American College of Epidemiology
Proposed Bylaws Changes
5 July 2004
TITLE
The proposed changes were submitted to the ACE Board of Directors at several different times between September 2003 to April 2004. The specific changes are now submitted to the ACE membership in July 2004. According to Article X of the current bylaws this allows a vote in October 2004 (i.e., >6 months from submission to Board, >2 months from submission to membership). One of the proposed changes would decrease the time from “submission to Board” to “vote by membership” from 6 months to 2 months. Another proposed change would allow voting by email or internet.
Add: Revised October 2004.
ARTICLE 1
• Section 1: Altering the membership categories by removing “overseas” distinction and broadening emeritus status to include non-Fellows.
• Section 2: Allowing epidemiologists outside the Americas to apply for membership; standardizing Committee descriptions across bylaws; enumerating the four criteria for membership; allowing masters-trained epidemiologists to apply for membership (see Note A ).
Delete: who is a member of the Americas (line 2)
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (line 2)
Add: 1), 2), 3), and 4) to the four criteria for membership (lines 3-6)
Add: a masters degree in Epidemiology (line 7)
• Section 3: See point #2.
Delete the section
• Section 4: See point #2.
Delete: “who is a permanent resident of the Americas and” (line 1)
• Section 5: See point #2.
Delete the section
• Section 7: Lowering the age of emeritus status, and allowing members to be included as emeriti.
Change: “Any Fellow” to “Any Fellow or Member” (line 1)
Change: 65 th birthday to 60 th birthday (line 1)
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (line 3)
Change to Emeritus Fellows and Members (line 4)
• Section 8: See point #2.
Delete: “who is a permanent resident of the Americas and” (line 1)
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (line 3)
• Section 9: See point #2; and clarification that Associate Members may serve on any standing committee of the College.
Delete: “Overseas Members and Overseas Fellows shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership except those of serving as officers, directors, or chairpersons of committees.” (lines 2-4)
Add: “; they may serve as the Associate Director or as a member of any standing committee of the College” (line 5)
• Section 10: See point #2.
Delete: Overseas Member, Overseas Fellow (lines 3-4)
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (line 2)
• Section 11: standardizing Committee descriptions across bylaws
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (line 1)
ARTICLE II
• Section 1: See point #2.
Delete: Overseas Fellow and Overseas Member (line 1)
ARTICLE III
• Dividing material into two sections; altering the process for readmission of lapsed members.
Add: “Section 1” and “Section 2”
Delete: and any assessments (Section 1, line 2)
Add: “Reactivation will be by payment of current dues and submission of proof of continuance of training.” (Section 2, lines 7-8)
ARTICLE IV
• Clarifying election of Directors, with options proposed for election of Officers (Article V).
Add: “The Directors shall be elected by mail, email, or internet ballot of the membership.” (lines 2-3)
• New Section 7 : Including an Associate Member on the Board of Directors ( see Note B )
Add: “The composition of the Board of Directors shall be modified to include an Associate Member in a non-voting Board position. This position shall be herewith referred to as Associate Director. The Associate Director shall be elected by the members of the current Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting and serve a term of approximately one calendar year from the close of the Annual Meeting of his/her election. The Associate Director will also be appointed liaison to the Membership Committee for his/her term. Candidates for the Associate Director position must be Associate Members in good standing for at least one full year prior to election and must be endorsed by a Fellow of the College in order to be considered for nomination.”
ARTICLE V
• Altering the rules for voting on officers by allowing electronic voting.
Change: “mail” to “mail, email, or internet” (line 4)
ARTICLE VI
• Section 1: See point # 2, above.
Delete: Overseas Fellows and Overseas Members (line 2)
Add: “and” (line 2)
• Section 2: See point # 2, above.
Delete: Overseas Fellows and Overseas Members (line 1)
Add: “or” (line 1)
ARTICLE VII
Altering the term of membership on multiple ACE committees; standardizing Committee descriptions across bylaws.
• Section 1: Admissions Committee.
Change “Committee on Admissions” to “Admissions Committee” (lines 1, 5, 7)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 2: Education Committee.
Change “Committee on Education” to “Education Committee” (line 1)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 3: Finance Committee.
Change “Committee on Finance” to “Finance Committee” (line 1)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 4: Publications Committee.
Change “Committee on Publications” to “Publications Committee” (line 1)
Change “A” to “a” (line 3)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 5: Policy Committee.
