ARTICLE I: NAME
1.The name of this entity shall be the Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) of the Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), hereafter called the SGEA.
ARTICLE 2: MISSION
2. Mission. Foster excellence along the continuum of medical education - undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, and continuing medical education - by providing a forum for discussing the concerns of the medical education profession, serving as a resource, and acting in an advisory capacity to the GEA and AAMC. This mission is accomplished through communication, cooperation, and shared respect among its members.
3. Goals. To accomplish its mission, the SGEA will:
- enhance the professional development of medical educators,
- advance research and understanding in medical education,
- provide service to the profession, and
- promote evidence-based principles of medical education.
ARTICLE 3: ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
3.1 The SGEA is the southern regional group of the GEA and so shall be represented by its Chair or his/her designee on the GEA Steering Committee.
ARTICLE 4: MEMBERSHIP
4.1 Decanal Appointee Members. The dean of each member medical school may appoint a maximum of four members to the GEA. Each member appointed in this manner will be identified by the dean according to one of the following areas of medical education: undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, continuing medical education, and research in medical education. Thus each of those persons from institutions in the southern region will automatically be a member of the SGEA.
4.2 Individual Members. Individual members of the SGEA shall be members of the GEA who are faculty or staff of institutional member medical schools or individuals working for related organizations (i.e., boards responsible for the licensure of physicians, faculty and staff of AOA accredited osteopathic medical schools, and hospitals which are accredited by the ACGME, and ACCME organizations) in the southern region who take part in the activities of the SGEA.
4.3 Associate Members. Medical students, residents, and graduate students who participate in educational programs affiliated with institutional member schools in the southern region and who are sponsored by a SGEA member may become associate members with the same rights and responsibilities as individual members with the exception of voting and holding office.
4.4 Retired Members. Individuals who retire may become retired members of the SGEA with the same rights and responsibilities as individual members.
4.5 Other Members. Other individuals wishing to join the SGEA can be considered on an individual basis by the SGEA Steering Committee and be assigned to one of the categories above.
4.6 Rights of Members.
- Voting. The right to vote is reserved for decanal appointees, individual, and retired members. Each voting member shall have only one vote.
- Holding Office. The right to hold office in the SGEA is reserved for decanal appointees, individual, and retired members.
- Participation. All members are eligible to participate in meetings, programs, and other activities of the SGEA.
ARTICLE 5: OFFICERS
5.1 Chair-Elect. A member of the SGEA Steering Committee, the Chair-Elect shall serve as the Treasurer of the SGEA, collect institutional dues, interact with the AAMC finance office, and maintain SGEA financial records. The Chair-Elect serves for a two-year term, during which time, he or she learns aspects of the SGEA operation including: finance, roles of each member on the Steering Committee, regional meeting planning, and SGEA governance. The Chair-Elect shall also preside over SGEA Steering Committee meetings or business meetings in the absence of the Chair. As requested and if desired, the Chair-Elect may head other initiatives or projects deemed important by the SGEA Steering Committee or its constituency. At the completion of the two-year term, the Chair-Elect assumes the role of Chair of the SGEA.
5.2 Chair. The presiding member of the SGEA Steering Committee, the Chair is responsible for overseeing the governance and operation of the SGEA. The Chair shall preside at the SGEA Business meetings held during the spring regional meeting and the fall AAMC annual meeting. The Chair will convene regular conference calls with the SGEA Steering Committee, take minutes of those calls, and distribute them to the Steering Committee members. As chief liaison with the GEA, the Chair shall serve as the regional representative on the national GEA Steering Committee and must prepare and present a written report of SGEA regional activities at GEA Steering Committee meetings. At the completion of the two-year term, the Chair assumes the role of Past Chair of the SGEA.
5.3 Past Chair. A member of the SGEA Steering Committee, the Past Chair shall serve in an advisory capacity to the current Chair, Chair-Elect and other members of the SGEA Steering Committee. The Past Chair will serve in the following leadership capacities: convener and presiding member of SGEA ad hoc committee to select SGEA grant awardees, convener and presiding member of the Nominating Committee, and solicitor of SGEA Career Educator Award nominees. The Past Chair will serve a two- year term.
ARTICLE 6: COMMITTEES
6.1 Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is the policy-making body of the SGEA. It has the authority to transact business, to appoint committees, and to establish procedures within the provision of the bylaws. In addition, it shall solicit commitments from member institutions to host future spring regional meetings. The SGEA Steering Committee membership is comprised of the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, current and future regional meeting program chairs, four Constituency Section Heads of the GEA constituency groups, Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME), Graduate Medical Education (GME), Continuing Education (CME), and Research in Medical Education (RIME) and two Members-at- Large. The four Constituency Section heads serve as the presiding members of their constituency groups at the SGEA meetings and are the SGEA’s representatives to their respective GEA sections. As appropriate, the SGEA Steering Committee may request other members of the SGEA to attend or otherwise participate in SGEA Steering Committee meetings as non-voting members. Such members include individuals assuming the positions of director of the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program, and the Web Liaison.
