ARVO Executive Vice President (EVP) elections
Candidate applications accepted now through July 28
The EVP is elected every five years by the membership-at-large. A member of the Board of Trustees, the EVP serves as chief executive and administrative officer — the primary point of contact between the Board and ARVO staff for all operational activities. The EVP also serves as chair of the ARVO Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) and ex officio of all other committees of ARVO (except the Finance Committee). The average estimated time commitment is 1 to 1½ days a week (approximately 50 to 75 days per year). The EVP receives support from ARVO staff in order to achieve objectives. An annual honorarium of $50,000 is provided.
Eligibility
At minimum, the ideal candidate should be an ARVO regular member in good standing, have strong leadership skills, experience managing budgets, previous ARVO service and a desire to lead and guide the direction of the Association's future.
Selection process
The ARVO EVP Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates to the ARVO Board of Trustees in October 2025, with the online election following in spring 2026. The EVP-elect will be announced at the May 2026 General Business Meeting. The official term begins at the 2027 Annual Meeting and goes through May 2032.
About the position
The EVP is elected by the ARVO voting membership every five years. As defined in ARVO’s bylaws, section 7, article 12, the EVP “…is a member of the Board of Trustees. The EVP serves as the primary point of contact between the Board and ARVO staff for all operational activities, and the Executive Director shall report directly to the EVP for these activities. The EVP serves as chair of the ARVO Annual Meeting Program Committee; shall be a member ex officio of all committees of ARVO (except the Finance Committee); and shall have all other powers, duties, responsibilities and authority that the Board of Trustees may determine.”
Key responsibilities
- Chair, AMPC and Annual Meeting activities
- Provides scientific oversight of the submission, review, acceptance and rejection of abstracts for sessioning the Annual Meeting
- Reviews and participates in AMPC sessioning training calls
- Makes SIG assignment and reviews and considers appeals
- Finalizes AMPC meeting agenda and runs a two-day meeting in the spring at the Annual Meeting and a one-day meeting in the fall in the Washington, DC area
- Serves as scientific point of contact for members addressing questions or concerns such as with semantic tagging
- Attends a variety of ARVO leadership related meetings such as with external collaborators, current or potential partners, future ARVO International organizers, etc.
- Attends ARVO Foundation and AEVR/NAEVR Board meetings and ARVO committee meetings as deemed necessary
- Participates in ARVO Advocacy Day, in conjunction with the AMPC meeting
- Board liaison to executive director/scientific advisor to staff
- Visits ARVO staff office three times a year on average, which does not include pre-meeting to Fall Board meeting with executive director and President
- Serves as board signer on checking accounts as back-up
- Oversees the executive director selection process, including retaining an executive recruitment firm, ensuring compliance with policies and procedures and providing additional guidance to staff in the absence of an executive director or interim executive director
- Serves as ex officio to all ARVO committees, a member of the ARVO Foundation Board and AEVR/NAEVR Board
- Conducts monthly update calls with ARVO executive director and calls with staff as needed
- Provides an annual review of executive director performance
- Other
- Elected by the membership, the EVP will have the scientific background required to oversee the activities of the AMPC.
- The EVP will be responsive to questions or concerns from the members as contacted throughout the year regarding science matters.
- Estimating the time required to dedicate to this position is challenging to assess as every year is unique. The average amount of time spent without an executive director search ranges from 50-75 days per year. With an executive search, the time ranges from 90-120 days per year.
Please email any questions to arvoelections@arvo.org