• Attention Local Technical Groups! Have You Considered Local Institute Chapters?
  
  Ask Counselor Tara (ACT)
  
  Membership
  
  New Design Squad Activity Guide
  
  Video Game Teaches Civil Engineering
  
  Exciting Train-the-Trainer Outreach Opportunity
  
  Annual 08 Save the Date
  
  Structures Congress Offers Technical Sessions and Workshops
  
  Continuing Education Webinars
  
  Mark Your Calendar!
  
  Region Boards of Governors
  
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• ASCE

Imagine your Section and Branch technical groups doubling or tripling in size. Now imagine their activities rapidly expanding, both in quantity and in quality. Finally, imagine each of your technical groups actively networking and collaborating with similar groups throughout the country. All of this might be possible if you convert your Section and Branch technical groups into Institute Chapters. There has never been a better time to do this than right now. The process has recently been simplified to a short “recipe” that results in a written affiliation agreement between the Section or Branch and the appropriate Institute. This is not a simple logo and trademark licensing program. To the contrary, the Institute Chapters are envisioned as dynamic organizations with meaningful ongoing interaction at a national level. At the same time, administrative and financial control is expected to remain local and largely unchanged.

ASCE now has eight Institutes covering the spectrum of civil engineering practice. Over the past decade, these Institutes have thrived both nationally and internationally. Their next frontier is local. Stan Caldwell and Tom Rachford, the ASCE Technical Region Directors, have recently prepared a Power Point presentation for the Multi-Region Leadership Conferences. It provides additional details on the affiliation benefits and process. A one page PDF file, called “Four Steps,” has also been prepared. Both are available from any of the Institute Directors at ASCE World Headquarters in Reston. Who are they? Just see the contacts below. Touch base with them today!

                       — Stan R. Caldwell, P.E., F.AEI, F.ASCE; 

                          ASCE Technical Region Director

• Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI)—Amar Chaker, Ph.D. (achaker@asce.org, 703-295-6393)
• Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI)—Tom Chase (tchase@asce.org, 703-295-6027)
• Construction Institute (CI)—Marvin Oey, Ph.D., P.E., (moey@asce.org, 703-295-6397)
• Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI)— Amar Chaker, Ph.D. (achaker@asce.org, 703-295-6393)
• Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI)—Brian Parsons, P.E. ( ewri@asce.org, 703-295-6071)
• Geo-Institute (G-I)—Carol Bowers, P.G., CAE (cbowers@asce.org, 703-295-6352)
• Structural Engineering Institute (SEI)—James Rossberg, P.E. (jrossberg@asce.org, 703-295-6196
• Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI)—Jonathan Esslinger, P.E. (jesslinger@asce.org, 703-295-6295)

Counselor Tara,

I recently came across information from the IRS regarding "good governance" recommendations for charitable organizations.  Does this affect ASCE and it's Sections and Branches, and if so, how?

In February 2007, the IRS issued a discussion draft containing “good governance” recommendations for charitable organizations. While these recommendations are directed at fundraising, rather than primarily membership, organizations, with a goal of increasing public confidence in making charitable donations, the principles behind these recommended practices—transparency, accountability, and oversight—are crucial elements for the leadership of any organization, charitable or otherwise. Consider whether any or all of the following practices may be useful in guiding the leadership of your Section, Branch, or Group:

1. Mission statement: All charitable groups should have a mission statement that clearly communicates to its leadership what the organization’s purpose is, what it hopes to accomplish, why, and for whom.

2. Code of ethics and whistleblower policies: It is the leadership’s responsibility to set ethical standards and to ensure these standards are upheld by the individuals that carry out the organization’s purpose. A written code of ethics and a clear procedure for reporting violations of that code can help prevent internal abuses that may tarnish the organization’s reputation or thwart its intentions.

3. Due diligence: It is the leadership’s responsibility to exercise due care in acting on behalf of the group. A charitable group should enact procedures to ensure that its leadership has the necessary tools to make responsible decisions, including knowledge of the group’s activities, an understanding of the group’s finances and any other information relevant to the group’s activities.

4. Duty of loyalty: Some of the charitable world’s most well-known abuses have been sparked by leaders whose personal interests conflicted with the organization’s goals. All organizations should enforce a conflict of interest policy, requiring its leaders to identify relationships or financial interests that may conflict with the organization’s operations and establishing a procedure for the leadership to deal with such conflicts when they arise.

5.  Transparency: Volunteers and members of the public invest greater trust in a charitable organization when they feel they have an accurate picture of the organization’s activities. Communicate information about the group’s activities through the group’s website, newsletters, or e-mail lists, and make financial data available either upon request or by posting annual reports in a public medium.

6.  Fundraising: It is crucial that any fundraising solicitations are accurate and candid about how such funds will be used. Establish procedures to carefully monitor the solicitation, receipt, and use of charitable donations.

