Bylaws

ARTICLE 1 – Name

This organization shall be named the INFORMS Society on Data Mining. Hereinafter it may be referred to as the Society. It is understood that INFORMS is an abbreviation for The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences that may be referred to hereinafter as the Institute.

ARTICLE 2 – Objectives

The primary objectives of the  Society shall be to further the objectives of the Institute; to promote and disseminate research and applications among professionals interested in theory, methodologies, and applications in data mining and knowledge discovery; and to provide a forum for the exchange of new ideas in Data Mining, which cuts across the fields of business, computer science, database management, information technology, statistics, computing, operations research, and operations management. In pursuit of these objectives, the Society will organize regular sessions at the INFORMS meetings. The Society shall also conduct special seminars, workshops, or tutorial sessions during INFORMS meetings to promote the aforementioned objectives. In addition, the Society shall arrange joint activities with other Societies/Subdivisions of the Institute as well as other institutes related with data mining and other common interests of the Society members.

ARTICLE 3 – Membership and Dues

Any member of the Institute may become a Society member by paying the Society dues. Individuals who are not members of the Institute may become Society members by paying a Society membership fee slightly higher than that paid by members of the Institute. The increased fee will be at least $10 or 50% more than the Society dues for Institute members, whichever increment is greater. Society membership and participation shall be free from discrimination on any basis, with equal rights, duties and privileges, with the following exceptions:

Only Society members who are also members of the Institute may vote in Society elections, serve as officers, or serve as voting Board members (if applicable).

 Every Society member shall have the privilege of nominating a Society member for the elected positions of the Society.

ARTICLE 4 – Officers

1. The officers of the Society shall be a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson (Chairperson- Elect), and a Secretary-Treasurer.
2. The Chairperson shall be the chief administrative officer of the Society, performing duties appropriate to the office, including presiding over each of the meetings. The Vice Chairperson shall be the Chairperson-Elect and shall assist the Chairperson, acting as Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson, in charge of coordinating the track at the national conference, maintaining membership and normally acting as program planner and coordinator for the Society’s Activities.
3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall conduct correspondence with members and others, take the minutes, and keep the records of the Society (including financial), receive applications, encourage inquiries concerning membership, maintain contact with the Institute, and perform other duties usual to the offices of Secretary and Treasurer. This officer shall also cooperate with the Institute's Business offices on any financial operation affecting their authority. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also promote the financial condition of the Society and submit reports at business meetings and shall prepare an annual budget for the Society.
4. The Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Secretary-Treasurer shall constitute the officers of the  Society and shall: (a) call and organize meetings; (b) through their designated representatives call for and decide upon the acceptability of papers, reports, and discussions to be presented at the  Society-sponsored sessions of the Institute's meetings, and publications sponsored by the  Society; (c) establish and appoint such committees as may be required; and (d) manage the affairs of the  Society in the intervals between meetings.
5. Any Society member accepting nomination for elective office in the Society is understood to have agreed to perform the duties of that office if elected, and in particular to have agreed to attend the annual regular Society meetings during their tenure, except as their attendance is prevented by unusual circumstances. If a Society elected official must miss a meeting or be temporarily unable to carry out their responsibilities, they shall advise the Board and shall make other arrangements for the discharge of their responsibilities. If a Society elected official should fail during their tenure to attend regular Society meetings and to carry out the responsibilities of the office, they can be removed from office upon the initiative of two-thirds vote of the Society Board.

