Part of the process of SC reform is to develop a clear and current set of policies and procedures that reflect the current role of the Scientific Council.
Many of the existing policies and procedures have not been followed for a number of years - in part because they are impractical or not relevant to changes that have occurred over the years. Defining the duties of the Dean/Chair of the SC is part of this process (Dean/Chair is used to reflect that there will be legislation proposed that will change the structure of the SC and replace the position of 'Dean' with 'Chair').
Duties of the Dean/Chair of the SC
The duties of the Dean/Chair shall include all duties of regular SC members. In addition the Dean/Chair shall:
-manage the actions and meetings of the SC to ensure that the SC fulfils its duties to the CDS
-call regular meetings of the SC as required by the Constitution, and Policies and Procedures of the SC
-call special meetings of the SC as needed,e.g. to address review of Laws or Amendments, or for other reasons as required by the Constitution or Policies and Procedures of the SC
-publicize all petitions received from the citizenry and call meetings as needed to deal with such petitions
- prepare and post an Agenda of all meetings 24 hours before the meeting is scheduled
-chair meetings of the SC as described in the Policies and Procedures of the SC
-monitor the participation of SC members and remind them of their duties when necessary
Regarding reviews and appeals, the Dean/Chair shall:
-notify the LRA of any review of Laws or Amendments passed by the RA, and of the date and time of any meeting where such review will occur
-publicize all appeals received from the citizenry and call meetings as needed to resolve such appeals
-designate other SC members, as needed, to research or investigate petitions, appeals or reviews that are brought before the SC
-publicize all decisions of the SC in the Forums and inworld group notices
Regarding elections the Dean/Chair shall:
-announce relevant dates of the election cycle in the Forums and inworld notices
-receive and publicize declarations of candidacy for RA and Chancellor elections
-call a meeting of the SC to hear any appeals of the Citizens List as posted by the Estate Manager
-ratify the official Citizen's List once the appeal period is over, and/or all appeals have been heard and resolved
-deliver the official list of candidates and the official Citizens List to the manager of the election software
-receive, place, and remove the election polls on the specified dates of each election
-receive and ratify the election results from the manager of the election software and, if no objection is received from any member of the SC within 2 hours, announce the results in the Forums and inworld group notices
Regarding the Forums, the Dean/Chair shall:
-provide an e-mail address to receive requests to join the Forums and add users to the Forum when such requests are received
-moderate the Forums to ensure that discourse and debate remains civil, and to avoid libelous or overtly inflammatory statements.
-designate other members of the SC to also perform these duties as needed