BYLAWS
Table of Contents
I. Name and Charter
1. Name
The name of the organization is “Information Technology Management Forum.”
2. Charter
Members of the Information Technology Management Forum (ITMF) serve as recognized advisors to the Vice-President for Information Technology (VPIT), the Associate CIO for University Information Security, and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) and provide a source of expertise on IT management and leadership issues.
ITMF members will serve as IT leaders and advocates throughout the university community. ITMF will facilitate collaboration and communication among IT units and at all levels of the university. ITMF will promote and adopt efficient IT implementations and integrate local and centralized IT services when appropriate. ITMF will provide input on standards and policy development and other information technology matters involving the campus as a whole.
ITMF is a self-governing body.
II. Officers and Membership
1. Officers
Only voting members of ITMF may serve as officers.
The officers of ITMF shall be the Chair and the Vice-Chair.
2. Election and Term of Office
Officers shall be elected in September on odd numbered years, and terms of service shall begin in October. Nominations and seconds from voting members will determine the candidates for each office. The candidate who receives the most votes wins the election. Officers shall serve 2-year terms; officers may not serve consecutive terms. If the call for nominations yields one nominee for any officer position, the forum may forego an election based on a motion and second from two voting members and the consensus of at least half of the voting members present. Consensus may be determined by a show of hands at any meeting or other means that reflects the will of the majority.
3. Removal of Officers
Officers may be removed at any time by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Forum.
4. Vacancies
Vacancies shall be filled by ITMF as soon as feasible.
5. Chair
The Chair shall preside over meetings of ITMF, shall appoint or approve the formation of committees, and shall designate subcommittee Chairs when necessary.
6. Vice-Chair
The Vice-Chair shall serve as Chair in the absence of the Chair, and shall assist the Chair with his/her duties. The Vice-Chair will also have a marketing role. He or she will identify resources to maintain the ITMF web site, and he or she will promote ITMF to IT leaders and decision-makers at UGA. The Vice-Chair will informally address membership gaps and encourage attendance.
7. Recording Secretary
The Recording Secretary shall be appointed by EITS. EITS will determine the term of service. The Recording Secretary will record and transcribe meeting minutes and provide other support services determined to be appropriate. A substitute may fill in for the Recording Secretary as necessary.
EITS agreed to provide this service to ITMF.
8. Logistics and Operations
ITMF officers in consultation with the Recording Secretary shall determine their preferred division of responsibilities. The officers shall ensure that the following duties are performed:
Prepare and distribute meeting agendas and other actionable items to the forum one week prior to the scheduled meeting
Copy and circulate agendas and other handouts at regular and special meetings
Distribute meeting minutes to the forum within two weeks of a regular meeting
Make facilities arrangements
Help recruit standing or ad hoc committees members
Help facilitate the success of standing and ad hoc committees
9. Delegation of Duties
In the event of illness or emergency, officers may delegate their authority to a substitute on a short-term basis. A substitute Chair or Vice-Chair must be a voting member of ITMF. Note: Generally, the Vice-Chair will fill in for the Chair when the Chair must be absent
10. Membership
The membership of ITMF will consist of regular members and voting members. All ITMF members, regular and voting, must subscribe to the ITMF-L listserv. To subscribe to the list, a potential member must be recommended by a current member. Current members should email their subscription requests to the Chair or Vice-Chair. All members shall be employed by the University of Georgia in a role that includes Information Technology (IT) leadership and management.
Voting members shall be recommended by ITMF in August on odd numbered years; terms of service will begin in October. Voting members shall serve 2-year renewable terms. ITMF may decide to retain all current voting members and address vacancies only. In an effort to keep ITMF representative, membership gaps may be addressed at any time at the behest of the Chair.
A voting member may send a designate if he/she will be absent and the designate may serve as the member’s proxy.
ITMF members may be asked to recommend voting members from each Vice Presidential area, College and School listed in the table below. A few Vice Presidential areas shall receive multiple voting members due to the diversity of their organizations. In these cases, the number of appointees is listed in parentheses. The Bylaws Committee determined initial voting membership based on participation and the administrative listings and organizational charts presented in the University Fact Book.
A member of the Bylaws Committee, generally the Chair, shall forward recommended voting members to the appropriate Vice-President, Dean or Director who will have an opportunity to appoint the representative recommended by ITMF or select an alternative.
An unrepresented unit may petition the ITMF Chair for representation at any time. If a majority of the voting members present support the addition, the petition will be forwarded to the Bylaws Committee for final review. If all members of the Bylaws Committee decide that the unit has adequate representation, the committee will report back to the forum at the next regularly scheduled meeting to share the basis for the decision. If the committee deems the petition to be from an under or unrepresented area, a committee member will contact the appropriate Vice-President, Dean, or Director and request selection or approval of a voting representative. These constraints are intended to keep the voting membership of ITMF consistent, meaningful, and informed.
ITMF recognizes UGANET (University of Georgia Network Managers Group) as a valued source of expertise on computing, networking and other IT implementations. Therefore, a designated UGANET member shall serve as a voting member of ITMF.
ITMF recognizes DWEEBS (UGA Web Developers) as a valued source of expertise on web design and development. Therefore, a designated DWEEBS member shall serve as a voting member of ITMF.
ITMF recognizes EdTech as a valued source of expertise on instructional technology. Therefore, a designated EdTech member shall serve as a voting member of ITMF.
