ML20075A029

Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) Bylaws Subcommittee, Draft Report, March 2, 2020

ML20075A029
Person / Time
Issue date:	03/02/2020
From:	Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
To:	Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes
Jamerson, Kellee NMSS/MSST
References
Download: ML20075A029 (2)

Text

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes Bylaws Subcommittee Draft Report Submitted on March 2, 2020 Subcommittee Members Michael Sheetz, M.S.

Megan Shober, M.S.

Harvey Wolkov, M.D. (Chair)

NRC Staff Resource: Kellee Jamerson Subcommittee Charge The Subcommittee and its Chair were appointed by Chairman, Dr. Christopher Palestro, on September 11, 2019. The Subcommittee charge was to 1) review and comment on term limits for the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) Chair and Vice Chair. If term limits were recommended, what would be the duration of the term; and 2) review the automatic succession of the Vice Chair to Chair.

Introduction The ACMUI bylaws state the Chair and Vice Chair of the ACMUI are appointed by the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS). The Director of NMSS will determine the duration of the officers term.

The Subcommittee reviewed arguments in support of term limits and succession and against term limits and succession. The arguments in support of term limits include:

• New leadership brings new ideas and initiatives for committee review, including opportunities to increase the diversity of committee perspectives;

• Low turnover creates a foundation of stale ideas; abrogate political maneuvering;

• Allows for easier removal of ineffectual leaders;

• Allows leadership opportunities for other committee members;

• Helps prevent leadership burn out by shortening the duration of the officers commitment; and

• Allows the Committee to adjust leadership to suit changing organizational needs.

Some of the arguments against term limits include:

• Forcing hard working, effective leaders to leave the Committee;

• The creation of leadership vacancies that must be filled creates inefficiencies for the organization in terms of time and resources to recruit and educate a new leader;

• Longstanding Chair brings invaluable knowledge such as institutional memory and/or knowledge of process and procedure; recognition of the steep learning curve faced by new leadership;

• A Chair may be highly motivated to continue to serve; and

• Loss of potential networking benefits (Ethics Committee, staff and others with niche expertise).

Discussion The main arguments in favor of automatic leadership succession is it allows for a smooth transition of leadership and allows time for the Vice Chair to be groomed for the position. The main argument against automatic succession is there may be other committee members more suited for the Chair leadership position.

When considering term limits, the Subcommittee did not feel most of these theoretical arguments, pros and cons, were particularly applicable to the ACMUI leadership. It was the consensus of the Subcommittee that the current structure defined by the bylaws was working successfully and did not need to be changed. The Subcommittee expressed concern that our deliberations on the matter of term limits and succession could be biased by the short tenure of each of the Subcommittee members.

The Subcommittee also canvassed the opinions of two more senior members of the ACMUI regarding term limits and succession. To this end, the Chair of the Subcommittee sent its working materials to Drs. Ronald Ennis and Vasken Dilsizian for review. The two members were interviewed by the Subcommittee Chair. There was concordance of opinion of the two more senior ACMUI members and the Subcommittee with respect to both term limits and succession.

Subcommittee Recommendations The Subcommittee recommends no changes to the existing bylaws.

The Subcommittee agrees that the ACMUI Chair and Vice Chair should be appointed by the Director of NMSS and the Director should determine the duration of the term as currently stated in the bylaws.

The Subcommittee agrees that Officer succession should be at the discretion of the Director of NMSS, as currently stated in the bylaws.

Respectfully Submitted on March 2, 2020, Bylaws Subcommittee Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes