FELCOM - the NIH Postdoctoral/Clinical Fellows Committee The National Institutes of Health
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Bylaws

1. General

a. These bylaws and additional policies and procedures are effective on November 3, 1994.

b. Each current member of the Fellows Committee must be familiar with these bylaws and agree that their activities as members are bound by them.

c. When significant changes are made in the bylaws, all members of the Fellows Committee must have ready access to the revised text.

2. Organization

The NIH Fellows Committee consists of two members from each of the institutes of the NIH. The committee is organized as follows:

a. Co-chairpersons

  1. Two co-chairpersons will be elected by the membership of the committee. It is recommended that there be one clinical and one basic science co-chair.
  2. One co-chairperson will be elected at the regularly scheduled meeting each May and the second will be elected in December.
  3. Each co-chairperson will serve in that position for a period of 12 months.
  4. One co-chairperson will serve as chair for each scheduled meeting. The co-chairpersons may share this responsibility equally if they desire.

b. Secretary

  1. The co-chairpersons shall solicit volunteers to serve as committee secretary. If more than one member volunteers, the position will be filled by a simple majority vote by the membership of the committee.
  2. The secretary will be reappointed as necessary.

c. Regular Members

  1. Two members from each ICD shall serve at all times.
  2. Regular members are appointed or elected as outlined under the Appointment section.

d. Ad Hoc Members

  1. Consist of members appointed by the co-chairpersons following approval by the membership as outlined in the Membership section.
  2. Ad hoc members are non-voting members, whose role on the committee and term length shall be determined at the time of their appointment.

3. Membership

a.All non-tenured and non-tenure track postdoctoral level intramural NIH fellows are eligible for membership on the NIH Fellows Committee.

b.Ad hoc members can be appointed to the Fellows Committee at the request of the co-chairpersons with approval by the membership. Ad hoc members will typically serve in an advisory role to the committee and will not be voting members.

4. Appointment

a. Appointments to the Fellows Committee will be made upon recommendation by the appropriate Scientific Director and approved by the co-chairpersons of Fellows Committee.

b. Appointments are for a period of 12 months. Members may have their appointments renewed for one additional term. Members must notify the co-chairpersons 3 months prior to the expiration of their term to allow sufficient time for their replacement. This notification should occur at the time of a scheduled committee meeting. Fellows who are unable to complete their term for any reason should immediately notify the co-chairpersons in writing.

c. Method of Appointment To ensure that each fellow has the opportunity to serve as their ICD's representative, the following method of appointment will be followed:

  1. Three months prior to the end of a term or immediately for unexpected vacancies, a standardized memo will be sent to each fellow of the particular ICD notifying them of the vacancy. This standardized memo will be forwarded by the current representative with instructions for those interested in filling the position. Interested fellows must respond no later than fifteen working days after the memo is sent.
  2. After all potential members have responded, the current representative(s) from the particular ICD will take the list to the SD, who will then appoint a prospective member.
  3. If no interested fellows are identified, the appropriate Scientific Director will be notified in writing by the current representative and will be asked to appoint a new member within fifteen working days following the date of notification.

d. Continued Appointment To remain in good standing, members must attend 50% of scheduled monthly meetings. Excused absences (see below) should be coordinated with the co-chairpersons and preferably in advance.

  1. Excused absences include annual, sick, or maternity leave; attendance at scientific meetings, or patient care. Excused absences will not be considered a missed meeting.
  2. If a member fails to attend 50% of the scheduled meetings in a four-month period, he or she will be notified in writing by the co-chairpersons that they are no longer in good standing.
  3. Members who are not in good standing will have two months to comply with the 50% attendance requirement. If the member fails to attend 50% of the scheduled meeting in this two-month period, he or she will be notified by the co-chairpersons that their appointment is immediately terminated and the appropriate Scientific Director will be notified in writing by the Office of Education.

