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Committees
Education Committee
AAS Education Committee
Membership is open to all interested AAS members, regardless of their status or background.
History: Established at the 188th Meeting, June 1996 in Madison, Wisconsin by restructuring the educational activities of the AAS particularly by merging the Astronomy Education Advisory Board and the ad hoc Astronomy Education Policy Board and was named the Astronomy Education Board. The newly constituted term began June 1997. The name changed to the Education Committee in August 2017.
Members: Members will be appointed by the Board of Trustees. Ex-Officio members will include the Director of Education Activities, the Executive Officer, and the President.
There shall be 10 voting members of the Education Committee, nine serving in rotation for terms of three years, dating from the Annual Business Meeting following their election, and the tenth being the Education Committee Chair. Each year the Board of Trustees shall elect new Education Committee Members as required from a slate proposed by the current Education Committee.
Term: Three years, staggered from March to March.
Charge: The Education Committee is charged with oversight of the educational activities of the AAS. The Committee will (1) provide advice on educational activities to the Board of Trustees, the Executive Officer, and the Education and Outreach Coordinator, and periodically will (2) examine the full range of educational activities in which the Society and its members are currently involved; (3) review the context in which investments in science education are being made by Federal and State agencies; (4) recommend optimal mechanisms for developing an effective education strategy for the astronomical community; (5) recommend appropriate roles for the AAS in exercising leadership in education; and (6) suggest and implement education-related AAS activities consistent with the mission, goals, and strategic plan of the Society.
The activities of our committee are guided by the recommendations in the 2016 Education Task Force Report.
Related Content
Board of Trustees Liaison
Committee Members
Rica Sirbaugh French (she/her)
MiraCosta College & Center for Astronomy Education
Term: Apr 2024 – Mar 2027
Colin Scott Wallace (he/him/his)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Term: Mar 2022 – Jun 2028