Clark College Model United Nations--Job Descriptions

Clark College
Model United Nations

Job Descriptions

The Model United Nations program consists of delegates (students), a Head Delegate, a Coach, and a Program Director and Advisor.

Delegates are students enrolled in a Model United Nations course (Political Science [POLS] 151, 152, 153, 251, 252, 253, or 290). The primary purpose of Model UN courses is to help delegates learn Model UN procedures, rules, and vocabulary, and to prepare for (a) conference(s). Conference preparation includes writing a position paper or similar document, researching the committee topics, and learning the rules of a particular conference. Delegates will often be paired up with another delegate to work in that committee for that conference.

Delegates who are not actually going to a conference may still have to prepare (including writing a position paper) as if they were. This both helps them learn how to prepare for a conference and helps their peers prepare for the conference.

Note that Model United Nations is an ASCC program at Clark College. That means that to be enrolled in any MUN class students must be in good standing with ASCC.

The Head Delegate is a student chosen by the Program Director/Advisor and the Coach to assist in conference preparation, to help perform some administrative tasks at the conference, to be a resource to answer other delegate's questions, and to serve as a conduit for information between the Program Director/Advisor and delegates. The Head Delegate is the first person a student delegate should come to if they have a problem or a question of any kind. Head Delegates are chosen for their experience, knowledge, maturity, and responsibility. Different people will often be rotated into the position of Head Delegate for different conferences and for different quarters.

The Coach is a paid Clark College staff member (not faculty) who assists in classroom instruction as well as in many administrative tasks. Since the Coach is not a faculty member, he is therefore not a faculty advisor. The Coach's salary is built into the MUN budget every year and is paid by the ASCC. The primary job of the Coach is to prepare delegates for conferences. At a conference, the Coach takes care of many administrative tasks, solves problems, is a resource for delegates, and serves as a conduit for information between the Program Director/Advisor and delegates. The Coach is the second person a student delegate should come to if they have a problem or a question of any kind. Pat Mehigan is currently Coach.

Note that few Model UN programs have a Coach, and thus most conferences do not recognize such a position. Accordingly, depending on the specific conference, our Coach may sometimes be listed as a Head Delegate (a delegation can have more than one at a conference), and sometimes as a second Faculty Advisor (even though the Coach is not a faculty member).

The Program Director and Faculty Advisor is a Clark College faculty member, usually from the Political Science department. Model UN class is part of his or her regular teaching load. The Director also gets paid a small stipend from the ASCC. The Program Director (currently Michael Ceriello) has the final say and the ultimate responsibility for all things related to Clark College Model UN.

We also have a Veteran's Committee consisting of several of the most experienced delegates. Their job is to serve as a resource for less experienced delegates on virtually any aspect of MUN, and to assist the Program Director, Coach, and Head Delegate as needed.

Note that when at a conference, we will endeavor as much as possible to make sure there is at least one person of the Head Delegate, Coach, and Veteran's Committee in each hotel room. If not, we will designate one person to be the “Room Mom” or “Dad”. This person will be expected to serve as a conduit for information to and from the Director as well as to assist in administrative functions.