5. Responsibilities

a. NIH Administration

  • All levels of the NIH administration should be accessible to bonafide representatives of the Fellows Committee.

b. Scientific Directors

  1. Scientific Directors should ensure that their ICD has 2 representatives appointed to the Fellows Committee at all times.
  2. Scientific Directors should forward to the Office of Education, a current list of fellows from their particular ICD no later than August 1 of each year.
  3. Support the ICD's representatives to the Fellows Committee as required.

c. Office of Education

  • The Office of Education should offer the following logistic support (staff permitting):
    1. Recording and transcription of monthly meeting minutes
    2. Election of new members
    3. Special events
    4. Maintain a current address and phone list of all active fellows

d. Fellows Committee Co-Chairpersons

  1. May communicate with all levels of the NIH administration involved in policy decisions regarding fellows.
  2. Notify the Office of Education of vacancies on the committee.
  3. Timely appointment and/or election of new members.
  4. Ensure that NIH Fellows Committee members are notified of the time and location of monthly meetings and that the minutes of previous meetings are distributed to committee members.
  5. Conduct scheduled monthly meetings of the Fellows Committee in accordance with the guidelines herein.
  6. Keeping a record of committee meeting attendance, calling the roll if necessary, and determining if quorum is present.
  7. Ensure that information from Fellows Committee meetings is communicated to all NIH fellows. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
    1. Minutes of monthly meetings posted on the Felcom WWW site.
    2. Items of special interest to all NIH fellows such as Fellows Committee sponsored events via electronic bulletin board, NIH Record and Catalyst, and outside the Office of Education.

e. Fellows Committee Members

  1. Must attend 50% of scheduled meetings.
  2. Ensure that pertinent information is disseminated to the fellows of their ICD.
  3. Communicate concerns to the committee from those fellows that they represent.
  4. Inform fellows of special events:
    1. Maintain current items on ICD bulletin boards
    2. Informal meetings with fellows as necessary

f. Secretary

  1. Shall be responsible for the following duties:
    1. Keeping a file of committee minutes and subcommittee reports.
    2. Conducting the general correspondence of the committee.
    3. Maintaining a record of the by-laws and recording any amendments to them.

6. Conduct of Meetings

a. Time and Place

  • The regular meetings of the NIH Fellows Committee shall be held on the first Thursday of every month, unless otherwise ordered by the NIH Fellows Committee or by the co-chairpersons.

b. Quorum

  • Forty percent or more of the current eligible voting membership of the committee shall constitute a quorum. A quorum shall be necessary to vote on proposed motions and to amend the Committee's bylaws. The requirement for a quorum shall be effective in September, 1995.

c. Order of Business

  1. The chair shall call the meeting to order.
  2. Approval of minutes. A copy of the minutes will be sent by email to all Fellows Committee members prior to the monthly meeting. At the meeting, the chair shall ask if there are additions or corrections to the minutes. If there are no changes or changes are made by general consent, the chair shall declare the minutes "approved" or "approved as corrected."
  3. Reports of special representatives and standing committees. The chair shall call only on those special representatives or standing committees who have reports to make. If a special representative or committee chair has a recommendation, he or she should not move its implementation, but a motion can be made by another member as soon as the report or recommendation is completed. This motion is to be taken up for debate immediately. Previous motions which have been tabled may also be raised at this point.
  4. Reports of special or ad hoc committees or ad hoc members. Only those special committees or ad hoc members who have reports to make shall be called on. Business concerning reports of special committees that are on the table can be taken from the table at this time.
  5. General orders or unfinished business. Unfinished business or general orders shall be considered in the order in which they were made at the previous meeting. Items to be considered under this heading include:
    1. A question that was pending when the previous meeting adjourned.
    2. Any questions that were unfinished business at the previous meeting and which are still pending.
    3. Any questions which were to be considered at the previous meeting but were not discussed and were postponed for debate.
  6. New business. The chair shall ask if there is any new business. Members can introduce new business or remove from the table any matter that is on the table.
  7. Announcements. The chair may make, or call upon others to make any necessary announcements; or, members can briefly obtain the floor for such a purpose.
  8. Program. If there is to be a presentation or other program, it is usually presented before the meeting is adjourned. If, in courtesy to a guest speaker who is present, the chair wishes the presentation to occur at an unscheduled point within the business portion of the meeting, he or she can obtain unanimous consent by announcing "if there is no objection, we will hear our speaker's address at this time."

d. Motions

A motion may arise as a result of a special representative's or committee's report or under unfinished or new business. The steps to be taken are as follows:

  1. A member makes a motion.
  2. Another member seconds the motion.
  3. The chair states the question on the motion and presents the motion for consideration by the assembly.
  4. Members debate the motion.
  5. The chair puts the question to a vote.
  6. The chair announces the result of the vote. In cases where no opposition to the motion is expected, the chair may save time by obtaining general or unanimous consent. To obtain general consent, the chair states "If there is no objection . . ." If no member calls out "I object", the chair announces the action as decided upon.

