Fermilab

Users Organization Policies

On Friday, May 4, 2018, the UEC voted to adopt policies according to the following process:

UEC Policies will be adopted with a 2/3rd majority of voting members required for passage. The policies can be adopted or removed with votes by the UEC and will be posted on the UEC webpages, stored in UEC archives, and made publicly available to all users.

The following are UEC adopted policies and can also be viewed in the UEC Policies archived and version-controlled document.

Policy 1: Procedure for UEC Chair Election, adopted on May 4, 2018

  1. The process will be overseen by the previous term’s UEC Chair. If they are running, have process overseen by the previous term’s secretary.
  2. All continuing and elected UEC Members are eligible to run for UEC Chair.
  3. Two weeks before first meeting of newly elected UEC, UEC members solicit chair
    nominations, including self-nominations, to be sent to the member overseeing the election.
  4. One week before first meeting, vision statements from candidates running for UEC Chair are sent to full UEC Membership.
  5. At the voting meeting, which is the first meeting of the newly elected UEC, candidates leave the room so that remaining UEC members can discuss.
  6. Voting begins with a motion and a second.
  7. Voting is anonymous and done by all members. Slips of paper can be used, and those attending remotely can send email in real-time to a non-UEC member providing administrative support. Those unable to attend in person or remotely may designate a proxy prior to the meeting.
  8. Counting is done by a non-UEC administrative support person immediately following the vote, assisted/verified by member overseeing the election.
  9. In the case of a tie, the out-going chair casts the tie-breaking vote. If the outgoing chair is part of the tie, it would be broken by whoever is overseeing the process.

Policy 2: Forming a new UEC Sub-Committee, adopted on May 4, 2018

New sub-committees can be created with the approval by 2/3 of the UEC through the process of an anonymous vote. A UEC member must present the goals and function of the new subcommittee formally in a UEC meeting. The vote will occur at a time designated by the UEC chair in consultation with the presenting member with the stipulation that there will be at least one month between the initial UEC presentation and the UEC vote.

Policy 3: Retiring a UEC Sub-Committee, adopted on May 4, 2018

Sub-committees can be retired with the approval of 2/3 of the UEC through the process of an anonymous vote. A UEC member must present the motivation for retiring a subcommittee formally in a UEC meeting with the voting occurring no earlier than the following UEC meeting.

Policy 4: Review of UEC Sub-Committees, adopted on May 4, 2018

The UEC chair should perform a yearly review of the SCs to ensure that they are active in
addressing needs of the User community and aligned with current goals and priorities of the UEC. It is expected that the chair report to the full UEC the results of the review.

Policy 5: UEC Member Roles, adopted on June 22, 2018

Each UEC member can only serve in one of these roles in a given year: UEC chair, chair of a particular SC, or deputy chair of a particular SC.

Policy 6: Role of Sub-Committee chairs, adopted on June 22, 2018

SC chairs are the spokespeople of the SC. They call the meetings of the SC, set the agenda, and report to the UEC on behalf of the SC. Deputy SC Chairs assist the SC Chairs and perform the duties of the SC Chair when the Chair is unavailable.

Policy 7: SubCommittee Chair Policy, adopted on June 14, 2019

  1. SC chairs are voted into office with a simple majority of the UEC membership.
  2. Deputy SC Chairs are appointed by the relevant SC Chair.
  3. To ensure continuity in the Government Relations and Users Meeting subcommittees:
    1. The candidate(s) for Deputy SC Chair is(are) nominated by the current SC Chair and ratified by a simple majority of the UEC membership
    2. The appointment is for two years: the elected person will serve one year as Deputy SC Chair, followed by one year as SC Chair.
    3. The annual Users Meeting will mark the start of an overlap period between the outgoing and incoming SC Chair, during which time the SC Deputy Chair will transition into the role of SC Chair. The overlap period ends when a new SC Deputy Chair is elected.