Concise Summary of Everything

[Andrew Muehlfeld (Alpha - UIUC)]

Following is a concise summary of all discussions since November 2007,
which I wrote at the request of a busy faculty advisor from another
university. Those of you who have read every post on this forum know
all of this already. I am providing it primarily for people who have
been unable to put in the time to follow closely. I intend it to be
an objective statement of facts, which shows facts favorable to both
sides, while talking only of the most important items to keep it
brief.

Initial Announcement
In November, the Board of Governors publicly announced a plan to merge
HKN into IEEE. They cited, and continue to cite, the following five
reasons:

1) IEEE would provide the security and administrative support of a
corporate home.
2) As part of IEEE, HKN would have access to member databases to
contact alumni.
3) IEEE's name recognition would help industry's awareness of HKN.
4) IEEE would provide financial and structural resources to globalize
HKN.
5) IEEE would make financial contributions to HKN between $1.2 and $5
million.

From the FAQ, created by HKN Vice President Dr. Eisenstein, many
students took the impression that HKN was on the verge of financial
disaster. Investigating public financial documents led students to
believe that HKN's finances are reasonably healthy.

Students have many concerns relating to the merger itself, as well.
The biggest three are:

1) If the cost of initiating rises $30, for the newly required IEEE
student membership, fewer student would join.
2) HKN would no longer be a lifetime membership. To retain membership
status, members would be required to pay IEEE's annual fees, currently
$135/year.
3) HKN would lose its autonomy, and be subject to the direction of
IEEE's Board of Directors.
4) Student chapters may be required to merge, which many do not want.

Additionally, many students are displeased with the process as
executed by the Board of Governors.

1) Students have had no opportunity to provide input to the terms of
the merger. Students' sole means of influence is voting yes or no.
2) The Board of Governors has provided little information about voting
procedures.

March 7th Meeting with HKN
Several universities sent letters to the Board of Governors, and
received very few, if any satisfying responses. Alpha chapter called
for a face-to-face meeting, to discuss the above issues, which the
Vice President Eisenstein hosted in Chicago on March 7th, 2008. About
fifteen students attended, mostly from the Midwest. Following are the
primary outcomes of the meeting

1) The BoG admitted that HKN is not in a financial crisis. They
continue to say that the FAQ does not speak of a financial crisis.
They explained that increased finances would help HKN expand its
current programs and create new ones.
2) The terms of the merger specifically state that the BoG will report
to, and be "under the oversight and control of the IEEE Board of
Directors," but that "the IEEE-HKN-BOG shall be delegated authority ...
to IEEE-HKN activities." The BoG assured us that HKN will retain
autonomy.
3) Dr. Eisenstein stated that support for the merger from IEEE is at a
peak this year, and was just barely enough to approve the merger
terms. He said that we could not get the necessary support in the
future, and that if we wish to merge, this year is our only chance.
4) According to Dr. Eisenstein, chapters will continue to choose how
they are organized as they do now, with the same options currently
available: independent or joint with IEEE.
5) Dr. Eisenstein said that the BoG will move forward with the merger
with a simple 1/2 majority vote.
6) After the meeting, most student representatives met privately to
discuss the meeting. Representatives from all but one university felt
better about the merger after the meeting.

April 1st Meeting with IEEE
Shortly after, an HKN student contacted Dr. Moshe Kam, who is leading
IEEE's merger committee. This student learned from Dr. Kam that two
sub-boards' votes were unanimously in favor of the merger, but the
IEEE Board of Directors' vote was confidential. Students began to
question Dr. Eisenstein's statement that the merger could only pass
this year. As a result, students arranged a teleconference with Dr.
Kam. The primary outcomes of the teleconference follow:

1) It is in IEEE's best interest that as many students as possible
join HKN. They would be careful about initiation fees, since they
share our concerns about decreasing membership. They do not know yet
what fees would be.
2) IEEE has no position on merging student IEEE and HKN branches at
the local level.
3) It is certainly possible that HKN and IEEE could modify terms of
the merger, and approve a merger in future years, but it would be a
long, complicated, and unpleasant process.
4) Although technically IEEE's Board of Directors would have power
over HKN, IEEE intends to give HKN's BoG full autonomy. IEEE is a
large organization with many affairs. As such, it would not
scrutinize HKN's every decision, but would allow HKN's BoG to manage
itself.

Remaining Issues
The largest remaining issue is voting procedure. Our constitution
requires a 1/2 vote to enter a contract and a 3/4 vote to modify the
constitution. Many students say the merger would require
modifications to the constitution, especially in the membership
qualifications section and the fees section. Several chapters have
sent inquiries to the BoG, including a request to see the analysis
required from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, but have not
received responses. In speaking with a member of HKN's Constitution
and Bylaws Committee, students learned that the BoG has not contacted
the Constitution and Bylaws Committee for the necessary review.

Andrew Muehlfeld
Alpha Chapter, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign