CIRTL Director Election

Candidates for the Director position will have been a CIRTL Institutional Leader or Administrative Co-Leader for at least 1 year. In addition, candidates should have served the CIRTL Network in a leadership capacity, preferably, but not necessarily, by serving on the Leadership Team. Candidates having served in other CIRTL leadership roles, such as chairing standing committees, are also eligible.

2024-25 Director Elections

• Thursday, October 17th (at Fall General Meeting) – Nominations open
• Friday, December 6th – Nominations close
• Wednesday, January 8th – Candidate materials due
• TBD – Candidate Forum(s)
• Monday, February 10th – Voting commences
• Friday, February 21st  – Voting closes
• Tuesday, July 1st – Term begins

All nominations, including self-nominations should be submitted through the nomination form. Once nominated, CIRTL Central staff will follow up with all nominees to request a draft candidate statement of up to 2 pages in length. Once a draft statement has been reviewed by the Associate Director and chair of the recruitment committee to assure eligibility, a discussion will begin between the candidate and the Leadership Team in regards to the enabling package. If a mutually acceptable enabling package can be established, the nominee will be listed on the slate of candidates to be voted on by the electorate.

Nominees are advised to address the following items in their candidate statement. Candidate statements will be made available to the CIRTL Community prior to the election.

• Leadership and contributions to the CIRTL Network
• Leadership and contributions to their local learning community
• Commitment to the CIRTL Core Ideas
• Commitment to the CIRTL Values
• Organizational leadership broadly

Candidates may submit a CV by Wednesday, January 8th that will be shared with the Network, along with the candidate statement.

The Recruitment Committee will search for candidates, field questions about the election process and the Director position, receive nominations, and assist candidates in developing materials. The committee will work with the Associate Director to verify each nominated candidate’s eligibility for the Director position. Their work is short-term and is complete when a list of eligible candidates is provided to the Leadership Team (LT), typically shortly after the close of the nomination period.

The committee will be composed of two members of the LT and two additional volunteers from the Network. Please send an email to Shannon Patton (shannon.patton@wisc.edu) if you are interested in joining this committee.

CIRTL’s intent is to provide, as possible, financial or other support to enable the selected candidate to accept the position. Following verification of eligibility, candidates will meet with a representative of the Leadership Team to begin the process of creating an enabling package that will provide the support needed to accept the position. This process of developing an enabling package takes place before the election in order to make sure feasible arrangements can be made. The process of crafting the enabling package will likely also involve CIRTL’s host institution (UW-Madison) and the candidate’s home institution.

Candidates will have the opportunity to hear from and speak directly to members of the CIRTL community at a virtual meeting in advance of the election. Each candidate would only attend their respective forum. A moderator will provide a brief overview of the role of Director and the election process, the candidate will make an opening statement (e.g. vision for CIRTL), and then respond to questions from the CIRTL community with the assistance of a moderator. The sessions will be recorded and shared via the CIRTL Network Team Community so those who could not attend the sessions can view them.

Date of candidate forums TBD. 

Voting will be conducted using the Simply Voting online election software. Each CIRTL institution will have two votes. The Institutional Leader and Administrative Co-Leader will each receive an email from “CIRTL Director Elections” that includes an anonymous link to the 2025 Director Election ballot.

Ranked Choice Voting

Voters will be asked to rank candidates, with 1 = highest preference for the individual to be the Director. Voters may choose to not rank a candidate(s) if they would not be in support of a particular candidate holding this position.

Quorum

75% of eligible voters must submit a ballot for voting to close and a Director to be elected. If a quorum is not reached by the voting close date, the election will be extended 3 business days at a time until a quorum is attained, with regular reminders sent to people who have not voted.

Instant Runoff

Once voting closes, the Simply Voting software will automatically determine the winner of the election. If a candidate receives more than half of the 1st choices, that candidate wins, just like in a single-choice election. However, if there is no majority winner after counting 1st choices, the race is decided by an “instant runoff.” The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as ‘1’ will have their votes count for their next highest ranked choice. This process continues until there’s a majority winner (a candidate wins with more than half of the vote).

This process will be used in all cases (e.g. even if there are only two candidates) to ensure that the Director receives approval of a majority of voters.

Candidate statements will be available via the ballot and emailed out in advance of the election. Please take the time needed to discuss your institutional vote with your local CIRTL team and to give each candidate consideration. Here are some details about how to vote within the Simply Voting system:

1. When you access the ballot through the link in your email, you will see a brief description of the Director responsibilities, followed by the list of candidates.
2. You may view a candidate’s statement by clicking “view details” next to their name.
3. To vote, use the drop-down menu to select your ranking for each candidate (or leave it with no selection if you choose not to rank a candidate), then click “Continue”at the bottom of the page. The software will then display your selections for you to review.
4. Click “Confirm” to place your vote, or “Change” to make new selections.
5. Once you have placed your vote, you should see “Success” on the page and will be able to view and print your voting receipt.

The voting software will send reminders to those individuals who have not yet voted as the deadline for voting approaches. We will not know the results of the election until voting has closed.

Ballots will be sent to these Institutional Leaders and Administrative Co-Leaders. (If a Leader position is empty at the time of the vote, that position will forfeit their right to vote):

What are the key steps in this process?

1. Candidate is nominated or self-nominated.
2. Candidate submits a draft candidate statement, which is reviewed by the Associate Director and the chair of the Recruitment Committee to verify eligibility.
3. Candidate works with the Leadership Team, University of Wisconsin–Madison (the host institution) and their home institution to craft an enabling package. If suitable arrangements cannot be worked out, the individual’s nomination comes to an end.
4. Candidate finalizes statement that will be shared with the Network and included on the election ballot.
5. Final slate of candidates is affirmed by the Leadership Team.
6. The Network has an opportunity to speak with candidates.
7. Election is held.
8. The start date, if other than July 1, 2025, and a transition plan is finalized.

May I nominate myself?

Applicants can self-nominate or be nominated by another person with permission from the nominee.

When would the position start?

The Director’s term is scheduled to begin on July 1, 2025. There is some flexibility in the start date.

How much time will the position require?

We anticipate that the position will require approximately 6 hours a week, but the time required in any given week will vary. The Leadership Team, which the Director chairs, meets weekly for one hour and the Network meetings are twice a month for an hour. A review of the full list of duties will help candidates assess the time required.

Is this a paid position?

The CIRTL Leadership team will work with all eligible nominees in advance of the election to determine if a suitable enabling package can be established between CIRTL/UW–Madison and the candidate, or the candidate’s employer, to provide partial relief from current duties in order to take on the role of Director. The University of Wisconsin–Madison currently serves as CIRTL’s host institution and financial agent. All financial arrangements must comply with UW and State of Wisconsin’s rules and regulations. CIRTL’s intent is to provide financial or other support to enable the selected candidate to accept the position.

How will the election work?

CIRTL uses SimplyVoting to conduct online elections. The Institutional Leader and Administrative Co-Leader at each member institution cast votes. The Director election will be conducted using ranked-choice voting. Voters will be asked to rank all acceptable candidates in order of preference. Voters may choose to not rank a candidate(s) if they would not be in support of a particular candidate holding this position.