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Signal Processing Society Constitution

 

Approved 20 October 2022

ARTICLE I - NAME, PURPOSE, TERRITORY

Section 1. The name of this organization is the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) (the Society).
 
Section 2. The Society is established as an entity of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), and its successor(s), and shall operate in accordance with the constitution, bylaws, and procedures of the IEEE and the Society's Constitution, Bylaws and Policy and Procedures Manual. The Society is the successor to the IEEE Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Society and its predecessor, the IEEE Audio and Electroacoustics Group, and its predecessor, the IEEE Audio Group.
 
Section 3.

The Signal Processing Society is an international organization whose purpose is to: advance and disseminate state-of-the-art scientific information and resources; educate the signal processing community; and provide a venue for people to interact and exchange ideas.
 
Section 4. The activities by which the Society shall achieve its purposes shall include, but not be limited to, the publication of refereed transactions and journals, of magazines and/or newsletters, and of books; the sponsorship, co-sponsorship or other participation in the conduct of technical meetings; and recognition of the achievements of its members.
 
Section 5. The scope of the Society is transnational, and members from all parts of the world are encouraged to be active. The Society shall not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or residence. The Society may engage in activities that serve the interests and needs of members residing in a particular country or area of the world, provided that such activities do not discriminate against nor seek to gain unfair advantage over members from different countries or areas.
 
Section 6. The activities of the Society are to be achieved through the voluntary, uncompensated efforts of its members. No individual shall receive any payment, gratuity, or other thing of value for service to the Society, either directly or through an intermediary, unless that individual is a salaried employee or contractor of the IEEE or the Society. Expenses incurred by individuals while engaged in Society activities shall be compensated to the extent provided by the Society's management, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the Society's Bylaws, and the rules and practices of the IEEE.

 

ARTICLE II - FIELD OF INTEREST AND VISION STATEMENT

The Field of Interest of the Society shall be: signal processing is the enabling technology for the generation, transformation, extraction, and interpretation of information. It comprises the theory, algorithms with associated architectures and implementations, and applications related to processing information contained in many different formats broadly designated as signals. Signal processing uses mathematical, statistical, computational, heuristic, and/or linguistic representations, formalisms, modeling techniques and algorithms for generating, transforming, transmitting, and learning from signals.

(Approved by the IEEE Technical Activities Board, June 26, 2010.)

VISION STATEMENT

The Signal Processing Society is a dynamic organization that is the preeminent source of signal processing information and resources to a global community. We do this by: being a one-stop source of signal processing resources; providing a variety of high quality resources to a variety of users in formats customized to their interests; adapting to a rapidly changing technical community; and being intimately involved in the education of signal processing professionals at all levels.

(Approved by the IEEE SPS Board of Governors, September 11, 2003.)

 

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. IEEE members of any grade shall become Society members upon application and payment of the Society membership fee. The membership fee and the cost of publications and other considerations members receive for the membership fee, are to be set as part of the Society's annual budget.
 
Section 2. Individuals who are not members of the IEEE may become Affiliate members of the Society upon (a) meeting the requirements established in the Bylaws for Affiliate membership; (b) by making proper application for Affiliate membership; and, (c) by making appropriate payment for Affiliate membership. Any other requirements for Affiliate membership shall be as established in the Bylaws. Affiliate members have the rights and privileges of a Society member. An Affiliate member may serve in an appointive capacity that does not require IEEE membership as a prerequisite.
 
Section 3. Special categories of membership, with appropriate fees, shall be as specified in the Bylaws.

 

ARTICLE IV - FINANCES

Section 1. The Society may collect dues and fees from its members as provided in the Bylaws.
 
Section 2. The Society may charge registration fees for its technical meetings. Registration fees for Society and IEEE members should be lower than for non-members.
 
Section 3. The Society may raise revenues by other means, such as advertising, exhibits, publication sales, and requests for donations, provided prior approval is obtained from the IEEE for those means not explicitly permitted by the current rules and regulations of the IEEE and the Bylaws of the Society.
 
Section 4. The Society shall conform to the rules prescribed by the IEEE, and its bylaws, and in accordance with the budget adopted annually by the Society's Board of Governors (BoG) (SEE, ARTICLE V).
 
Section 5. The fiscal year of the Society shall be the same as the fiscal year of the IEEE.

 

ARTICLE V - ADMINISTRATION

Section 1. The Society shall be governed by an administrative committee which shall be referred to as the Board of Governors, and which shall comprise the Society's Officers, Members-at-Large and Regional Directors-at-Large.
 

The Officers of the Society shall be the President, the President-Elect, and the Vice Presidents. The Vice Presidents shall be elected by the Board of Governors and shall serve terms and perform such duties as are specified in the Bylaws.
Section 2. The voting members of the Society shall elect the President-Elect, Members-at-Large and Regional Directors-at-Large who shall serve on the Society's Board of Governors. The number and method of election of the President-Elect, Members-at-Large and Regional Directors-at-Large shall be as specified in the Bylaws.
 
Section 3. All Officers, Members-at-Large and Regional Directors-at-Large of the Society shall be members in good standing of the grades specified in the Bylaws.
 
Section 4. The Board of Governors may appoint such Boards and Standing Committees as it deems necessary to meet the mission of the Society.
 
Section 5. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees and boards of the Society. The President shall serve as a member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board and represent the Society to that body or appoint an alternate to do so.
 
Section 6. The Society may use the services of IEEE Headquarters as bursar for Society funds or for other purposes mutually agreed upon by the IEEE and the Society.
 
Section 7. No member of the Society nor any officer or representative thereof shall have authority to contract debts for, pledge the credit of, or in any way bind the IEEE, except as approved in advance by the IEEE.

 

ARTICLE VI - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Board of Governors shall submit, annually, to the voting members at least two candidates for the President-Elect, and each Member-at-Large and Regional Director-at-Large position becoming vacant.
 
Section 2. The election procedure for the President-Elect, Members-at-Large and Regional Director-at-Large of the Board of Governors shall provide for petition candidates.
 
Section 3. Filling of vacancies for Member-at-Large and Regional Director-at-Large positions shall be as provided in the Bylaws.

 

ARTICLE VII - BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETINGS

Section 1. The Board of Governors shall hold at least two meetings each calendar year. The last regularly convened meeting of the year shall be the Annual Meeting. Provisions for additional or special meetings of the Board of Governors shall be as stated in the Bylaws.
 
Section 2. A quorum of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of those members having voting rights.
 
Section 3. A majority of legal votes cast by those members of the Board of Governors present at a regularly convened meeting shall be necessary for the conduct of business, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution or in the Bylaws.

 

ARTICLE VIII - TECHNICAL MEETINGS

Section 1. The Society may hold technical meetings either alone or in cooperation with the IEEE or its entities, or with other technical organizations, subject to the rules and procedures of the IEEE.
 
Section 2. Technical meetings of the Society shall be open on an equal basis to all members of the IEEE. The Society may not sponsor or co-sponsor technical meetings that are subject to security/export clearance or any other restrictions of either governmental or industrial nature.

 

ARTICLE IX - PUBLICATIONS

Section 1. Publications undertaken by the Society shall be subject to IEEE and Society policies and regulations.
 
Section 2. The duties of and regulations pertaining to Society publication editors shall be as detailed in the Bylaws.

 

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS

Section 1. Amendments to this Constitution may be initiated either by petition submitted in writing with the exact wording of the amendments to the President by a minimum of one-half percent of the members of the Society or by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Governors. Each proposed amendment will be transmitted for administrative approval to the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB). If approved by the IEEE, the proposed amendment shall appear in a Society publication normally reaching all members of the Society, with notice that it shall be considered approved unless one-half percent or more of the Society membership objects, in writing, within 30 days of publication. If such objections are received, a copy of the proposed amendment shall be mailed with a ballot to all members of the Society at least 30 days before the date appointed for return of the ballots. The ballots shall carry a statement of the time limit for their return to the balloting agency. Approval of the amendment by at least two-thirds of the ballots legally cast shall be necessary for enactment.
 
Section 2.

Changes to the Bylaws may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Governors present at a regularly convened meeting of the Board, provided that notice of the proposed new bylaw or amendment has been transmitted to each Board member at least one week prior to such a meeting. In addition, a proposed new Bylaw or amendment may be adopted by a two-thirds email vote of the members of the Board of Governors, provided a seven-day period is allowed for such responses. In either event, the proposed new Bylaw or amendment shall be reviewed by the Vice President, Technical Activities after its presentation to the Board of Governors.

Following adoption by the Board of Governors, the proposed new Bylaw or amendment shall appear on the Society's website. No proposed new Bylaw or amendment shall take effect until it has been published and has been mailed to the Vice President, Technical Activities and the Vice President, Technical Activites has obtained any other necessary approvals.
Section 3. All amendments to the Constitution shall become effective immediately upon all necessary approvals and notifications.

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