AMIA - American College of Medical Informatics

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF MEDICAL INFORMATICS
The College of Elected Fellows within AMIA
RULES OF THE COLLEGE
Last Revised November 8, 2003

ARTICLE I - NAME
Section 1.	The American College of Medical Informatics is the College of Elected Fellows of the American Medical Informatics Association (hereinafter called AMIA). It shall be known formally as ACMI, the College of Elected Fellows within AMIA (hereinafter called ACMI or the College).
	Policy:
1.1	ACMI became the College of Elected Fellows of AMIA through a Letter of Agreement (hereinafter called the Agreement) dated July 1, 1988 and executed by the governing boards of both organizations. The Agreement governs the purposes and the activities of the College within AMIA.
1.2	The ACMI relationship to AMIA is defined in the AMIA POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL Pages 3.3.01-3.3.02, which state:
	3.3.1 The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) is a wholly owned subsidiary or section of AMIA; yet the group of Fellows within AMIA retain their free and unrestricted rights to the use of the name, "American College of Medical Informatics", and the name, "American College of Medical Informatics" shall be copyrighted to restrict its use only to this group of fellows. ACMI agrees to abide by the AMIA Bylaws, with the following interpretations and applications:
	(a) As to Article 2.0, ACMI shall fully support the purposes of AMIA, and AMIA shall fully support the purposes of its group of Fellows.
	(b) In accordance with Articles 3.0 and 4.0, at the initiation of AMIA, the then current ACMI Fellows shall be recognized by the AMIA Board of Directors as "Founding Fellows." Thereafter, AMIA shall restrict its member category of Fellow to only those elected in accordance with provisions established by Fellows. Fellows desiring to have voting privileges in AMIA and/or in ACMI must be AMIA Regular Members and pay AMIA dues. Fellows who are not AMIA Regular Members shall be AMIA Honorary Members who remain Fellows without voting privileges in AMIA or ACMI and cannot become Officers of ACMI. The group of Fellows may establish their own procedures for collecting any ACMI special fees or assessments for Fellows, and all such funds shall be deposited with the AMIA Treasurer in an identified separate ACMI account which can be used only by the ACMI Treasurer.
	(c) As to Articles 5.0, 6.0, and 8.0, the group of Fellows may establish their own procedures for electing their own ACMI Officers and Executive Committee.
	(d) As to Article 7.0, Fellows will support and participate in AMIA Committees, yet may establish their own ACMI Special Subcommittees.
	(e) As to Article 9.0, Fellows may hold their own meetings, but not in conflict with AMIA meetings.
	(f) As to Article 13.0, not withstanding any changes in AMIA, the group of Fellows first shall be assured the opportunity to continue and preserve the College of its Fellows.
	Board Approved: July 1, 1988

ARTICLE II - PURPOSES
Section 1.	The purpose of ACMI shall be to advance the public interest by making available and enhancing the expertise and experience of the Fellows of the College in support of AMIA's charitable and educational purposes, aims, and activities.
	Policy:
1.1	To achieve its purpose ACMI shall undertake charitable, scientific, literary, and educational activities as deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee of the College and so long as these activities are consistent with AMIA Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Policy Manual.

