Proposed Changes from the Academy - Updates

After the Academy Board of Directors (BOD) proposed moving control of the Bylaws from the House of Delegates (HOD) to the BOD we asked members to comment on this controversial issue. Acceptance of the proposed amendment would have effectively dissolved the HOD. For a discussion of the pros and cons of this issue please see the PowerPoint slides we presented at an IL Town Hall saved on the IAND website under the tab webinars.

At the end of the comment period, +1900 members from across all Academy members provided input. The Member Comment Period yielded 1939 responses with 80% indicating opposition to moving the responsibility to the Board of Directors and 20% indicating support for the proposed change to move the responsibility to the Board. Although we do not yet have the full responses, we have been given the overall themes based on a qualitative analysis of the written comments.

Opposition Comments:

The proposed change is viewed as a consolidation of power.
Lack of support for the proposed governance changes do not support the proposed bylaws amendment for fear that the BOD will go ahead and amend the bylaws to institute the proposed governance changes (i.e., eliminate the HOD).
Concern about loss of dialogue with constituents before votes on bylaws changes.
View the BOD and HOD as a system of “checks and balances” so concerned that the bylaws could be changed without the necessary “checks and balances” via the HOD.
All members should vote on bylaws changes.
Disagree with the interpretation of Illinois law.

Supportive Comments:

Aligns with Illinois laws and the fiduciary responsibilities of the BOD.
Aligns with the defined role of the BOD to govern the association and aligns with the defined roles of the BOD and the HOD.
More efficient to make changes.
Aligns with best practices.

Although this update is being written before the dates of the following actions, we want you to be aware of each step in the process. The HOD created two motions related to the proposal to move the responsibility for Bylaws to the Board of Directors. Any motions are always followed by a dialogue period with any needed changes to the motions. The HOD will vote on this issue between September 10th and 14th. The results will be posted on the Academy website on September 15th. Consideration of the 80% of responding members opposed to the change are paramount to your delegate’s vote.

The HOD will meet virtually on September 17th and 18th. We will be considering ways to make the HOD more efficient and responsive to constituents.

An IAND Virtual Town Hall meeting was held on July 22 and hosted by our IAND Delegates. The purpose of the meeting was to present the proposed restructure and provide members the opportunity to better understand the proposal and provide an open forum for discussion and questions. The discussion portion of the meeting was not recorded, but the presentation recording is now available, only to members, in our webinar store. Handouts are also available.

We encourage all IAND members to provide their personal input regarding the proposed restructure.

The national Academy’s Board of Directors (BOD) is proposing a reorganization of governance. Recently, communication was sent out proposing an amendment to its Bylaws. Here are some key points to know and how it will affect you as an Academy member.

The traditional separation of powers within the Academy has been that the BOD controls the duties of the organization and the House of Delegates (HOD) is in charge of representing the profession of dietetics and its members.

The proposed reorganization by the BOD would transfer the Bylaws of the organization from the HOD to the BOD.

Once this occurs, the plan is to dissolve the HOD and replace it with a 15-member Council on Strategic Alignment.

The reasoning for this plan is to create a more fluid body to address issues facing the profession.

Delegates and Executive Boards across the Academy have had numerous Zoom meetings to discuss this issue with the major concerns being; loss of geographic, practice group, and diversity representation

HOD members are very willing to discuss with the BOD ways to streamline and/or reimagine HOD processes, but are opposed to this occurring without a robust discussion of this issue.

Delegates learned of this plan one day before the Academy released a non-transparent link without full description of these outcomes and are asking members to vote.

There is also concern regarding the entire power for the profession residing within a 14-member BOD and 15-member Council of Strategic Alignment, of which half would be appointed and the other half elected.