409.4) shall formulate s tatements of the I E E E position on educational mat ters and with the approval of the Executive Commit tee these statements shall be publicized in the p romot ion of the interests of the I E E E and its members .

5. In cooperat ion with other organizations, or on its own initiative, the I E E E should supply career informa­tion in its fields of interests to s tudents , teachers, and guidance counselors at the prepara tory school level.

6. In conjunction with other technical or scientific organizations, or on its own initiative, the I E E E shall be active in providing for its members educat ion in addi t ion to the formal courses of instruction offered by academic institutions. This continuing educat ion shall be directed toward the prevention of technical obsolescence and shall be designed to assist the members to keep abreast of the rapid advances in science and technology.

S t a t e m e n t off policy concern ing professional act iv i t ies

Professional activities are those which relate t o engi­neering as a profession such as registration as a p ro ­fessional engineer, codes of ethics, and professional conduct . These activities can be separated into internal and external categories. An example of an internal p ro­fessional activity would be the definition of professional conduct within the IEEE. Internal activities are the

concern of the Professional Relat ions Commit tee . An example of external professional activity is cooperat ion with State Boards of Registrat ion in the development of appropr ia te technical examinations. The requirements of the C-3 tax status of the I E E E may prevent it from taking direct act ion in many areas of external professional ac­tivity.

Policies relating to professional activities a r e : 1. The Executive Commit tee will be responsible for

keeping the I E E E membership informed on the legal, ethical, and other professional aspects of the practice of engineering which are of impor tance t o any major seg­ment of the membership.

2. With the approval of the Executive Commit tee , the Professional Relations Commit tee shall draft statements of the I E E E position in external professional mat ters , but these position statements shall not be transmitted to the membership without prior approval of the Board of Directors.

3. The Professional Relat ions Commit tee (Bylaw 409.12) shall maintain channels of information open with such organizations as the N S P E and N C S B E E in the U S A and equivalent organizations in other countries which are directly concerned with external professional matters. In response t o questions or on its own initia­tive, the Executive Commit tee shall inform these or­ganizations abou t the position of IEEE.

Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Relations Policy

Dr . Ernst Weber , President The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc . Box A, Lenox Hill Station New York 21 , New York

Dear Dr . Weber :

In response to your letter of June 3, 1963, an Ad Hoc Commit tee on Professional Relat ions Policy consisting of C. Linder (Chai rman) , L. V. Berkner, C. Carlson, W. Chase , R. Chipp , S. Herwald, H . Lowe, F . K. Willenbrock (Secretary), with C. Savage as a consultant , has met and wishes to submit its report in three par ts . In this covering letter, we shall include those recommendat ions which are of a current nature and which, in our opinion, require immediate action. The second par t is our formal repor t to the Executive Commit tee which includes as its first recom­mendat ion that the Board of Directors adop t a series of policies governing its relat ionship with other or­ganizations and tha t these policies be set forth in a unified document and be m a d e available t o the I E E E membership. The third par t is the proposed statement of policies and it is ou r recommendat ion tha t these policies be adopted by the Board of Directors and be promulgated t o the membership . Consequently, the major recommendat ions of this A d H o c Commit tee are to be found in this policy s ta tement .

Y o u will recall tha t on M a y 15,1963, the Professional Relat ions Commit tee submitted to the Executive Com­mittee a policy s tatement in connection with the registration of engineers and that this s tatement was referred to this Ad H o c Commit tee for consideration. The b road policy statements included in our report discuss the quest ion of professional relations. How­ever, we feel tha t the Professional Relat ions Commit tee should be requested to revise the s tatement of May 15, and prepare for Board approval early in 1964 a detailed statement of the IEEE ' s posit ion on legisla­tion concerning the practice of engineering.

Our recommendat ions for immediate action are as follows:

1. T h a t legal counsel review the proposed policy statement in the light of the current c-3 tax status of the I E E E to see tha t none of the policies set forth en­danger this s tatus.

2. T h a t legal counsel review the IE E E ' s present affiliations with other societies such as the Nat iona l Counci l of State Boards of Engineering Examiners and

IEEE spectrum A P R I L 1964 115

determine whether any of these relationships endanger the c-3 tax status.