Change “Committee on Policy” to “Policy Committee” (line 1)
Change “A” to “a” (line 3)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 6: Awards Committee – changes also would allow Members to serve on Committee
Change “Committee on Awards” to “Awards Committee” (line 1)
Change “Fellows” to “Fellows or Members” (lines 1, 3)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Change: “One new Fellow” to “One new Member or Fellow” (line 4)
Delete: four, or five years (line 4)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 7: Minority Affairs Committee.
Change “Committee on Minority Affairs” to “Minority Affairs Committee” (line 1)
Change “A” to “a” (line 3)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 10: Communications Committee.
Delete: and Public Relations (line 1)
Change “Initially The” to “Initially, the” (line 3)
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
• Section 11: Membership Committee
Add: “or” (line 3)
Delete: four, or five years (line 3)
Change: “five years” to “three years” (line 5)
Change: “Membership” to “membership” (line 5)
ARTICLE IX
• Section 2: Program Committee (subcommittee of Education Committee).
Change: “Committee on Arrangements” to “Program Committee” (line 1)
ARTICLE X
• Altering the rules for voting on by-law amendments; shortening the elapsed time and allowing electronic balloting.
Change: “six months” to “two months” (line 3)
Change: “mail ballot” to “mail, email, or internet ballots” (line 5)
Change: “six months” to “two months” (line 6)
Delete: “the mail ballot and add “voting” instead (line 6)
Delete: “ a mail ballot and add “ voting” (line 7)
Change: “mail ballots” to “mail, email, or internet ballots” (line 8)
ARTICLE XIV
• Altering the text to match current bylaws.
Delete: “each of the seven classes of” (line 1)
Delete: “Any applicant who is admitted to a class of membership requiring certification shall be said to be certified by the American College of Epidemiology and shall be entitled to receive a certificate so stating, as specified by Article VIII, Section 5, of these Bylaws.” (lines 4-7)
NOTES
Background
According to the Mission statement of the American College of Epidemiology, the College was established "to develop criteria for professional recognition of epidemiologists and to address their professional concerns." It serves its members' interests through scientific meetings and other educational activities, recognition of individuals' contributions to the field, and advocacy.
The specific goals identified by the College include the development and maintenance of "an active membership base ... representing all.htmlects of Epidemiology." At present, however, there is a group of potential members, which is specifically excluded from membership based solely on their academic achievements: individuals without doctoral training are, according to the by-laws, not eligible to be considered for membership. Yet, some members of this group make substantial contributions to the field (through research and public health activity, if not through formal teaching), and they might very well qualify for membership based on "demonstrated sustained experience and productivity in the practice of Epidemiology," were the doctoral requirement lifted.
Advantages to admitting master's-trained epidemiologists
• Increased membership pool.
• Expanded representation by "front-line" public health workers.
• Recognition that contributions to the field are not limited by academic qualifications.
Disadvantages to admitting master's-trained epidemiologists
• A perception of devaluation of election to the College.
• Increased potential for subjectivity in assessment of applications.
Examples of individuals admissible under the new bylaw
Epidemiologist with a masters' degree, working as a government epidemiologist.
Ms XXX obtained an MPH in Epidemiology in 1986. Since then she has worked at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Initially her job description was to provide support to large international epidemiologic studies of cancer, including questionnaire design, study management and data analyses. Over the years, she took on additional responsibilities, playing a significant role in the development of new studies. She has published over 40 papers in Epidemiology, of which she is the first author on 10.
Epidemiologist with a masters' degree, working as an industry consultant.
With a masters' degree in Epidemiology, Ms YYY is the Director of Epidemiology for a large oil company and manages an Epidemiology group of two epidemiologists and five support staff. She has completed several epidemiologic studies of oil and gas workers and has 40 publications in several Epidemiology journals. She is the first author in about half of her publications. She has taken several summer courses in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan and Johns' Hopkins University . She sits on two scientific advisory panels, and has been a guest editor on two occasions for two different journals on subjects related to occupational Epidemiology.
Epidemiologist with a masters' degree, working as a state public health epidemiologist.
After 10 years working at the State Health Department conducting statistical cluster investigations and conducting chronic disease evaluations, Ms ZZZ returned to graduate school and in 1995 obtained a masters' degree in Epidemiology. Upon her return to the State Health Department, she has developed a disease surveillance program, analyzing statewide morbidity and mortality data for time trends and patterns of heath care utilization. She has assisted in writing grants to support epidemiologic studies, and recently was the PI on two successful grants on disease surveillance. She currently heads a research and surveillance team at the State Health Department, and supervises two staff, including a recent masters' epidemiologist. Among her peer-reviewed publications are 11 papers focusing on epidemiologic analyses, of which she is first author on 5. She has made over 40 presentations at major public health and Epidemiology conferences. She is a lecturer at the university's Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and assists in teaching introductory Epidemiology.
The American College of Epidemiology (the College) has listed the development and maintenance of an active membership base as one of four Goals in its 2001 Strategic Plan. Under this Goal, two objectives apply to Associate Members (i.e., those members who are accepted into the College while pursuing academic and professional training in the field of Epidemiology):
According to the College bylaws, Associate Members are entitled to this membership status for up to five years and shall be permitted all membership privileges except those of voting, serving as officers, directors, or chairpersons of committees.
Recently, Associate Members have been included in several standing committees of the College (e.g., Communications, Membership). This practice offers an incentive to Associate Members to join the College as it encourages direct participation in the activities of the College before the individuals become eligible for Member status. This permits Associate Members to develop professional and leadership skills outside of a formal academic setting. The recruitment and inclusion of Associate Members also builds interest in the College among those persons who are currently in training to qualify as fully eligible Members, and will enhance the interest of these persons to continue their relationship with the College when they are eligible for Member status.
In order to stimulate increased membership among Associate Members, the creation of a non-voting Board of Director (BOD) position provides an excellent opportunity to raise the profile and involvement of Associate Members. This non-voting position acknowledges the constituency of student members and seeks to increase their participation by having a student serve in an administrative role. This proposal outlines the advantages, operational issues, and amendment to the bylaws that would implement this strategy.
The establishment of a non-voting Board of Directors position to be filled by an Associate Member offers the following advantages:
• The creation of an Associate Member of the Board of Directors (hereafter to be called the Associate Director) position sends a clear signal to all current and potential Associate Members that the College is interested in their membership and participation.
• The position would increase the opportunity for Associate Members to become actively involved in the College. After establishment of the Board position, other Associate Members may have greater motivation to contribute to standing committees of the College as a means of consideration for the Board position.
• The Associate Director can represent his or her peers, facilitate the timely communication of relevant issues to Associate Members, and provide an identifiable spokesperson for the concerns and opinions of Associate Members during the conduct of BOD business.
Despite the likely benefits accrued by implementing this change in the composition of the Board, there are potential reservations to address in this proposal:
1. The Associate Director will increase the travel and lodging costs for meetings of the Board of Directors.
2. The Associate Director will need to develop a contact network of Associate Members. Due to the transition of Associate Members to Members, regular updates will need to be made in order to insure that the correct constituency is identified. (Most communication can occur via e-mail and/or creation of a website section for Associate Members. The Communications Committee already has agreed to work on this website section.)
3. The term of office for the position may be too short to build momentum and consistency. This is an on-going challenge for any representative position. A criterion for any selected candidate is a realistic assessment about his or her capabilities to achieve specific mandates during the one-year term. A quarterly report to the BOD may allow for supervision and guidance during the Associate Director's term.
Operational Issues
The position of Associate Director needs definition of requirements and duties. Further, conditions for eligibility, election, and term need to be established, as follows:
• Requirements for eligibility: Any candidate for the Associate Director position must be an Associate Member in good standing for a period of at least one year prior to election at the Annual Meeting of the College. Additionally, the Associate Director must remain eligible to be an Associate Member during the full year of the term.
• Method of Election: All potential candidates must apply to the BOD. Application will include sponsorship by a Fellow of the College and may be include elements such as a resume, written statement, or other formal declaration that would allow the BOD to fully consider the applicant's merits. The exact process of nomination will be decided by the President. The Associate Director position will be filled by the candidate receiving a majority vote of the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting.
Note: When the College has > 100 Associate Members, the election of the Associate Director could be by a majority vote by Associate Members. (This would require an additional amendment to the by-laws.)
• Term: The term of office will start at the close of the Annual Meeting following election, and will be one year, to conclude at the close of the next Annual Meeting. An Associate Director cannot serve more than one term.
• Duties: The Associate Director is a non-voting member of the BOD. As such, he or she can participate in the discussion of issues before the Board but cannot elect members, decide College business, or exercise any powers that the College has delegated to Board Members. The Associate Director shall serve as a second Board liaison to the Membership Committee. He or she will be responsible for promoting the College to peers eligible for Associate Member status. Further, the Associate Director will be recognized as the representative of all Associate Members and will be expected to communicate for and with Associate Members on any relevant issues.
• Attendance: The Associate Director will be invited to all meetings of the Board of Directors. His or her attendance does not count towards an official quorum of the Board due to the non-voting status of the position.
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The American College of Epidemiology is a professional organization of epidemiologists that serves the interests of its members through sponsorship of scientific meetings, publications and educational activities, recognizing outstanding contributions to the field and advocating for issues pertinent to Epidemiology.