7.  Financial audit: No organization can maintain the trust of its members if its leaders do not take the proper care in expending its resources. Financial records should be correct, timely and thorough. If an annual audit by an independent auditor or a public accountant is impractical, consider using an independent volunteer to review the group’s financial records and confirm that the group’s budget has not been exceeded and that funds have been used in furtherance of its charitable goals.

8.  Compensation practices: In general, volunteers should be compensated only for direct expenses incurred on behalf of the charity, not for time or other services. If an organization decides to compensate an officer or director for their other services, this compensation must be set by a group having no financial interest in the matter and must take great care to meet the standard of “reasonable compensation” as determined by the Internal Revenue Service (See Chapter 28, Section 53.4956 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

9. Document retention: It is impossible to predict when an organization may be called upon to explain a prior action, either by a government agency or in private litigation. A charitable organization should consider establishing a written policy governing the retention and destruction of the organization’s records, including electronic files.

If you have questions about this article, or about any legal matter concerning your ASCE section or branch, please contact Tom Smith, ASCE General Counsel, at (800) 548-2723 x6061 (e-mail: tsmith@asce.org) or Tara Hoke, Assistant General Counsel, at (800) 548-2723 x6151 (thoke@asce.org).

Civil Engineering magazine and ASCE News now online

ASCE’s premier magazine and newspaper are now online each month. Remind your members they now have both Civil Engineering magazine and ASCE News available online at their fingertips.

With the new digital Civil Engineering magazine and ASCE News members may:

Monthly issues of each publication will be posted to the Members Only portion of the ASCE Web site. 

Read current or past issues of CE magazine now or Read current or past issues of ASCE News now.

ASCE’s Member-Get-A-Member Drive Can Make You a Winner

Congratulations to Daniel P. Hamm, P.E., M.ASCE who won $250 in ASCE’s Quarterly Member-Get-A-Member Drive prize drawing! Five other ASCE members won $25 American Express gift cards in the Drive’s new monthly drawings. Let your members know they could be next when they recommend ASCE to someone they know. Members will be entered to win in our monthly and quarterly drawings. 

>>Recruit a new member today and you could win an Apple iTouch on March 31.

Participate in ASCE’s Salary Survey

ASCE members have the opportunity to become one of the more than 20,000 engineers who have participated in the Engineering Income and Salary Survey.  Member participation is essential to the Survey’s continued success because it ensures the compensation database continues offering official and robust civil engineering data across the country. 

Participating members not only receive a free report with the current salary information for their engineering grade and region, but they will be entered to win one of 10 $100 Visa Gift Cards.  Plus, ASCE members can download a copy of the updated ASCE Guidelines for Engineering Grades at no cost.

Members can enter their salary data or use the online Salary Survey by visiting www.asce.org/salaries.

Help ASCE Recognize the Year’s Great Civil Engineering Accomplishments

Celebrate remarkable achievements in the profession by attending this year’s OPAL Gala on April 30 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Va.  In addition, five significant projects have been selected as finalists for the ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award, one of the following will be announced as this year’s winner: 

The event also recognizes this year’s Charles Pankow Award and Henry L. Michel Award for Industry Advancement of Research recipients, respectively: Lightweight Modular Composite Firewall System, and LTG Carl A. Strock, P.E., M.ASCE, U.S. Army (Ret.).  For more information about this year’s OPAL winners, including how to register to attend, visit www.asce.org/opal.

Visit ASCE’s Newly Redesigned Honors and Awards Web site

Important new tools are available on the Web to help you learn more about Society awards.  Want to know what awards recognize a particular engineering discipline? How to nominate?  Who’s won an award?  Visit www.asce.org/awards to open a new door on information. 

Design Squad, the PBS reality engineering competition series for kids, is returning for a second season with a new activity guide. The guide includes five new hands-on challenges, leader notes, and discussion Q&As! Help inspire kids to start thinking like engineers by emailing outreach@asce.org for your free copy!

Time Engineers (www.timeengineers.com) is an award-winning, PC-based educational video game that teaches civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering principles to middle and high school students in grades 6-10. Students travel in a cool time machine to three different time periods and encounter engineering problems to be solved in order to build pyramids, irrigate farm land, command a WWII submarine, raise and lower medieval drawbridges, and much more.

To learn more about the game including a video demo, lesson plans, specifications and game play or for complete order information, visit http://www.software-kids.com/html/teachers.html

Volunteer to lead the Train-the-Trainer workshop with engineers from ASME and IEEE on Mon., March 3 on the campus of Syracuse University.  Volunteers will be trained by ASCE outreach staff to introduce Design Squad’s new hands-on activity, Newspaper Table, to 20 science and math teachers.  Training instructions will be mailed in advance.       

For more information, e-mail outreach@asce.org with Syracuse Outreach in the subject line. 