e. Debate, Assignment of the Floor

Before a member can make a motion or speak in a debate, he or she must obtain the floor by being recognized by the chair. While a motion is open to debate, the floor should be assigned as follows:

  1. The member who made the motion may claim the floor first.
  2. No one is entitled to the floor a second time in debate on the same motion, as long as any other member who has not spoken on this motion desires the floor.
  3. If the chair knows that persons seeking the floor have opposite opinions on the question, he or she should let the floor alternate between those favoring and those opposing.

f. Voting Motions shall carry if they receive a majority vote. All regular members present who are in good standing may vote. The chair may choose whether or not to vote and can vote (but is not obliged to) whenever their vote will affect the result, such as to break or cause a tie. A motion which receives a tie vote is rejected.

7. Subcommittees

a.Subcommittees shall be created by the nomination and majority vote of those present at the regular monthly meeting to investigate and recommend action on matters which concern the NIH Fellows Committee.

b. The subcommittees will be comprised of volunteers from the NIH Fellows Committee membership and any ad hoc members appointed by the co-chairs.

c.The duties of a subcommittee and its power to act on certain decisions shall be outlined at its formation and shall be approved by the assembly.

d.There will be two types of subcommittees which may be formed:

  1. Standing subcommittees shall be created to consider matters which will have a continuing existence.
    1. These subcommittees shall be reviewed yearly to determine if their continued function is necessary.
    2. The membership of the standing subcommittee shall also be reviewed yearly and new members shall be solicited and appointed at the discretion of the co-chairs.
  2. Ad hoc subcommittees shall be created as the need arises to perform a specific task.
    1. At its formation, the ad hoc subcommittee shall be given a specific period of time to complete its task.
    2. The ad hoc subcommittee will go out of existence when its task is complete, and it has given a final report to the assembly.
    3. If the ad hoc subcommittee cannot complete the task within the appointed time the co-chairs may consider extending the appointment time or dissolving the subcommittee with the approval of the assembly.

e. All subcommittees shall report to the co-chairs during the monthly meeting of the NIH Fellows Committee membership.

8. Other Policies and Procedures

a. Medical Board Representative

One member of the Fellows Committee will serve as the representative to the Medical Board.

  1. This representative will be a Clinical Associate.
  2. Member will serve in this position for a period of 12 months.
  3. In general, the chair will request a volunteer to serve in this position 1-2 months prior to the end of the current representative's term.

b. Clinical Teacher Award

The Fellows Committee will solicit nominations from all NIH fellows for the Clinical Teacher Award. The following process will occur:

  1. In June of each year, notices will be placed in the NIH Catalyst, Record, and posted on bulletin boards throughout the NIH campus soliciting nominations for the award.
  2. Nominations will consist of no more than a single page in length detailing the nominees contributions to clinical teaching. These should be typed and submitted to the Office of Education and signed by the submitting fellow.
  3. Nominations for the award will be accepted for 4 to 6 weeks following the announcement soliciting nominations.
  4. The co-chairpersons will review the submissions and present their findings to the committee membership. The co-chairpersons may suggest an overwhelming choice or may suggest a vote by the membership if several nominees appear equally deserving.
  5. Following selection, the Office of Education will notify the recipient regarding the details of the presentation.
  6. The award will be presented by the co-chairpersons.

c. NIH Catalyst and Record

To better disseminate information to all NIH fellows, the Fellows Committee shall have reserved space in each issue of these publications.

  1. The committee secretary will discuss items for submission with the co-chairpersons.
  2. The co-chairpersons will present the proposed items during the next scheduled meeting.
  3. No formal vote will be required on these items. If a regular member objects to any of the proposed items, they will be removed from the list. The co-chairperson may then recommend that the item be discussed at a later date if necessary.

9. Review

a.Co-chairpersons of the Fellows Committee shall review these bylaws at least annually to ensure currency.

b.Co-chairpersons will announce the review period to committee members to allow input from all members.

c. Proposed changes to the bylaws can be made at any time following discussion at a regularly scheduled committee meeting pending the vote of the committee membership.

d. Proposed changes should be submitted in writing to the co- chairpersons and presented for discussion at the next scheduled committee meeting.

e. All proposed changes will be discussed and approved by the majority of a quorum of members of the Fellows Committee.
Suggestions | 2 Feb 2001