ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGDA

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on DESIGN AUTOMATION of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

  • Adopted - 27 October 1979

  • Revised - 9 March 1994

  • Revised - 7 July 2004

  • Revised - 24 March 2005

  • Revised - 20 January 2009

  • Revised – 20-July 2020

Article 1. Name and Scope

  1. This organization is called the Special Interest Group on Design Automation (SIGDA) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc: (the "ACM").
  2. The scope of SIGDA's specialty is to enhance the utility of computers as engineering tools in the design, fabrication, and test of systems and structures.

Article 2. Purpose

  1. SIGDA is organized and operated exclusively for educational, scientific, and technical purposes in design automation.
  2. The purpose of SIGDA and its activities includes:
    1. Collecting and disseminating information in design automation through a newsletter and other publications;
    2. Organizing sessions at conferences of the ACM;
    3. Sponsoring conferences, symposia, and workshops;
    4. Organizing projects and working groups for education, research, and development;
    5. Serving as a source of technical information for the Council and subunits of the ACM; and
    6. Representing the opinions and expertise of the membership on matters of technical interest to SIGDA or ACM.

Article 3. Charter

SIGDA will exist until dissolved as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.

Article 4. Officers

  1. SIGDA officers are the Chair and Chairs for Awards, Conferences, Technical Activities, Educational Activities, Communications, and Finance; one of the named Chairs will also be a Vice-Chair. The Past Chair is not an elected official and may fill one of the named Chair positions. The officers are elected for three-year terms beginning July 1 of 2009. No extension of terms shall be allowed.
  2. The Chair is the principal officer, being responsible for leading SIGDA and managing its activities. The duties of the Chair are:
    1. Calling and presiding at SIGDA Executive Committee and business meetings;
    2. Conducting all of SIGDA's activities in accordance with the policies of the ACM; and
    3. Making all appointments as authorized herein.
  3. The duties of the Vice-Chair are:
    1. Assisting the Chair in leading and managing SIGDA; and
    2. Presiding at meetings when the Chair is absent.
  4. The duties of the Past Chair are:
    1. Filling one of the named chair positions below, or act as a member of the Advisory Board; and
    2. Chairing the Nominating Committee for SIGDA officer elections.
  5. The duties of the Communications Chair are:
    1. Maintaining the records and correspondence of SIGDA;
    2. Keeping and distributing the minutes and action items of business and Executive Committee meetings.
  6. The duties of the Finance Chair are:
    1. Managing SIGDA's finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring disbursements for adherence to the annual budget, and preparing financial reports as required.
    2. Managing of the SIGDA Travel Grants program, if applicable.
  7. The duties of the Awards Chair are:
    1. Providing a single point of contact for all SIGDA sponsored awards;
    2. Coordinating the process of nominating ACM/SIGDA members for Fellow, Distinguished, and Senior grades.
  8. The duties of the Conference Chair are:
    1. Providing a single point of contact for all SIGDA sponsored, co-sponsored, in-coop events except events for which other SIGDA Advisory Board members have been specifically assigned;
    2. Coordinating the review and approval of all conference/symposia/workshop budgets.
  9. The duties of the Technical Activities Chair are:
    1. Providing a single point of contact for all SIGDA Technical Committees and other technical activities;
    2. Coordinating and reviewing SIGDA TC activities and other technical activities.
  10. The duties of the Educational Activities Chair are:
    1. Providing a single point of contact for all SIGDA educational activities;
    2. Coordinating and reviewing all SIGDA educational activities.

Article 5. The Executive Committee

  1. The Executive Committee comprises the officers.
  2. Specific duties of the Executive Committee include:
    1. Approval of bylaw amendments before submission to members;
    2. Approval of annual dues for SIGDA;
    3. Approval of the annual budget and review all expenditures in excess of 1% of the fiscal year's opening Fund Balance on a quarterly basis;
    4. Approval of conferences, symposia, workshops or sessions sponsored, co-sponsored or held in cooperation with SIGDA; and
    5. All the major management policy decisions of SIGDA must be approved by the Executive Committee.
  3. A quorum is a majority of the members of the Executive Committee and approval requires a majority vote of those present. Approval by mail ballot requires a majority vote.
  4. Only a member of the Executive Committee can make a motion for a vote by the Executive Committee.
  5. All members of, or candidates for, the Executive Committee must be voting Members of ACM and of SIGDA.

Article 6. Vacancies and Appointments

  1. Should the Chair leave office before his term expires, the Vice-Chair will assume the duties of Chair. Should any other elected office (including Past Chair) become vacant, the Chair of the SIG Governing Board may, on nomination by the SIGDA Chair, and approval by majority vote of the Executive Committee, fill the vacancy. The Chair may fill vacancies in positions appointed by the Chair, according to the procedures for making the original appointments as provided herein.
  2. Should a vacancy be unfilled, either because of inadequacy of these bylaws or because of a dispute or for any other reason, the SIG Governing Board Chair may fill it.
  3. All appointments expire automatically when the Chair's term of office expires.

