Bylaws

Bylaws

As published in the March 2002 Decision Analysis Newsletter and approved by a vote of the membership

Article 1 - Name

  1. This Organization shall be named the Decision Analysis Society of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS).
  2. The Society is organized and will be operated exclusively for scientific or educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

Article 2 - Purposes

  1. To improve the quality of decision making, inference, and evaluation in personal, commercial, and public-policy contexts;
  2. To promote the development and widespread use of logical methods for structuring and analyzing complex evaluation, inference, and decision problems in ways consistent with the beliefs and preferences of the stakeholders;
  3. To encourage and facilitate the exchange of information among Decision Analysts and others interested in decision making; and
  4. To help spread Decision Analytic ideas, techniques, and tools throughout the world, and to encourage their application to real problems.

Article 3 - Membership

  1. Any decision analyst or anyone interested in decision making may become a Member of the Society by paying the Society dues. All Members of the Society shall have equal rights and privileges, except for those rights and privileges specifically assigned by these Bylaws to Officers and Council Members.

Article 4 - Society Meetings

  1. The Society shall hold a Meeting at least once a year. The Society President shall designate the time and place of each such meeting.
  2. The Society President shall preside at the Society Meetings.
  3. At least one Society Meeting a year shall be designated by the Society President as a Voting Meeting.
  4. Twenty-five Members constitute a quorum at each Voting Meeting.
  5. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern all Society Meetings, except that if any specification contained therein is inconsistent with any provision of these Bylaws, then the Bylaws shall govern.

Article 5 - Officers

  1. The Chief Executive Officer of the Society shall be the President. Other Officers reporting to the President shall be the President-elect, the Past President, and the Secretary/Treasurer. A person shall not hold two or more offices simultaneously.
  2. The President shall be responsible for the development and execution of the Society's activities.
  3. The President-elect shall advise and assist the President, and shall act as President pro tem in the absence of the President. The President-elect shall have such other duties as the President shall assign. The President-elect shall become the President of the Society when the President's term of office expires.
  4. The Past President shall advise and assist the President, and shall have such other duties as the President shall assign.
  5. The Secretary/Treasurer shall conduct the correspondence of the Society, keep the minutes and records of the Society, maintain contact with INFORMS, receive reports of activities from the Assemblies and those Society Committees in existence or to be established, conduct the annual election of the Officers and Council Members for the Society, make arrangements for the meetings of the Society and the Council, be responsible for the administration and disbursement of Society funds, prepare reports of the financial condition of the Society, help prepare the annual budget of the Society for submission to INFORMS, make arrangements for the orderly transfer of all the Society's records to the succeeding Secretary/Treasurer, and perform other duties usual to the office of an organization's Secretary/Treasurer.
  6. By agreeing to be a candidate for election as an Officer or Council Member, the Society member makes a commitment to attend all Society meetings during tenure if elected.
  7. If the office of President is vacated, the President-elect shall assume that office for the vacated term, and shall continue on through the next term as President. If the office of Presidentelect is vacated, the President shall immediately confer with Officers and Council Members and appoint an Acting Vice President for the completion of the term. The Acting Vice President does not advance to President, except through the normal voting process. Any Member of the Society and of INFORMS is eligible. If the office of Secretary/Treasurer is vacated, the President shall immediately confer with Officers and Council Members and appoint a Secretary/Treasurer for the completion of the term. If a Council Member position is vacated, the President shall immediately confer with Officers and Council Members and appoint a Council Member for the completion of the term.

Article 6 - Council

  1. The Council shall consist of the Officers and six elected Council Members. The Council, as individuals and as a group, shall advise the President. The President may delegate particular tasks to Council Members.
  2. The presence of two Officers and three other Council Members shall constitute a quorum for voting at Council Meetings.

Article 7 - Committees

  1. The Society President shall create Ad Hoc Committees as required. The Society President shall appoint the Chairs and Members of Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
  2. Standing Committees are the Membership Committee and each of the Awards Committees.
  3. Chairs of Standing Committees, ex-officio, are invited to attend all meetings of Officers and Council, without vote.
  4. All committee appointments conclude at the end of the President's term of office, and the Ad Hoc Committees cease to exist. The new President may continue any Ad Hoc Committee and may reappoint any member to any committee.

Article 8 - Election and Tenure of Society Officials

  1. The terms of office are: President, two years, Vice President, two years, Past President, two years, Secretary/Treasurer, two years; and Council Members, three years.
  2. The Vice President shall become President after two years. The President shall become Past President after two years.
  3. Each Member of the Society is entitled to one vote. Voting may be by paper ballot or on-line web voting.
  4. The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee and Nominating Chair at least five months before each Voting Meeting of the Society.
  5. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate consisting of at least two Nominees for each office to be filled, except for the office of Secretary/Treasurer. Proposals for additional Nominees for any office may be made by a petition signed by at least six Society Members and forwarded to the Nominating Committee at least three months prior to the Voting Meeting. Two months before the Voting Meeting of the Society, the Nominating Committee shall submit its nominations to the Secretary/Treasurer. At least one month prior to the Voting Meeting of the Society, the Secretary/Treasurer shall forward ballots to the Society Members. Ballots must be received by the Secretary/Treasurer at least one week prior to the Voting Meeting.
  6. All Nominees for the positions of Officers and Council Members must be Society Members and Members of INFORMS, must continue to be Members during their terms of office, and must be willing to serve.
  7. The winning Nominee for each position shall be the Nominee receiving the largest number of votes. In the event of a tie vote for any position, the Society Members present at the next Voting Meeting of the Society shall choose between the tied candidates by written ballot.
  8. The terms of office for the winning Nominees shall begin immediately subsequent to the Voting Meeting.

Article 9 – Communications

  1. The DA Society will communicate with members via appropriate means, which could include a newsletter, journal, web site, and electronic mailings.

Article 10 - Amendments

  1. Proposed amendments to these Bylaws may be initiated by the President or by a petition to the President signed by twenty-five members of the Society. Amendments may be proposed at any time. Each proposed amendment shall be discussed at the following Society Meeting, and voted on by paper ballot for the next Voting Meeting subsequent to that discussion.
  2. The adoption of a proposed amendment shall require an affirmative vote by at least two-thirds of the members voting.

Article 11 - Responsibilities to INFORMS

  1. The Society shall operate in accordance with the Constitution, Bylaws, or equivalent governing documents of INFORMS. Each year a Society Report will be submitted to INFORMS setting forth the significant accomplishments and activities of the Society during the previous year and outlining a rationale for the budget projection for the following year.
  2. In the event of dissolution of the Society, its assets shall become the property of INFORMS.