WHAT THE IFT COUNCIL
DOES
The IFT Council has the
following responsibilities:
1.
Approve the name and purpose of the INSTITUTE;
2.
Approve membership classes and privileges;
3.
Approve member dues;
4.
Approve subsidiary organizations;
5.
Approve amendments to the Constitution (subject to membership
ratification);
6.
Provide a communications channel and a networking vehicle
between grass roots membership and the INSTITUTE leadership (Executive
Committee and INSTITUTE Committees);
7.
Provide a forum for discussion among industry/government/academia
on membership issues;
8.
Review issues and advise the Executive Committee and
INSTITUTE committees;
9.
Elect members of the Committee on Nominations and Elections;
10.
Elect Councilor Representatives to the Executive Committee;
11.
Nominate candidates for Membership Representative to the
Executive Committee; and,
12.
Nominate candidates for President-elect.
(1)
WHAT
CONSTITUTES THE IFT COUNCIL
The Council is made up of six different groups:
1. Regional
Section Councilors (One
Councilor for every 200 IFT Members or major fraction thereof. Mailing
addresses for Councilors from Regional Sections must be within the zip code areas that they
represent.)
2. Division Councilors (One Councilor per Division)
3. Student Association Councilor (One Councilor – current IFTSA President)
4. IFT Past Presidents
5. IFT Executive Committee Members (All are Voting Councilors except the Treasurer and Executive Vice President)
6. Members of the IFT Committee on Nominations & Elections (All voting Councilors)
7. Councilors-at-Large (Every
one thousand (1,000) Members, or major fraction thereof, not currently represented through an INSTITUTE
Regional Section are also entitled to one Councilor.)
Duplicate Representation: According to Robert’s Rules of Order,
Newly Revised, Councilors are not allowed to represent more than one
group. (Up until now IFT has allowed Councilor
Representatives on the IFT Executive Committee and on the Committee on
Nominations and Elections to continue to serve as CouncilRepresentatives in
Sections and Divisions. Amendments to
correct this will be submitted in 2003.)
Qualifications: All Councilors must hold Professional Member status in the Institute (with the exception of the Student Association Councilor).
Terms: Councilors are elected for three-year terms. Their terms are the same as the Institute governance year (i.e. September 1 through August 31).
Size of Council: At no time are there allowed to be more than 200 Councilors, not counting the Past Presidents. The number of Councilors allocated to Regional Sections will be adjusted to protect this limitation.
Substitute Councilors: Divisions and Regional Sections may send substitute Councilors to Council meetings if their elected Councilor is unable to attend. The substitute Councilor should first be selected from the Alternate Councilors in the Division or Regional Section. If Alternate Councilors are also unable to attend, another member who has Professional Member status in IFT,
May be selected.
(2)
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
AS A COUNCILOR
All Councilors should participate in the execution of
council responsibilities, as defined on page one, including any issues handled
electronically. Councilors are expected
to participate in all votes, including those conducted electronically.
Regional Section
Councilors, Division Councilors, Councilors-at-Large, and the Student
Association Councilor should specifically:
1. Serve as the
communication channel for new ideas from the grassroots membership of their
constituencies and for issues and concerns to and from their constituencies and
the INSTITUTE leadership (Executive Committee and INSTITUTE Committees);
a. Set up a list serve
of their constituency;
b. Regularly report on IFT Council and
Executive Committee actions to their members; and
c. Solicit comments and ideas from their
members.
2. Provide a forum and
participate in discussion among industry, government, and academia on
membership issues; and
3. Submit to the IFT
president-elect names of qualified members for appointment to IFT committees
and/or to run for IFT office.
All Councilors should
participate in a Breakfast Caucus prior to the Council Meeting. Regional Section and Division Councilors and
Executive Committee Members are assigned to specific breakfast caucuses. All other Councilors may attend whichever
caucus they prefer; however, they should notify the Institute office in advance
so proper guarantees can be given.
Councilors
representing constituencies with newsletters are urged to write a
regular column on IFT activities for that newsletter.
Regional Section
Councilors should report to their membership and request comments at Section meetings. Regional Section
Councilors may also wish to meeting with other Councilors and their membership
at any Regional Meetings (two or more Regional Sections) during the year.
The Institute
Department of Information Technology will provide Councilors with a list serve of the IFT members within their constituencies upon request. Additionally caucus list serves are being set
up. A Web Page with issues posted
will be maintained.