6.2 Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is responsible for developing a slate of officers for open positions on the SGEA Steering Committee. The Nominating Committee shall be chaired by the Past Chair and consist of three additional members appointed by the Chair, in consultation with the SGEA Steering Committee. Members of the Nominating Committee are not eligible for selection to the slate of officers for positions on the SGEA Steering Committee.
ARTICLE 7: TERMS OF OFFICE, NOMINATIONS, AND OFFICER SLATING
7.1Terms of Office. The individual elected to Chair-Elect shall serve a total of six years under the assumption of automatic progression through the offices of Chair-Elect (two years), Chair (two years), and Past Chair (two years). The four Constituency Section heads, UGME, GME, CME, and RIME, and the two Members-at-Large will serve two-year terms. The terms of office shall extend from the end of the business meeting at the SGEA spring regional meeting to the end of the business meeting at the SGEA spring regional meeting two years later. Efforts will be made to stagger the terms of the SGEA Steering Committee members such that complete turnover in the membership of the SGEA Steering Committee does not occur. Regional meeting program chairs and their designees are requested to serve on the SGEA Steering Committee Program for the year prior to their hosting the meeting and the year they are hosting the meeting.
7.2 Nomination Process. Prior to the SGEA spring regional meeting, the Past Chair shall solicit nominations from the SGEA membership for open positions on the SGEA Steering Committee. Positions on the SGEA Steering Committee for which nominations may be solicited include: Chair-Elect, Constituency Section Heads (UGME, GME, CME, RIME) and two Member-at-Large positions. The past Chair will convene the Nominating Committee that is charged with reviewing all nominations collected by the Past Chair, and any additional nominations made by members of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will submit its slate of candidates to the SGEA Steering Committee for its review and approval.
7.3 Slating Process. On behalf of the Nominating Committee, the Past Chair will present the slate of officers for all open SGEA Steering Committee positions at the annual SGEA spring regional business meeting. Members of the SGEA in attendance at the business meeting will be asked to approve the slate of officers recommended by the Nominating Committee by vote of those present.
7.4 Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs during the term of office of the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall advance to fill the opening. The SGEA Steering Committee may, at its discretion, appoint individuals to fill any other vacant positions on an interim basis until such time as the regular slating process occurs.
ARTICLE 8: MEETINGS
8.1 General Constituency. At least two meetings of the SGEA shall be held annually –one at the AAMC annual meeting and one at the SGEA spring regional meeting. At such meetings, any decisions and actions requiring a vote will be made by majority vote of those present.
8.2 Steering Committee. At least two meetings of the Steering Committee shall be held annually -- one at the AAMC annual meeting and one at the spring regional meeting. At such meetings, any decisions and actions requiring a vote will be made by majority vote of those present.
ARTICLE 9: FINANCES
9.1 Funding sources. Funding from alternate sources (including the payment of institutional dues) may be sought and used at the discretion of the SGEA Steering Committee to defray the costs of regional meetings or for other purposes.
9.2 Disbursement of SGEA funds. Decisions about SGEA expenditures are made after discussion and vote by members of the SGEA Steering Committee.
9.3 Financial Reporting. The Chair-Elect, in the role of treasurer of the SGEA, will serve as the primary liaison with AAMC staff that holds the agency account of SGEA funds. AAMC staff will provide periodic audits of the SGEA account. The Chair-Elect will make an annual report of SGEA finances to the SGEA membership at the SGEA spring regional meeting including a description of all funds disbursed in the previous year.
ARTICLE 10: SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
10.1 Organization of Regional Special Interest Groups (SIGs). The SGEA Steering Committee may recognize regional SIGs. In order to be recognized, a regional SIG must submit to the SGEA Steering Committee for their approval, operational guidelines and address such issues as membership, leadership, and benefit to the profession.
ARTICLE 11: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
11.1 Robert's Rules of Order (latest edition) shall be used when considering motions, otherwise standing rules will allow the chair to maintain order and conduct business in a reasonable manner.
ARTICLE 12: AMENDMENTS
12.1 These bylaws may be altered, repealed or amended or new bylaws adopted by two thirds of those eligible members voting provided that 30 days' notice has been given.
ARTICLE 13: ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
13.1 According to the GEA Bylaws these bylaws will be adopted, if approved by the SGEA and GEA Steering Committees.
Adopted: February 15, 2010