Signal Processing Society Bylaws

Amended 8 June 2020 - Board of Governors

Approved 19 December 2019 - Vice President, Technical Activities

19 December 2019 - Effective Date of Amendments

Effective Date of Amendments:

100.0 Membership
200.0 Organization
300.0 Nominations, Elections, Appointments
400.0 Geographical Activities

500.0 Technical Activities
600.0 Publications Activities
700.0 Conference Activities
800.0 Miscellaneous
900.0 Amendments

100.0 MEMBERSHIP

101. Grades.

IEEE members of any grade will become members of the Society upon application and payment of the Society membership fee. Special categories of members may be designated in accordance with IEEE rules and procedures.

Recognized Society membership grades are: (amended 26 September 2019)
1. Member
2. Affiliate
3. Associate
4. Graduate Student Member
5. Student.
The term "member," when printed without an initial capital, where used in these Bylaws, refers to all grades of membership.

102. Rights and Privileges.

(amended 26 September 2019)

Member. A Member of the Signal Processing Society shall hold the grade of Member, or higher grade, in the IEEE. A Member shall have the right to vote in general elections and to run for Society office in accordance with these Bylaws.
Affiliate. An Affiliate shall not be a member of IEEE but shall, by payment of appropriate dues and fees, qualify for Society membership. Society Affiliate membership may be based on membership in other organizations or IEEE societies that have been recognized for affiliation purposes by specific action of the Society’s Board of Governors (BoG). An Affiliate has the rights and privileges of a Society Member. An Affiliate may serve in an appointive capacity that does not require IEEE membership as a prerequisite.
Associate. An Associate shall be a member of the IEEE and shall pay appropriate IEEE and Society dues and fees. An Associate shall have the right to vote in Society general elections and shall have the rights and privileges of a Society Member, except the right to serve in an elective capacity.
Graduate Student. Graduate Student grade is open to IEEE Graduate Student Members. Graduate Student Members shall have the rights and privileges of Members.
Student. Student grade is open to IEEE Student Members. Student Members shall have the rights and privileges of the Member grade, except the right to vote in Society elections, nor may they serve in an elective or appointive capacity for other than Student activities.

103. Application and Admission.

Each application for admission to membership or for transfer to a different grade of membership, shall include sufficient evidence of eligibility, in addition to meeting the requirements for admission or upgrade as provided in the IEEE bylaws.

200.0 ORGANIZATION

201. Officers.

The Officers of the Signal Processing Society shall be: the President, the President-Elect, and the Vice Presidents.

President. The President is responsible for carrying out the strategic plans and policies as established by the Board of Governors and reports to the Board of Governors. The President chairs the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee. The President shall call an Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors.
The President also shall represent the views of the Society’s leadership as a voting member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) or other IEEE major boards, and shall serve on committees of TAB or other IEEE major boards, as elected or appointed. In the event the President shall not be able to attend a meeting of an IEEE entity to which he/she has been appointed, the Society may send an alternate provided that the IEEE Bylaws permit an alternate. If the IEEE Bylaws do not specifically state who shall be permitted to serve as alternate on behalf of the SPS President, each year the President will select and inform TAB who shall serve as his/her alternate for that year. The alternate will be an Officer of the Executive Committee.

The President is the only Society Officer empowered on behalf of the Board of Governors, to engage other IEEE Societies or organizations in discussions regarding partnerships that affect the Society and/or its products and services.
President-Elect. (amended 4 October 2012) The President-Elect shall chair the TC Review Committee and the Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee, as well as act as the Society’s treasurer. He/she shall be responsible for preparation of Society budgets, monitoring of the Society’s expenses, surpluses, and investments and shall act as liaison to the Board of Governors on all Strategic and Long-Range Planning activities. The President-Elect has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s long-range planning, technical committee reviews, and the Society’s finances and reports to the President.
Vice President-Membership. (amended 26 September 2019) The Vice President-Membership, shall chair the Membership Board and shall act as liaison to the Board of Governors for the activities of the Membership Development Committee, Student Services Committee, Women in Signal Processing Committee and the Young Professionals Committee of the Membership Board. The Vice President-Membership has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s membership and reports to the President.
Vice President-Conferences. The Vice President-Conferences, shall chair the Conferences Board and shall act as liaison to the Board of Governors for all technical meeting activity. The Vice President-Conferences has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s conferences and workshops, and their proceedings and reports to the President.
Vice President-Publications. The Vice President-Publications, shall chair the Publications Board and shall act as a liaison to the Board of Governors for the Society’s magazine(s), transaction(s), journal(s), and other publications. The Vice President-Publications has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s magazine(s), transaction(s), journal(s), and other publications and reports to the President.
Vice President-Technical Directions. The Vice President-Technical Directions, shall chair the Technical Directions Board and shall act as a liaison to the Board of Governors for the Technical Committee’s activities. The Vice President-Technical Directions has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s technical committees and reports to the President.
Vice President-Education. (approved 18 May 2019) The Vice President-Education shall chair the Education Board and shall act as liaison to the Board of Governors for the activities of the Resource Center and SigPort Editorial Boards of the Education Board. The Vice President-Education has the direct overall responsibilities for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the Society’s educational activities and reports to the President.
Term of Office. The President-Elect, and President, shall each serve two years in office. The Vice Presidents shall each serve three years in office. None shall be eligible for reelection to consecutive terms.
Vacancies. Vacancies in the offices of President and President-Elect shall be handled in accordance with Bylaw 203.9.

202. Past President and Officers-Elect.

Past President. The Past President shall chair the Nominations and Appointments Standing Committee. The Past President shall serve two-years in office.
Officers-Elect. President-Elect and Vice President-Elect are referred to as Officers-Elect.

203. Board of Governors (BoG).

(amended 18 May 2019) The Society shall be governed by an administrative committee which shall be referred to as the Board of Governors, and which shall consist of 22 members who shall be the seven officers of the Society elected by the Board of Governors, the nine Members-at-Large elected by the voting members of the Society (See Sections 302, 303), and five non-voting, ex-officio members, who are the Awards Board Chair and the four Regional Directors-at-Large (see Sections 305). The Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote. In the conduct of the Society’s business, all volunteer leaders are accountable to the Board of Governors.

At the discretion of the Board, when it is not practical to meet in conjunction with one of the Society's technical meetings, and for any special meetings of the Board, a location central to the majority of the Members of the Board then serving shall be employed.

Annual Meeting. (amended 10 May 2014) The President shall call Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors, normally during ICASSP in the Spring and ICIP or GlobalSIP in the Fall.
Notice and Location of Meeting. No meeting of the Board of Governors for the purpose of transacting business may be held unless each member of that Committee shall have been sent, at least 30 days prior, a meeting notice that includes the time and place of the meeting.
In order to maximize travel convenience for members of the Board, and minimize travel expense, Board meetings shall be scheduled as follows:
1. (amended 4 October 2012) in conjunction with the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) each Spring, with the exception of any instance when, for purposes of safety of the participants, travel to the ICASSP meeting location is determined by the Board to be imprudent;
2. whenever practicable, in conjunction with the International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) during the Fall or the Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing (GlobalSIP).
Voting Privileges. (amended 4 October 2012) The Members-at-Large and Officers of the Board of Governors shall have voting privileges, while the Awards Board Chair and Regional Directors-at-Large are non-voting members. The Awards Board Chair and the Regional Directors-at-Large will not be counted to make a quorum of the Board of Governors. (IEEE Must Have) The presiding officer of the Board shall have no vote on the Board except if the vote is by secret ballot or unless the Chair’s vote can change the outcome of the vote. The Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote.
Alternates. As required by New York Not-for-Profit Law, the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall conduct its business without the use of alternates, except as permitted by IEEE and specified in the IEEE Bylaws.
Rules of Conduct. Meetings of the Board of Governors and other entities of the Society shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order (Revised) except as otherwise specified in the Constitution or in these Bylaws.
Quorum. (IEEE Must Have) As defined in the Constitution, a quorum of the Board of Governors shall be a majority of those members having voting rights. A majority of the legal votes cast by members of the Board of Governors present at a regularly convened meeting shall be necessary for the conduct of Board business, except as otherwise provided in the Constitution or in these Bylaws.
Action of the Board of Governors and Committees thereof. (IEEE Must Have)
1. The vote of a majority of the votes of the members present and entitled to vote, at the time of vote, provided a quorum is present, shall be the act of the Board of Governors or any committee thereof.
2. The Board of Governors or any committee thereof may meet and act upon the vote of its members by any means of telecommunication. The normal voting requirements shall apply when action is taken by means of telecommunications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.
3. The Board of Governors or any committee thereof may take action without a meeting if applicable (e.g., e-mail voting). An affirmative vote of a majority of all the voting members of the Board of Governors or any committee thereof shall be required to approve the action. The results of the vote shall be confirmed promptly in writing or by electronic transmission. The writings and/or electronic transmission shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Governors or any committee thereof. “Electronic transmission” means any form of electronic communication, such as e-mail, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient.
4. Voting. Individuals holding more than one position on the Board of Governors or any committee thereof, shall be limited to one vote on each matter being considered by the Board of Governors or committee thereof.
5. Proxy voting is not allowed.
Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Governors may be called by the President or by any five voting members of the Board of Governors, on notice to all other Committee members. Notice of such special meetings giving: the time and place of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and the name(s) of the convener(s) shall be mailed to all Board members not less than 20 days before the date set for the special meeting.
The Board may also conduct business by conference call meeting. A quorum of the Board must participate in the call and must be present at the start of the meeting. Conference call meetings may be employed to resolve a single issue in an emergency on matters that the Board has specifically reserved for its own consideration or on matters of policy. In all other cases, the Executive Committee is empowered to act on behalf of the Board between face-to-face meetings. A notice of at least 24 hours is necessary for a conference call meeting of the Board with such need established by the President and at least two other voting members of the Board.
Vacancies. (amended 4 October 2018)
1. President. The incumbent President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President should the Presidential office become vacant, thereby vacating the office of President-Elect. Having served the remainder of the Presidential term, and the term to which he/she has been elected, the President shall serve as Past President. The Past President who is in office when the vacancy in the office of the President occurs shall serve one additional year.
2. Past President. The next most recently retired Past President available to serve shall fill a vacancy occurring in the office of Past President.
3. President-Elect. Should a vacancy occur in the office of President-Elect, the Board of Governors shall hold an election to fill the vacancy. The individual assuming the office of President-Elect shall then serve the remainder of the cycle of President-Elect, President, and Past President positions.
4. Members-at-Large, Regional Directors-at-Large and Vice Presidents. The Board of Governors shall fill vacancies on the Board for Members-at-Large, Regional Directors-at-Large or Vice Presidents. Candidates to fill Member-at-Large or Regional Director-at-Large vacancies shall be drawn, in order of number of the next highest votes received, from the candidates in the immediate past general election who were not elected to Member-at-Large or Regional Director-at-Large. Candidates to fill vacancies of a Vice President, until an election can occur, shall have current or previous experience as Member-at-Large or past Vice President.
5. When a person serving in a position elected by the Board of Governors resigns from a Board/Committee of the Society, the Executive Committee fills the position with an interim appointee until a new election cycle is completed by the Board of Governors for the position. The interim appointee can run in the election.
6. For any circumstances that have not been foreseen in these Bylaw provisions, the Board of Governors shall fill such a vacancy.
7. Vacancies Caused by Non-Attendance. Board members are expected to attend all meetings of the Board of Governors. A member of the Board, upon absence from the second meeting of his/her term, may be removed upon review of the reasons therefore, and subsequent vote by the Board. Vacancies created in this way shall be filled by the Board; candidates to fill such vacancies shall have previously served on the Board as Member-at-Large.
Compensation.As provided in the Constitution, no member of the Society, including any member of the Board of Governors or its boards or committees, may derive any income from his/her participation in Society activities, except if that individual shall be an employee of the Society carried on the payroll of the IEEE.
Reimbursement of Member Travel Expense. Participation in Society activities as a volunteer leader is considered a personal commitment. The Society may, at its discretion, provide some travel assistance, which shall follow the guidelines detailed in the Policy and Procedures Manual.

204. Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee shall make rules and regulations that may be deemed proper to its own governance and for the transaction of business of the Society. At all times between meetings of the Board of Governors, the Executive Committee shall have the powers and duties of the Board except for those matters not permitted to be delegated by the Constitution or these Bylaws, or for matters the Board of Governors has expressly reserved to itself. The Executive Committee also shall have operational responsibility for the Society’s finances. The exercise of the powers and duties of the Board by the Executive Committee may:

be overruled by the Board of Governors by majority vote at any meeting;
be suspended, by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Governors, until such time as the Bylaws conferring power on the Executive Committee are amended;

be directed by the Board of Governors in any action or plan.

Composition. The Executive Committee shall comprise the President, the President-Elect, the Vice Presidents elected by the Board of Governors and the Executive Director (ex-officio without vote). The President shall be the chair with a Secretary pro tem named for the meeting by the Chair.
Meetings. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held in Executive Session and may be called, on 7 days’ notice, by the President. The Executive Committee may also meet and act upon the vote of its members through any means of communication. Actions taken under such conditions shall require a majority vote, provided a quorum of the Executive Committee participates.
Minutes. Minutes of Executive Committee meetings shall be distributed to all members of the Board of Governors.
Quorum. A majority of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
Proxies. The Executive Committee may not employ proxy votes.
Conduct of Business. The Executive Committee may divide its duties among its members and conduct its business as it finds necessary. In addition, the President may appoint such ad hoc committees as may be required from time to time.

Liaison to the Board of Governors. (ameneded 18 May 2019) The members of the Executive Committee shall provide liaison to the Board of Governors for the major boards, Standing Committees, the Technical Committees, and other activities of the Society as follows:

President:	Executive Committee; Awards Board; Nominations and Appointments Committee; Staff Activities, IEEE TAB Activities
President-Elect:	Long-Range and Strategic Planning Activities; TC Review Committee; Oversight of Board and Executive Committee Minutes.
Vice President-Education	Education Board
Vice President-Membership:	Membership Board and its Committees
Vice President-Conferences:	Conferences Board
Vice President-Publications:	Publications Board
Vice President-Technical Directions:	Technical Directions Board.

Society liaisons to other entities shall report through the appropriate Vice President (e.g., representatives to joint publications would report via the Vice President-Publications).

205. Removal and Suspension.

Removal of a Member-at-Large or Regional Director-at-Large of the Board of Governors. A Member-at-Large or Regional Director-at-Large of the Board of Governors may be removed from office, with or without cause, either:
1. by the affirmative vote of two-thirds majority of the members of the Board of Governors; or,
2. the receipt by the Society’s office of a petition signed by at least 10% of the total number of voting members of the Society moving for the removal of such Member-at-Large or Regional Director-at-Large. A ballot on such motion shall be submitted to the voting members of the Society. If a majority of the ballots cast by the voting members for or against such motion are to remove such member-at-large or regional director-at-large, the member-at-large or regional director-at-large shall be removed from such position; or
3. by non-attendance to Board of Governors meetings as outlined in Bylaw 203.9.F, Vacancies Caused by Non-Attendance.
Removal of an Officer. An Officer of the Society (as that position is defined in these bylaws) may be removed from office, with or without cause:
1. by the affirmative vote of two-thirds the members of the Board of Governors. An Officer so removed shall be considered to be removed from all Society duties including, but not limited to, the Board of Governors, Executive Committee, the major board he/she chairs, or as representative on behalf of the Society to any IEEE or non-IEEE activity; or
2. the receipt by the Society’s office of a petition signed by at least 10% of the total number of voting members of the Society moving for the removal of such Officer. A ballot on such motion shall be submitted to the voting members of the Society. If a majority of the ballots cast by the voting members for or against such motion are to remove such Officer, the Officer shall be removed from such position.
Suspension from Office. An Officer elected by the Society’s Board of Governors may be suspended for cause from his/her authority to act.
1. Cause is defined as conduct that is determined to constitute a material violation of the IEEE Constitution, Bylaws, Code of Ethics, or of the Constitution, Bylaws, or Policy and Procedures Manual of the Society; and/or for non-fulfillment of his/her duties and responsibilities; and/or for other conduct that is prejudicial to the IEEE or to the Society.
2. Upon receipt by the members of the Board of Governors of a complaint in writing, and signed by at least three members of the Board of Governors, and that sets out with reasonable specificity the alleged conduct of the Officer occurring during the term(s) as Officer that is alleged to constitute cause for suspension of that Officer’s authority to act as an Officer, such complaint shall be promptly acted on by vote of the Board of Governors. An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the Board shall be sufficient for suspension.
3. Should the Society’s Board of Governors determine that the Officer shall be suspended, his/her ability to act in any official capacity, or to exercise any authority, shall also be suspended within the Society and shall be reported to IEEE TAB and to IEEE.
Notice to Board of Governors. Prior to the Board of Governors considering any removal or suspension, the Board of Governors must receive 10 days advance notice of the issue.

206. Conflict Resolution Process.

(IEEE Must Have) The Society leadership will create an ad hoc committee to handle each matter requiring conflict resolution.

Composition. The composition of each ad hoc committee will include area experts. The experts should be chosen based on mediation experience or subject area experience. All members of the ad hoc committee should be non-conflicted, e.g., no prior involvement in the situation, no collegial work relationship, etc. The committee may be augmented with the agreement of all members of the ad hoc committee. The committee will select its own chair.
Process. During the first meeting of the ad hoc committee, the committee shall create a timeline detailing the conflict resolution process, as well as determine any operational rules for the ad hoc committee’s operation (e.g., length of final report; length of statement of dissent, etc.) The individual who brought the conflict matter forward shall be informed of the timeline. All discussions and information presented to the ad hoc committee shall be handled in a confidential manner.
Decisions need not be unanimous; final outcomes may be determined by majority vote of the membership of the ad hoc committee. Dissenting members may include their dissenting opinion as part of the report; the length of such dissent will be determined as part of the committee’s operational rules.

After the ad hoc committee has determined its final ruling, the ad hoc committee chair shall be responsible for preparing a short report documenting the committee’s findings. The report shall be provided to the individual who brought the conflict matter forward.
Appeal. If the individual who brought the conflict matter forward feels that the matter has not been adequately resolved by the ad hoc committee at the Society level, he/she may escalate the matter further to TAB or IEEE. The ad hoc committee report shall be shared with TAB and/or IEEE.

207. Boards and Committees.

(ameneded 18 May 2019) The conduct of Society activities, wherever possible, shall be through voluntarily associated groups of Society members. The Board of Governors may also establish boards and committees to assist the conduct of Society activities.

The following Boards and Standing Committees shall be established by and be responsible to the Board of Governors:

Awards Board
Conferences Board
Education Board
Membership Board
Publications Board
Technical Directions Board
Executive Committee
Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee
Nominations and Appointments Committee
TC Review Committee .

In addition, the Board of Governors may create such ad hoc committees as may be necessary to assist the Board with short-term projects. Ad hoc committees shall have a life of one calendar year or less. Any extension beyond the end of the calendar year shall require specific action by the Board of Governors.

Committee Operations. Each Board and Standing Committee shall have the right to create subcommittees of its own selection. The cognizant Vice President or Executive Committee liaison shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member of any such committees, except as otherwise specified. Voting members of all boards, standing committees and subcommittees shall be Members of the Society, unless specified otherwise. Qualified individuals who are not Members of the Society may be appointed to serve as non-voting consultants to make their expertise available to these bodies.
Term of Appointment and Duration. Unless specified otherwise, the term of appointment of committee members, including the chair, shall be three calendar years. However, when it is in the best interests of the Society, a committee member may be reappointed.
Unless specified, appointments shall normally be distributed to avoid termination of more than approximately one-third of the membership of any board or standing committee at the end of any calendar year.
Liaison Activities. In support of IEEE purposes and objectives, there may be both ad hoc and continuing working arrangements with entities of the IEEE or other not-for-profit organizations. In the event of designation by the IEEE of the Signal Processing Society, or any of its boards or committees as representatives thereof, to provide such representation, authority for actions or arrangements shall reside with the IEEE Board of Directors or the IEEE Executive Committee.

208. Awards Board.

Duties. (amended 4 October 2012) The Awards Board shall report directly to the Board of Governors. The functions of the Awards Board shall be to:
1. solicit candidates for all Society awards and prizes in accordance with the requirements for each award;
2. solicit nominations of candidates from among the Society’s members for IEEE Fellow grade;
3. solicit nominations and appoint the Society’s Distinguished Lecturers annually;
4. assist the nominations of worthy Society members for awards and recognitions that may be available from other sources outside the Society and the IEEE.
5. review and select best paper awards from the nominations.
6. vet the major award nominations.
(approved 21 April 2018) Awards Board members sitting on Technical Committees must ensure that they do not participate in the Technical Committee award nomination or selection process and are ineligible for awards under the purview of the Awards Board during their term on the Awards Board.

(approved 11 October 2018) The Awards Board shall vet the nominations for the major awards, so all nominations meet the specified policies, that there are no perceived conflicts-of-interest and the nominations meet the quality requirement. The vetting process also includes reducing the number of nominations, if necessary, submitted to the Board of Governors, so only a maximum of three nominations for each award presented comes forward to the Board of Governors for voting. For example, the Technical Achievement Award normally selects two recipients each year, so there should be no more than six candidates brought forward to the Board of Governors ballot for the Technical Achievement Award. The nomination list brought forward to the Board of Governors should not be reduced to the point that the Awards Board has essentially selected the awards recipients. The Awards Board will be responsible for conducting the Board of Governors balloting and managing the voting process, which is defined in the Board of Governors Awards Voting Procedures document. The Awards Board shall also be responsible for reviewing and finalizing award citations.

