[Foundation-l] Announcement of Expert Trustees' Appointment and Bylaw-change

[Thomas Dalton]

Congratulations to the board members that were re-appointed and good
luck for the next year/two years.

Was there any community consultation before this by-law change? If
there was, I missed it. While this change isn't likely to be
controversial, I think it would be a good idea to consult the
community before changing the bylaws in any material way. I'm not
saying there should be a referendum on any changes, but I think some
degree of consultation would be advisable.

On 31 December 2010 15:24, Ting Chen <tchen at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> Happy Holidays!
>
> As we prepare to ring in the New Year, we're happy to announce that each
> of our current four Wikimedia Foundation Board members up for
> reappointment have been unanimously reappointed and will continue in
> their positions in 2011.  In addition, the Board has completed the first
> ever evaluation process, and during that time, we thought hard about
> some of the details around the appointment process. After completing the
> evaluation process we've voted to adjust the bylaws to extend all
> Trustee appointments to two years.
>
> In the past, community-elected and chapter-nominated trustees held
> positions for two years before reelection or renomination was necessary;
> however, Board-appointed Trustees and the Community Founder Trustee
> needed to be reappointed every year. We've decided to amend Article 4,
> Section 3 of the Wikimedia Foundation's bylaws so that all Trustees are
> equal. We recognize that it's important to all of us that all terms are
> equal no matter what "seat" a member holds.  This amendment will
> officially begin January 1, 2011, however, Stu, Jan-Bart, and Jimmy have
> volunteered to take on a one year term. Their terms will expire on
> December 31, 2011. Matt's and Bishaka's terms will expire on December
> 31, 2012.
>
> As written in the bylaws, the Board of Trustees consists of three
> members selected by the Wikimedia Community, two selected by Wikimedia
> chapters, four members through appointment by the Board for specific
> expertise, and a Community Founder seat. We currently remain a full
> Board with all 10 Trustees currently serving.
>
> Looking back at the last year, we've accomplished a lot as a Board and
> as a movement. 2011 will prove to be both exciting and challenging as we
> really move into implementing the five-year strategic plan we all worked
> so hard together on this year.  We're looking forward to bringing
> Wikimedia to more people in more places all over the world. Thank you
> all for your commitment to keeping Wikimedia going and happy 10 years
> and 2011 to you all.
>
> Ting
>
> --
> Ting Chen
> Member of the Board of Trustees
> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
> E-Mail: tchen at wikimedia.org
>
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