The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR) is the governing body of the organization. The officers and composition of the Executive Committee are set forth in the Constitution of NCTR. It is specified that the officers are to be the President, the President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and the Immediate Past-President; and that the Executive Committee is to be composed of ten members.

It is specified that three of the members are to be the President, the President-Elect (who shall succeed to the Presidency upon the completion of his/her term) and the Immediate Past-President. Of the seven remaining members, one is to be elected Secretary-Treasurer by the Executive Committee from among the Committee members.

The Constitution provides that the President and the President-Elect shall each serve a term of one year and that the Secretary-Treasurer shall serve a term of one year and may be re-elected annually but not to exceed his/her term on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee individuals shall serve overlapping three-year terms, and no individual shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Constitution specifies that the President is to serve as the presiding officer of NCTR, including at the Executive Committee meetings and the Annual Meeting; and that the President-Elect is to serve as the Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Committee. It is stated that the President-Elect is responsible for overseeing the program for the annual meeting of NCTR and the Secretary-Treasurer has the duty to oversee the finances of the organization.

The Executive Committee is responsible for establishing policies to govern the activities of NCTR and for supervising its operations. Additionally, the Executive Committee is responsible for designating the location of NCTR’s headquarters, hiring staff, contracting with consultants, establishing training programs, creating a political action committee pursuant to applicable federal and state law, entering into contracts on behalf of NCTR and carrying out such other activities as are in the interests of NCTR including but not limited to communicating with and entering into agreements with national organizations that have similar goals and purposes as NCTR.

The Executive Committee is also responsible for establishing the standing committees specified in the Constitution and the President is responsible for appointing such special committees as may be needed to fulfill the purposes of NCTR. It is the responsibility of the President to select the members of the standing and special committees with the concurrence of the Executive Committee.

The Constitution states that the President and the President-Elect are ex-officio members of all committees and have the right to vote on such committees. It is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to designate the time and place for the annual meeting of NCTR.

It is the responsibility of the President and/or a majority of the members of the Executive Committee to order additional meetings of NCTR or any of its committees as may be deemed necessary. The Executive Committee has the responsibility to see to the publication and the distribution to the membership of the proceedings of the annual meeting as well as maintaining a written summary of the actions taken by it. The Executive Committee is to see to the distribution of the written summaries to the Committee members and make them available to NCTR members upon request to the President. In addition to the duties and responsibilities specified in the Constitution, members of the Executive Committee may be designated to serve as liaison to a standing or special committee of NCTR. The Executive Committee is also responsible for the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Commitment of Time

Serving as an officer or Executive Committee member involves a significant commitment of time in order to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the respective positions. The Executive Committee meets in person at least three times per year. The Spring meeting is the principal meeting of the Committee and occurs over a three-day period. The Executive Committee also meets in conjunction with the Annual Conference. The final meeting of the year occurs in the late Fall and is usually scheduled over a weekend. All Executive Committee members, including those who have been designated as committee liaisons, are encouraged to attend the meetings of the other standing and special committees of NCTR. This may involve a period of two or three weekends during the year.

The officers and Executive Committee members are responsible for making appropriate arrangements to accommodate and be responsive to such communications between him or her self and the other officers, Executive Committee members and the Executive Director. Officers and Executive Committee members should expect to spend several hours per month in “telephone” meetings and reviewing correspondence on various matters of NCTR business. It should be noted that an even greater commitment of time is required of the officers of NCTR, particularly the President-Elect and the President.

In addition to the duties and responsibilities stated above, the President is expected to be able to commit a considerable amount of time to represent NCTR before other organizations, attend such meetings and functions as may be deemed in the interests of advancing the purposes of NCTR and make him or herself available as needed to conduct the business of the organization.

The responsibility of the President-Elect to oversee the program of the next annual conference, in addition to all other duties and responsibilities, adds a large additional commitment of time to be dedicated to NCTR activities. This commitment usually begins when the President –Elect takes office. It lasts throughout the year and culminates with the close of the conference.

As well as assuming all other duties and responsibilities, the Secretary-Treasurer specifically has the duty to oversee the finances of NCTR and thereby serves as the Chairperson of the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee meets at least once a year, usually over a weekend.

Reimbursement for Expenses

The Constitution provides that the officers shall serve without a salary or honorarium. It further provides that officers and Executive Committee members shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.