Executive Committee communication

Dear members,

In light of Rupert Till’s resignation as chair of IASPM, the Executive Committee wants to report on temporary operating measures while we decide how to find a new chair. Given the wide range of urgent tasks that need to be solved, as an emergency measure, the Committee members decided to take on the tasks of the management collectively. We will operate as a collegiate body where individual members will be responsible for specific tasks. This will give us time to work on very urgent matters that require our immediate attention, including the Daegu 2022 international conference that will happen in 5 weeks, the ethics investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, the construction of a code of ethics for our members, and a social media policy. As explained in previous communications, these tasks are being addressed most seriously and professionally, including hiring a sexual-violence consultancy firm to develop the investigation and creating an ethics committee to establish a code of ethics and other protocols to avoid repetition.

In the meantime, we will explore options for deciding on a new chair. We have begun talking to members who have been involved in similar situations in the past when Chairs have not completed their term to find out what was done then and how well it worked. We will keep you informed of any decisions made and invite any input you might have into this.

Chris Anderton (treasurer)
Andrea Dankić (Member-at-large) 
Ali C. Gedik (Member-at-large)
Beatriz Goubert (General Secretary)
Kimi Kärki (Web/Publications)
Keewoong Lee (Daegu Conference representative)
Andrew Mall (United States Conference representative)
Bernhard Steinbrecher (Membership secretary)
Catherine Strong (Member-at-large)