two elected councilors). Terms of office begin on May 1.

The President shall chair all meetings of the CVSS, Executive committee, and shall be an ex-officio member of the appointed committees.

Other duties during the year of the President include:

Initiate and schedule conference calls and executive committee meetings;
Interact with other Specialty Sections to obtain co-sponsorship, and to co-sponsor other events;
Participate in meetings of Specialty Section Presidents, including annual meeting during SOT and occasional conference calls;
Relay concerns and requests from SOT to the Executive Committee and/or general membership; and
Write articles for the Communiqué, newsletters, as needed.

The Vice-President shall serve as the chair in absence of the President. Also the Vice- President shall be the chairperson of the Program Committee. The program committee will develop all scientific and educational programs consistent with the objectives of the CVSS. They will also provide input and support for Specialty Section members who are working to propose programs for upcoming SOT meetings, and provide oversight of the progress of these programs. Work with organizers as needed.

The Vice-President Elect shall be responsible for student and postdoctoral awards competitions. S/he will be responsible for making the announcements calling for the competitions and will review and select winners with the help of a student awards committee.

The Past-President serves as the chair of the Nominations committee. This committee nominates at least two candidates for each vacant post. SOT headquarters staff distributes the ballot to all eligible members and counts the votes. This task needs to be initiated as early as possible, suitably in October. The Past President will also lead the selection of Student and Postdoctoral representatives of CVSS.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall provide annual reports of CVSS activities and finances for the current year as well as plans of programs, activities, and finances for the following year; send out correspondence to members; file annual reports to be submitted to the SOT Secretary each year; and shall pay all authorized bills of the Specialty Section as directed by the Executive council. The Secretary Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all meetings including conference calls. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also maintain a current list of members and plan (food, AV requirements, agenda, etc.) for reception and for officers breakfast at annual SOT meeting

Councilors
The first year councilor will be responsible for the newsletters of the SS. S/he will work with the Executive Council to collect articles and work with SOT headquarters to put the newsletter together and distribute it.

The second year councilor serves as webpage liaison to the SOT headquarters; periodically reviews webpage to keep it current; posts minutes of meetings and any announcements; reviews SOT guidelines for SS web pages to assure compliance; and establishes appropriate links to other web sites as needed.

Student and Postdoctoral Representatives: The CVSS will have one graduate student representative and one Potdoc representative. The role of these individuals is to represent the SS in their respective organizations and to provide a feedback to the Executive Council. These representatives will be responsible for giving presentations (oral, poster, etc) to the Student Advisory Council and Postdoc Assembly, respectively.