CPMT President's Message on Proposed IEEE Constitutional Amendment

Dear CPMT Society Members:
 
At its November 2015 meeting, the IEEE Board of Directors proposed revisions to the IEEE Constitution.  The revisions, in the form of a Constitutional Amendment, are to be voted upon by the IEEE membership as part of the 2016 IEEE election ballot that opened on 15 August and will close on 3 October.  The revisions have the stated objective: “Create a nimble, flexible, forward-looking organization.”
 
You may have received information and viewpoints on the proposed revisions from a variety of sources, including other Societies of which you are a member.
 
The CPMT Society leaders have discussed the proposed revisions and the viewpoints expressed by those opposing (including a majority of IEEE Societies) and those supporting them.   The result of our discussions was consensus for opposition to the proposed revisions.
 
Key reasons for the opposition are:
 
1.  The problem that the proposed revisions are attempting to solve is not well-defined;
2.  The existing IEEE Constitution offers alternative, less complex ways of accomplishing the intended improvements;
3.  There are considerable unknowns associated with still-to-be-written bylaws under the proposed revisions; and
4.  The risk associated with a major constitutional change is not clearly outweighed by its possible benefits.
 
You can become more familiar with the pros and cons of the amendment, and exercise your right to vote in this critically important juncture for the IEEE.
 
You can learn more about the proposed amendment at https://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/election/2016_constitutional_amendment.html.
 
The rationale for opposition to the constitutional amendment and proposed restructuring can be found at https://ieee2016blog.wordpress.com.
 
For background, the IEEE governing documents, including the Constitution and Bylaws, are available at http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/index.html.
 
The IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) has formed a TABin2030 Committee to consider the amendment’s implications. Additional materials to the pros and cons and the TABin2030 webinars and analyses can be found by visitinghttp://ta.ieee.org/strategic-planning/tab-in-2030.
 
Regards,
Jean Trewhella
2016-2017 EPS President