3. Tha t the distinction between activities app ro ­priate to a technical society such as I E E E and the activities appropr ia te t o organizat ions primarily con­cerned with the legal, economic, and public relations status of engineering as a profession be clearly recog­nized and preserved. F o r those of its members who are actively interested in these latter aspects of engineering as a profession and in professional registration, the I E E E should recommend that they also consider mem­bership in such professional organizations.

4. Tha t the Board of Directors recognize the need for legislation concerning the practice of engineering when such practice relates to the health, welfare, and safety of the public. Fur the rmore , tha t such legislation should be as uniform as possible in all political sub­divisions to permit the max imum mobility for members of the engineering profession.

5. Tha t the I E E E m a k e a public s tatement relevant t o the formation of a Nat iona l Academy of Engineering a n d specifying what principles should be basic in its selection of members .

6. T h a t the I E E E , in view of the recent consolidat ion of its s tudent branches , b roaden its relat ions with academic insti tutions offering instruction in fields of I E E E interest and be of greater assistance t o academic adminis t ra tors in the advancement of scientific and technical educat ion.

7. Tha t the I E E E recognize the vital need of its members for help in keeping abreast of the rapid ad­vances in science and technology in their fields of interest and , in conjunction with other organizat ions or on its own initiative, be active in the development of new methods of providing for their continuing education.

8. Tha t the Intersociety Relat ions Commit tee review all external relationships of the IEEE* and withdraw from those associations which have proved ineffective and strengthen its representation in those organizat ions which relate to vital interests of the I E E E and its membership . In particular, the I E E E representatives t o the E C P D in its activity of academic cirricula accreditation should be selected from the most forward-looking members of the Insti tute for their technical competence and effectiveness in for­warding I E E E objectives.

Sincerely yours , / s / Clarence H . Linder Cha i rman , A d H o c Commit tee

on Professional Relat ions Policy

* Lists of organizations to which AIEE and IRE made financial contributions in 1962 and also a list of those organizations in which they have had representation are being forwarded in a supplementary mailing.

The Ad H o c Commit tee on Professional Relat ions Policy was appointed by President Weber at the request of the Executive Commit tee in June 1963, to study the relations of the I E E E with various other professional societies and organizat ions and to recommend a position which recognizes the free choice of each member and also the useful aspects of g roup endeavors.

The Commit tee has discussed the question of the extent t o which the Board of Directors can speak for the membership. The Board, as a duly elected body, represents the consolidated voice of the membership and , while it cannot speak for an individual member , it is the only body which is representative of the membership as a whole. While the Board should be sensitive to the think­ing of large segments of the membership on major questions, it has the responsibility to rise above the parochial opinions of part icular individuals or groups and act in the broadest interest of the Insti tute. The Board should be assisted and guided by the various committees in the Insti tute 's s tructure whose members are selected for their competence in part icular speciaUies and their representation of the various segments of the member­ship. In taking a position on a quest ion on which there is considerable difference of opinion, it is recommended tha t the Board use the terminology " T h e Board of Directors of the I E E E e n d o r s e s . . . " rather than " T h e I E E E endorses " '

The Commit tee recommends t o the Executive C o m ­mit tee :

1. Tha t the Board of Directors adop t a series of policies governing its relationships with other profes­sional societies and organizat ions, and tha t these policies be set forth in a unified document available to the I E E E membership. A proposed statement of these policies is at tached to this report .

2. Tha t the Executive Commit tee shall develop meth­ods for implementing the I E E E policies on technical, educational , and professional matters which relate to the interests of the IEEE. Then by public statements, by representation on councils, or central committees, or by other appropr ia te means, the position of the I E E E should be made known and advanced.

3. Tha t the Intersociety Relat ions Commit tee (By­law 409.3) be requested to study the representation of I E E E on various councils and central committees and make specific recommendat ions t o the Executive Com­mittee as to the most appropr ia te form of representation. The representat ion of the I E E E must be effective in protect ing and forwarding the interests of I E E E and its membership .

4. Tha t any action in connect ion with relat ionships with other organizat ions in exception to the policies enumerated in the a t tached statement must be approved by the Board of Directors.

116 I E E E spectrum A P R I L 1964