POLICY TITLE: Carnegie Mellon University Policy on Membership Dues for Professional Organizations

DATE OF ISSUANCE: This policy was originally issued on March 28, 1962 as Organization Announcement No. 221, Policy on Membership Dues for Professional Organizations. It appears in the current issue of the Faculty Handbook.

ACCOUNTABLE DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Office of the Provost. Questions on policy content should be directed to Susan Burkett, associate provost for research and academic administration, x88746. For questions regarding initiating new membership in a specific organization, see your dean or department head.

ABSTRACT: The university holds institutional memberships in various organizations and does not pay membership dues for an individual in a professional society for reasons of that individual's personal professional development.

Policy on Membership Dues for Professional Organizations

For clarification and orderly administration of individual and institutional memberships in professional organizations, the following policy is adopted:

1. Carnegie Mellon does not pay membership dues for an individual in a professional society to which he belongs for reasons of his personal professional development -- for example, the society established in his field (such as American Chemical Society, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Economic Association, American Institute of Architects) or in a group of fields including his own (such as Modern Language Association, American Society for Engineering Education, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, etc.). The distinctive element here is that this type of membership is beneficial to the individual in his profession and in the performance of his duties at Carnegie Mellon.
2. Carnegie Mellon holds institutional memberships in various organizations which benefit the institution and in those organizations which Carnegie Mellon wishes to support because they serve the welfare of higher education at large. In those instances in which Carnegie Mellon holds membership in an organization and an institutional representative is called for, Carnegie Mellon designates a member of the faculty or administration as its official representative. In other instances it is proper for Carnegie Mellon to pay an individual's membership dues in an organization in order to obtain benefits for Carnegie Mellon that could not be obtained otherwise or that otherwise would cost more (for example, an individual membership in the American Mathematical Society brings us copies of its publication at reduced rates).
3. There may, of course, be instances which lie somewhere between the clear-cut types of membership described in items 1 and 2 above. In these instances the following procedure will be followed:
   1. New membership for Carnegie Mellon or for a faculty or a new staff member.

      The dean or other administrative officer involved will get full information from the faculty or staff member about the proposed membership. He will discuss the question with the vice president for business affairs. If they do not agree, the question of whether Carnegie Mellon pays the dues or not will be resolved by the president.

   2. New membership for Carnegie Mellon or for a dean or other administrative officer.

      The individual concerned will carefully analyze the proposed membership to see whether its major values would apply to himself as a professional person and administrator of his own division or to the institution in general. He will discuss the question with the vice president for business affairs. If they hold different views, the question will be resolved by the president.

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