ITMF advises the Vice-President for Information Technology, the Associate CIO for University Information Security, and EITS. Resultantly, the Vice-President for Information Technology, the Associate CIO for University Information Security, and EITS directors or designees shall have non-voting ex officio status within ITMF.
Click here to view a list of the ITMF voting membership.
III. Meetings of ITMF
1. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings will be held on the first Thursday of every month at 1:30 p.m. If a UGA holiday creates a conflict, the meeting will be held on the second Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The Chair may cancel a regularly scheduled meeting if the agenda is light or if on or off-campus events will substantially decrease meeting attendance. By default, meetings will be held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Other locations may be used based on availability or special requirements.
2. Special Meetings
Special meetings may be called for any purpose by the Chair or upon written request, including via email, from three or more voting members of ITMF.
3. Notice
The forum officers shall ensure that notice of regular and special meetings is provided to the forum one week prior to the meeting. Notice will include the final agenda and any pre-reading materials as well as the time, date and location of the meeting. Proposals may be sent to ITMF at any time; if the sender would like ITMF to act on a proposal at a regular or special meeting, ITMF requires a one-week review period. If unavoidable circumstances eliminate the possibility of a one-week review period, the forum officers will consider such requests on a case by case basis.
4. Quorum
At all meetings of ITMF, a majority of the voting members present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The action of a majority of the voting members present at any meeting shall be the action of ITMF at large, except as may be otherwise provided by these Bylaws.
If there is a strong dissenting view, a minority report may be submitted along with the motion of the majority.
5. Order of Business
Invited guests or featured speakers
Reports from committees
Unfinished business
New business
Summary of action items for the group, individual members or committees
6. Visitors
Visitors are welcome to attend regular or special meetings.
7. Minutes
Minutes shall be prepared by the Recording Secretary. Minutes will capture short summaries of discussion items. Action items and decisions merit short sentences or paragraphs. Minutes will be posted not more than two weeks after the meeting whenever possible.
8. Agenda
ITMF officers will determine how to collect and prioritize agenda items. When light agendas are anticipated, one of the forum officers or a designate will request agenda items from the forum two weeks prior to the next scheduled meeting. Finalized agendas will be distributed to the forum one week prior to the next scheduled meeting.
9. Appearances Before ITMF
Individual or group representatives who desire to appear before ITMF to discuss or initiate a subject within the Forum’s jurisdiction shall submit their request to the Chair to be received at least fifteen days prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Forum.
The Chair shall notify the membership of a request via the listserv to allow the group to collectively provide input on whether the appearance should be placed on the agenda.
The Chair or a majority of the voting members may waive these rules and hear any person on any subject. In addition, persons other than presidents or agency heads who desire to appear before a committee of the Forum may petition the Chair of the committee.
IV. Duties of the Forum and Its Committees
The Information Technology Management Forum (ITMF) is a representative and advisory group with a commitment to making the IT environment at UGA responsive, effective, and innovative. ITMF will strive to increase the efficiency of IT operations, integrate IT services across campus, and align IT with the strategic goals of the University. To accomplish these goals ITMF will help shape IT policies and standards, identify common priorities, and facilitate collaboration among IT units.
In addition to serving as advisors and authorities on IT management and leadership, ITMF members will propose projects of broad interest and the voting members will prioritize them by reaching consensus. ITMF will keep the Vice-President for Information Technology informed about its activities to avoid overlap between committees and duplication of effort within the IT advisory model. Suggested projects will be solicited on an as needed basis. ITMF will collaborate with groups such as UGANET on projects of mutual interest. ITMF will consider projects proposed by EITS or other campus entities. At the discretion of the Chair, projects or project components may be assigned to the group at large or delegated to a subcommittee.
ITMF may form standing and ad hoc committees. The success of ITMF depends on active participation from all members; all members are strongly encouraged to participate in one or more ITMF committees on an annual basis. Committees must be recognized by the Chair prior to assembling and the objectives, scope and deliverables of the committee must be approved by the Chair or a majority of ITMF members. Committees will meet on an as needed basis, and committee chairs will facilitate committee meetings. Active committees will report to the group at large on a monthly basis; ad hoc committees should generally complete their charges within three to four months. Charges that cannot be completed within three to four months should be subdivided such that specific objectives may be accomplished within a three to four month timeframe.
Committees with an institutional charge will involve individuals outside of ITMF to get buy-in and build consensus. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to get stakeholders involved as advisors or participants. ITMF at large may recommend individuals or entities that should participate in standing or ad hoc committees based on scope or purpose.
V. Amendment
The Bylaws Committee will be responsible for revising and maintaining the Bylaws. The Bylaws Committee reserves the authority to improve clarity or fix grammatical errors without consulting ITMF at large. Pre-reading guidelines apply to proposed revisions of the Bylaws. Bylaws may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of the Forum during any regular meeting. The Vice-Chair will ensure that approved revisions of the Bylaws are posted to the web site, https://itmf.uga.edu.
VI. Operating Principles
ITMF will use Robert’s Rules of Order to conduct official business when they help maintain order in the forum.
ITMF Bylaws Committee utilized the University System of Georgia Bylaws of the Board of Regents as a framework. Our document includes paraphrasing and extractions from: http://www.usg.edu/admin/humres/bylaws/bylaws.html
Modified: 01/02/2013