IEEE Bylaws

I-303.  Major Boards

1. Appointment by Board of Directors.   The activities of the IEEE shall be conducted wherever possible through voluntarily associated groups of members organized by (1) geographic area (i.e., Sections, etc.) and (2) field of interest (i.e., Societies).  To provide for activities of the IEEE not adequately fulfilled by the voluntarily associated groups, committees of members shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.  Those committees, known as Standing Committees, are as listed in Bylaws I-304 and I-305.  The voting members of the Major Boards and Standing Committees appointed by individuals or committees, other than the IEEE Board of Directors, as specified in these Bylaws, shall be annually submitted to the IEEE Board of Directors for affirmation. 
   
   
2. Major Boards.  The Board of Directors of the IEEE establishes the following major organizational units.  These major organizational units as defined in this bylaw shall also be known as the Major Boards of the IEEE.
   
   IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB)
   IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board (MGAB)
   IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB)
   IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA)
   IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB)
   IEEE United States of America (IEEE-USA)
   
   These organizational units shall implement programs intended to serve and benefit IEEE members, the engineering and scientific community, and the general public.  Programs of Major Boards that have a close relationship to the missions of other Major Boards shall be coordinated with those organizational units.  The Board of Directors shall approve the charters, objectives, and mission statements of each such Major Board.
   
   Major Boards and their organizational units may organize and sponsor meetings, seminars, symposia, conferences, and other programs on matters related to the interests of the units, within their technical and geographical boundaries.
   
   Major Boards and their organizational units may authorize newsletters, periodicals, magazines, proceedings, and other publications as it may deem necessary for effectively disseminating and publicizing their activities.  In so doing, it shall administer the policies and standards set by the Publication Services and Products Board as they relate to publications.
   
   Each Major Board shall be appointed a Staff Secretary who shall be a member of the IEEE staff as designated by the IEEE Executive Director.
   
   
3. Educational Activities Board (EAB).  The IEEE Educational Activities Board shall recommend to the Board of Directors policies on educational matters and implement programs specifically intended to serve and benefit IEEE members in educational pursuits, the engineering and scientific community, and the general public. These programs shall include the broad planning of educational activities of the IEEE, the development and delivery of continuing education products and activities, the development of guidelines for the IEEE representatives to accreditation bodies, the monitoring of accreditation activities, the coordination of pre-university programs, and the representation of the IEEE in matters regarding engineering education. The EAB shall be the IEEE interface in education-related matters with external bodies.
   
   EAB shall be responsible for administration of the annual assessment paid to ABET, Inc.
   
   EAB Membership. The Educational Activities Board shall consist of not more than 19 members, including the Chair, who shall be the Vice President-Educational Activities; the immediate Past Vice President-Educational Activities; two members having strong interest in engineering education from Technical Activities, jointly appointed by the Vice President-Technical Activities and the Vice President-Educational Activities; two members having strong interest in engineering education from Member and Geographic Activities, one from Regions 1 - 6, and one from Regions 7 - 10, jointly appointed by the Vice President-Member and Geographic Activities and the Vice President-Educational Activities; one member from the Standards Association, jointly appointed by the President, Standards Association and the Vice President-Educational Activities; Chair of the EAB Accreditation Policy Council, and the Chairs of the following EAB committees: Finance, Nominations and Appointments, Strategic Planning, Awards and Recognition, Pre-University Education Coordinating, Section Outreach, Society Outreach, Continuing Professional Education, and Public Awareness, and the Chair of the IEEE Expert Now Editorial Board, all of whom shall be appointed by the Vice President-Educational Activities and affirmed by a majority of EAB; and the Staff Secretary who shall serve without vote.
   
   The members of each subcommittee shall be approved by the Educational Activities Board. Up to two non-members of the IEEE may be appointed as voting members on each of the following subcommittees:  Pre-University Coordinating Committee; Continuing Professional Education Committee; EAB Editorial Board for Engineering, Technology and Computing Portals. The Chair of each subcommittee shall be an IEEE Member.
   