(3)
CAUCUSES
Regional
Section and Division Caucuses of Councilors representing Institute Regional
Sections and Divisions will be held prior to the Institute Council
meeting. Caucuses on specific issues may
be formed by any group of three or more members of the Institute. They may be convened at any time and any place.
Election of Chairs
1. The
Chair of each Regional Section and Division Caucus serves as the Nominations
Chair.
2. The
Executive Vice President of the Institute supplies a list of eligible first and
second year Councilors and past Presidents of the Institute to the Chair of
each Caucus.
3. The
Chair of each caucus develops a list of two to three nominees who have agreed
to serve, if elected, and announces those nominees to the Caucus.
4. Additional
nominations of eligible Councilors may be made from the floor.
5. Councilors
may be elected to Chair-elect of their Caucus once every three years.
6. Elections
are held at the caucus by secret ballot.
Role of the Chair of each Regional
Section and Division Caucus
The Caucus Chairs:
1. Chair
their respective Caucus and lead discussion;
2. Summarize
Caucus discussion at the Council Meeting;
3. Actively
participate on the Council Issues and Agenda Committee;
4. Interact
with the Institute Executive Committee Council Representative assigned to their
Caucus group;
5. Are
a knowledgeable source of information about the issues scheduled for
discussions; and
6. Actively
engage in year-round communications with the Councilors in their area.
Caucus
list serves will be
set up for Caucus Chairs to communicate with the Councilors within their
Caucus.
(4)
COUNCIL ISSUES AND AGENDA COMMITTEE
The Council Issues and Agenda Committee
is comprised of the Regional Section and Division Caucus Chairs and
Chairs-Elect (four [4] Regional Section Caucuses and one Division Caucus), and
the Council Chair and Chair-Elect.
The Council Issues and Agenda Committees responsibilities are:
1. Pro-actively
identify issues that Council should be considering, particularly those coming
from the grassroots members.
2. Establish
the agenda for the Council Meeting including:
(a) All
necessary business of the Council as brought forward from the Institute’s
Executive Committee. The President of
the Institute will actively participate in setting this part of the agenda.
(b) Other
items for Council discussion and
recommendation to the Institute’s Executive Committee.
3. Enhance
engagement of the Council on Institute issues.
4. Actively
develop meaningful mechanisms for discussing, investigating, and evaluating
issues.
5. Generate
active engagement of Councilors throughout the year by setting up appropriate
communications mechanisms to improve communications between Councilors and
their Regional Sections and Division Members.
(5)
PROCESS FOR
SUBMITTING ISSUES
1. Issue submissions should include the following:
Issue definition
Rationale
Expected outcomes
Budget expectations (if known)
2. Issues should be faxed or e-mailed to your caucus representative with a copy to the Council Chair. You will be supplied with this information each year.
3. An individual submitting an issue will be called upon to serve as a “champion” of the issue. This may involve being called upon to appear in person or by phone in front of the Issues and Agenda Committee to provide clarity surrounding the issue and expected outcomes. It is also possible that the “champion” may be expected to continue with further involvement if a task force is named and may be asked to chair or sit on this task force.
4. Issues will be reviewed at the next meeting of the Issues and Agenda Committee that meets in March, at the time of the Annual
5. Meeting and August. Feedback will be given after these meetings, to the individual who submitted the issue, with regard to its status.
6. If an issue falls within the scope of the Issues and Agenda committee it will follow one of three paths depending on its complexity. If it is regarded as a housekeeping issue, it may be approved within the Issues and Agenda committee and moved forward into implementation. If more complex, needing input and actions of others, assignments and deadlines will be made and if possible, presented at the next Council meeting for review and approval/veto if at all possible. If even more complex, a Task Force may need to be named to help support gathering information to report to the Council.
If an issue falls outside of the scope of the Issues and Agenda Committee, the individual submitting the issue will be communicated with and if possible a suggestion given as to where the issue may be taken to be addressed.
(6)
IFT 2003 STRATEGIC
PLAN GOALS
By 2007:
·
IFT
will be its members’ primary indispensable resource for food science and
technology programs, services, and experiences worldwide.
·
IFT
will be the effective advocate for sound science in developing food-related
public policy.
·
IFT
will achieve significant public recognition and advancement of the profession
of food science and technology.
·
IFT
will be the “go to” authoritative and credible resource worldwide for food
science and technology information.
For
further information see Governance Documents
(back
cover)
COUNCIL HANDBOOK
IFT
225 West Van Buren
312/782-8424
(front
cover)