Streamlined Member Experience Highlights Board Actions at Fall Meeting

In what has been an intentional and consistent focus for more than a year now, the ASCE Board of Direction continued its work to improve the member experience, Oct. 14-15 at its quarterly meeting in Miami.

From increasingly aligned Society groups and programs to an improved user experience in ASCE’s digital platforms, the Board emphasized the member point of view.

“The Board has made our major focus bringing value to our members at all stages in their careers, from their student experience through being a Life Member,” said Robin Kemper, who marked the end of her year as ASCE president with the Board meeting. “We are a member organization, first and foremost.”

A new digital strategy

The Board voted to approve the proposed new Society-wide digital strategy project. Among the goals is a revamped ASCE.org website and an improved user experience that makes connecting with ASCE resources, programs and members easier than ever.

“We’re exploring how we can integrate all our digital platforms into one integrated system, as well as developing new platforms that are needed for the future,” Kemper said. “This is a very important initiative as our younger members and students are digital natives and expect access to information to be at their fingertips and with only a few taps get what they need.”

Collaboration between geographic and technical units

The Board had a productive two-hour session discussing ideas and strategies for better collaboration between the Society’s technical institutes and its geographic units.

Representatives from all nine institutes joined Board members to consider a variety of action items, including boosting ASCE branding in Student Chapters, forging improved connections between the Society’s technical and geographic units, and inviting Institute experts to speak at local Section and Branch meetings.

Constitutional amendment

The Governing Documents Committee presented a series of proposed Constitutional amendments and new bylaws, as it continues to work toward the goal of streamlining some of the Society’s processes.

Among the key points addressed, the Board approved on first reading an amendment that would allow Affiliate members to vote in the Society’s annual election. This amendment is scheduled for a second reading by the Board in early 2020, and if approved, will be presented to the voting membership for consideration on the annual ballot.

The Board also approved first readings of bylaws changes geared toward giving Younger Members more influence on Board-level processes – one allowing the Younger Member councils to submit a candidate for at-large director and another guaranteeing at least one Younger Member on the At-Large Director Nominating Committee. A final decision on these amendments is slated for early 2020.

“The key to our membership base is our younger members and graduating students, the Millennials and Gen Z,” Kemper said. “They are and will be our next leaders and are essential to ASCE’s success.”