ACM SIG Bylaws: SIGMOD

BYLAWS of the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD) of the Association for Computing Machinery

  • Adopted 5/17/80

  • Amended 1/30/06

  • Amended 9/2/14

Article 1. Name and Scope

  1. This organization will be called the Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD) of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. ("the ACM"); it will be referred to herein as "the Group".
  2. The scope of SIGMOD is to be the premier international community for innovative dissemination of knowledge concerning management of data, broadly defined, including the aspects of data description, storage, querying, analysis, security and privacy.

Article 2. Purpose

The group is organized and will be operated exclusively for educational, scientific, and technical purposes in its specialty. Its services will include:

  1. Collecting and disseminating information in the specialty, through a newsletter (SIGMOD Record), a Web portal (SIGMOD Online), the Digital Symposium Collection, the ACM Digital Library, and other publications approved by the Publications Board of the ACM;
  2. Organizing sessions at conferences of the ACM;
  3. Sponsoring and offering in-cooperation status to conferences, symposia and workshops;
  4. Organizing working groups for education, research and development;
  5. Collaborating with sister organizations such as VLDB Endowment and IEEE Technical Committee on Data Engineering to further the Group's activities and charter;
  6. Serving as a source of technical information for the Council and subunits of the ACM;
  7. Serving as an external technical representative of the ACM when authorized by the Council or Executive Committee of the ACM; and
  8. Working with subunits of the ACM on technical activities such as lectureships or professional development seminars.

Article 3. Charter

SIGMOD exists until dissolved by the Council of the ACM as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM.

Article 4. Officers

  1. SIGMOD officers are the Chair, the Vice-Chair, and the Secretary-Treasurer. The officers are elected for four-year terms beginning July 1 of the election year.
  2. The Chair is the principal officer and is responsible for leading SIGMOD and managing its activities. The duties of the Chair are:
    1. Calling and presiding at SIGMOD Executive Committee and business meetings;
    2. Conducting SIGMOD activities in accordance with the policies of the ACM; and
    3. Making all appointments and filling vacancies as authorized herein.
  3. The duties of the Vice-Chair are:
    1. Assisting the Chair in leading and managing SIGMOD; and
    2. Presiding at meetings when the Chair is absent.
  4. The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer are:
    1. Maintaining the records and correspondence of SIGMOD;
    2. Keeping and distributing the minutes of business and Executive Committee meetings; and
    3. Managing SIGMOD's finances according to the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM. This includes preparing the annual budget, monitoring SIGMOD's disbursements for adherence to the annual budget, and preparing financial reports as required.

Article 5. Information Director

  1. SIGMOD has an Information Director whose responsibility is to manage SIGMOD’s online presence and services, including the management of SIGMOD Online Web site.
  2. With the advice of the officers, the Chair appoints the Information Director, who is a member of the SIGMOD Executive Committee.

Article 6. Conference Coordinator

  1. SIGMOD has a Conference Coordinator whose responsibility is to assist the officers in running the Annual SIGMOD Conference by interfacing with the conference general chair for the day-to-day planning
  2. With the advice of the officers, the Chair appoints the Conference Coordinator, who is a member of the SIGMOD Executive Committee.  

Article 7. The Newsletter

  1. SIGMOD will publish a newsletter (SIGMOD Record) at regular intervals as determined by the Executive Committee. The newsletter will be distributed to all SIGMOD members. Newsletter subscriptions may be sold to non-members.
  2. With the advice of the officers, the Chair will appoint the Editor of the newsletter, who is a member of the SIGMOD Executive Committee.

Article 8. SIGMOD Digital Library

  1. SIGMOD develops and maintains the SIGMOD Digital Symposium Collection (DiSC), covering important database publications (journals, proceedings of conferences, symposia and workshops, books and other publications) as part of the ACM Digital Library.
  2. SIGMOD publications are made accessible through the ACM Digital Library and made available to members.

Article 9. The Executive Committee

  1. The SIGMOD Executive Committee comprises the officers, the Editor of the SIGMOD newsletter, the Chair of the Advisory Board, the Information Director, the SIGMOD Conference Coordinator, the Chair of the PODS Executive Committee, and the ACM TODS Editor in Chief. No person may hold two positions on the Executive Committee.
  2. The general duties of the Executive Committee are to advise the Chair on all matters of interest to SIGMOD. Specific duties or responsibilities may be specified in these Bylaws or assigned by the Chair. The Executive Committee must approve all the major management policy decisions of the Group.
  3. All members of, or candidates for, the Executive Committee must be members of ACM and of SIGMOD.