   

4. Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB).  The IIEEE Publication Services and Products Board shall report to the Board of Directors and shall be responsible for formulating and recommending information-related, published services and products policies to the Board of Directors, establishing and maintaining standards and procedures for IEEE information dissemination, recommending to the policies and best practices as they relate to the IEEE website, and otherwise coordinating and assisting those activities of the IEEE and its various organizational units. It is expected that the IEEE organizational units will fulfill their obligations for their services and products. Once approved by the Board of Directors, these procedures become part of the policy and procedures of the IEEE. Other organizational units shall be responsible for administering those policies set by PSPB as they relate to the publications, services and products for which they are responsible.
   
   

   (a)	The IEEE shall provide services and products which disseminate information on technical, scientific, professional, and newsworthy topics of interest to members, the engineering and scientific community, and the general public.
   (b)	The IEEE shall publish a magazine entitled IEEE SPECTRUM, which contains technical and scientific articles of general interest to the entire membership.
   (c)	The IEEE shall publish a newspaper entitled THE INSTITUTE, which contains news of current events in the IEEE itself, the industry, and the engineering and scientific community.
   (d)	IEEE SPECTRUM and THE INSTITUTE shall be distributed to all Honorary Members, Fellows, Senior Members, Members, Associate Members, Graduate Student Members, and Student Members.

   PSPB Membership.  The Publication Services and Products Board shall consist of not more than 29 members, which shall include the Vice President of PSPB, who shall serve as Chair; nine Members-at-Large appointed by the IEEE Board of Directors for three-year staggered terms, for which PSPB shall recommend nominees; one GOLD member appointed by the Chair for a one-year term; the Editors-in-Chief of IEEE Press, Proceedings, and Potentials; one member from each of the Spectrum and Advisory Boards; one current or past member of the Computer Society Board of Governors, appointed by that Board; one member appointed by each of the other Major Boards; the Chairs of the Standing Committees and other appointments, as specified in the PSPB Operations Manual; and the Staff Secretary, who shall serve without vote.
   
   

5. Member and Geographic Activities Board (MGAB). The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board shall be responsible to the Board of Directors and shall serve the needs of the members of the IEEE by maintaining, enhancing, and supporting the geographical organizational units of the IEEE. MGAB shall be responsible for IEEE membership and member development. Membership includes recruitment, administration of admissions, retention, elevation, and service, as well as related operational and budget issues. Member development includes member value development, new member programs and services and support for members’ careers, in collaboration with other IEEE Organizational Units.
   
   

   MGAB Membership.  The Member and Geographic Activities Board shall consist of not more than 20 members including the Vice President - Member and Geographic Activities who shall be Chair; the immediate Past Chair; the  MGAB Treasurer, who shall be selected by the MGAB Assembly; the ten Region Directors; four Vice Chairs who shall be specified in the MGAB Operations Manual, and who shall be selected by the MGAB Assembly; two members appointed by the Vice President - Technical Activities; and the Staff Secretary, who shall serve without vote.

   Members of MGAB shall be of Fellow or Senior Member grade.
   
   Individuals holding more than one position on MGAB shall be limited to one vote.
   
   

6. Standards Association (IEEE-SA). The IEEE Standards Association shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for standards programs that enhance the strategic initiatives of the IEEE. The IEEE-SA shall establish, coordinate, develop, approve, and revise IEEE standards and conduct other standards-related activities in fields of interest to the IEEE. The IEEE-SA shall be the IEEE interface in standards-related matters with external bodies. The IEEE-SA Board of Governors shall be the governing body of the Standards Association, and it shall reflect the technical and global standards interests of the IEEE.

   IEEE-SA Board of Governors (IEEE-SA BOG) Membership. The IEEE-SA BOG shall consist of not more than 15 members who shall be the IEEE-SA President, who shall be elected for a two-year term by the eligible voting members of the IEEE who are also members of the Standards Association; the IEEE-SA President-Elect or the most recent IEEE-SA Past President willing to serve; the Chair of the Standards Board, who shall be appointed by the IEEE-SA BOG; the most recent Past Chair of the Standards Board willing to serve; the Chair of the IEEE Standards Association Corporate Advisory Group, who shall be appointed for a two-year term by the IEEE-SA BOG; the IEEE-SA Treasurer, who shall be appointed for a two-year term by the IEEE-SA President; eight Members-at-Large, four of whom shall be elected by the eligible voting members of the Standards Association and four of whom shall be appointed by the IEEE-SA BOG, as specified in the SA Operations Manual; and the Staff Secretary, who shall serve without vote. The IEEE-SA Past President shall serve as a voting member of the IEEE-SA BOG in which years there is no IEEE-SA President-Elect.

