IT Professionals Forum bylaws and procedures

Board duties

• Regularly attend monthly IT Professionals Forum general and Board meetings, and other IT Pros events.
  • IT Professionals Forum general meetings: First Wednesday of each month (except January and July), midday.
  • IT Professionals Board of Directors meetings: Second Wednesday of each month.
• Solicit, secure, and coordinate presentations and meeting venues.
• Solicit, secure, and coordinate prizes for the IT Pros holiday party.
• Order and arrange payment for food/drinks; handle food/drink pickups, deliveries, and post-meeting cleanup.
• Create and distribute general meeting appointments and agendas.
• Administer the IT Pros Sympa list and Microsoft Teams team.
• Manage IT Pros budget and provide (at minimum, annual) budget reports to IT Pros members.
• Coordinate with UIT Strategic Communication for IT Pros website maintenance, survey development and reporting, and other communication tasks as needed.

Board governance

Board composition

• Six voting members.
• One ex officio (non-voting) member selected by ITS-UIT leadership to serve as the liaison between the Board and ITS-UIT.

Terms

• Board of Directors terms are two years beginning in May of the election year.
• There are no term limits.
• Board members may end their term at any time by notifying Board colleagues.
• If the entire Board turns over simultaneously:
  • Three nominees will be elected for a two-year term and two elected for a one-year term. Nominees may state their preference of one- or two-year terms prior to the election.
  • The election of members for the two-year term will be held prior to the members for one-year terms.
  • If a nominee for a two-year term is not elected, they may choose to make themselves a nominee for a one-year term.
  • If all members of the Board are elected simultaneously, only two-year term members are eligible for Board president.
  • An election for six Board openings will be held the month following the resignation, or the expiration of the term, of the last Board member.

Eligibility

• Any person employed by the University of Utah in an IT staff role, with a “@utah.edu” email address, may run for election.
• To promote broad representation, no more than two Board members may come from the same organization. Organization is defined as reporting to the same department chair, dean, or director. If the potential exists for more than two Board members from the same organization to be elected because of either existing Board membership or more than two nominees, the nominee(s) with the highest votes will be elected. When the two-member limit is reached, other candidates from the same organization are disqualified. The remainder of the Board is filled using the nominee(s) with the next highest votes. 

Election process

• Each year, three Board members are elected from the general membership of the IT Professionals community.
• Nominations are open the first two weeks of April and are submitted via online form.
• Any eligible person may nominate themselves.
• Board members contact nominees to verify their willingness to run for election and serve if elected.
• Elections are conducted online in April, and results are announced in May.
• The three nominees receiving the most votes are elected.

Special elections

• Board openings that occur due to a member leaving before the end of their term may be filled by a special election.
• The Board member elected to replace the departing Board member will fill the remainder of that person's term and be subject to reelection.
• If the special election coincides with a regular election, the elections will be combined, and the top four candidates will be selected. The new Board members will then "draw straws" and the person selecting the short straw will be designated to fill the remainder of the vacated position. 

Board president

• The president of the IT Professionals Board of Directors is elected by a majority vote of members of the Board. In the event of a tie, one person may defer to the other, or a coin flip will determine the winner.
• The election for the president is held during the May Board meeting.
• The election is by voice vote.
• The president must have been a Board member for at least two years, unless the Board has been replaced in total via special election.
• The presidential term is for two years.
• There is no limit to how many times a Board member may serve as president. However, the maximum number of consecutive terms the president may serve is three.
• If the president steps down mid-term, a new president will be elected by a majority vote of Board members. The winner will serve as president for the remainder of the original president's term.  

President's duties and responsibilities

• Schedule and send calendar invitations for monthly Board meetings.
• Set agendas and conduct monthly Board meetings and retreats.
• Coordinate with other Board members to ensure successful IT Professionals meetings.
• Assign tasks to Board members; ensure task completion by specified deadlines.
• Serve as the tie-breaking vote if necessary.
• Final decision-maker in absence of Board input.

Bylaws amendment

• Bylaws may be amended by promulgating such amendment(s) once per year by the end of the second week of April. An open comment period will follow, with a vote during the regular May meeting.
• An amendment shall consist of one section of text to be added, modified, or removed.
• An amendment shall pass by a vote of two-thirds or more of the quorum present at the May meeting.
• In the event of an election of an entirely new Board, amendments may be promulgated and voted on at the same meeting.

Revised May 25, 2023. Approved June 7, 2023.