Communications of the ACM

DOI: 10.1145/2447976.2447978
Vinton G. Cerf
aCm President’s Salary
increased by 300%!

I hope this headline got your attention! Of course, as with all voluntary positions at ACM, the salary is $0.00/year. How- ever, you gain incalculably in satisfaction when you volunteer your time in any of the myriad opportunities afforded by the international ACM.

Here’s what ACM Past President Alain
Chesnais says on his personal home
page ( http://www.alainchesnais.com):
“I have been involved as a volunteer
at ACM/SIGGRAPH for over 20 years. I
started out by becoming a member of
the Paris SIGGRAPH chapter in 1987,
then volunteered to help set up a mail-
ing list. In 1991 I was elected chair of
the chapter and was appointed to the
SIGGRAPH local groups steering com-
mittee. I’ve continuously held positions
at SIGGRAPH and ACM ever since,
including ACM SIGGRAPH president
from 2002 through 2005. I currently
serve as ACM past president.”
I want to draw your attention to
Chesnais’ compelling essay on volun-
teerism ( http://dl.acm.org/citation.
cfm?id=1831408) and to the impor-
tance and value of volunteer work for
ACM. The options range from leading
special interest groups and chapters,
to helping edit and review publications,
to service on the ACM Council or other
councils sponsored by ACM. These po-
sitions represent opportunities to serve
the computer science community, to
engage in substantive ways with col-
leagues, to learn and exercise leader-
ship, and to shape our discipline and
its image in the public’s mind.

A good example is USACM Coun-
cil, which serves as an advisory panel
ACM and has been led by Eugene Spaf-
ford (“Spaf”) for many years. I think
Spaf would say this volunteer effort has
been remarkably rewarding. USACM
has given ACM a platform for express-
ing its views on U.S. technology policy
issues vital to our discipline. It has pro-
vided opportunities for ACM staff and
volunteers to contribute broadly.