ARTICLE 5 – Council and Advisory Board

1. The Council of the Society shall consist of the officers, the two past Chairpersons most recently retired from office and four Council members, each serving for a two-year period with two elected every year. Nominations for the Council will normally reflect the spectrum of disciplines and/or roles represented by Society members. The Council will constitute the governing body of the Society and will guide the officers in the administration of Society business.
2. In addition to the elected officers and Council, the Chairperson shall (upon conferral with the Council) appoint a Webmaster/Newsletter Editor. This appointee shall be responsible maintaining the Web site of the Society and to generate newsletters. A Newsletter of the Society is published at least once yearly after the annual meeting and prior to the INFORMS Business Analytics meeting. The appointee will also be responsible to see that topics of interest and requisite announcements shall appear in professional publications deemed appropriate by the Council.
3. The Advisory Board of the Society shall consist of between 4-9 members, who are senior leaders in the field of Data Mining to provide advice on the development of Society. Serving on the advisory board is a recognition of the individual’s leadership and accomplishments in the field. The board will overview the operation of the Society, provide advice on various activities, and support Society officers to run the Society effectively and efficiently.
4. A quorum (assuming six additional voting members on the Board) shall require the presence of more than half of the voting members of the Board, including at least two (2) of the officers. The Board may act by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present or (b) without a meeting if each Board member signs a consent in the form of a record (including a facsimile transmission or electronic mail) describing the action to be taken and delivers it to the Secretary or another member of the Board. Action taken without a meeting shall be the act of the Board when one or more consents signed by all the Board members are delivered to the Secretary.  

ARTICLE 6 – Elections

1. The Vice-Chairperson and Two new Council members should be elected in each year by the membership by paper and/or electronic ballot. The Secretary-Treasurer will be elected every other year. The election procedures will be structured so as to provide for the democratic selection of Society leadership in accordance with the usual practice of scientific societies.
2. The Vice-Chairperson shall succeed to the Chairperson position at the completion of their term.
3. A Nominating Committee will be formed each year. It will be composed of the outgoing Chairperson or the Chairperson when there is no outgoing Chairperson, and the two past Chairpersons most recently retired. The Chairperson of the Nominating Committee will forward a slate of candidates to the Society Secretary-Treasurer, prior to the annual meeting, consisting of at least one member of the Society and the Institute as a candidate for the Vice-Chairperson (Chairperson-Elect) and each of two Council members. When it is an election year for the Secretary-Treasurer, the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee will also forward a slate of candidates to the Society Secretary-Treasurer, prior to the annual meeting, consisting of at least one member of the Society and the Institute as a candidate for Secretary-Treasurer. The slate of candidates will be announced at least three weeks before the annual INFORMS meeting. Nominations for any office may be made before the announcement by a petition signed by at least six members. Such petitions should reach the Secretary at least four weeks before the annual INFORMS meeting.
4. The election will be held by e-mail or electronic ballot and the results will be announced at the annual Business Meeting of the Society. The results will be based on a plurality of ballots. In the case of ties, a coin flip will decide the outcome. The new office bearers will assume office at the conclusion of the Annual Business Meeting of the Society.
5. Vacancies arising after elections will be filled as follows. Secretary-Treasurer will fill a vacancy in the office of Vice-Chairperson. A vacancy in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer will be filled by one of the Council members. This selection will be made by the Council. No other vacancy in the Council will be filled until the following election, at which time vacancies will be filled by election where appropriate. These replacements will be effective only until the following election, at which time vacancies will be filled by election where appropriate.
6. In general, the term of an advisory board member is three years. In each year, there will be three outgoing members and at most three new members of the advisory board, appointed by the new Chairperson.
7. The council and advisory board will be selected through nomination, self-nomination, and will be appointed by the Advisory Board of the Society.

ARTICLE 7 – Responsibility to the Institute

1. All Society activities must be consistent with the provisions of the Institute Constitution and Bylaws and with the dignity of a professional association and the nonprofit status of the Institute. A subdivision may be disbanded (a) on grounds of professional or financial irresponsibility, (b) if it becomes inactive, or (c) if its membership falls below the minimum number required, according to INFORMS Policies and Procedures. A subdivision’s assets ultimately belong to the Institute and shall revert to the Institute in the event that the subdivision is disbanded or otherwise ceases to be a subdivision of the Institute.
2. The Society shall not maintain any bank account separate from accounts owned by INFORMS.
3. The Society shall file an activity report annually with the Institute Business Office describing Society activities during the past January 1 through December 31. It shall be filed no later than January 31.
4. The Society shall notify the Institute Vice President of Sections and Societies on the results of the elections immediately following the elections.
5. The Society shall also provide information or file reports throughout the year as reasonably requested by the Institute Board of Directors or officers of the Institute.
6. Neither the Institute nor the Institute Board of Directors, by granting a charter to the Society, assumes any liability or responsibility for any obligations of any kind incurred by the Society unless prior written approval is obtained. The Institute Board alone has the authority to commit the Institute or any of its subdivisions to a contract. Review and approval of contracts are delegated to the Executive Director.

