UFA Membership and Organization Information

Officers and Committees 2024

Contact us: universityfusionorg@gmail.com

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Executive Committee

Nominations Committee

Constitution of the University Fusion Association

The academic community plays a vital role in the development of fusion power. It serves as a source of new ideas and experiments; it brings scientific knowledge and technical expertise from many disciplines; it can provide an impartial view and long-range perspective of the problems of fusion; and, above all, it is the primary source of trained personnel for the fusion program. The University Fusion Association is organized to ensure the continued participation of university research groups in these endeavors; to enhance the broad-based support for fusion and plasma physics through contacts with the political, industrial, and utility segments of our society; to improve communications between university personnel and other parts of the fusion and plasma physics community; provide information pertaining to fusion policy to the general membership and to provide a mechanism for the involvement of the academic community in policy decisions made in the fusion and plasma physics program.

I. Membership

Membership in the University Fusion Association is open to all faculty, students, and professional research staff (exclusive of those at national laboratories), whose research activities in fusion are primarily at a university campus. Members in good standing will be those who have paid their annual dues determined by the Executive Committee.

II. Meetings

The association shall have its general meeting in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society. Other meetings may be held as necessary at the call of the President.

III. Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall consist of twelve members. Members shall serve for staggered terms of three years, four members being elected each year. The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the general membership. No more than one representative of a university campus shall be eligible to serve on the Executive Committee. A member of the Executive Committee shall not be eligible for re-election to the committee for one year after the completion of a full three-year term. The President shall serve as chair of the Executive Committee. Bylaws governing the Association will be drafted by the Executive Committee and presented for approval at the annual meeting, where a simple majority will suffice for its acceptance. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a year.

IV. Officers

The officers of the Association shall be: President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer. The officers shall be elected by the Executive Committee: the term of the officers shall be one year.

V. Nominations

The President shall, annually, appoint a three-member nominating committee with the approval of the Executive Committee. No more than one member of the nominating committee can be a member of the Executive Committee. The committee shall nominate a slate of candidates for election to membership on the Executive Committee and shall endeavor to provide at least two candidates for each vacant position. Nominations may also be made by five or more members of the Association in writing to the President at or before the annual-meeting. Elections to the Executive Committee will be by mail ballot to the Secretary-Treasurer.

VI. Vacancies

If a position on the Executive Committee becomes vacant, the President shall appoint a replacement until the next election. If the office of the President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall succeed to the Presidency.

VII. Representation on Outside Bodies

From time to time it may be appropriate to elect representatives to serve on advisory committees or other outside bodies whose deliberations are of vital interest to the members of the University Fusion Association. Such representatives shall be selected by the Executive Committee. Each such representative shall act in behalf of the University Fusion Association in a manner defined to him or her by the Executive Committee as appropriate. The Executive Committee may also require a report to the general membership. In cases where important issues are to be decided by the outside body, and/or input from the University Fusion Association is requested, the representative shall seek the advice and counsel of the Executive Committee.

VIII. Amendments

Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by five or more members to the President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the general membership of the proposed amendment one month in advance of the annual meeting. The Executive Committee may make a recommendation in the amendment to the general membership before voting on the amendment. The amendment shall be discussed at the annual meeting. It will be voted on by mail ballot after this meeting and shall be considered adopted if approved by two-thirds majority of the membership.

March 27, 1989

Constitutional Amendment

Article IV

The officers of the Association shall be: President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer. The officers shall be elected by the Executive Committee: the term of the officers shall be two years.

Passed Nov. 6, 1994

Bylaws of the University Fusion Association

Preamble

Upon ratification these bylaws will become a part of the Constitution of the University Fusion Association (UFA). As such, they define details of operating procedures while the goals and general organization of the Association are presented in the Constitution.

1.0 Membership and Dues

1.1 The annual dues are $15.00 per year. The dues level can be changed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Executive Committee.

1.2 The dues will be collected by the Secretary-Treasurer each year at the time ballots are distributed for election of the Executive Committee The Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for accounting for dues and other income to the Association (including interest on these funds) as well as payment of authorized expenses.

1.3 A complete financial statement will be presented at the annual meeting.

1.4 Members not paying dues will be notified of their delinquency within two months after the due date. Membership will be canceled after six months of nonpayment.

2.0 Executive Committee

2.1 The term of office of new Executive Committee members will begin on 1 January following nomination at the annual meeting in November and subsequent election as described in Sec. V of the Constitution. This schedule will begin on 1 January 1982 when the four persons elected for one-year terms to the initial Executive Committee leave office.

2.2 It shall be the responsibility of the retiring President to effectuate the nomination and election of Executive Committee Officers by the end of January.

2.3 Two or more Executive Committee candidates can be nominated from the same institution, but only the one receiving the most votes is eligible to serve.

2.4 To assure continuity, the Vice-President will normally succeed into the position of President. Therefore, he/she will usually be chosen from the 1st or 2nd year members of the Executive Committee members.

2.5 Executive Committee business will normally be handled during Committee meetings. A quorum for the meetings will be seven. However, in case no quorum is present, or in instances where emergency action is required, the President can obtain a vote by phone or mail.

3.0 Representative and Alternate for DOE/OFE committees and/or congressional testimony

3.1 Nomination and election of the representative are by the Executive Committee. Any member of UFA is eligible. Election is by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. If not a member of the Executive Committee, the representative will be invited to attend meetings in a non-voting capacity. The representative will serve a 1-year term coinciding with the Executive Committee calendar. A maximum of two successive terms is allowed.

3.2 An alternate representative will also be elected for the same term following house procedures. The alternate will attend the outside meetings and report to the general UFA membership in case the representative cannot.

3.3 The dates of all outside meetings will be announced via newsletter. Members interested in a detailed agenda can contact the UFA representative for this information.

3.4 If the representative is required to give advice and/or testimony on any matter directly affecting UFA interests, ie., affecting universities in their relationship to DOE/OFE, he/she shall do so only after seeking advice of the President (or, in his absence, the Vice-President) and as many Executive Committee members as can feasibly be contacted.

3.5 The representative or his alternate will submit a written summary of the content of any outside meeting to the President and to the Secretary-Treasurer within two weeks following the meeting. This report will normally be issued in a timely fashion as part of the UFA news-letter. In case of urgency, the President may direct the Secretary-Treasurer to mail copies of the summary to the UFA Membership immediately.

4.0 Newsletter

4.1 A newsletter will be published at least twice a year and distributed to the membership. Its function is to inform the membership of the activities of the Executive Committee and also of activities within DOE and the fusion community that are of interest to UFA membership.

4.2 The editor will be elected from the Executive Committee membership and he/she will appoint an associate editor. Mailings of the newsletter and other information items sent to the UFA membership, will normally be through the editor and Secretary-Treasurer, although any member of the Executive Committee has the right to make mailings clearly designated under his/her own name and not UFA. If the editor is not the Secretary-Treasurer, he/she will coordinate mailings with that officer.

5.0 Ratification and Amendment of the Bylaws

These bylaws will be ratified by a simple majority vote of those responding in a mail ballot of the UFA membership. Amendments will be discussed at a general UFA meeting and approved by a majority vote of those responding in a mail ballot.