ARTICLE III - FELLOWSHIP
Section 1.	Fellowship recognizes the contributions of leaders in the science and application of medical informatics.
	Policy:
1.1	As stated in AMIA Bylaws Article 3, Section 3. "Persons who have demonstrated major contributions, have achieved national recognition in the field of medical informatics, and who are committed to advancing the charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes of the Corporation, shall be eligible for membership as a fellow. Founding Fellows shall be determined by the initial Board of Directors. Thereafter, Fellowship shall be determined in accordance with procedures established by the Fellows."
1.2	Each year the Nominations Committee will review the representation in ACMI of the various backgrounds and specialties that make up medical informatics and recommend to the Executive Committee up to two areas for emphasis in the upcoming election cycle.
	The Call for Nominations will include a call for special attention to identifying worthy individuals in the areas of emphasis. In addition, the Nominations Committee will identify key individuals in the areas of emphasis who do not surface through the nomination solicitation and recruit fellows to submit their nominations .
	In advance of placing a candidate on the ballot, the Nominations Committee will screen the nominations to ensure that all candidates meet the acceptable criteria for election. The results of this screening shall be referred to the Executive Committee.
	Candidates from the areas of emphasis will be grouped on the ballot for special attention.
	A minimum of 50% of those eligible to vote must cast votes in order for an election of ACMI Fellows and International Associates to be considered valid. For a nominee to be elected to the College, the election must be valid according to the criterion above and the nominee must receive an affirmative vote from a minimum of 60% of the votes cast.
Section 2.	Fellows are elected for life and upon election are named Fellows of ACMI and Honorary Members of AMIA.
	Policy:
2.1	Fellowship may be terminated under certain conditions:
2.1.1	A letter of resignation may be filed with the Board of Directors.
2.1.2	Fellowship may be terminated upon a two-thirds vote of the Elections and Nominations Committee and a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee, following appropriate notice to the Fellow.
Section 3.	There are five (5) categories of Fellows: Voting, Non-voting, Senior, International, and Inactive, defined as follows:
3.1	Voting Fellows. Dues-paying Fellows who are also voting members of AMIA. All ACMI fellowship benefits apply. There is no age limit.
3.2	Non-voting Fellows. Dues-paying Fellows who are not voting members of AMIA. All ACMI fellowship benefits apply, except that Non-voting Fellows may not vote in ACMI elections or hold office in ACMI. There is no age limit.
3.3	Senior Fellows. Dues-paying Fellows who are not voting members of AMIA who elect this status after age 65. All ACMI fellowship benefits apply, except that Senior Fellows may not vote in ACMI elections or hold office in ACMI.
3.4	International Associates: Dues-paying Fellows who may or may not be members of AMIA but who reside permanently in countries other than the United States, Canada, and Mexico. All ACMI Fellowship benefits apply, except that International Associates may not vote in ACMI elections or hold office in ACMI.
3.5	Inactive Fellows. Fellows who pay no dues. These Fellows receive no benefits except that they will receive ACMI mailings unless they ask to be removed from mailing lists.
	Policy:
3.1	There shall be a limit on the total number of Voting and Non-voting ACMI Fellows. This limit is currently 175, but is subject to upward or downward revision upon the recommendation of the Elections and Nominations Committee and approval by the Executive Committee.
3.2	The number of International Associates nominees on the final ballot cannot exceed 50% of the number of nominees for regular membership.
3.3	The number of International Associates elected in any year cannot exceed 50% of the number of candidates elected to regular fellowship.

ARTICLE IV - DUES
Section 1.	The Executive Committee shall establish the annual dues.
	Policy:
1.1	Dues for Voting Fellows are $75.
1.2	Dues for Non-voting Fellows are $85.
1.3	Dues for Senior Fellows are $25.
1.4	Dues for International Associates are $35.
1.5	Dues for Inactive Fellows are not required.

ARTICLE V - GOVERNANCE
Section 1.	The Executive Committee shall provide general supervision of the affairs of the College. The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the College, and none of its acts shall conflict with actions taken by the College.
	Policy:
1.1	The Executive Committee shall fix the time and place of ACMI meetings, make recommendations to the Fellows of the College, and shall perform such other duties as are specified by these Rules. Such meetings will generally occur semi-annually at the time and location of the annual Spring AMIA Congress and the fall SCAMC meeting.
1.2	The Executive Committee shall ordinarily meet prior to each semiannual meeting. With ten (10) days advance notice in writing, the President or three (3) Fellows serving on the Committee may call special meetings.
Section 2.	The Executive Committee shall consist of five (5) officers and four (4) additional elected Fellows.
Section 3.	The Secretary of the College shall maintain the Rules of the College as a set of policies and procedures to guide the officers in the governance and management of ACMI.

ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS
Section 1.	The officers of the College shall be a President, a President-Elect, an Immediate Past-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
Section 2.	Duties of the officers:
2.1	The President
2.1.1	The President shall be the chief executive of the College, and shall be responsible for ensuring that the Rules of the College are carried out.
2.1.2	The President shall preside at meetings of the College, and of its Executive Committee. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect shall preside at meetings of the College and its Executive Committee.
2.1.3	So long as ACMI remains a component of AMIA, the duly elected President of ACMI shall be a nonvoting, ex-officio Member of the AMIA Board of Directors unless otherwise elected as a voting member of the AMIA Board.
2.1.4	So long as ACMI remains a component of AMIA, the duly elected President of ACMI shall be an Officer, ex-officio, of AMIA, but shall not be a member of the AMIA Executive Committee unless otherwise elected to an AMIA office that sits on the Executive Committee.
2.1.5	Neither the ACMI President nor any other member of ACMI shall seek to obtain funding for ACMI (e.g., grant funding) in a manner deemed to be competitive with AMIA by the AMIA Executive Committee. The ACMI President and the AMIA President and Executive Director shall be responsible for coordinating ACMI and AMIA funding efforts in a noncompetitive and mutually respectful manner.
2.1.6	The President shall automatically become the Immediate Past President at the conclusion of the term of President.
2.2	The President-Elect
2.2.1	The President-Elect shall automatically become the President at the conclusion of the term of the preceding President.
2.2.2	The President-Elect shall perform the duties of the President during absence or disability of the President.
2.3	The Secretary shall record, or cause to be recorded, minutes of the College and its Executive Committee.
	Policy:
2.3.1	The Secretary shall inform each Voting Fellow of the time and place of each forthcoming meeting at least one (1) month prior to the date of the meeting.
2.3.2	The Secretary shall provide Fellows with a detailed agenda at least one (l) month prior to the date of each semiannual meeting.
2.4	The Treasurer shall oversee the College funds, according to the annual budgets approved by the ACMI Executive Committee and the AMIA Board of Directors.
	Policy:
2.4.1	The Treasurer shall collect dues, or cause them to be collected, as determined by the College.
2.4.2	The Treasurer shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, separate accounts within AMIA for College dues.
2.4.3	The Treasurer shall report to the College the status of such accounts at the time of the annual Meeting and shall be prepared to present similar reports at other meetings of the Fellows or Executive Committee throughout the year.
2.4.4	The Treasurer shall prepare a budget for the fiscal year beginning the first day of the next January and shall submit it to the Executive Committee for approval and presentation to the College at the Annual Meeting. Such budgets shall also be submitted to the AMIA Executive Committee and the AMIA Board for their approval as part of the regular AMIA budgeting cycle.
Section 3.	Terms of office:
3.1	The President, President-Elect and Immediate Past-President shall serve for terms of two (2) years. The President is not eligible for re-election in consecutive terms to the same office.
3.2	The Secretary and the Treasurer shall serve terms of two (2) years and be eligible to serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms.
3.3	The four additional elected Fellows on the Executive Committee shall serve two (2) year terms and shall be eligible to serve no more than two (2) consecutive terms. Fellows of the Executive Committee who are not officers shall be elected in such a manner that two (2) terms expire each year.
3.4	No Fellow shall hold more than one (l) ACMI office at a time.
3.5	Officers and Fellows elected to serve on the Executive Committee shall take office January 1 of the year following the election. The candidates shall be declared elected upon receiving a majority vote of eligible Fellows voting by ballot at the Annual Meeting or by mail ballot in an election called by the President and approved by the Executive Committee.
Section 4.	Vacancies
4.1	Should the office of President become vacant, it shall be filled by the President-Elect.
4.2	Should the office of Immediate Past-President become vacant, it shall remain vacant.
4.3	Should the office of President-Elect become vacant, at the next regular or special meeting the Fellows shall elect a person to fill the office.
4.4	Should any other vacancy in the Executive Committee occur, the President with concurrence of the Executive Committee shall appoint a replacement to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. An exception shall be made if a member of the Executive Committee is elected or appointed to another office. If the vacancy occurs through an election, the candidate for the Executive Committee who received the next highest number of votes to those elected to full terms will be deemed to have been elected to the remainder of the unexpired term. Otherwise, the Fellows shall elect a replacement to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Section 5.	All Officers of ACMI and all ACMI Executive Committee Members must be Voting Fellows of ACMI.

ARTICLE VII - MEETINGS OF THE COLLEGE
Section 1.	Regular meetings of the Fellows shall be held at least annually at a time and place to be selected by the Executive Committee.
	Policy:
1.1	The Fall meeting shall be called the Annual Meeting and shall be held for the purpose of introducing officers, receiving reports of officers and standing committees, and for such other business as may arise.
Section 2.	Special meetings can be called by the President, or by a majority of the Executive Committee, or upon the written request of Fellows of the College.
	Policy:
2.1	Twenty-five (25) Voting Fellows shall be required to call a special meeting.
2.2	The request for a special meeting shall be submitted in writing to all Voting Fellows thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting date.
Section 3.	One-quarter (1/4) of the voting Fellowship of the College shall constitute a quorum at a meeting at which matters are to be voted upon by the Fellows.

