Speech and Language Technical Committee ByLaws

This document presents the Bylaws of the Speech and Language Technical Committee (SLTC) of the IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS). The bylaws can be altered by majority vote of the SLTC members.

1. Purpose and Activities

1.1  Purpose: To promote the advancement of technologies and applications in speech and language processing and to enhance interaction with similar organizations within IEEE and throughout the world.

1.2  Activities

1.2.1  Assist with the review of papers in collaboration with IEEE journal and magazine editors.

1.2.2  Conduct the review of papers submitted to Society conferences.

1.2.3  Organize and operate symposia, seminars, workshops and sessions at technical meetings of the Society or of the IEEE, at all levels, and at meetings of other organizations having cooperative relationships with the Society, in accordance with IEEE rules and procedures and the rules of such meetings.

1.2.4  Nominate candidates for the SPS and IEEE awards and prizes.

2.  Membership

2.1  All SLTC members must be current IEEE and SPS members of good standing. SLTC members are expected to play an active role in the technical and professional activities of the signal processing society. Personal commitment and willingness to serve are expected. This includes conducting conference reviews (such as ICASSP) as well as being actively involved in the operation and subcommittees of the SLTC (such as awards, election, membership, education etc.). SLTC member who are unable to commit to the responsibilities may be excused from the SLTC.

2.2  Regular members are elected based on the needs of the SLTC and will serve for a three-year term, beginning at the following January 1. No member shall be eligible for election to consecutive terms. Newly elected members may be called upon to participate in ICASSP paper reviews before their terms officially commence.

2.3  Associate editors of the IEEE Transactions on Speech and Audio are eligible to participate in the SLTC activities and will have voting rights at the discretion of the Chair. AEs are strongly encouraged to participate in the ICASSP review process. They are not eligible to be elected as Chair of the SLTC.

3. Management

3.1  The Chair of the SLTC shall be nominated among the members of SLTC and appointed by the Society Executive Committee. The Chair is responsible for organizing the ICASSP review process, organize the SLTC activities and maintaining communication with the officers of the Society and other similar organizations.

3.2  The Chair will serve for a two year term. The term for a Chair may extend past the end of his or her SLTC membership term, in which case the full term of the Chair will be served. At the end of term, the Chair will stay on the committee for an additional year as the "Past Chair". The "Past Chair" will have rights equal to a regular STC member and in addition is responsible to support the new Chair to aid in providing continuity of that position.

4. Conduct of Business

4.1  The technical committee will hold one face to face meeting at ICASSP each year.

4.2  The technical committee may also conduct business via e-mail at the request of the Chair.

4.3  A majority of legal votes cast by SLTC members shall be necessary for the conduct of business.

4.4  The order of business of SLTC meetings shall be organized by the Chair and made available to the members prior to the meetings.

5. Elections

5.1  All elections shall be conducted by anonymous ballot. Candidates must receive majority votes in order to be elected; If two or more candidates receive the same number of votes, then runoff elections shall be used as necessary.

5.2  The election process for Chair shall be conducted in alternating years at the end of the calendar year, and organized by a subcommittee appointed by the Chair. Candidates for Chair must be members of the SLTC.

5.3  New member election shall be held once each year. Nomination of candidates will be made to a Membership Subcommittee. The Membership Subcommittee shall consist of 3-5 members, including the SLTC chair. Subcommittee members are proposed by the SLTC chair and approved by the SLTC at the annual ICASSP meeting. The subcommittee responsibilities are:

5.3.1  review the composition of the SLTC with respect to current and future activities and maintain a membership composition that is well suited to the activities and responsibilities of the SLTC, to solicit nominations and to detail the rules and procedures of the nomination process.

5.3.2  govern the election process by identifying the minimum number of open SLTC positions per area, accept nominations for prospective members in those areas and conduct the anonymous voting process detailed in bylaws 5.1 and 5.2.

5.4  The Chair has the ability to appoint up to 3 active members of SPS executive committees as "Guest Members". During the one year term of these "Guest Members", they will particiapte in the committee as an elected member and will carry the same rights and responsibilities except that they are not eligible to be elected Chair of the SLTC committee.

5.5  Nomination of candidates for Society and IEEE awards and prizes shall be done by the SLTC as required. The SLTC Chair shall appoint an Award Subcommittee to coordinate the nomination process.

(approved on August 3, 2006)