Article 1 - Name
- This organization shall be named the Junior Faculty Interest Group (JFIG) Forum of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS or the Institute).
Article 2 - Purposes
The purposes of this Forum shall be:
- To encourage interest in the field of operations research and the management sciences, especially among junior faculty;
- To promote career development of junior faculty with interests in the area of operations research and the management sciences;
- To encourage the exchange of ideas and promote interaction among junior faculty with interests in operations research and the management sciences;
- To advise the INFORMS Board on aspects of issues facing junior faculty with interests in operations research and the management sciences, and to keep the INFORMS Board apprised of developments in this area.
Article 3 - Membership
- Any member of the Institute may become a Forum Member by completing a membership application and submitting it with the current Forum dues. Non-members of the Institute may become Forum members by paying the special fee for non-members of the Institute. (See Section VII of the Fora Handbook.)
- All members of the Forum shall have equal rights and privileges except that only INFORMS members may hold Forum offices (See Article 5). Applicable dues will be payable annually by the Fall INFORMS meeting for the following year. Failure to remit dues may result in cancellation of membership. Dues to defer annual operating expenses may be assessed on all members by a majority vote of those present at a meeting.
- Membership and participation shall be free from discrimination based on race, religion, ethnic group, national origin, handicap, gender, or sexual orientation.
Article 4 - Officers
- The officers of the Forum shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Media Coordinator.
- The President shall be the chief administrative officer of the Forum and shall be responsible for the development and execution of the Forum's program. He/she shall (a) call and organize meetings of the Forum, (b) appoint ad hoc committees as required, (c) appoint Presidents and members of standing committees, (d) manage the affairs of the Forum between meetings, and (e) preside at Forum meetings.
- The Vice President shall be the principal assistant administrative officer of the Forum and shall act as President in the absence of the President. He/she shall have such other duties as the President or the Board shall assign to him/her.
- The Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Forum, keep the minutes and records of the Forum, maintain contact with the Institute, receive reports of activities from those Forum Committees that may be established, conduct the annual election of officers for the Forum, make arrangements for the orderly transfer of all Forum’s records to the Secretary succeeding him/her, and perform other duties usual to the office of an organization’s Secretary.
- The Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration and disbursement of the Forum funds as directed by the Forum Board, prepare and distribute reports of the financial condition of the Forum, help prepare the annual budget of the Forum for submission to the Institute, make arrangements for the orderly transfer of all the Forum's financial records to the Treasurer succeeding him/her, and perform other duties usual to the office of an organization's Treasurer.
- The Media Coordinator shall be responsible for maintaining the web site of the Forum, coordinating public relations of the Forum, and performing other duties as assigned by the President or the Board.
- Any Forum member accepting nomination for elective office in the Forum is understood to have agreed to perform the duties of that office if elected, and in particular to have agreed to attend the regular Forum meetings during his/her tenure, except as his/her attendance is prevented by unusual circumstances.
Article 5 - Election and Tenure of Forum Officials
- The Forum shall annually elect a VP/President elect for a one year term as Vice President, followed by a one year term as President. The forum shall annually elect either Secretary or Treasurer, for a two year term, alternating each year. The forum shall elect a media coordinator once every two years. Officer terms commence on March 1 of the election year.
- The presiding officers shall nominate at least one candidate for each of the positions being filled. Additional nominations may be made by Forum members via correspondence with the President or at a Forum meeting. The period for nominations shall be no less than two weeks.
- Nominees for the positions of elected officers must be Forum members, INFORMS members, and hold an untenured tenure-track faculty position or a position deemed equivalent.
- Elected officers shall be elected by Forum members at a Forum meeting, by mail, email, or internet ballot, using approval voting. If voting is done by mail, email, or internet ballot, the voting period shall be no less than two weeks. Each year, the Secretary shall prepare a ballot with all nominees listed alphabetically by office, and the ballots shall be tabulated by a disinterested person by February 28. The winning candidate for each position shall be the candidate receiving the largest number of votes. In the event of a tie vote for any position, a run-off election will be conducted via email ballot.
Article 6 - Meetings
- The Forum will hold at least one general membership meeting per year, typically during the Fall Institute Meeting. The time, place, and agenda of meetings will be set by the Officers and announced in advance by the Secretary.
- Meetings of the Forum officers shall be held at least once each year, normally during the semi-annual meetings of the Institute. All Forum Officer meetings shall be open to Forum members.
Article 7 - Forum Committees
- The Forum President with the approval of the Officers, shall establish committees as required and shall appoint qualified Presidents to head these committees. In all cases the terms of the Presidents and the committee memberships shall cease upon completion of the term of the President who appointed them, unless the new President with the approval of the new Officers continues the committee.
Article 8 - Responsibility to the Institute
- The Forum shall operate in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Institute. Each year, normally at the Fall Society meeting, a Forum report will be submitted to the Institute setting forth the significant accomplishments and activities of the Forum during the previous year and outlining a rationale for the budget projections for the following year. Additional reports shall be submitted to the Institute upon request.
- In the event of dissolution of the Forum, its assets shall become the property of the Institute.
Article 9 - Amendments
- Proposed amendments to this constitution may be initiated either by action of the Forum Officers or by a petition to the President signed by 5% of the membership or 15 members of the Forum, whichever is smaller. The Secretary shall distribute copies of the proposed amendment to all members of the Forum not less than 7 days before a membership meeting.
- An open discussion of the proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be carried out at a membership meeting of the Forum. The adoption of the proposed amendment shall require an affirmative vote by at least two-thirds of the members present.
- If approved by the Forum membership, the proposed amendment to the Constitution shall become effective upon approval by the INFORMS Board.