Officers. All voting members of the technical committee are eligible for office, regardless of sponsoring agency affiliation. The chairperson is elected by the voting members to a three-year term and may be reelected for additional terms of office. The current chair, Julie Caswell, was elected in November 1992. The chairperson, in consultation with the administrative advisor, notifies the technical committee members of the time and place of meetings, prepares the agenda, and presides at meetings of the technical committee and executive committee. He or she is responsible for preparing the annual report of the regional project.
The secretary records the minutes and performs other duties assigned by the technical committee or the administrative advisor. He or she is elected by the voting members to a three-year term and may be reelected for additional terms of office. The secretary will be elected at the first meeting of the new Project in Fall 1996. The Project also has an executive director, Ronald Cotterill, who oversees the activities of NE-165's Core Research Group located at the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts (see below).
Subcommittees. The Project has an executive committee which is designated to conduct the business of the committee between meetings and perform other duties as assigned by the technical committee. It consists of the Project chairperson, executive director, secretary, and six other members of the committee. These six members are elected by the voting members of the technical committee to three year terms and may be reelected for additional terms of office. They serve staggered terms with two members being elected each Fall. Other subcommittees are named by the chairperson as needed for specific assignments such as developing procedures, planning conferences, and preparing publications.
Core Research Group. Since its inception, NE-165 has maintained a Core Research Group located at the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Initially, in 1987 and 1988, this effort was funded by contributions from six Northeast Experiment Stations and the Agricultural Cooperative Service of USDA. Beginning in 1988, the Core Research Group has received funding from a CSREES Special Grant to the Food Marketing Policy Center at the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Food Marketing Policy Center, as the Project's Core Research Group, has an oversight committee made up of the executive committee of NE-165, the Project's administrative advisor, and the Associate Director of the Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station. The Center will facilitate the research efforts of NE-165 by supporting a worldwide web home page, Internet discussion groups, and the NE-165 Working Paper Series; organizing research conferences; developing data bases; and supporting interaction between Project members. It will also contribute directly to the research productivity of the Project by publishing original research.
