IRE Members Approve Merger with AIEE

At a special meeting of the membership, held at IRE Headquarters at 9 AM, July 10, 1962, IRE members approved, by a 6.5-to-1 margin, plans to merge with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) on January 1, 1963. Voting by proxy and in person, 36,221 members, or 86.8% of those voting, expressed themselves in favor of merger, with 5,489, or 13.2%, opposed. Of the 66,152 members eligible to vote, 63.1% voted, an unusually high percentage. AIEE members previously approved the proposed merger, by a virtually identical vote, on June 18, at their annual meeting in Denver, Colo., with 87.1% in favor, 12.9% opposed, and 61.4% of the eligible members voting. IRE members also approved a resolution modifying the nomination and election procedures provided in the Constitution while the proposed merger is pending. As a result of the favorable vote by members of both societies, a 14-man merger committee, seven from each society, is proceeding with plans to prepare for and implement the merger.