2021 Annual Membership Meeting Notice

Members:  Please plan to attend the US/ICOMOS 2021 Annual Meeting
1 – 2 pm EST, Friday, 17 December 2021

The following candidates have been nominated to serve on the US/ICOMOS Board of Trustees and require a vote of the membership for approval:

Stephen J. Farneth, FAIA, LEED AP 

Stephen J. (Steve) Farneth is a Founding Principal of Architectural Resources Group (ARG), whose work encompasses some of the West Coast’s most iconic buildings and sites, and has previously served US/ICOMOS as a Trustee from 2000-2009 and as Vice Chairman from 2005-2009.

Mr. Farneth’s forty years of leadership at ARG have involved all aspects of the practice, including planning, conservation, and design for some of the most historically important places in the Western United States. These range from the California Missions to major projects throughout the National Park System and include important civic and institutional work such as Pasadena City Hall and Garrett Hall at the University of Virginia. Mr. Farneth is actively involved on a number of other boards including the California State Historical Safety Board which administers the California Historic Building Code, the California Missions Foundation, the Historic Preservation Education Foundation, and the University of California at Berkeley’s Design Review Committee.

In his role of US/ICOMOS trustee, Mr. Farneth is particularly interested in international issues related to climate change.

Charles Musiba, Ph.D.

Charles Musiba is an Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology in the department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver. He is a native of Tanzania who received his Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology in 1999 from the University of Chicago. He has worked extensively at Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli in northern Tanzania since 1999. His research work on human origins focuses on reconstructing past environments (3.5 – 4.0 million years ago) using proxy data. He is actively involved in conservation and sustainable use of paleoanthropological resources not only to a small select group of people but to everybody in the world through education and cultural exchange programs.

Dr. Musiba has received numerous recognitions and fellowships and currently serves as a member of the ICOMOS International Council on Archaeological Heritage Management (ICAHM) scientific committee, and is a member of the Tanzania International Technical Committee that is helping Tanzania to build an on-site museum at Laetoli as a sustainable conservation solution for the 3.5 million years old hominin footprints. Furthermore, Charles organized a two million Euros funded project from the European Union (EU) to valorize Tanzania’s cultural heritage and construct a new museum and community center at Olduvai Gorge in collaboration with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA). Mr. Musiba is also a trustee of US/ICOMOS and a board member for a Denver-based Africa School Assistance Project (ASAP) organization that builds schools in Tanzania.

Robert G. Stanton, former NPS Director and former ACHP Expert Member

Robert G. (Bob) Stanton, former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and former Director of the National Park Service (NPS), is a consultant and lecturer in natural and cultural resource preservation, park management, and diversity.

Mr. Stanton was nominated by President Bill Clinton and was unanimously confirmed in 1997 as the 15th Director of the NPS. Beginning with his appointment by Interior Secretary Stewart Lee Udall in 1962 as a seasonal park ranger at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, Mr. Stanton has dedicated his life work to improving the preservation and management of the nation’s rich and diverse natural and cultural resources. He worked consistently to increase youth participation in conservation programs and diversity in the workforce and public programs. He supported the establishment of new parks and programs that recognized the struggles, courage, leadership, and contributions of women and minorities in the development and collective history of the United States.

Mr. Stanton’s bipartisan and inclusive approach to problem solving and cooperative resource stewardship earned him respect and admiration, enabling him to build effective relations with Congress; federal, tribal, state, and local agencies; diverse organizations, leaders; and citizens. Major legislative initiatives were enacted throughout his tenure, including the authorization of 11 new park areas, six National Heritage Areas, and the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom and Special Resource Studies for 22 possible new areas to the National Park System.

Mr. Stanton earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Huston-Tillotson University and did his graduate work at Boston University. He has been awarded five honorary doctorate degrees. A native of Ft. Worth, Texas, Mr. Stanton grew up in Mosier Valley during the era of “separate but equal.” Mosier Valley is one of the oldest communities in Texas founded by African Americans shortly after the U.S. Civil War. He and his wife Janet make their home in Fairfax Station, Virginia.

US/ICOMOS BYLAWS REVISIONS

Introduction. Changes to the District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation law and to the organizational structure of US/ICOMOS have required that the US/ICOMOS bylaws be revised and updated. The bylaws were last revised in 2013. President Comer named a small working group to review the current bylaws and prepare the necessary amendments. The working group included James Reap, John Fowler, Emily Choi, and Doug Comer. The Board of Trustees approved the amendments on October 15, 2021, and now must be adopted by vote of the general membership.

Major Changes. The major change that is reflected in a number of places is the revision of provisions relating to the Executive Director, conforming the bylaws to the current operational structure that has eliminated that position and reassigned its duties to the Board and others. Formal reference to that position in the bylaws has been deleted and replaced by authorization for the Board to hire such staff as it deems necessary (which could include an Executive Director or a staff leader with another title). The primary changes to implement this are called out below. Other significant changes are also explained below.

1. Article 1, Paragraph 1. Language has been inserted to authorize the Board to adopt a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name for the organization.
2. Article 2, Paragraph 1(d). Language has been added to the purposes of US/ICOMOS to acknowledge the importance of the World Heritage program as part of its work.
3. Article 5, Paragraph 3. The language changes here abolish the positions of non-voting Board members, in conformance with DC law, which requires all formal members of a non-profit organization to be voting. Instead, the Board has the authority to invite other individuals and organizational representatives to participate in Board activities in a non-voting status. These invited participants would not be considered Board members and would not have a vote.
4. Article 5, Paragraph 5. A new section on Board meetings has been added. It incorporates current provisions on quorums and means of conducting meetings other than in-person that meet DC law requirements.
5. Article 5, Paragraphs 6 & 7. These provisions have been revised to permit a Board member to serve two consecutive terms as Board member and two more as an officer, a total of 12 consecutive years. There is a provision requiring a one-year lapse before being eligible for election to the Board again.
6. Article 5, Paragraph 8. This paragraph has been revised to clarify resignations from the Board as required by DC law. It also embodies the principle adopted by the Board of removal of a Board member for failure to attend three consecutive Board meetings.
7. Article 5, Paragraph 10. Clarification is made on the terms of Executive Committee members and how they are appointed, which would require consent of the Board.
8. Article 6, Paragraph 6. This paragraph on officer resignations and removals was added to meet DC law requirements.
9. Article 7, Paragraph 3. This paragraph was revised consistent with the change in Executive Committee appointments (#7) so that the President has sole authority to appoint committee members with the exception of the Executive Committee, which requires Board approval.
10. Article 8. This article was revised to remove the specific reference to the Executive Director and provide general Board authority to engage staff. The provision on the preparation of the annual budget and program by the Executive Director was deleted as that responsibility was inherent in the existing authority of the Board in Article 5, Paragraph 4.