CHARTER FOR THE STATISTICAL INTEREST GROUP FOR MEDICAL DEVICES AND DIAGNOSTICS (SIGMEDD)

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization is the Statistical Interest Group for Medical Devices and Diagnostics (SIGMEDD) of the American Statistical Association, herein after referred to as SIGMEDD.

ARTICLE II. SCOPE

The objective of SIGMEDD is to promote application and appropriate use of statistics to the design, development, evaluation, quality control and use of medical devices and diagnostic tests in humans. A simple definition of a medical device is any medical product that does not work solely by chemical or biological means.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

All members of the American Statistical Association who are interested in medical devices and diagnostics are eligible to be members in SIGMEDD. There are no dues.

ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS

The annual business meeting of SIGMEDD shall be held in connection with the annual Joint Statistical Meetings and shall be announced in advance, preferably in the printed program for that meeting. Business may also be conducted with SIGMEDD members by mail or electronic mail.

ARTICLE V. OFFICERS

The officers of SIGMEDD shall consist of the Chair, Chair-elect, Program Chair, Program Chair-elect, Correspondence Secretary and Communication Secretary. The Chair is responsible for the SIGMEDD Annual Business meeting at JSM in the current year. The Program Chair is responsible for the SIGMEDD program at the JSM and other meetings in the current year and the Program Chair-Elect for next year’s JSM and other meetings in that year. The Correspondence Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at the SIGMEDD Annual Business meeting, posting such minutes on the website and for submitting articles concerning SIGMEDD activities to publications such as Amstat News. The Communication Secretary is responsible for the SIGMEDD website at . SIGMEDD shall also have one Observer on the American Statistical Association's Council of Sections; this Observer will be the Chair or someone designated by the Chair.

Terms of all the officers shall be one year beginning January 1 except for the Correspondence Secretary and the Communication Secretary. The term of the Correspondence Secretary and the Communication Secretary is two years. The terms of the two Secretaries shall be staggered, with the Communication Secretary beginning January 1 in even number years and the Correspondence Secretary January 1 in odd numbered years.

No officer shall be eligible for immediate re-election to the same office except the Correspondence Secretary and the Communication Secretary.

The Chair-elect and the Program Chair-elect shall automatically succeed the Chair and Program Chair, respectively, at the annual change of officers, which shall occur on January 1.

ARTICLE VI. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of SIGMEDD and the immediate Past Chair and the immediate Past Program Chair. The Executive Committee will manage the affairs of SIGMEDD. Actions taken by the Committee during the year and future activities will be presented at the annual business meeting of SIGMEDD for discussion. In addition to meeting at the Joint Statistical Meetings, the Executive Committee of SIGMEDD shall meet in person or by phone at least one other time during the year.

ARTICLE VII. VACANCIES IN OFFICE

If the office of Chair or Program Chair becomes vacant, the Chair-elect and Program Chair-elect shall become the Chair and Program Chair respectively, the terms extending through the following year. In such a case the Chair will then fill the Chair-elect or Program Chair-elect vacancy by appointment with approval of the Executive Committee. Other officer vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VIII. NOMINATION AND ELECTION

The Nominating Committee will consist of four members: each Chair-elect shall appoint a SIGMEDD member to serve a two-year term on the Nominating Committee commencing on January 1 of the ensuing year. SIGMEDD’s immediate Past Chair shall serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee and then serve an additional year. No member of the Nominating Committee may be nominated by the committee for any SIGMEDD office during the term of the member.

Each year the Nominating Committee shall submit no later than September 1st to the Correspondence Secretary and the Chair of SIGMEDD nominations for each position to be filled. In addition, any SIGMEDD member nominated by petition of 5 or more members of SIGMEDD shall also appear on the annual ballot, provided that the petition is presented to the Correspondence Secretary and Chair of SIGMEDD by September 1st announcing the names of the candidates submitted by the Nominating Committee. All candidates are required to be current members of the American Statistical Association. Balloting shall be carried out by the Past Chair for electing SIGMEDD officers and completed by November 1st. Ballots shall be sent to all members of the American Statistical Association who express an interest in SIGMEDD; this includes all who so indicate as well as those attending business meetings or participating in the Contributed sessions.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this charter may be proposed by the officers of SIGMEDD or by petition signed by at least 15 members of SIGMEDD and submitted to the SIGMEDD officers. The proposed amendment shall be submitted to SIGMEDD members for vote at the time of the annual election of officers. If approved by a majority of the SIGMEDD members voting, the amendment is approved. An approved amendment shall be effective immediately, unless otherwise specified in the amendment itself.