ARTICLE 8 – Amendments to Bylaws

1. Proposed amendments to these bylaws that are consistent with those of the Institute, may be initiated either by action of the Society Board or by a petition to the President signed by 10% of the membership or 15 members of the Society whichever is larger. The Secretary shall distribute copies of the proposed change to all members of the Society by electronic mail or written form not less than three weeks before the annual membership meeting. An open discussion of the proposed amendment to the bylaws shall be carried out at the following membership meeting of the Society.
2. Following the open discussion with the membership, the Secretary shall send the proposed bylaw changes to the Institute Vice President of Sections and Societies for review by the Institute. Not more than two months after the discussion of the proposed amendment, the Secretary shall distribute to all members copies of the proposed amendment along with mail ballot, defined as written or electronic transmission. No ballot shall be counted unless marked by a Society member to indicate their choice, returned to the official tellers bearing the voter’s name, and received by the tellers no later than a date to be specified upon the ballot form – a date not earlier than two weeks from the date of distributing the ballot forms to the Society membership.
3. The adoption of the proposed amendment shall require an affirmative vote by at least two-thirds of the members voting, as tallied by tellers appointed by the President. The tellers shall report the tally to the President within one week of the date specified for receipt of the ballots. The result of the balloting shall be announced to the membership by the Secretary.
4. If approved by the Society membership, the proposed amendment to the Bylaws shall become effective upon approval by the Institute.

ARTICLE 9 – Meetings

1. Each Society shall hold at least one (1) business meeting and at least one (1) professional meeting each year. All meetings are to be open to the entire membership of the Society. If a Society chooses some or all of its meetings may be opened to other interested people as well.
2. The members of the Society may call a special meeting of the membership upon signed petition to the Secretary of at least 25% of the Society membership.
3. The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order shall govern business meetings held during any regular or special meeting, in all cases to which they are applicable.
4. The Board or its designated committees shall schedule the meetings of the Society Business meetings and Board meetings shall be scheduled by the Board in accordance with the Bylaws and procedures specified by the Board.

ARTICLE 10 - Committees

1. The Society will organize a one-day Workshop each year to be held in conjunction with the INFORMS Annual Meeting. The operations of the Workshop will be conducted by the Workshop Management Committee and the Workshop Chair or Workshop Co- Chairs.
2. The duties of the Committee include appointing a Workshop Chair (or Workshop Co- Chairs), setting a theme for the Workshop, and providing advice and support to the Workshop Chair(s).
3. The duties of the Workshop Chair(s) include setting the deadline for abstract submissions, ensuring that submitted abstracts are reviewed and that decisions are sent, setting a deadline for proceedings papers, setting a registration fee, ensuring that a space is reserved for the Workshop, distributing the proceedings papers, establishing a connection with a journal for the publication of longer papers in a special issue, acquiring funding from external sources, and ensuring that coffee and lunch are provided.
4. In the first year, the Society Chair will appoint four Workshop Committee members. The terms of their appointments will be two, three, four, and five years.
5. Each year after the first year, the Society Chair will appoint one additional member to the Workshop Committee to serve a five-year term.
6. The Workshop Committee will consist of at least four and at most eight members of the Society.
7. Any Board member may appoint ad hoc committees to assist in carrying out his or her duties, provided that the term of said committee falls within the Board member’s own term of office and provided said the committee does not infringe unduly upon the authority of a standing committee or officer. The duties of ad hoc committees shall be specified by the people creating the committees. The designation and appointment of any such committee and the delegation thereto of authority shall not operate to relieve Board members of any responsibilities to the Institute imposed upon him or her by law. Committees that are composed of members who are not Board members are advisory in nature only and are not considered a committee of the Board and may not exercise any of the powers of the Board. In all cases, the terms of the chair(s) and the committee memberships shall cease upon completion of the term of the Board member who appointed them.