Nominations and endorsements for awards and recognitions on behalf of the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall be the sole purview of the IEEE Signal Processing Society Awards Board on behalf of the IEEE Signal Processing Society Board of Governors, and no other technical, administrative, ad hoc, editorial, standing, or other committee or board of the Society shall participate in such nominations and endorsements processes, except as expressly written elsewhere in these bylaws or delegated on a case by case basis by the Awards Board.
Composition. (amended 25 March 2016) The Awards Board shall comprise nine (9) members: The Chair, who shall hold the grade of IEEE Fellow and shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, to serve three years, non-renewable; the Chair of the Fellow Evaluation Committee; six (6) members-at-large, each year two members will be elected by the Board of Governors from a pool of nominations, whose terms on the Awards Board may not exceed three years, non-renewable; and one member, who shall be appointed for one year by the Awards Board Chair, renewable once. Each year an open call for nominations for the Awards Board member-at-large positions will be held. Current members of the Board of Governors are ineligible to serve on the Awards Board. The Nominations and Appointment Committee will be responsible for vetting the candidates and the Board of Governors will elect the members-at-large. A maximum of three candidates can appear on the ballot for each member-at-large position becoming vacant.
Fellow Evaluation Committee. (amended 26 September 2019)
1. Charter. The Fellow Evaluation Committee shall be responsible for evaluating nominations for IEEE Fellow and providing IEEE Judges with a critical evaluation and assessment of Nominees referred to the Society by the Nominator. The Committee’s responsibilities and requirements are governed by the IEEE Fellow Committee Operations Manual.
2. Composition. The Fellow Evaluation Committee should be representative of key technical disciplines of the Society to guarantee a fair representation from the key technical disciplines of the Society, including representation from industry. The Fellow Evaluation Committee shall comprise the Chair and Vice Chair, who shall be appointed by the Board of Governors upon recommendation from the President, to serve one year terms, renewable. The Chair shall not serve more than two consecutive terms and the Vice Chair shall not serve more than three consecutive years. The remaining nine members-at-large are known as Evaluators and their terms shall be one year terms, renewable for up to three consecutive years. Members shall not serve more than five consecutive years, regardless of the position held. The Awards Board Chair shall serve ex-officio, without vote. The selection and appointment of the members-at-large/Evaluators is done by the Chair with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. If the Committee does not have the necessary expertise to assess the full list of nominees in a particular year, then with proper justification, up to two additional Committee members can be nominated by the Chair with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee for that evaluation cycle alone. The Chair may not serve as evaluator.
3. Evaluation Process. The Fellow evaluation process shall provide each candidate with at least five separate evaluations from the Committee. The Committee members must determine whether the work of each candidate is recognized and considered outstanding in the field of activity of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. They must also provide a succinct statement of the candidate’s outstanding contribution, which qualifies him/her for Fellow grade and must rate the candidate’s contributions relative to the contributions of IEEE Fellows. This feedback is the basis in the committee determining the final ranking. The final ranking and statements for each candidate will be submitted by the Chair. The IEEE Fellow Committee Operations Manual, Forms, and Handbooks shall take precedence over the Society’s governing documents for matters related to the Fellow nomination and evaluation processes.
Signal Processing Society Awards. The Society's Awards shall be:
1. Norbert Wiener Society Award. (amended 22 June 2018-TAB) The IEEE SPS Norbert Wiener Society Award honors outstanding technical contributions in a field within the scope of the Signal Processing Society and outstanding leadership within that field.
2. Claude Shannon-Harry Nyquist Technical Achievement Award. (amended 22 June 2018-TAB) The IEEE SPS Claude Shannon-Harry Nyquist Technical Achievement Award honors a person who, over a period of years, has made outstanding technical contributions to theory and/or practice in technical areas within the scope of the Society, as demonstrated by publications, patents, or recognized impact on the field.
3. Leo L. Beranek Meritorious Service Award. (amended 22 June 2018-TAB) The IEEE SPS Leo L. Beranek Meritorious Service Award honors contributions to the Signal Processing Society. Up to two Meritorious Service Awards may be presented annually, provided nominations meet the specific criteria.
4. Best Paper Award. The IEEE SPS Best Paper Award honors the author(s) of a paper of exceptional merit dealing with a subject related to the Society’s technical scope, and appearing in one of the Society’s solely owned periodicals, irrespective of the author’s age.
5. Young Author Best Paper Award. The IEEE SPS Young Author Best Paper Award honors the author(s) of an especially meritorious paper dealing with a subject related to the Society’s technical scope and appearing in one of the Society’s solely owned periodicals and who, upon the date of submission of the paper, is less than 30 years of age.
6. Signal Processing Magazine Best Paper Award. The IEEE SPS Signal Processing Magazine Best Paper Award shall honor the author(s) of a paper of exceptional merit and broad interest on a subject related to the Society’s technical scope and appearing in the Society’s magazine.
7. Signal Processing Magazine Best Column Award. The IEEE SPS Signal Processing Magazine Best Column Award shall honor the author(s) of a column of exceptional merit and broad interest on a subject related to the Society's technical scope and appearing in the Society's magazine.
8. Carl Friedrich Gauss Education Award. (amended 22 June 2018-TAB) The IEEE SPS Carl Friedrich Gauss Education Award honors educators who have made pioneering and significant contributions to signal processing education.
9. Signal Processing Letters Best Paper Award. (approved 4 October 2012) The IEEE SPS Signal Processing Letters Best Paper Award shall honor the author(s) of a letters article of exceptional merit and broad interest on a subject related to the Society's technical scope and appearing in the IEEE Signal Processing Letters.
10. Donald G. Fink Overview Paper Award. (amended 11 February 2017-TAB) The IEEE SPS Donald G. Fink Overview Paper Award shall honor the author(s) of a journal article of broad interest that has had substantial impact over several years on a subject related to the Society's technical scope. A paper considered for the award should present an overview of a method or theory with technical depth and application perspective. It should have a multi-year record of impact and also be relevant to current researchers and/or practitioners.
11. Sustained Impact Paper Award. (approved 6 December 2013) The IEEE SPS Sustained Impact Paper Award shall honor the author(s) of a journal article of broad interest that has had sustained impact over many years on a subject related to the Society's technical scope. A paper considered for the award should be relevant to current researchers and/or practitioners and represent at least one of the following: the paper resulted in a paradigm shift in how a particular problem is solved; the work forms the theoretical basis for much of the contemporary work in a particular field and the work introduced methods that are now broadly adopted in industry.
12. Amar G. Bose Industrial Leader Award. (approved 6 December 2014) The IEEE SPS Amar G. Bose Industrial Leader Award shall recognize an industry business or technical leader whose leadership has resulted in major and outstanding advances or new directions using signal processing technologies within the scope of the Society.
13. Industrial Innovation Award. (approved 6 December 2014) The IEEE SPS Industrial Innovation Award shall recognize an individual or team at any level who were industry employees whose technical contributions have resulted in significant advances using signal processing technologies within the scope of the Society.
14. Conference Best Paper Award for Industry. (approved 6 December 2014) The IEEE SPS Conference Best Paper Award for Industry shall recognize the author(s) of an ICIP and ICASSP/GlobalSIP paper of exceptional industrial merit and industrial impact dealing with a subject related to the Society’s technical scope.
15. Meritorious Regional/Chapter Service Award. (approved 30 September 2016) The IEEE SPS Meritorious Regional/Chapter Service Award honors the outstanding contributions of any member of the Society to regional activities of the Signal Processing Society. Up to two Meritorious Regional/Chapter Service Awards may be presented annually, provided nominations meet the specific criteria.
16. Pierre-Simon Laplace Early Career Technical Achievement Award. (approved 16 November 2019) The IEEE SPS Pierre-Simon Laplace Early Career Technical Achievement Award honors an individual who, over a period of years in his/her early career, has made significant technical contributions to theory and/or practice in technical areas within the scope of the Society, as demonstrated by publications, patents, or recognized impact on the field, including but not limited to, a standard, a product, or a technology trend.
17. Regional Distinguished Teacher Award. (approved 15 February 2019) The IEEE SPS Regional Distinguished Teacher Award recognizes individuals who have excelled in the teaching of Signal Processing.
18. Best PhD Dissertation Award. (approved 14 February 2020) Recognize PhD relevant work in signal processing while stimulating further research in the field.
Appointment of Distinguished Lecturers. As detailed in the Policy and Procedures Manual, the Awards Board will vet nominations for the Society’s Distinguished Lecturers and annually appoint individuals to represent the Society to travel and present lecturers at Society and other events.
Creation of New Awards and Other Recognitions. Recommendations for new Society awards and other forms of recognition shall be submitted by the Awards Board to the Board of Governors for recommendation to the IEEE.
Presentation of Recognitions. The awards and other recognitions of the Society shall be presented at times and places approved by the Awards Board, if not otherwise detailed in these Bylaws.

209. Conferences Board.

Duties. The policies and plans for technical meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by the Signal Processing Society, or in which any Society participation is involved, shall be developed, implemented, and evaluated by the Conferences Board. The Conferences Board shall, as needed, prepare recommendations for new meetings and for individuals to manage them.
The Conferences Board shall be responsible for the coordination of all the Society’s technical meeting activities and for overseeing the activities of the technical meeting organizing committees.
Composition. (amended 1 October 2015) The voting members of the Conferences Board shall comprise the Vice President-Conferences as chair, the Society’s President-Elect; the General Chairs (preferred) or Technical Program Chairs of the immediate past and priors year’s International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP); the General Chairs (preferred) or Technical Program Chairs of the immediate past and prior year’s International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP); the General Chairs (preferred) or Technical Program Chairs of the immediate past and prior year’s IEEE Global Conference on Signal and Information Processing (GlobalSIP); one member named by the Vice President-Publications; five Technical Committee representatives named by the Vice President-Technical Directions shall serve for up to three years, non-renewable; and up to two members-at-large appointed by the Vice President-Conferences, each serving for up to two years, non-renewable. The ex-officio, non-voting members include the Society’s Executive Director, Director-Student Services, Director-Membership Services, Director-Industrial Relations and the following Officers: Vice President-Membership, Vice President-Publications and Vice President-Technical Directions. The ex-officio, non-voting members will not be counted to make a quorum of the Conferences Board. The Society President is, de facto, a member of all society boards and committees; however, his/her presence at the meeting shall not be used to constitute a quorum. The two members-at-large may not be selected from the pool of current or future ICASSP/ICIP/GlobalSIP General Chairs, preferably one member-at-large will be from industry.
Executive Subcommittee. (amended 25 April 2015) The Conferences Board shall be served by a subset of its membership, which shall form an Executive Subcommittee. The membership of the Executive Subcommittee shall comprise: the Vice President-Conferences as chair, the Society’s President-Elect, two Conferences Board members, of which one shall represent conferences and the other shall represent the Technical Committees, each shall serve for one year and the Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote.
It shall be the role of the Executive Subcommittee to review and make recommendations to the Conferences Board on any matters of interest arising from actions of the Society’s Executive Committee or Board of Governors, or from the IEEE, that may affect the Society’s technical meetings.

