2024 National Program Committee
Established December 1976; Revised December 1987; November 2019
The Board of Directors establishes a new National Program Committee (NPC) to support the organization of each future MLA Annual Meeting, two years prior to its occurrence. Each committee terminates on December 31 following the corresponding annual meeting.
In years where the meeting is a joint meeting, the Board of Directors may modify the name of the committee (e.g., if the collaboration is with an international organization) and the rules of its composition.
The committee’s primary responsibility is to assemble a quality program that aligns with the strategic objectives of MLA, and represents the diversity of interests of MLA members, in accordance with the guidelines of the Annual Meeting Planning Guide, and in collaboration with MLA headquarters staff. This includes:
- developing the meeting theme
- calling for and evaluating contributed papers
- soliciting the participation of peer reviewers
- identifying and inviting speakers
- assisting MLA headquarters staff in making necessary local arrangements and to provide staffing for such activities as hospitality, via the Local Assistance Committee (LAC) subcommittee of the NPC
The committee contributes to other essential areas that are the responsibility of MLA headquarters staff, such as:
- assisting with city iconic imagery
- publicizing the meeting
- creating the meeting schedule
- identifying vendor interests
- attending site visits as required
The committee is not responsible for:
- general marketing
- logistics
- budgeting, including registration rates
- exhibits
- continuing education courses
- activities and content other than those listed above (e.g., awards, receptions, business meeting, open forums, committee meetings, caucus gatherings)
The NPC consists of members who are appointed because of their expertise in program planning and their diverse representation of MLA interests and members, and includes:
- one chair or two co-chairs, and one chair or two LAC co-chairs for the host city appointed by the President up to three years prior to the meeting
- 8 to 12 members, including one assigned as liaison to each domain hub appointed as part of the regular committee appointment cycle two years prior to the annual meeting
- one representative of the Community Council appointed by the chair of Community Council
- one representative of the Chapter Council appointed by the chair of Chapter Council
- the executive director and members of the MLA headquarters staff appointed by them
Additional responsibilities include:
- the LAC chair appoints a group of subcommittees to assist headquarters in making necessary local arrangements and to provide staffing for such activities as hospitality. The number of subcommittees and their type will vary from city to city. The chairs of these subcommittees, together with the local assistance chair, serve as the local steering committee
- the liaison to each domain hub shares with the NPC the interests and latest trends occurring in member caucuses; they in turn solicit member caucuses for individuals to submit contributed sessions
- the representatives of the Community and Chapter Councils are responsible for the channels of communication between the NPC on their respective councils, and for specific calls to action