   All voting members of the IEEE-SA BOG shall be of Member, Senior Member, or Fellow grade, and shall have membership in the IEEE-SA, as specified in the Standards Association Operations Manual.
   
   The IEEE-SA President may appoint non-voting individuals to the IEEE-SA BOG to facilitate its work. These individuals shall be members of IEEE-SA and represent specific needs. Subject to Bylaw I-304.5, all individuals shall be appointed on an annual basis.
   
   

7. Technical Activities Board (TAB). The IEEE Technical Activities Board shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for directing the advancement of the theory and practice, of electrical, electronics, communications and computer engineering, as well as computer science, and the allied branches of engineering and the related arts and sciences and technologies, and their application for the benefit of IEEE members worldwide and for the general public. TAB shall encourage and support its Societies, Councils, and Committees to develop and deliver to their global customers appropriate and timely intellectual property products, in either printed or electronic form, or through meetings on current or emerging technologies.
   
   TAB Membership. The Technical Activities Board shall consist of the Chair, who shall be the Vice President - Technical Activities; the immediate Past Chair; the Vice Chair, who shall be the TAB Vice President-Elect; the Society Presidents; the Technical Council Presidents; the ten Division Delegate/Directors; the TAB Treasurer; the Chair of the TAB Periodicals Committee; the Chair of the TAB/PSPB Products and Services Committee; the Chair of the IEEE Conferences Committee; and the Staff Secretary who shall serve without vote.
   
   The Vice President – Technical Activities shall be elected by the eligible voting members of the IEEE who are also members of at least one society.  The Society Presidents shall be elected or appointed in accordance with the bylaws of each respective Society.  The Technical Council Presidents shall be appointed by the Board of Governors of each respective Council.  The ten Division Delegate/Directors shall be elected in accordance with the IEEE Bylaw I-307.  The TAB Treasurer shall be appointed by the Chair for a two-year term, with reappointment permissible for up to a maximum of six years.  The Chair of the TAB Periodicals Committee shall be appointed by TAB for a two-year term.  The Chair of the TAB/PSPB Products & Services Committee shall be appointed jointly by TAB and PSPB for a two-year term.
   
   The Vice President - Technical Activities shall be ineligible to serve a second full term.
   
   
8. IEEE United States of America (IEEE-USA).   The IEEE United States of America shall be responsible to the Board of Directors and shall recommend policies and implement programs specifically intended to serve and benefit the members, engineering professionals, and general public in the United States. IEEE-USA shall be the organizational unit that represents the professional interests of the IEEE before U.S. governmental bodies. It shall also be responsible for coordinating and reporting, under federal disclosure laws, all official communications with government.
   
   IEEE-USA Board Membership.  The IEEE-USA Board of Directors shall consist of not more than 18 members, which shall include the IEEE-USA President, who shall be Chair; the IEEE-USA President-Elect; the IEEE-USA Past President; the Directors for Regions 1-6; one member from Technical Activities, who shall be a sitting or past Director and appointed by the Vice President – Technical Activities with the concurrence of the IEEE-USA President; two IEEE-USA Members-at-Large, who shall be elected by the eligible voting members within Regions 1-6, serving staggered two year terms; four IEEE-USA Vice Presidents and the Secretary/Treasurer all of whom shall be appointed by the IEEE-USA Assembly; and the Staff Secretary who shall serve without vote.

   Members of the IEEE-USA Board of Directors shall be of Fellow or Senior Member grade.

   The IEEE-USA President shall be ineligible to serve a second full term. IEEE-USA Members-at-Large will not be eligible for a second successive term.

9. Major Board Operating Procedures.   Each Major Board shall adopt operating procedures that are responsive to the needs of such Major Board for the purpose of governing its operations and administration. These operating procedures shall be maintained in an Operations Manual and shall conform to and not conflict with the IEEE governance documents described in Bylaw I-300. The Operations Manuals or any amendments to its procedures shall not be adopted until such Operations Manuals or any amendments have been submitted to and reviewed by the IEEE Governance Committee. The minimum required information to be contained in the Major Board Operations Manuals shall be specified in the IEEE Policies.