Article 7. The Newsletter

  1. SIGDA will publish a newsletter at regular intervals as determined by the Executive Committee. The newsletter will be distributed to all members.
  2. The Chair will nominate an Editor of the Newsletter, to be approved by majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Article 8. The Advisory Board

  1. The Advisory Board includes the Executive Committee (officers). It also includes members-at-large who are nominated by the SIGDA Chair. The Chair normally nominates up to ten members-at-large to the Advisory Board for his or her term of office. Appointments to the Advisory Board must be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
  2. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to allow members outside the Executive Committee to participate in setting policy and direction for, and assist in the operation of, SIGDA. The Advisory Board members are typically the program managers or coordinators of SIGDA sponsored activities.
  3. The Advisory Board members are non-voting members of the SIGDA Board, and while the Advisory Board may participate in a vote, their votes are non-binding, and only the Executive Committee votes are binding.

Article 9. Membership, Dues, and Voting Privileges

  1. A person becomes a member only after enrolling and paying the required dues. The dues for SIGDA are determined by the SIGDA Executive Committee with the approval of the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.
  2. All members of SIGDA may vote in any ballot conducted by SIGDA. On any ballot, the votes cast by non-ACM members of SIGDA will, if necessary, be prorated downward so that their effective total cannot exceed 50% of the eligible votes.

Article 10. Reports and Records

The SIGDA Chair is responsible for filing reports about SIGDA as required by the SIG Board. These include:

  1. An annual report on the activities during the previous year;
  2. All reports required by the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM; and
  3. Closing reports on conferences and symposia.

The membership records of SIGDA will be maintained by ACM headquarters.

Article 11. Elections

  1. The Chair shall appoint a nominating committee in the autumn of each election year. This committee will nominate at least two candidates for the position of the chair and at least six other candidates for the members-at-large, who consent to serve on the Executive Committee and fill one of the named Chair positions if elected. The person winning the most votes among those nominated for the chair will be elected to that position.  The six (or seven, if Past Chair does not wish to fill a name Chair position) receiving the highest number of votes among members-at-large are elected to the Executive Committee. A report of the nominating committee must be presented to the SIGDA membership before an election can be held.

  2. All applicants for the chair should have significant service experience of at least 3 years in the design automation community and SIGDA, in particular. They should have served at least one term in the executive committee in roles other than the chair. Equivalent experience through service to SIGDA-approved sponsored conferences as deemed acceptable by the nominating committee is allowed.  

  3. A petition from at least ten voting members of SIGDA will place other consenting candidates on the ballot for any of the EC positions, subject to meeting the requirements of 11(b) for the chair position. Petitions must be received by the Past Chair no later than April 15 in the year of election or within one month after the nominating committee has announced the candidates selected by the committee, whichever is later.

  4. Elections must be announced by direct communication to the SIGDA Membership with sufficient time before the election such that the membership has an opportunity to petition to be placed on the ballot.

  5. The election will be conducted among eligible voters by ballot sent by the nominating committee or by ACM Headquarters, following the election procedures of the ACM. The SIG Board will resolve ties.

  6.  All named chairs, except those of the Chair, are to be decided by the new Executive Committee by ballot, from those elected as members-at-large. The new Executive Committee votes for each position: Vice-Chair, Finance, Communications, Conferences, Technical Activities, Educational Activities, and Awards. 

Article 12. Amendments

  1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the ACM Executive Committee, or by a vote of SIGDA's members as provided below. With the approval of the SIGDA Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all the members of the SIG Board may amend Article 1 of these bylaws without a referendum of the members.
  2. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the SIGDA Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board, or by a petition from 10 voting members of SIGDA. All proposed amendments must be approved, prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership, by the Chairperson of both the SIG Governing Board and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee of ACM after the Executive Director of ACM has provided his advice.
  3. The ballot on the proposed amendment(s) will be conducted among the eligible voters by ACM Headquarters following the procedures of the ACM for voting bylaw amendments, unless a different procedure has been approved by the SIG Board. The proposal is adopted only if at least 2/3 of the effective votes of returned ballots approve it, and only if at least 10% of the ballots are returned. The Secretary/Treasurer will send a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of ACM and to the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.

Article 13. Dissolution

Should SIGDA be dissolved, control of its assets will revert to the ACM.

Article 14. Meetings

SIGDA will conduct at least one business meeting each year, normally in conjunction with the annual Design Automation Conference. All meetings sponsored by SIGDA must be open to all members of the ACM. SIGDA may hold meetings only in places that are open to all classes of members of the ACM. The Executive Committee may meet in closed session during business meetings.

Article 15. Consistency

The Constitution, Bylaws, and policies of the ACM and of the SIG Governing Board take precedence over any conflicting provisions of these bylaws or internal policies of SIGDA.