ARTICLE VIII - COMMITTEES
Section 1.	The President shall appoint committees with approval of the Executive Committee.
	Policy:
1.1	The term of office of all appointed committee members shall be for up to two (2) years, but shall in any case terminate at the end of the President's term.
1.2	All committees are required to present a written annual report to the Executive Committee at least two weeks before the Annual Meeting.
1.3	The President may, with approval of the Executive Committee, remove or replace committee members as deemed necessary to carry on the work of the College.
Section 2.	There will be a standing Elections and Nominations Committee.
	Policy:
2.1	The Elections and Nominations Committee shall consist of five (5) Fellows. The committee chair and one other member shall be appointed by the President with concurrence of the Executive Committee. The Immediate Past-President shall be the third member of this committee. If the immediate Past President is chair, the President shall appoint one additional member. The fourth and fifth members shall be elected by the Fellowship to a two year term through the process defined in Article VI, Section 3.5 for Officers and the Executive Committee.
2.2	It shall be the duty of this committee to establish and administer appropriate procedures for the election of new Fellows by the voting members of the College. Such procedures will be submitted to the Executive Committee for approval no later than 6 months prior to the annual meeting so that suitable time is available to hold the election and notify new fellows in advance of their induction. The committee shall encourage nominations from all Fellows regardless of their voting status.
2.3	The committee shall report to the Fellowship on the results of the election at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting.
2.4	It shall nominate persons to serve as President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and as non-officer members of the Executive Committee. It will propose at least two candidates for each vacancy and shall report its list of nominees to the College by presenting in writing its slate of candidates at least thirty (30) days prior to the Annual Meeting.
Section 3.	The President may establish such other committees, standing or special, as the College or the Executive Committee from time to time shall deem necessary to carry on the work of the College. Such committees may include, for example, a Rules Committee, Awards Committee, Public Policy Committee, and Scientific Affairs Committee.
	Policy:
3.1	The Rules Committee shall recommend changes to the Rules and the Bylaws as may become necessary from time to time.
3.2	The Awards Committee shall recommend special awards or prizes to be offered by ACMI to recognize individuals or special contributions to medical informatics. Such recommendations may be made to the Executive Committee at any time.

3.3	The President shall work with the President of AMIA to coordinate ACMI and AMIA Public Policy activities. A joint Public Policy Committee will be created by both Presidents with representation from both AMIA and ACMI.
3.4	The Scientific Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to the College with respect to scientific conferences, publications, and/or educational and research activities in which the College might engage. The Committee may make recommendations to the Executive Committee at any time. At least two (2) meetings of this Committee are required each year.

ARTICLE IX - LIMITED LIABILITY
Section 1.	The private property of the officers and Fellows of the Executive Committee shall not be subject to payment of ACMI or AMIA debts to any extent whatsoever.
Section 2.	So long as the ACMI President remains an ex-officio officer of AMIA, that individual shall receive the same liability insurance coverage that is provided for other officers of AMIA.

ARTICLE X - PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
Section 1.	The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the College in all cases to which they are applicable, and to the extent they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the College may adopt.

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS AND RULES
Section 1.	The Bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the College upon recommendation of the Rules Committee and by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee and by a two-thirds vote of the Voting Fellows present at a meeting, provided that a quorum is present and that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the Fellowship at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of that meeting, and so long as such changes are not inconsistent with either the AMIA Articles of Incorporation or the AMIA Bylaws. Such elections may also be held by mail ballot at the discretion of the President with approval of the Executive Committee.
Section 2.	The Rules may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee as required to carry out the affairs of the College, so long as such changes are not inconsistent with either the ACMI Bylaws, the AMIA Articles of Incorporation, the AMIA Bylaws, or the AMIA Policy Manual.
Section 3.	The ACMI President shall present, annually, any changes to the ACMI Bylaws for approval by the AMIA Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XII - DISSOLUTION OR INCORPORATION OF THE COLLEGE
Section 1.	ACMI may be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of all of the Executive Committee members. Such dissolution shall become effective only after notice of such action has been transmitted to the Fellows, and a majority do not object in writing within ninety (90) calendar days following transmittal of notice to dissolve. Prior to dissolution, the assets of ACMI may be distributed in accordance with the charitable and educational goals of the College, according to a plan approved by the ACMI Executive Committee and the AMIA Board of Directors. Upon dissolution, remaining ACMI assets revert to AMIA.
Section 2.	ACMI shall retain the right to continue and to preserve the College of its Fellows under the name of the American College of Medical Informatics. ACMI may establish itself as an independent corporation, provided that such incorporation is approved by a two-thirds vote of the ACMI Executive Committee members and a majority of all eligible Voting Fellows of ACMI approve in writing within ninety (90) calendar days following transmittal of notice to incorporate. In addition, such incorporation of ACMI will require that a 2/3 (two-thirds) supermajority of all votes cast favor such incorporation.