The Executive Subcommittee shall also communicate to the Society’s Executive Committee or Board of Governors matters arising from the Conferences Board that are deemed of concern to the health of the Society’s technical meetings. Finally, the Executive Subcommittee shall prepare, for consideration and appropriate action by the Conferences Board, policy, procedures, and plans concerning technical meetings involving the Society.
Meetings. (amended 10 May 2014) Meetings of the Conferences Board shall be held in conjunction with the meetings of the Board of Governors at ICASSP in the Spring and ICIP or GlobalSIP in the Fall.
Travel Support. Participation on the Conferences Board shall be considered a personal commitment. Any support for travel of the voting members to meetings of the Conferences Board shall be strictly limited to that specifically detailed in the Policy and Procedures Manual.

210. Membership Board.

Duties. (amended 26 September 2019) The Membership Board shall:
1. monitor Society membership and advise the Board of Governors of trends and opportunities;
2. promote and foster membership development and improve membership relations;
3. provide liaison with IEEE membership committees, with Section and Chapter officers, and with staff;
4. address, proactively, the issues of Member and Student Member retention;
5. identify value/benefit/services to members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting and retaining members.
Composition. (amended 26 September 2019) The Membership Board shall be chaired by the Vice President-Membership. The members shall be: four Regional Directors-at-Large, Director-Student Services, Director-Membership Development, Women in Signal Processing Committee Chair, Young Professionals Committee Chair, one member named by the Vice President-Education, and the President-Elect. The term of committee members shall be three years, non-renewable. The ex-officio, non-voting members include the Society’s Executive Director and the following Officers: Vice President-Conferences, Vice President-Education, Vice President-Publications, and Vice President-Technical Directions. The ex-officio, non-voting members will not be counted to make a quorum of the Membership Board. The Society President is, de facto, a member of all society boards and committees; however, his/her presence at the meeting shall not be used to constitute a quorum.
Membership Development Committee.
1. Composition. (amended 26 September 2019) The Membership Development Committee shall identify value/benefit/services to members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting and retaining different segments of membership; develop programs and material to facilitate member recruiting, services and retention; maintain and develop contacts with leadership and membership constituents; oversee collection of membership data and track trends; develop campaigns and statistics for member recruitment and retention; oversee development of marketing materials, identify external audiences and how to reach them, develop content for different segments of membership for newsletter/blog, and provide proper communication channels and feedback.
2. Duties. (amended 26 September 2019) The Membership Development Committee shall have six members: the Chair, Director-Membership Development, who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee to serve three years, non-renewable, and five members appointed by the Director with the advice and consent of the Membership Board. The term of committee members shall be three years, renewable once.
Student Services Committee.
1. Duties. The Student Services Committee shall identify value/benefit/services to Student members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting Student members; develop programs and material to facilitate Student member recruiting and service; maintain and develop contacts with leadership and Student membership constituents; and provide proper communication channels and feedback.
2. Composition. (amended 4 October 2012) The Student Services Committee shall have six members: the Chair, Director-Student Services, who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee to serve three years, non-renewable, and five members appointed by the Director with the advice and consent of the Membership Board. The term of committee members shall be three years, renewable once.
Regional Activiites Committees. (amended 26 September 2019) The Vice President-Membership shall chair the Regional Activities Committee to conduct the annual review of Chapter activities through the Chapter Certification Program with committee members consisting of the four Regional Directors-at-Large. Nominations will be reviewed by the Regional Activities Committee, which shall select the winner of the IEEE SPS Chapter of the Year Award. The Regional Activities Committee will also be responsible for the review and selection of Chapter related travel grants, as well as other programs. They shall create content for the Chapters Section of the Society Newsletter, and act as a resource for Chapter related issues.
The Regional Directors-at-Large on the Regional Activities Committee shall oversee the implementation of the Distinguished Lecturer and Distinguished Industry Programs. The Committee shall ensure the program’s sustainability and geographical diversity. The Regional Directors-at-Large shall review and approve the non-appointed Distinguished Lecturers and Distinguished Industry Speakers requests in their regional area, as well as organize and chair the Chapter Chair’s Luncheon.
1. Chapter of the Year Award. (amended 26 September 2019) The IEEE Signal Processing Society Chapter of the Year Award shall be presented annually to a Chapter that has provided their membership with the highest quality of programs, activities and services and shall be managed by the Regional Activities Committee.
Women in Signal Processing Committee. (approved 10 March 2017)
1. Duties. The Women in Signal Processing Committee shall report to the Membership Board. The Women in Signal Processing Committee shall identify value/benefit/services to women members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting women members; develop programs and material to facilitate women member recruiting and services; maintain and develop contacts with leadership and membership constituents; and provide proper communication channels and feedback. The Women in Signal Processing Committee shall be responsible for identifying, vetting and submitting women candidates for award and board/committee nominations. The Women in Signal Processing Committee should work with the Technical Committees to create a liaison position within each of the Technical Committees to help support their efforts.
2. Composition. The Women in Signal Processing Committee shall have six members: the Chair, Women in Signal Processing Committee, who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee to serve three years, non-renewable, and five members appointed by the Chair with the advice and consent of the Membership Board. The term of committee members shall be three years, renewable once.
Young Professionals Committee. (amended 26 September 2019)
1. Duties. The Young Professionals Committee shall report to the Membership Board. The Young Professionals Committee shall identify value/benefit/services to young professional members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting young professional members; develop programs and material to facilitate young professional member recruiting and services; maintain and develop contacts with leadership and membership constituents; and provide proper communication channels and feedback.
2. CompositionThe Young Professionals Committee shall have six members: the Chair, Young Professionals Committee, who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee to serve three years, non-renewable, and five members appointed by the Chair with the advice and consent of the Membership Board. The term of committee members shall be three years, renewable once.

211. Publications Board.

Duties. The Society Publications Board shall develop policies and plans for the Society’s publications activities; review publication page budgets; represent the Society to the IEEE and other organizations for publications matters; review proposals for new publications; and insure the high quality of all of the Society’s sponsored and co-sponsored publications.
Composition. (amended 1 October 2015) The voting members of the Publications Board shall comprise: the Vice President-Publications as chair; the Editor-in-Chief of each of the Society’s publications and financially co-sponsored publications specified in section 602; one member named by the Vice President-Conferences and by the Vice President-Technical Directions; and the President-Elect. The ex-officio, non-voting members include the Society’s Executive Director, Society representatives to other co-sponsored publications, Director-Membership Services, Director-Industrial Relations and the following Officers: Vice President-Membership, Vice President-Conferences and Vice President-Technical Directions. The representatives to co-sponsored publications and ex-officio, non-voting members will not be counted to make a quorum of the Publications Board. The Society President is, de facto, a member of all society boards and committees; however, his/her presence at the meeting shall not be used to constitute a quorum.
Editorial Boards. (amended 25 March 2016) Each of the Society’s publications shall be guided by an Editorial Board chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of the publication. The Past or Incoming Editor-in-Chief of each respective publication and the Society’s Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote.
The Editorial Board shall be responsible for insuring that the publication maintains the highest quality while adhering to the publication rules and procedures of both the Society and the IEEE. Its membership shall comprise the associate editors whose terms are active. Terms of service of associate editors shall be as detailed in the "Guide for Associate Editors."
Meetings. (amended 10 May 2014) Meetings of the Publications Board shall be held in conjunction with the meetings of the Board of Governors at ICASSP in the Spring and ICIP or GlobalSIP in the Fall. The Publications Board may also meet in conjunction with the IEEE Panel of Editors meeting.
Travel Support. Participation on the Publications Board shall be considered a personal commitment. Any support for travel of the voting members to meetings of the Publications Board shall be strictly limited to that specifically detailed in the Policy and Procedures Manual. No travel support will be provided to Society representatives of co-sponsored publications to attend Publications Board meetings.
Society Representatives of Co-Sponsored Publications. (10 May 2014) Representatives are appointed to bring forward the Society’s point-of-view, not their individual point-of-view, to the journal’s Editorial Board and/or Steering Committee. Representatives should seek the guidance of the Publications Board when issues/action items arise from the co-sponsored publication they present. Society representatives must provide to the Publications Board copies of agendas and minutes of the activities they represent and are encouraged to attend one Publications Board meeting a year either at one of the SPS flagship conferences.

212. Technical Directions Board.

Duties. The Technical Directions Board shall be responsible to the Board of Governors for evaluating the Society’s technical goals, objectives, organization and operational plans in light of the scientific, technological, economic, and social climate for the purpose of identifying strategic issues for attention by appropriate entities of the Society. The Technical Directions Board will assist the Board of Governors in the Society’s strategic and long-range planning. The Technical Directions Board should be proactive with regard to the Society's technical oversight and profile. The Technical Directions Board will conduct its business via an annual face-to-face meeting, which will be held at ICASSP and conference calls.
Composition. (amended 8 June 2020) The Technical Directions Board shall comprise: the Vice President-Technical Directions as Chair and the chairs of each of the Society’s Technical Committees. The Technical Program Chairs of the next two, approved ICASSP, ICIP, GlobalSIP, ISBI and ICME conferences, Prospective Technical Committee Chairs (as defined in the IEEE Signal Processing Society Policy & Procedures Manual), the Education Committee Chair, the Executive Director and the following Officers: Vice President-Conferences, President-Elect, Vice President-Membership, and Vice President-Publications will be ex-officio, non-voting members. Each Technical Committee Chair shall hold one vote per Technical Committee. The ex-officio, non-voting members will not be counted to make a quorum of the Technical Directions Board. In the event the Technical Committee Chair cannot attend the Technical Directions Board meeting, an alternate may be assigned, however, the alternate shall not have voting rights. The Society President is, de facto, a member of all society boards and committees; however, his/her presence at the meeting shall not be used to constitute a quorum.
Challenges and Data Collections Committee. (amended 8 June 2020)
1. Duties. The Challenges and Data Collections Committee shall run the Challenge Program and maintain the documentation on the Program’s procedures; be responsible for the successful operation of an on-going series of challenges; maintain and develop contacts with the Technical Committees, Prospective Technical Committees and Megatrend Initiatives to support the Challenges; and provide proper communication channels and feedback to the Vice President-Technical Directions.
2. Composition. The Challenges and Data Collections Committee shall have a Chair, who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Technical Directions with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee to serve two years, non-renewable, and the committee members will be a balance of past and present representatives from the Technical Committees, Prospective Technical Committees and Megatrend Initiatives, which can include their Associate Members, to represent the field of interest of the Society. The Committee’s membership is expected to include representation from both industry and academia. A representative from all committees is not required. The term of committee members shall be three years, renewable once. The Vice President-Technical Directions shall serve ex-officio, without vote. Unless specified otherwise within these bylaws, the Challenges and Data Collections Committee will operate under the same guiding policies as the Technical Committees.
3. Challenges Program. The objectives of the Challenges Program are: to encourage and support research with comparable and reproducible results in relevant, timely and impactful signal processing tasks; to identify, and to encourage the collection of, appropriate data-sets that embody those signal processing tasks and to support the sharing of such data-sets widely in the community; to identify appropriate performance metrics for the relevant tasks and, where appropriate, disseminate standardized tools for computing those metrics; to identify the state-of-the-art methods for such signal processing tasks and evaluate their performance comparatively on the identified data-sets and to disseminate the results of Challenges and subsequent scientific insights widely within the society and externally.