Article 10. Vacancies and Appointments

  1. Should the Chair leave office before his/her term expires, the Vice-Chair assumes the duties of Chair. Should any other office become vacant, the Chair of the SIG Governing Board may, on nomination of the Chair of SIGMOD, fill the vacancy. The Chair may fill vacancies in offices s/he has appointed 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 may fill it (as provided in Bylaw 6 of the ACM).
  3. All appointments expire automatically when the Chair's term of office expires; appointees, however, continue to serve until a successor is appointed by the new Chair.

Article 11. The Advisory Board

  1. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to allow members outside of the Executive Committee to participate in setting policy and direction for SIGMOD. The Advisory Board consists of the Past Chair, the Newsletter Editor, and at least six members appointed by the Chair for four year terms beginning July 1. The Chair will attempt to appoint two members from academia, two from business, and one from government.
  2. The SIGMOD Past Chair serves as the Chair of the Advisory Board. If the Chairperson steps-down before the end the term, a new Chair is selected by SIGMOD Chair in consultation with the Advisory Board and Executive Committee members.

Article 12. Membership, Dues, and Voting Privileges

  1. A person becomes a member only after enrolling and paying the required dues. SIGMOD’s Executive Committee determines the dues for SIGMOD. All dues, and any fees for activities and services of SIGMOD, must be lower for members of the ACM.
  2. All members of SIGMOD may vote in any ballot conducted with SIGMOD. On any ballot, the votes cast by non-ACM members of SIGMOD will, if necessary, be prorated downward so that their effective total cannot exceed 50% of the eligible votes. When it applies, the proration factor will be specified on the ballot.

Article 13. Reports and Records

SIGMOD's Chair is responsible for filing reports about SIGMOD as required by the SIG Governing Board. These include:

  1. An annual report, due as specified by the SIG Governing Board, on the activities of SIGMOD during the previous fiscal year;
  2. All reports required by the Financial Accountability Policy of the ACM; and
  3. Closing reports on conferences and symposia (co)sponsored by SIGMOD, as required by the ACM. The membership records of SIGMOD will be maintained by ACM Headquarters.

Article 14. Elections

  1. By September 30 of the even-numbered year preceding the election year, the Chair appoints a nominating committee that proposes at least two consenting candidates for each elective office of SIGMOD. The slate of candidates elected by the nominating committee must be presented to all the SIGMOD members by the following January 31.
  2. A petition from 1% of the voting members of SIGMOD will place other consenting candidates on the ballot. Petitions must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer of SIGMOD no later than March 15.
  3. The election is conducted among eligible voters by ACM Headquarters by June 1, following the election procedures of the ACM, unless different procedures have been approved by the SIG Governing Board. Of all the ballots returned in an election, the candidates receiving the largest numbers of effective votes win. The SIG Governing Board resolves ties.
 

Article 15. Amendments

  1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Council, or by a vote of SIGMOD's members as provided below. With the approval of SIGMOD's Executive Committee and the Executive Committee of the ACM, 2/3 of all members of the SIG Governing Board may amend Article 1 of these bylaws without a referendum of the members.
  2. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by SIGMOD's Executive Committee, the SIG Governing Board, or a petition of 1% of the voting members of SIGMOD. All proposed amendments must be approved, prior to being submitted for a vote of the membership, by the Chair 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) is 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 Governing Board. The proposal is adopted only if a majority of the effective votes of returned ballots approve it, and only if at least 10% of the ballots are returned. The Secretary-Treasurer sends a clean copy of the amended bylaws to the Executive Director of ACM and to the Chair of the SIG Governing Board.

Article 16. Dissolution

If SIGMOD should be dissolved, control of its assets revert to the ACM.

Article 17. Meetings

SIGMOD conducts at least one business meeting each year, normally in conjunction with the annual conferences of the ACM. All meetings sponsored by SIGMOD must be open to all members of the ACM. SIGMOD may hold meetings only in places that are open to all classes of members of the ACM.

Article 18. Consistency

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