CCIO Bylaws

State University of New York Council of Chief Information Officers Bylaws

The State University of New York (SUNY) Council of Chief Information Officers (CCIO) is a leadership forum to leverage expertise for the campuses and the system to advance strategically important services and technologies.

For these bylaws, campuses and System are defined:

SUNY campuses include the 64 campuses that comprise the academic units of SUNY.
SUNY System includes all organizational units that comprise the State University System of New York.
The Elected officers include the Council Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.
The Executive Committee includes the elected officers, the elected representatives of the sectors, and in the interest of collaboration and open communication, the System CIO or designee (both are non-voting) as provided for in Section V.

I. Strategic Planning and Goals

The CCIO is committed to strategic planning and the goals of the organization which are available on the CCIO website. Progress on the Strategic Plan and Goals will be reviewed annually.

II. Membership

The Council’s membership will consist of the senior IT leaders from SUNY campuses and SUNY organizations.

Campuses will have one voting representative that is appointed by the campus president. An additional non-voting campus representative to the Council may be appointed at the discretion of the campus president, if the technology infrastructure and management of the campus warrant a dual appointment. On matters before the Council, the principle will be one vote per campus, cast by the campus voting representative.

CCIO understands that it is a campus’ choice to hire their own senior IT leadership or to outsource it to a third party (e.g., CIO as a service). CCIO will accept these third-party appointees as members. Third-party appointees may be voting members of CCIO; participate on committees and sponsor resolutions. However, third-party appointees are not eligible to hold elected positions. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Executive Committee. However, third parties may not be elected to Chair or Vice Chair. Third parties may only be elected to either Secretary or Treasurer. Third parties may only hold one of the four elected positions at any given time.

SUNY System CIO will have one vote; may participate on committees and sponsor resolutions. However, the System CIO is ineligible to hold office or serve as a sector representative. The System CIO will be a non-voting member of the CCIO Executive Committee.

Other SUNY organization IT leaders are eligible to apply to become non-voting members of the Council. The CCIO Executive Committee must approve these members. These members may participate on committees; however, they are not eligible to hold office, serve as a sector representative or participate in sponsor resolutions.

Members of the organization are expected to be guided by the articulated CCIO values of integrity, collaboration, creativity and innovation.

The membership of the Council shall be convened at least once annually to conduct the business of the Council. A quorum shall consist of the members in attendance. Meetings of the Council shall follow Roberts Rules in parliamentary practice not otherwise specified in the Bylaws.

CCIO Honorary Status

A. Honorary Status:

Any member of the CCIO having spent three or more years on the Council of CIOs and retiring while a member of the SUNY CCIO shall be eligible for the status of the CCIO Honorary.
All members who have retired while serving on the Council of CIOs are automatically nominated for honorary status. The CCIO Executive Committee shall approve all nominations.
Upon written recommendation of a member of the CCIO, the Executive Committee may make exceptions to these eligibility requirements and grant honorary status in cases of exceptional distinguished service

B. Rights and Responsibilities of an Honorary:

Retired CCIO members are encouraged to engage in service to the CCIO in whatever ways are found to be satisfying and mutually beneficial. CCIO Honorary members may participate in CCIO business including:

The privilege of the floor but no voting in general membership meetings
The opportunity to serve on standing and/or ad hoc committees
The right to attend events sponsored by CCIO as well as SUNY events with CCIO tracks such as SUNY STC and SUNY Wizard
The opportunity to fill non-officer and non-sector representative positions
Names listed as Honorary in the CCIO directory
If requested, access to CCIO general membership committee spaces in whatever media is available to the CCIO. Access to resources will be best effort and will be at discretion of the Executive Committee.

III. Officers

The officers of the Council shall be nominated from the eligible membership, and elections will be held each June for vacant officer positions. Officer two-year terms will commence on July 1.

Council Chair:
The Vice Chair shall convene and preside over meetings in the absence of the Chair, assist the Chair, and undertake other duties as may be delegated by the Chair or the Executive Committee. The Vice Chair will also be Chair-elect, serving as the Council Chair for the subsequent two years.

If the chair is unable to fulfill his/her term, the Vice Chair shall become Interim Chair until the following July 1 after which his/her two-year term as Chair begins.

If the Vice Chair position should become vacant an election will be held as soon as possible.

Council Vice Chair:
The Vice Chair shall convene and preside over meetings in the absence of the Chair, assist the Chair, and undertake other duties as may be delegated by the Chair or the Executive Committee. The Vice Chair will also be Chair-elect, serving as the Council Chair for the subsequent two years.

If the chair is unable to fulfill his/her term, the Vice Chair shall become Interim Chair until the following July 1 after which his/her two year term as Chair begins.

If the Vice Chair position should become vacant an election will be held as soon as possible.

Council Secretary:
The Secretary shall keep the minutes of regular and special meetings of the Council and the Executive Committee, execute required correspondence, maintain the membership list, update the CCIO website, and serve as the parliamentarian of the Council. The decision of the parliamentarian will be final in matters interpreting the Bylaws. The Secretary serves two-year terms, with no term limit.

Should the secretary position become vacant, the Chair shall appoint an interim until the next regular election.

Council Treasurer:
The Treasurer shall record and account for all income and expenses of the Council, administer and conduct all voting (elections, bylaw changes, etc.), be the Executive Committee liaison to all standing and ad hoc committees pertaining to the financial matters of the organization, update the CCIO website, and undertake other duties as may be delegated by the Council Chair. The Treasurer serves two-year terms with no term limit.