213. Education Board. (approved 18 May 2019)

Duties. The Education Board shall:

identify value/benefit/services to educate the signal processing community and public-at-large;
increase the visibility of signal processing related educational material, particularly its role in society and technology;
develop educational programs and professional development material to facilitate member recruiting and service;
maintain and develop contacts with leadership and membership constituents and advise the Board of Governors of trends and opportunities;
build relationships with associated boards and committees for the development of education materials;
and provide proper communication channels and feedback on education trends and opportunities.

Composition. The Education Board shall comprise nine members: the Vice President-Education as Chair, the Resource Center Chief Editor, the SigPort Chief Editor, the President-Elect, one member named by the Vice President-Membership, one member named by the Vice President-Technical Directions and three Members-at-Large appointed by the Chair. The term of committee members shall be three years, non-renewable. The ex-officio, non-voting members include the Society’s Executive Director and the following Officers: Vice President-Conferences, Vice President-Membership, Vice President-Publications and Vice President-Technical Directions. The ex-officio, non-voting members will not be counted to make a quorum of the Education Board. The Society President is, de facto, a member of all society boards and committees; however, his/her presence at the meeting shall not be used to constitute a quorum.
Resource Center. (amemded 26 September 2019) The Resource Center is the Society’s online library of tutorials, lectures, presentations and more.
1. Chief Editor. Resource Center shall be managed by a Chief Editor who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Education with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. The Chief Editor shall serve for three years, non-renewable. The Chief Editor shall be responsible for implementing the Resource Center. He/she shall chair the Editorial Board for the Resource Center and also serve as a member of the Society’s Education Board.
2. Editorial Board. The Resource Center shall be guided by an Editorial Board, which shall be chaired by the Chief Editor and which shall comprise the Editors for the Resource Center. The Society’s Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote. The Signal Processing Repository (SigPort) shall report under the Resource Center and its Chair will be a member of the Resource Center Editorial Board.
  It shall be the responsibility of the Editorial Board to ensure that the Resource Center maintains the highest quality while adhering to the rules and procedures of both the Society and the IEEE, consonant with these bylaws and the Policy and Procedures Manual.
Signal Processing Repository (SigPort). (amended 26 September 2019) The Signal Processing Repository (SigPort) is the Society’s online archive of manuscripts, reports, theses, and supporting materials, such as slides and poster presentations. It collects technical material of interest to the broad signal processing community. It can host material ineligible or unintended for formal publication, and manuscripts to help individuals obtain early exposure and feedback on their work prior to possible formal publication.
1. Chief Editor. SigPort shall be managed by a Chief Editor who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Education with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. The Chief Editor shall serve for three years, non-renewable. The Chief Editor shall be responsible for implementing SigPort. He/she shall be a member of the Resource Center Editorial Board and also serve as a member of the Society’s Education Board.
  It shall be the responsibility of the SigPort Chief Editor to ensure that SigPort becomes and remains the premier pre-publication repository for Signal Processing members, while adhering to the rules and procedures of both the Society and the IEEE, consonant with these bylaws and the Policy and Procedures Manual.
2. The SigPort Editor shall:
  1. Guide the development of the SigPort software by working with the chosen developer;
  2. Define and implement all operational aspects of SigPort, including a Help Desk facility for users, billing methods and procedures, legal safeguards, and system administration;
  3. Have continuous involvement in SigPort operation, including identification of document categories, selection and description of highlighted documents, definition and processing of any submission awards/recognition, and review of objectionable submissions due to alleged plagiarism or improper content;
  4. Publicize the SigPort platform to the signal and information processing community through professional activities, encourage submissions to and utilization of SigPort, and solicit feedback for improvement/enrichment;
  5. Identify future SigPort features for inclusion or revision, make recommendations on phased development or refinement to the Education Board, and represent the Education Board to oversee the SigPort system development.

214. Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee.

Duties.The Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee shall guide the agenda of the long-range planning retreats and insure that recommendations from those retreats receive appropriate volunteer and staff attention, as well as possible incorporation into the Society’s operations by the Board of Governors and Executive Committee. The Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee will meet at ICASSP; it will report to the Board of Governors.
Composition. The Chair of the Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee shall be the President-Elect. The members shall be: the Executive Director, one Member-at-Large from each class on the Board of Governors. One additional Member may be named at the discretion of the President-Elect.

215. Nominations and Appointments Committee.

Duties. The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall:
1. stimulate nominations and at the same time, keep track of under-representation of key populations for future nominations. Committee members are not allowed to submit nominations or provide seconds for election under their purview;
2. establish a connection to the major boards and committees in order to generate Member-at-Large, Officer and other nominations;
3. rank nominations for Member-at-Large and Officer elections;
4. submit to the Board of Governors a list of candidates recommended for nomination to the positions of Officers. The list shall be submitted in time for the elections and in accordance with balloting requirements (See Sections 303.4, 303.5);
5. submit to the electorate no later than the first working day following 14 August for the annual General Election, at least two candidates for each Member-at-Large position becoming vacant; and
6. submit to the Board of Governors, a list of candidates recommended by the Society to serve on IEEE/TAB boards and committees and seek and obtain comments from the Board of Governors.
Composition. (amended 4 October 2012) The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall consist of a chair who shall be the Past President of the Society, and seven other members, none of whom may be currently serving as an officer of the Society or a Member-at-Large of the Board of Governors. The term of committee members shall be two-years, individuals may serve more than one term and such terms can be consecutive up to two consecutive terms. (IEEE Must Have) Five of the voting members of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall be elected or appointed by the Board of Governors, while the Chair can appoint two members with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee by considering the balance of regional, technical, and gender diversity. Each year an open call for nominations for the Board elected members of the Nominations and Appointments Committee positions will be held. The Nominations and Appointment Committee will be responsible for vetting the candidates and the Board of Governors will elect the candidates. A maximum of three candidates can appear on the ballot for each Board elected member position becoming vacant. If a Committee member resigns from the Nominations and Appointments Committee, the vacated committee position will be filled by the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes in the Nominations and Appointments Committee election. If the position was Chair appointed, then the Chair will fill the vacancy with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee.
(IEEE Must Have) A member of the Nominations and Appointments Committee may be nominated and run for a position for which such member’s respective Nominations and Appointments Committee is responsible for making nominations only on the following conditions: (i) the nomination is not made by a member of the same Nominations and Appointments Committee and (ii) the member resigns from the Nominations and Appointments Committee prior to its first meeting of the year in which the nomination shall be made.

(IEEE Must Have) The Chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall not be eligible to be elected to the Board of Governors during their term of service. In the event of the incapacity or conflict of interest of the Chair, the most recent Past Chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee available shall be the Chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee. With extenuating circumstances, a different individual may be appointed to this position. If a committee member has a conflict of interest in any of the election races, he/she should disclose the conflict of interest. Due to the small size of the committee, the committee will establish a process to manage the conflict of interest.

216. TC Review Committee.

Duties. The TC Review Committee shall guide the formal review process of the Technical Committees. The TC Review Committee will insure the ongoing health of the Society’s technical community and excellence of its technical activities. The TC Review Committee will meet annually with a major Society conference to review the Technical Committees; it will report to the Board of Governors.
Composition. The Chair of the TC Review Committee shall be the President-Elect. The committee members shall be appointed for two-year terms by the President-Elect from among the Members-at-Large on the Board of Governors. The number of Members-at-Large on the TC Review Committee shall be such that the membership of the TC Review Committee should at least equal the number of TCs being reviewed in any given year.

217. Finances.

Authority to Raise Funds. The Society may raise funds through dues, technical meetings, publications, or such other means as may be permitted by these Bylaws or by the rules and policies of the IEEE.
Role of IEEE Headquarters. IEEE Headquarters shall act as bursar for all society funds except as specified hereunder. Collection of and accounting for annual dues and fees shall be the responsibility of the IEEE. Other fiscal matters may be handled through the Society’s office. For all other circumstances, to safeguard the Society’s funds, the Board of Governors shall be prudent in making arrangements.

218. Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee. (approved 21 April 2018)

Purpose. The Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee shall provide independent interpretation of the Society's controlling documents to members and volunteers. Any member, volunteer or officer can request a bylaw interpretation provided that a formal, documented request is submitted to the Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee. The written request must detail the stated concern and the bylaw in question.
Composition. The composition of the Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee shall consist of three members with one Member-at-Large from each class on the Board of Governors. The terms of the committee members will coincide with their Members-at-Large term. The individual from the Senior Member-at-Large class will serve as Chair.
Class of Membership. Class of Membership is defined as the Committee member’s remaining term on the Board of Governors. The Senior member of the committee is beginning their third year on the Board; the Sitting member is beginning their second year; the Junior member is beginning their first year. The Senior member will be the Chair of the Committee. After one year, the Senior member rotates off the Board of Governors and hence, off the Committee. The Sitting member becomes the Senior member, and the Junior member becomes the Sitting member.
Selection of Committee Members. Initially, each class of the Board of Governors (Senior, Sitting, and Junior) selects their representative to serve on the Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee. If there are more than one interested individual from any particular class, the President of the Society makes the final selection for that class. Once established, only a new Junior member needs to be selected each year using the process described above.
Duties. The Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee shall be responsible for reviewing and acting upon all documented requests for bylaw interpretations. All discussions and information presented to the committee shall be handled in a confidential manner. The committee should operate in an impartial manner and seek input and clarifications from all parties involved in the matter under consideration.
Decision. The Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee’s decision will be determined by majority vote of the membership of the committee. The committee decisions must conform with existing IEEE governing documents. After the committee has determined its final ruling, the Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee Chair shall be responsible for preparing a written report documenting the committee’s investigation and findings. The report shall be provided to the individual who brought the bylaw interpretation request forward and made available to the Board of Governors for the record.
Appeal. If the individual who brought the bylaw interpretation request forward feels that the matter has not been adequately resolved by the committee, he/she may escalate the matter further to the Board of Governors. Further appeal will follow the IEEE Technical Activities Conflict Resolution Process.

300.0 NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS, APPOINTMENTS

301. Process.

The Past President who is the chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall contact all organizational units of the Society each year inviting the submission of suitable names to be considered by the Nominations and Appointments Committee for the various elective and appointive offices.

302. Board of Governors Members-at-Large.

The result of the balloting shall be transmitted to the Society President prior to the date of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors.

