Bylaws of BuckCHI, the Central Ohio Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction of the Association for Computing Machinery

@Gary Perlman's comments on the draft BuckCHI bylaws are in bold and begin with @. They are in the document http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~perlman/BUCKCHI/gpbylaws.html. My general comments are that:

Table of Contents


Article I - Name and Scope

  1. This organization shall be called the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, also known as BuckCHI. In these bylaws it will be referred to as "the Chapter" and the Association for Computing Machinery will be referred to as "ACM".

  2. The scope of the Chapter is Computer-Human Interaction. @ This scope is sparse in contrast to SIGCHI's scope, http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bylaws.html#a1, which may be too verbose. I'd suggest something in between. And although the name is CHI for historical and pronunciation reasons, most people prefer Human-Computer over Computer-Human, so that greater emphasis is placed on the human side of the relation.

  3. The Chapter will support activities complimentary to @complimentary should be changed to complementary ACM SIGCHI, @I would add links in the bylaws to ACM and SIGCHI and possibly their bylaws the ACM, and other ACM activities in the central Ohio area.

  4. This chapter will serve persons within approximately 50 miles of Columbus, Ohio.

Article II - Purpose

The Chapter is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational and scientific purposes.

  1. Specific objectives are:

    A. To promote an increased knowledge of and greater interest in the science, design, development, and applications of modern computing in Computer-Human Interaction.

    B. To provide a means of communication between persons having an interest in computing.

  2. The activities of this Chapter will include the following:

    A. Collecting and disseminating information through a newsletter, announcements and other publications.

    B. Sponsoring meetings, conferences, symposia, discussion groups and workshops.

    C. Organizing sessions at ACM conferences.

    D. Serving as a source of information for its members, other ACM units, and the general public.

    E. Working with other ACM units on activities such as lectures, professional development seminars and technical briefings.

    @I would add a catch-all to make sure that the chapter was not precluded from some worthwhile activity. Something with wording like:
    F. Any other activities that promote educational and scientific purposes relevant to Human-Computer Interaction.


Article III - Charter

  1. This Chapter is chartered by the ACM. It is formed and will operate under the sponsorship of the ACM, the Local Activities Board, ACM SIGCHI and the SIG Board. @I am not sure which of the above are required by ACM, but I would propose to have as few strings attached as possible. For example, I am almost certain that SIGCHI sponsorship is not required, so placing it in the bylaws might create a requirement that is not necessary. That is not to say that a relationship would not be useful, but it should be at the discretion of the local chapter.

  2. This Chapter can be dissolved by consent of its members, or by action of the Local Activities Board with the concurrence of the SIG Board.

  3. These bylaws neither supersede nor abrogate any of the provisions in the ACM Constitution and Bylaws or Policies and Procedures of the ACM that regulate SIG or chapter affairs.

Article IV - Membership

  1. Voting membership in the Chapter shall be open to all ACM members and ACM SIG members in the locality served by the chapter upon request and payment of any local dues, as determined by the Executive Council.

  2. Voting membership in the Chapter shall also be open to other interested persons in the locality served by the Chapter upon request and payment of local dues. @Do we really want to REQUIRE that members live within 50 miles of Columbus? People in other Ohio cities, and people on temporary assignment out of Ohio would not be allowed to be members unless there was a special membership category (which seems like a lot of paperwork for little gain)? I have maintained GBSIGCHI and BayCHI memberships because of an ongoing interest in those areas. I propose dropping any membership requirements, other than paying dues.

  3. Student membership shall be open to all full-time students; student membership dues shall be determined by the Executive Council, but shall not exceed 75 percent of regular member dues. @It is unclear whether students are voting members

Article V - Officers

  1. The officers of this Chapter shall be: Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. The previous Chair holds the title of Past Chair, and shall also be considered an officer of the Chapter.

  2. All officers of the Chapter must be voting Members of the Association and members of ACM SIGCHI.

  3. Officers shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by the voting members of the Chapter.

  4. The officers shall take office on July 1 and serve for one year. @I think you might consider 2-year terms to avoid the overhead of elections. This is a topic that would take more bandwidth than brief comments, so I'll just leave it as a thought.

  5. Election of officers shall be held in March, to give incoming officers an opportunity to observe and learn their respective roles and responsibilities prior to taking office in July. @This sounds good, but it is a little vague about timing, so perhaps a more definite milestone, such as "The results of elections will be known at least three months before the new officers take office." In any case, I suggest removing a second reference to July, and make it a logical pointer: "when officers take office".

  6. Vacancies resulting from officer resignations shall be filled by appointment of the Executive Council.

Article VI - Duties of Officers

  1. The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading the Chapter and managing its activities in accordance with the policies and procedures of the ACM. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of this Chapter and of its Executive Council. @This means that neither the chapter nor the EC can meet without the chair. I would avoid this restriction by adding "or their designee"

    With the advice of the Chapter's Executive Council, the Chair shall appoint all members of committees of this Chapter and all Committee chairs. @I interpret this to mean that the Chair can choose to ignore what the EC says, and that no votes are involved.

    The Chair is responsible for assisting the Treasurer in monitoring financial status.

