Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the UFVA board, I would like to thank those of you who joined us at our 74th Annual Conference – our first ever virtual event. This conference would not have been as successful as it was without you and your artistic, historical/critical, inclusive, and pedagogical contributions. As faculty in higher education and producers of all kinds, we are all feeling challenged in new ways and the conference made it clear that we need each other in order to be successful.

Our conference welcomed 533 attendees, with 136 sessions and 10 vendor booths. We had two outstanding keynote speakers. Dr. Michael Wesch, Kansas State University opened our conference with intriguing ideas for online education. Our closing guest speaker was Ted Hope, a highly respected voice in independent film, formerly co-head of movies at Amazon Studios and author of Hope For Film: From the Frontline of the Independent Cinema Revolutions.

Please note that the conference site will remain active for a year. We encourage attendees to review files that were posted and visit session recordings by going to the individual session pages. You can also reach out to other attendees via the site.

At our annual membership meeting on July 29, 2020, I was asked about our ongoing discussion of the name change and Constitution/By Laws changes. To facilitate a conversation about those topics, we have created a forum on the UFVA site that will be available for 30 days starting today. I would like to clarify the process and issues for you.

As was outlined in an email I sent earlier this summer and reviewed at this year’s membership meeting, we will be discussing and subsequently voting on a change to the name of the Association (reflected in the Constitution) and revisions to our By Laws. Changing the name of the Association requires a change to our Constitution and is the only proposed change to that document. The By Laws involve a broader set of revisions, which have been supplied to you.

There will only be two choices for the name of the association: UNIVERSITY FILM AND VIDEO ASSOCIATION or UNIVERSITY FILM AND MEDIA ASSOCIATION. Please do not suggest other names at this time. The name was already discussed and voted on by the board based on feedback from our members last year.

The changes to the By Laws were carefully vetted by the board. They are intended to streamline operations and update processes. Like all such documents, piece-meal revisions become complicated, so we are asking that you vote YES or NO on all the changes. All details and countervailing arguments written by others are posted on the UFVA site.

PROCESS:

The process for amendments is copied at the end of this message. To comply, the discussion forum will be open for 30 days until 11:59 PM on September 2nd. The comments received will be summarized and sent to the members along with a ballot.

BALLOT:

The ballot will contain two questions: one for the name change in the Constitution and one for all the By Laws changes taken together.

VOTE:

The ballot will allow 60 days for the vote to occur and will end at 11:59 PM on November 9th.

I encourage everyone to visit the links and contribute to the discussion. Thank you for your contributions to UFVA.

Regards,

Laura

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Amendments per current By Laws:

The proposed amendment, together with a summary of the discussion about the amendment, will be promptly submitted by mail or secure electronic balloting to all members qualified to vote as set forth in the bylaws. Voting will be by letter or electronic ballot sent with the proposed amendment and summary of the discussion to the voting membership. In order to be counted, return ballots must be received within sixty (60) days of the mailing out date if at least a two-thirds of the members so voting have voted to adopt the amendment. Balloting will close sixty days after the mailing out date and proposed amendments with an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the ballots returned will become a part of the constitution.