Nominations. (amended 21 April 2018) Annually, the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall provide a slate of at least two nominees for each of the forthcoming Member-at-Large vacancies. Current-serving members of the Society’s Executive Committee are excluded from being nominated for the Member-at-Large election until they have concluded their Officer term.The Nominations and Appointments Committee should also take into consideration any anticipated vacancies caused by a Member-at-Large becoming an Officer and include the vacancy on the upcoming Member-at-Large election ballot, so the replacement for the vacant Member-at-Large position would be member-elected. Recommendations for such nominees shall be solicited from members of the Board of Governors and from the chairs of all other organizational entities of the Society. Additionally, the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall publish a call for nomination in a publication normally reaching all Society members.
Terms of Service. Members-at-Large shall each serve three years on the Board of Governors. Members-at-Large may serve more than one term on the Board of Governors; however, such terms shall not be consecutive. Members-at-Large who are elected to fill a vacancy will only fill the remainder of the vacated Member-at-Large term, but can seek re-election for a full, three year term as Member-at-Large without a gap in service.
Petitions. (amendd 4 October 2018) In the event that a nominee’s name is not selected for a position on the general election ballot, and the nominee is a member in good standing and of the proper member grade to seek election, the nominee may seek to have his/her name added to the ballot by filing, prior to the date specified in the nominations calendar, a petition.

(IEEE Must Have) For each elective office of the Society, individual voting members eligible to vote in such election may nominate candidates either by a written petition or by majority vote at a nomination meeting of the organizational unit, provided such nominations are made at least 28 days before the date of the election. The number of signatures required on a petition shall be determined in accordance with IEEE Bylaws as follows. For all positions where the electorate is less than 30,000 voting members, signatures shall be required from 2% of the eligible voters. For all positions where the electorate is more than 30,000 voting members, 600 signatures of eligible voters plus 1% of the difference between the number of eligible voters and 30,000 shall be required.

Members shall be notified of all duly made nominations prior to the election. Prior to submission of a nomination petition, the petitioner shall have determined that the nominee named in the petition is willing to serve, if elected; evidence of such willingness to serve shall be submitted with the petition.

(IEEE Must Have) Signatures can be submitted electronically through the official IEEE society annual election website, or by signing and mailing a paper petition. The name of each member signing the paper petition shall be clearly printed or typed. For identification purposes of signatures on paper petitions, membership numbers or addresses as listed in the official IEEE membership records shall be included. Only signatures submitted electronically though the IEEE society annual election website or original signatures on paper petitions shall be accepted. Facsimiles, or other copies of the original signature, shall not be accepted.

The number of signatures required on a petition shall depend on the number of eligible society voters, as listed in the official IEEE membership records at the end of the year preceding the election

Petition and write-in candidates must conform to all Society requirements and prerequisites of the position. The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall ensure that all such candidates are properly qualified, as stated in the Constitution. The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall further ensure that the petition signatories are Members in good standing and that the signatures coincide with the dates of petition collection established in the call for nominations.
Write-in Candidates. Ballots shall provide for write-in candidates.
Ballots. (amended 25 April 2015) The Society’s Annual Election shall follow the same balloting schedule as the IEEE Annual Election. As per IEEE bylaw, ballots shall be mailed no later than the first working day following 14 August. The Society shall submit to eligible voting members on record as of 30 June, a ballot listing all nominees for the positions to be filled by election by the membership.
Means of Election. (amended 24 December 2018) The President shall declare those candidates having a plurality of the votes to be elected, subject to ratification by the Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting. Ties shall be broken by the Board of Governors. Should an elected member fail to accept office, the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be certified elected. If a vacancy cannot be filled in this manner, the Board of Governors may make contingent elections.
Notifications. The Society Past President shall expeditiously notify the Secretary of the IEEE Technical Activities Board of the new Board of Governors’ membership.

303. President-Elect, Vice Presidents.

President-Elect Nomination. (amended 26 September 2019) The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall make an open solicitation for nominations for the office of President-Elect, who shall serve on the Board of Governors for the succeeding term.

Nominations for President-Elect shall be restricted to individuals who have served as a Vice President of the Society. A current-serving Vice President, whose term is expiring at year-end, is also eligible to be nominated for the Society President-Elect election.

All President-Elect candidates must receive two nominations from Society members, but one nomination must be from a member of the Board of Governors. Individuals may self-nominate for the President-Elect position. In the case of self-nomination, the nomination must be seconded by an additional two Society members who are not the nominee, including one member from the Board of Governors.

Annually, the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall provide a slate of at least two nominees to the Board of Governors for the forthcoming President-Elect vacancy. The Board of Governors will review and finalize the President-Elect slate of two nominees that will move to the annual election ballot. The election ballot may also include candidates from the petition process, and write-in candidates will be allowed. The President-Elect will be elected by the Society’s membership.
Vice President Nomination. (amended 26 September 2019) The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall make an open solicitation for nominations for the offices of the various Vice President positions, who shall serve on the Board of Governors for the succeeding term. If the need for a special election arises, it may be handled out of cycle provided that such solicitation shall occur no later than sixteen weeks prior to the Fall meeting of the Board of Governors. Special elections will follow the same guidelines as the Vice President elections.

All Vice President candidates must receive two nominations from Society members, but one nomination must be from a member of the Board of Governors. Individuals may self-nominate for the Vice President position. In the case of self-nomination, the nomination must be seconded by an additional two Society members who are not the nominee, including one member from the Board of Governors.

For the Vice President elections, a current-serving Vice President may not be nominated for another Vice President position until his/her term has officially concluded. If elected, a candidate must resign before the start of the Vice Presidency term if he/she is serving in any of the following positions: Awards Board Chair, Editor-in-Chief, Regional Director-at-Large, or Chair of a Committee under one of the major Boards.

Annually, the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall provide a slate of at least two nominees for each of the forthcoming Vice President vacancies. A maximum of three candidates can appear on the ballot for each Vice President position becoming vacant.
Terms of Service. (amended 24 December 2018)
1. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall serve two years in office; he/she shall automatically succeed to the position of President, serving two years in that post. On becoming Past President, he/she shall automatically become the Chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee.
2. Vice President. The Vice Presidents shall each serve three years in office. Individuals holding the aforementioned positions may serve more than one term on the Board of Governors; however, such terms in a single office shall not be consecutive.
Willingness to Serve. (amended 26 September 2019) The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall obtain, in writing, from each nominated individual who has received two or more nominations for any office, an agreement to serve if elected. If an individual has been nominated for two or more positions, they must select just one for their candidacy. Candidates cannot run for multiple positions within the same election cycle.

All Vice President candidates who so agree to serve may be placed on the ballot, after the Nominations and Appointments Committee's deliberations and the Board of Governors votes to determine the next Vice President.

The President-Elect process is defined under the Presentation of Candidates section.

All Officer candidates who so agree to serve may be placed on the ballot, after the Nominations and Appointments Committee's deliberations and the selection by the Board of Governors of the final candidates. All Officer candidates are required to supply a brief biography, photo and candidate statement of interest stating the nominee’s vision for the position, which shall accompany the ballot.
Petitions. (approved 24 December 2018) In the event that a nominee’s name is not selected for a President-Elect position on the annual election ballot, and the nominee is a member in good standing and of the proper member grade to seek election, and has served as a Vice President for the Society, the nominee may seek to have his/her name added to the ballot by filing, prior to the date specified in the nominations calendar, a petition.

For each elective office of the Society, individual voting members eligible to vote in such election may nominate candidates either by a written petition or by majority vote at a nomination meeting of the organizational unit, provided such nominations are made at least 28 days before the date of the election. Self-nominations with a petition are also allowed. The number of signatures required on a petition shall be determined in accordance with IEEE Bylaws as follows. For all positions where the electorate is less than 30,000 voting members, signatures shall be required from 2% of the eligible voters. For all positions where the electorate is more than 30,000 voting members, 600 signatures of eligible voters plus 1% of the difference between the number of eligible voters and 30,000 shall be required.

Members shall be notified of all duly made nominations prior to the election. Prior to submission of a nomination petition, the petitioner shall have determined that the nominee named in the petition is willing to serve, if elected; evidence of such willingness to serve shall be submitted with the petition.

Signatures can be submitted electronically through the official IEEE society annual election website, or by signing and mailing a paper petition. The name of each member signing the paper petition shall be clearly printed or typed. For identification purposes of signatures on paper petitions, membership numbers or addresses as listed in the official IEEE membership records shall be included. Only signatures submitted electronically though the IEEE society annual election website or original signatures on paper petitions shall be accepted. Facsimiles, or other copies of the original signature, shall not be accepted.

The number of signatures required on a petition shall depend on the number of eligible society voters, as listed in the official IEEE membership records at the end of the year preceding the election.

Petition and write-in candidates must conform to all Society requirements and prerequisites of the position. Petition candidates will be vetted by the Nominations and Appointments Committee to meet the specified requirements of the position before they are placed on the ballot. If a write-in candidate receives the highest amount of votes in the President-Elect election, the Nominations and Appointments Committee will vet the candidate to determine if he/she meets the specified requirements of the position. The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall ensure that all such candidates are properly qualified, as stated in the Constitution. The Nominations and Appointments Committee shall further ensure that the petition signatories are Members in good standing and that the signatures coincide with the dates of petition collection established in the call for nominations.
Presentation of Candidates. (amended 24 December 2018) The chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall provide to the Board of Governors, via e-mail, the slate of nominated candidates for each Officer position no later than 8 weeks before the ICASSP meeting date. Each candidate will have provided, in advance, to the chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee, written assurance of willingness and ability to serve. The Board of Governors will have two weeks to review the President–Elect candidate slate and if deemed necessary, they can recommend additional candidates for vetting by the Nominations and Appointments Committee. The nomination of additional candidates must follow the same nomination process as noted above. At that point, the Nominations and Appointments Committee will have two weeks to provide to the Board of Governors a revised slate of candidates for the position of President-Elect, due no later than 4 weeks before the ICASSP meeting. The revised slate of candidates will be approved at the ICASSP Board of Governors meeting.
1. President-Elect. The President-Elect candidates nominated through the Nominations and Appointments Committee process shall be required to be present at the Board of Governors meeting during the ICASSP meeting series. The candidates will present their background/qualifications, as well as respond to any questions from the Board. Afterwards, the Board of Governors will finalize the slate of President-Elect candidates to move to the annual election ballot.
Ballots and Voting. (amended 24 December 2018)
1. President-Elect. The President-Elect position will be elected by the Society’s membership via the Society’s annual election. The ballot will include nominated candidates, as well as candidates from the petition process. The President-Elect election information will be provided by the chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee.
2. Vice President. The members of the Board of Governors shall elect the Vice Presidents of the Society. The Vice President election information will be provided by the chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee. The Vice President’s election ballot shall be handled via a secret ballot at the ICASSP Board of Governors meeting, after all the Vice President candidates have been discussed by the Board of Governors. Candidates will not be present at the meeting. The election ballot will be done position-by-position. Absentee voting is not allowed for the Vice President elections. The Vice President election results will be reported and confirmed at the same meeting. The President will inform the chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee regarding the election outcome.
  A current-serving Member-at-Large of the Board of Governors may be nominated and run for a Vice President position, however, the Board member will not be allowed to vote in the election in which he/she is a candidate.
Tally. (amended 24 December 2018) The Society requires that there be more than one candidate for each Officer position on the ballot.
1. President-Elect. The President shall declare the President-Elect candidate having a plurality of the votes to be elected, subject to ratification by the Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting. Ties shall be broken by the Board of Governors. Should an elected member fail to meet the qualifications or accept office, the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be certified elected. If a vacancy cannot be filled in this manner, the Board of Governors may make contingent elections.
2. Vice President. The candidate receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the run-off ballot will include only those candidates who are tied for the lead. In the run-off tally, the candidate receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared the winner.
  If the incoming President-Elect or one of the incoming Vice Presidents is an elected Member-at-Large of the Board of Governors, that Officer shall vacate the Member-at-Large position position at the beginning of her/his newly elected term. The Member-at-Large vacancy shall be filled by the Board of Governors by the candidate having the next highest number of votes on the current year’s Member-at-Large election
304. Election Voting.