Should the treasurer position become vacant, the Chair shall appoint an interim until the next regular election.

IV. Sector Representatives

Within the general membership, the Council shall be composed of the following sectors and shall consist of the members representing:

Doctoral Degree Granting Institutions
Comprehensive Colleges
Technology and Specialized Colleges
Community Colleges

Each sector shall elect one or two eligible members to the Executive Committee by majority vote of the members of the sector. The Executive Committee Members for each sector shall attend the Executive Committee meetings, act as a liaison between the Executive Committee and the sector membership, and participate in Council activities as requested by the Executive Committee. Sector representatives will serve renewable, two-year terms. Doctoral and Technology sector representatives will be elected on even years, and Comprehensive and Community Colleges will be elected on odd years..

V. The Executive Committee

The membership of the Executive Committee shall consist of the four elected officers of the Council, the elected sector representatives, and the System CIO (non-voting, Ex-officio). To facilitate the exchange of information and activities of the Council, the Executive Committee may invite additional ex-officio members to participate in Executive Committee meetings. Ex- officio participants do not have Executive Committee voting rights.

The Executive Committee shall convene, at minimum, four times a year. The Executive Committee shall meet at the request of the Chair, at the request of three Committee members, or upon petition of eleven or more members of the general membership.

Votes will be allocated to each of the four elected officer positions plus one vote per sector for a total of eight potential votes. A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of a majority of its voting members. The Committee shall follow Roberts Rules in parliamentary practice not otherwise specified in the Bylaws.

The Executive Committee shall represent the Council within SUNY and with external organizations.

VI. Committees and Appointments

The Executive Committee shall establish committees and appoint members as representatives to external agencies, as deemed necessary, for the purpose and activities of the Council.

The Chair appoints members of standing committees.

A. Standing Committees include:

Events Committee:
The CCIO Events Committee will plan and organize CCIO events, such as the CCIO track at Wizard, STC, etc.
Elections Committee:
The Committee shall conduct all elections and nomination processes within the CCIO group as described in Section IX. The Election Committee shall be composed of at least one member from each sector. The Committee shall conduct all elections and nomination processes within the CCIO group.
Audit Committee:
The Committee shall perform a financial audit annually. The audit report will be submitted to the Chair for distribution to the general membership. The Audit Committee shall be composed of three voting members of the CCIO

B. Liaison Appointments

CCIO liaisons are appointed by the Chair to facilitate communication, knowledge sharing, and cooperation between CCIO and other organizations. Responsibilities include representing the CCIO at meetings and reporting back to the CCIO about opportunities and challenges. CCIO Liaisons are expected to be engaged participants in their assignments.

C. External Committee Appointments

The Chair will make all external committee appointments. The person will represent the CCIO perspective. Responsibilities include representing the CCIO at meetings and reporting back to the CCIO about opportunities and challenges. CCIO Committee Representatives are expected to be engaged participants in their assignments.

VII. Council Funds

A. The Council reserves the right to establish annual dues and/or fees for the membership. The determination to levy dues and fees upon the membership requires a majority vote of the membership through a secure method (e.g., email, electronic or paper ballot), or in a meeting of the Council with a quorum present and voting. The Executive Committee shall determine the use of a proxy.

B. Annually, the Treasurer will submit for approval to the Executive Committee an operational budget plan for the Council for the forthcoming year. The Treasurer will report on the Council’s budget as requested by the Chair of the Council. The Chair of the Council may approve expenditures in accordance with the operational budget plan. The Executive Committee will approve other expenditures.

C. The Audit Committee shall perform a financial audit annually. The audit report will be submitted to the Chair for distribution to the general membership.

VIII. Amendment of the Bylaws

Proposed amendments to the Bylaws shall be reviewed by the Executive Committee and submitted to the Council membership in writing one month prior to the vote for approval. Approval shall be by a majority vote of the membership through a secure method (e.g. email, electronic or paper ballot), or in a meeting of the Council with a quorum present and voting. The Executive Committee shall determine the use of a proxy.

IX. Election Procedures

The Election Committee shall present a slate of eligible nominees for the vacant positions at least one month prior to the election. Additional eligible nominations may be accepted from the membership. Election shall be by a majority vote of the membership eligible to vote through a secure method (e.g., email, electronic or paper ballot), or in a meeting of the Council with a quorum present and voting. The Executive Committee shall determine the use of a proxy.

The positions of Secretary and Treasurer will be elected on alternate years, Secretary will be voted for on odd years and Treasurer will be voted for on even years.

The Council Treasurer shall officiate the election procedures.

X. Resolutions of the Membership

Any Council member at any meeting of the Council may submit resolutions for CCIO adoption. To proceed, the resolution needs the support of three voting members, hereby known as sponsors.

A. The sponsors of a resolution have 30 days (commencing from when the three sponsors publicly identify their support to the Chair) to produce at least one informational presentation about the Resolution. The Executive Committee may request further information. Barring a formal extension from the Executive Committee, the Resolution will be brought to a vote, of the Executive Committee, no later than 60 days after gaining sponsorship.

B. The Executive Committee will vote on the Resolution at the next Executive Committee meeting and report back to the membership.

C. If the General Membership does not agree, any individual member may call for an override via an announcement within 10 business days of the Executive Committee’s dissemination of its vote. The General Membership must vote within 10 business days of the call to override. A simple majority vote of a quorum of the General Membership will override the decision of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall determine the use of a proxy.y.

XI. Policy

Policies of the CCIO are established and published by the Executive Committee; anyone wishing to propose modifications to these policies may do so under the provisions of section X.