Save the Date! ASCE’s 138th Annual Civil Engineering Conference will be Nov. 6-8 in Pittsburgh, PA.   Program highlights include sessions on future workforce issues, risk assessment, and leadership. 

What does the future hold for the civil engineering profession? Listen as Keynote Speaker Jason Jennings explains how you can step up to meet the industry’s new challenges and thrive in the future.  Reap the rewards of hearing this New York Times Best Selling Author tell you his five leadership secrets, following his research of more than 160,000 companies. 

The April 24-26 Structures Congress in Vancouver offers a wide array of technical sessions, workshops, and networking events designed to broaden the educational and professional horizons of attendees.

The opening lunch on Thursday, April 24  features Dr. Carl Wieman, 2001 Nobel Laureate in Physics, who will discuss science education in the 21st Century.

In addition to more than 100 concurrent technical sessions, attendees can choose from one of four pre-Congress workshops/technical seminars. A workshop entitled “Wood Engineering Challenges in the New Millennium” is scheduled for all day on Wed., April 23 and the morning of Thurs., April 24.  Three pre-Congress technical seminars will be held on Thursday morning: ASCE 43-05 Seismic Design Criteria and Performance of Lifelines; Using AF&PA’s Wood Design Standards; and Maintaining our Nation’s Bridge Inventory.

The 18th Analysis & Computation Specialty Conference will be held in conjunction with the Structures Congress.  In addition to highlighting recent research, the conference will provide a forum to discuss educational concepts and practice of all forms of computation related to the analysis and design of engineering structures.

Also featured at the Congress will be the CASE Risk Management Program Spring Convocation. Two plenary sessions will mingle with breakout sessions on topics such as construction administration as a risk management tool; scope, contracts, and contract document tools; risks associated with the latest structural engineering software; and staying ahead of the curve with building information modeling.

The Early-Bird registration deadline is Feb. 28. See  http://content.asce.org/conferences/structures2008/registration.html  for more information.

Live P.E. Exam Review

Mar. 4	Live P.E. Exam Review V: Hydraulics and Water Supply
Mar. 6	Live P.E. Exam Review VI: Open Channel Flow
Mar. 11	Live P.E. Exam Review VII: Steel Design
Mar. 13	Live P.E. Exam Review VIII: Water and Wastewater Treatment
Mar. 18	Live P.E. Exam Review IX: Traffic Engineering
Mar. 20	Live P.E. Exam Review X: Hydrology
Mar. 25	Live P.E. Exam Review XI: Surveying
Mar. 27	Live P.E. Exam Review XII: Construction Materials

Structural I P.E. Exam Review

Mar 5	Structural I P.E. Exam Review III: Steel Design
Mar 12	Structural I P.E. Exam Review IV: Timber Design
Mar 19	Structural I P.E. Exam Review V: Concrete Design
Mar 26	Structural I P.E. Exam Review VI: Bridge Design

March 1: Nomination deadline for Civil Government Award, Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award, Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students, John I. Parcel-Leif J. Sverdrup Civil Engineering Management Award

April 1: Nomination deadline for Harold R. Peyton Award for Cold Regions Engineering

June 1:

• Deadline for submission for the Outstanding Section and Branch Web Award Competition
• Nominations due for Ralph B. Peck Award, H. Bolton Seed Medal and the Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award

Aug. 1: Nominations due for Younger Member Employer Recognition Award

Aug. 1: Submission deadline for the State Public Affairs Grant Activity Report

Aug. 15: Nominations due for Casagrande, Construction Management, Kapp and Terzaghi Awards

Oct. 1:

• Nomination deadline for Distinguished Members, OPAL and Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prizes
• Outstanding Membership Champion nominations due

Oct. 30:

• Nominations due for the Workshops for Section and Branch Leaders and the Younger Member Council Meetings .
• Nominations due for the National Outstanding Section/Branch Award.

Nov. 1:

• Submission deadline for the Outstanding Section and Branch Newsletter Award

• Nomination deadline for Arid Lands, Bartholomew, Bechtel Pipeline, Bechtel, Jr. Energy, Bickel, Biot, Can-Am, Cermak, Chow, History and Heritage, Computing in CE, Croes, Duke, Einstein, Freese, Freudenthal, Greeley, Shortridge Hardesty, Herring, Hilgard, Hinds, Hoffman, Horner, Howard, Hydraulic Structures, Innovation in CE, International Coastal, Laurie, Lynn, Masters, Middlebrooks, Moffatt-Nichol, Moisseiff, Newmark, Norman, Peurifoy, President’s Medal, Reese, Rickey, Roebling, Hunter Rouse, Rowland, Scanlan, Smith, State-of-the-Art, Stevens, Surveying and Mapping, Terzaghi, Tipton, Turner, von Karman, Wellington, Winter, Wisely.

Nov. 9: State Public Affairs Grant applications due

Nov. 30: Section Annual Reports are due at ASCE World Headquarters.

             Region Annual Reports are due at ASCE World Headquarters.