(amended 24 December 2018) The Society requires that all elections, except the Member-at-Large, Regional Director-at-Large, President-Elect and Vice President elections, be governed by the bylaw that addresses email voting, since most elections are conducted via email voting. The email voting bylaw requires that an affirmative vote of a majority of all the voting members of the Board of Governors or any committee thereof shall be required to approve the action. The results of the vote shall be confirmed promptly in writing or by electronic transmission.

All election candidates must follow the IEEE Electioneering Policies, which are noted in the IEEE Policy 13.3.
1. President-Elect. The President-Elect position shall be elected by the Society’s membership via the Society’s Annual Election.
2. Vice President. The Vice President elections are conducted at a face-to-face meeting of the Board of Governors. These elections shall be governed by a vote of a majority of the votes of the members present and entitled to vote, at the time of vote, provided a quorum is present. The Member-at-Large and Regional Director-at-Large election details are noted in their respective sections.
305. Regional Directors-at-Large.

The nomination process shall follow that of the Board of Governors Members-at-Large. The election shall take place in conjunction with the Board of Governors Members-at-Large election. Directors-at-Large are elected locally by members of the corresponding regions from regions 1-6 (US), 7/9 (Canada and Latin America), 8 (Europe/Middle East/Africa) and 10 (Asia/Pacific Rim), respectively. The Directors-at-Large shall each serve two years on the Membership Board.

306. Division Director-Delegate.
1. Nomination by Society. The Society’s Nominations and Appointments Committee will provide to the Executive Committee in any year in which the Society participates in IEEE elections for Division Director-Delegate or Division Director-Delegate-Elect, whichever is employed in the Division to which the Society belongs, nominee(s) for that post.
  
  Upon confirmation of the recommendation(s) of the Nominations and Appointments Committee by the Executive Committee, a single nomination shall be reported to the Division Nominating Chair.
2. Participation in Division Nominating Process. The Society President and/or his/her designated representative shall participate on the Division Nominating Committee, which is empanelled by the past Division Director-Delegate.
3. Permissibility of Single Nomination. The Society may permit the nomination of a single candidate for the post of Division Director-Delegate or Division Director-Delegate-Elect.
307. Election Campaigning.

(approved 26 September 2019)

The Signal Processing Society permits campaigning for President-Elect candidates whose names appear on the Society’s Annual General Election. Election campaigning will be governed by IEEE Bylaws and Policies, Section 13.3 "Elections and Electioneering" and Section 14 "IEEE Mailing Lists and Rosters.

400.0 GEOGRAPHICAL ACTIVITIES

The membership of the Society shall be concentrated, geographically, according to units defined by the IEEE as Regions, Areas, Geographic Councils, Sections, Subsections, Student Branches, Chapters, and Student Branch Chapters.

401. Regions.

A Region is a geographical unit consisting of part of one, or of one or of more than one country, established by the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board as the basic operating entity of the IEEE and, thus, of its societies. The membership is organized according to the following Regions:

Region 1 - Northeastern USA
Region 2 - Eastern USA
Region 3 - Southeastern USA and island of Jamaica as a part of its territory
Region 4 - Central USA
Region 5 - Southwestern USA
Region 6 - Western USA
Region 7 - Canada
Region 8 - Africa, Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Republics of the former USSR, and the Near and Middle East, countries located West of Afghanistan and Pakistan
Region 9 - Caribbean and Bahamas Islands, South and Central America, North America (except USA, Jamaica, and Canada)
Region 10 - Asia, Australia, New Zealand and related islands.

402. Areas.

Areas may be established as parts of a Region. An Area shall generally consist of several Sections, states, provinces, or countries which may be established by the Regional Committee as a management and administrative organizational unit of IEEE to fulfill the communication needs and management/administrative missions of the Region within the territory prescribed.

403. Geographic Councils.

A Council may be formed by agreement of a group of contiguous Sections and it exists at their pleasure. It is formed by the Sections to do only those delegated tasks that can be best done together by the Sections rather than singly by each Section. The Sections retain their recognition as the basic operating, executive, administrative and geographic unit of the IEEE. The formation of a Council must be approved by the Regional Director and the Member and Geographic Activities Board.

404. Sections.

A Section shall be the basic operating geographic organizational unit of IEEE and shall be constituted by a minimum of fifty (50) IEEE voting members. A Section shall be established with the approval of the Member and Geographic Activities Board by petition of those who live/work in relatively close proximity to be served by activities that further the missions of IEEE.

405. Subsections.

A Subsection shall be a part of a Section or Region, constituted by a minimum of twenty (20) IEEE voting members, and established with the approval of MGAB by petition of those who live/work in relatively close proximity to be served by the activities that further the mission of IEEE.

406. Chapters.

A Chapter shall be a technical subunit of a Region, one or more Sections or a Geographic Council. There may be single Society Chapters, joint Society Chapters, and Technical Council Chapters. A Chapter shall comprise a minimum of twelve (12) IEEE voting members of a Society, or group of Societies in the case of a joint chapter, and shall be established by petition to the parent geographical and technical organizational units concerned to fulfill the mission of IEEE. In the case of a Technical Council Chapter, a minimum of any twelve (12) IEEE voting members of Council Member Societies in the parent geographical unit shall be required to petition to the geographic unit and to the Technical Council.

407. Student Branches.

A Student Branch shall be an operating organizational unit of IEEE constituted by a minimum of twelve (12) IEEE Student Members or Graduate Student Members at a particular college, university, technical institute, or, in unusual circumstances attached to a Section, and established with approval of MGAB by petition to the Region concerned to fulfill the mission of IEEE.

408. Student Branch Chapters.

Student Branches may have Student Branch Chapters. A Student Branch Chapter shall be a technical subunit of a Student Branch constituted by a minimum of six (6) Student Members or Graduate Student Members of a Society or group of Societies and established by petition to the parent Student Branch and Society concerned to fulfill the mission of IEEE. A Student Branch Chapter functions in a manner similar to a committee of the Student Branch.

500.0 TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

501. Technical Committees.

(amended 26 September 2019) A Technical Committee is one that functions in a specific technical area. The creation of a new prospective technical committee, changes in charters, or changes to the name of a technical committee must be approved by the Board of Governors. A Technical Committee shall operate in accordance with the bylaws and policies of the Society, in furtherance of the society’s mission.

Technical Committee Chairs are voting members of the Technical Directions Board. Each Technical Committee Chair holds one vote on the Technical Directions Board. In the event the Technical Committee Chair can not attend the Technical Directions Board meeting, an alternate may be assigned, however the alternate shall not have voting rights.

The Technical Committees of the Signal Processing Society are:

Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing
Bio Imaging and Signal Processing
Computational Imaging
Design and Implementation for Signal Processing Systems
Image, Video and Multidimensional Signal Processing
Information Forensics and Security
Machine Learning for Signal Processing
Multimedia Signal Processing
Sensor Array and Multichannel Signal Processing
Signal Processing for Communications and Networking
Signal Processing Theory and Methods
Speech and Language Processing.

The Industry DSP Technology Standing Committee shall; in every way function like a technical committee; its chair shall serve ex-officio, with vote on the Technical Directions Board.

Scope. Each Technical Committee shall promote activities within its area of technical interest, and shall provide expertise and assistance as follows:
1. assist in the review of papers submitted to Society technical meetings;
2. organize and operate society-sponsored/co-sponsored symposia, seminars, and workshops, or special sessions, special issues, challenges, summer schools, webinars, tutorials at technical meetings of the Society or of the IEEE, at all levels, and at meetings of other organizations having Board-approved cooperative relationships with the Society, in accordance with IEEE rules and procedures and the rules for such meetings;
3. make nominations in the Society Distinguished Lecturers, Distinguished Industry Speakers, and awards process and vet nominations for technical excellence as requested by the Awards Board, as well as other ongoing and new SPS activities;
4. assist Editors-in-Chief in identifying appropriate Associate Editor candidates;
5. coordinate with the existing TCs that are relevant to the area;
6. form subcommittees for award nominations, for coordinating member election process, student involvement, among others;
7. achieve a balanced membership that reflects diversity in areas including gender, geographical representation, young professionals and more senior members, academia and industry;
8. increase number of submissions at ICASSP—and if applicable, at other relevant conferences they participate in over the years;
9. organize a workshop or major partnership in a conference/workshop, such as those organized through FDC or SPS Initiatives;
10. any additional initiatives such as those that are educational, introduction of educational material to the webpages, summer schools, contributions to SPS Resource Center;
11. attract researchers from other technical communities (other IEEE societies as well as other professional organizations) for membership, as well as for participation in its activities (including workshops, special sessions, special issues);
12. promote the technical area of the TC and introduce it to the general public with several goals including attracting young researchers, especially women, for careers in this area;
13. coordinate activities with IEEE Future Directions Committee (FDC), seek participation in their activities and possible partnership in their conferences and workshops, as well as other efforts such as standardization, data collection and challenges among others.
Management. The Chair of each Technical Committee shall be elected by the Technical Committee itself. The term of office shall be two calendar years. A second term as Chair is permitted but may not be consecutive.
The Technical Committee Chair is responsible for maintaining a roster of the members and communicating the Technical Committee's activities to the Vice President-Technical Directions of the Society and to the staff office.
Membership. Technical Committee members shall be a member of the Society.

502. Technical Working Groups.

(approved 26 September 2019) A Technical Working Group may be organized to cover a specific topic within the Society’s Field of Interest. Each Technical Working Group shall reside under one primary Technical Committee, but other Technical Committees that are relevant to the Technical Working Group’s focus may also be identified.

Duties. The main duty of the Technical Working Group is to bring together researchers from relevant communities to work together on a specific topic with the goal of establishing an emerging area and generating tangible end products in that given area. The end products may include:
1. standardization efforts;
2. working papers, policy documents;
3. joint publications;
4. challenges, competitions;
5. webinars and other material for the Resource Center/SigPort;
6. joint research proposals;
7. introduction of new EDICS;
8. collaboration with IEEE Future Directions Initiatives;
9. community building through websites, blogs, social media activities;
10. establish collaborations among researchers from academia, industry, and government research labs and entities including defense and standardization;
11. joint PhD training efforts, summer schools;
12. efforts to share data/code/resources;
13. special sessions, tutorials at ICASSP, ICIP, and other relevant conferences such as ICME, ISBI, and workshops organized by the SPS Technical Committees;
14. special issues in journals.