  2. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all business and Executive Council meetings of the Chapter. @I would add "or their designee" Other duties of the Secretary include:

    A.Maintaining the records of the Chapter.

    B.Preparation of the Chapter's Activity Report and submission of this report to ACM Headquarters.

    C.Notification to ACM Headquarters of any changes in the officers of the Chapter.

    D.Submission of any proposed amendment to these bylaws to the Chairmen of the Local Activities Board and the ACM Constitution and Bylaws Committee for approval.

    E. Performing other duties that may be assigned by the Chair.

  3. The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of the Chapter. Duties of the Treasurer include:

    A. Managing the finances of the Chapter according to the policies and procedures of the ACM, including collecting dues and paying all bills.

    B. Keeping full and accurate accounts of receipts and expenditures of the Chapter.

    C. Completing and submitting the Annual Financial Report to ACM Headquarters.

    D. Performing other duties as may be assigned by the Chair.

  4. The Past Chair is responsible for assisting the Chair as appropriate, and for identifying nominees for the next term.

Article VII - Executive Council

  1. The Executive Council shall consist of the present officers of the Chapter, the immediate Past Chair, @This is inconsistent/redundant with the earlier statement that the immediate past Chair is an officer the chairs of the Chapter's standing committees and one Student-at-Large. @This is the area where I see the most problems because of the machinery it creates, especially for a fledgling chapter. It also creates a voting domination for the Chair, who would appoint chairs of the standing committees. Regardless of whether these committees get constitutional status, I strongly suggest providing no chapter voting rights to any appointed positions

  2. The term of the members of the Council shall be coincident with the terms of the officers. They shall take office on the first day of the fiscal year and serve for one year. @I think that it would be more relevant to say that these positions are held at the discretion of the Chair. The fact that they would go away when the Chair did would not have to be stated.

Article VIII - Standing Committees

The Standing Committees of the Chapter shall be Program, Membership, and Online Communication.

  1. The Program Committee shall plan and make arrangements for the technical programs of the Chapter's meetings in accordance with the membership's interests and the aims of the Chapter as set forth in Article II. This committee is also responsible for distributing meeting notices to the membership.

  2. The Membership Committee shall lead recruitment activities for the Chapter, as well as manage the Chapter's liason @liason --> liaison relationships with other local professional societies or organizations.

  3. The Online Communication Committee shall manage the Chapter's electronic mailing list, and any other online presence (USENET, WWW, etc.). @I think it would be a mistake to limit communication to online media, and that a more general Communication Committee could include the newsletter (which is not mentioned anywhere in the bylaws except as a possible activity. I think that the newsletter, whatever its media, is much too important to be left as an afterthought.
@The above is in some ways more formal structure than in the SIGCHI bylaws. It might make sense to make the structure less formal by saying that that Chair can form committees to help the Chapter run smoothly, possibly including, but not limited to Program, Membership, and Communication.

Article IX - Temporary Committees

  1. With the advice of the Executive Council, the Chair may appoint such temporary committees as appropriate.

Article X - Meetings

  1. Meetings shall be held as planned by the Program Committee. The Chapter will conduct at least two meetings a year for the general membership. @Many local SIGs do not restrict meetings to the membership. I suggest making them open to the public, and that there should be some benefits only provided to members (e.g., job bank).

  2. Written notices of all meetings shall be distributed to all members at least one week prior to any meeting. @I do not think that the medium of dissemination should be listed in the bylaws. I would be happy to get notices via email. And, I do not see any advantage to indicating how much in advance meetings should be announced, although advanced notice is desirable.

  3. The Chapter shall hold meetings only in places that are open and accessible to all members of the Association.

  4. An Annual Business meeting shall held at the last meeting of the program (fiscal) year. At this meeting, the Secretary and Treasurer each shall present a report.

Article XI - Disbursements and Dues

  1. Disbursements from the Treasury for expenditures of the Chapter shall be made by the Treasurer with authorization of the Executive Council and shall be included in the minutes of its meetings.

  2. Dues shall be fixed annually by the Executive Council.
@As mentioned before, I would have all decisions made by the elected officers (+ past chair) and not by appointed officials

Article XII - Amendment and Election Procedures

  1. All proposed changes to these Chapter Bylaws shall have been approved by the Chairmen of the Local Activities Board and the ACM Constitution and Bylaws Committee before being presented to the Chapter membership for a vote.

  2. No official business of the Chapter shall be conducted unless a quorum of the Chapter is present.

  3. A quorum of the Chapter shall be defined as 50 percent of the voting membership of the Chapter or at least 10 voting members, which ever is greater.

  4. A simple majority of the members present and voting shall be required to carry a motion.

  5. Officers will be elected by a plurality of votes cast. If the election is conducted by mail ballot, sufficient ballots must be returned to have constituted a quorum.
@I would add that vote could be done via electronic means

Article XIII - Dissolution of the Chapter

  1. Dissolution of this Chapter by consent of the members shall consist of unanimous agreement of all its officers together with a majority vote at a meeting which has been publicized in advance to all members of the Chapter for the purpose of taking this vote.

  2. Should this Chapter be dissolved, its assets and liabilities shall be transferred to ACM and shall be supervised by the Local Activities Board.