Members.
1. The maximum size of a Technical Working Group shall be 10 members.
2. A Technical Working Group shall have at least two members from the primary Technical Committee they reside under and at least one Technical Committee member from each relevant Technical Committee identified. These members must be current IEEE and SPS members of good standing. The Technical Working Group may also have members who are not current IEEE or SPS members to broaden the community outside IEEE.
3. Members shall serve a term of three-years, starting 1 January. All terms run on a calendar year.
4. Membership on the Technical Working Groups may be terminated by the Technical Working Group Chair, with the consent of the Technical Committee Chair, due to the member’s inactivity in the sense of little or no participation in the Technical Working Group’s responsibilities.
5. The primary Technical Committee Chair shall be an ex-officio member, without vote.

Creation and Termination of Technical Working Groups. Technical Working Groups shall have a finite life-span not exceeding six years, in general. The initial proposal shall be reviewed by the Technical Committee Chairs identified in the proposal. The initial proposal shall specify the below noted details:
1. proposer contact information;
2. name, scope, and main motivation for the creation of the proposed Technical Working Group;
3. expected tangible outcomes from the list noted in the Duties section, including any additional items that might be relevant;
4. primary Technical Committee under which the Technical Working Group shall reside along with any other relevant Technical Committees.

If the Primary Technical Committee Chair approves the proposal, then the primary Technical Committee Chair shall forward the proposal to the Vice President-Technical Directions for review and final approval. If approved, the proposer shall be appointed as the Technical Working Group Chair.

The Technical Working Group Chair must be a current IEEE and SPS member in good standing. The Chair shall have a two-year term, along with the Past Chair and the Vice Chair positions. The Vice President-Technical Directions shall appoint the initial Technical Working Chair. Afterwards, the Technical Working Group will elect each subsequent Chair. Unless otherwise noted, the Technical Working Group shall follow same policies as the Technical Committee.

Once approved, the Technical Working Group shall be formed and shall be advertised through the Society’s website and at relevant conferences. The Technical Working Group membership shall be formed working with the Chair of the Technical Working Group and the related Technical Committees. Conference calls and meetings at relevant conferences can be organized to support the activities of the Technical Working Group. If desired, they can hold their face-to-face meetings as part of the primary Technical Committee’s meeting.

The Technical Working Groups shall be reviewed at the same time along with the primary Technical Committee during the normal TC Review process. A section of the TC Review report shall address Technical Working Groups activities. The primary Technical Committee Chair is required to seek support from the Technical Working Groups Chair for that section of the report. Following the second review of the Technical Working Group, the TC Review Committee shall determine if the Technical Working Groups should continue or be terminated. The TC Review Committee Chair shall bring forward the Committee’s recommendation to the Vice President-Technical Directions for review and action.

Upon recommendation from the TC Review Committee and confirmation by the Vice President-Technical Directions to terminate a Technical Working Group, a report shall be written by the Technical Working Group Chair to provide their feedback on how and which Technical Working Group activities should be absorbed by the Technical Committee(s). The written report shall be submitted to the TC Review Committee and the Vice President-Technical Directions for review and a final decision.

503. Technical Committee Reviews.

Technical Committees will be subject to a formal review. Each Technical Committee will undergo a review at least once every five years with the frequency of the review decided on by the TC Review Committee and the Vice President-Technical Directions at the end of the review process.

600.0 PUBLICATIONS ACTIVITIES

601. Authority.

The Society shall have the right to publish or to sponsor such publications as are recommended by the Society’s Publications Board and approved by the Board of Governors, the IEEE Technical Activities Board, and the IEEE Publications Board.

602. Oversight.

(amended 11 October 2018) The Society Publications Board shall:

develop policies and prodecures for the Society’s publications;
review and evaluate all proposals for new publications and make recommendations to the Board of Governors;
develop plans for new publications to meet the requirements of the members and make recommendations to the Board of Governors;
review the Society's publications portfolio and making recommendations to the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee to terminate sponsored or co-sponsored publications, where appropriate;
review publication budgets and make recommendations to the Vice President-Publications and the President-Elect;
represent the Society regarding all publications, plans, policies and procedures involving the IEEE and other organizations, in accordance with these Bylaws and the rules and procedures of the IEEE;
insure that the high quality of the Society’s publications is maintained.

The following committees and boards shall be responsible to the Publications Board: (amended 10 May 2014)

Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SIGNAL PROCESSING
Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO, SPEECH, AND LANGUAGE PROCESSING
Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON IMAGE PROCESSING
Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INFORMATION FORENSICS AND SECURITY
Editorial Board, IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING LETTERS
Editorial Board, IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING MAGAZINE
Editorial Board, IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING
Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTATIONAL IMAGING
Editorial Board, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SIGNAL AND INFORMATION PROCESSING OVER NETWORKS.

603. Publication Management.

Editor-in-Chief. (amended 25 March 2016) Each of the publications of the Society shall be managed by an Editor-in-Chief who shall be appointed by the Vice President-Publications, in consultation with the relevant Technical Committee and with the consent of the Executive Committee. The Editor-in-Chief shall serve for three years, non-renewable. The Editor-in-Chief shall be responsible for implementing the publication. He/she shall chair the Editorial Board for the publication and also serve as a member of the Society’s Publications Board.
1. Past and Incoming Editors-in-Chief. Each journal will be supported by the Editor-in-Chief, and when applicable, the Past or Incoming Editor-in-Chief. The Past Editor-in-Chief and Incoming Editor-in-Chief will be ex-officio, non-voting members of the Publications Board and the Editorial Board of their respective publication.
2. Terms. The Editor-in-Chief term shall be three years, non-renewable. The Past Editor-in-Chief term shall be 1 January through 30 June succeeding his/her official term as EiC. The Incoming Editor-in-Chief term shall be 1 July through 31 December prior to officially taking the Editor-in-Chief position.

Managing Editor. A Managing Editor shall be selected for each of the Society’s publications and shall serve for an indefinite period, subject to mutual agreement between the IEEE Transactions/Journals Department, which employs the managing editors, and the Society.
In the event that the Society shall employ an independent contractor as Managing Editor, any compensation shall be recommended to the Executive Committee by the Vice President-Publications.
Editorial Board. (amended 25 March 2016) Each of the publications of the Society shall be guided by an Editorial Board, which shall be chaired by the Editor-in-Chief and which shall comprise the associate editors for the publications having active, unexpired terms. The Past or Incoming Editor-in-Chief and the Society’s Executive Director shall serve ex-officio, without vote.
It shall be the responsibility of the Editorial Board to insure that the publication maintains the highest quality while adhering to the publication rules and procedures of both the Society and the IEEE, consonant with these bylaws, the Policy and Procedures Manual and the Guide for Associate Editors.
Editorial Expense. (amended 4 October 2012) Editorial expense shall be subject to review and approval by the Vice President-Publications, and the President-Elect.

604. Manuscript Management.

Manuscript processing for submissions to all Society periodicals shall be accomplished via a common online manuscript environment database system, as designated by the Society for manuscript management.

605. Overview Articles.

Overview articles are intended to be of solid technical depth and lasting value and should provide advanced readers with a thorough overview of various fields of interest. Overview articles are technically more thorough than tutorials, which are intended for readers with little background in a given field and are usually published in the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. Overview articles are expected to be longer than regular manuscripts; their length is allowed to be as much as double the length of regular submissions with exceptions if approved by the Editor-in-Chief.

All overview articles will be subjected to the same rigorous review process as all other submissions. Overview article white papers must be approved by the Publications Board, and the review process shall be managed by the Editorial Board of the Transactions to which it is submitted, as described in the SPS Policies and Procedures Manual.

700.0 CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES

701. Authority.

The Society shall provide its members with access to technical information within the Society’s Field of Interest via technical meetings (conferences, tutorials, symposia, workshops, etc.), with the approval of the Society’s Conferences Board and, as appropriate, the IEEE Technical Activities Board.

702. Ownership of Technical Meetings.

All meetings created by the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall be registered with the U.S. Copyright/Trademark Office, in accordance with IEEE practice. Such meetings shall be considered to be the “property” of the Society for all purposes of finance and management, and may not be removed from the purview of the Society except by specific action of the Board of Governors. Financial co-sponsorship of a meeting is possible only with the permission of the Society via the meeting budget approval process. The budget must reveal the name of the intended financial co-sponsors and the intended share assigned to each co-sponsor, which in no case may exceed a total of 45% (except for those meetings created and approved by the Society under an equal-share arrangement). Financial co-sponsorship shall require any and all co-sponsors to share not only income, but also expense, in the same proportion as their co-sponsorship share of the meeting.

Sponsorship statuses that are other than financial may be approved with not-for-profit organizations as permitted by IEEE policy.

703. Oversight.

(amended 11 October 2018) The Conferences Board shall have responsibility for:

developing policies and procedures for Society technical meetings;
reviewing and evaluating plans for proposed technical meetings and making recommendations to the Board of Governors;
developing plans for new technical meetings to meet the requirements of the members and making recommendations to the Board of Governors;
reviewing the Society's technical meeting portfolio and making recommendations to the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee to terminate sponsored or co-sponsored technical meetings, where appropriate;
approving individuals to manage the technical meetings of the Society;
coordinating the technical meetings calendar to assure compliance with IEEE rules and policies;
making appropriate notifications to the Regions and Sections regarding technical meeting activities;
overseeing the budgets of the technical meetings and reporting to the President-Elect;
providing representation to IEEE Technical Activities regarding Society technical meetings;
overseeing the activities of the planning committees for approved ICASSPs, ICIPs, and GlobalSIP.

An Executive Subcommittee shall assist the Conferences Board in the execution of its duties, as listed above, and shall make recommendations to the Conferences Board, as appropriate.

800.0 MISCELLANEOUS

801. Endorsements.

No Board or Committee of the Signal Processing Society shall have the authority to endorse nominations for IEEE Fellow. Individual members may endorse Fellow nominations, but an endorsement may not be made on behalf of the member's Board/Committee.

900.0 AMENDMENTS

901. Bylaws.

(amended 22 May 2019) Suitable proposed new Bylaws and amendments thereto may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members 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 or by email, provided a seven-day period is allowed for such responses. In either event, the proposed new Bylaw or amendment shall not take effect until approved by the Vice President, Technical Activities in accordance with the process outlined in the TAB Operations Manual.

Following adoption by the Board of Governors, the proposed new Bylaw or amendment shall appear on the Society website.

902. Constitution.

Amendments to the Constitution shall be made in accordance with the processes described therein.

903. Effective Date.

(amended 22 May 2019) All amendments to the Bylaws shall become effective immediately upon approval by the Vice President, Technical Activities.

904. Interpretation.

(amended 21 April 2018) Interpretation of the Society's controlling documents to the members and volunteers shall be carried out by the Bylaws Interpretation Standing Committee, as stipulated in Section 218 of these Bylaws.

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