Bryan Alexander

USA TODAY

The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved dramatic changes to alter its membership to increase diversity in a unanimous vote Thursday night.

The board which oversees the Oscars released Friday what it called "historic" goals to counter an explosion of criticism over minority representation. In their biggest step, the governors committed to doubling the number of women and diverse academy members by 2020.

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“The academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,” said academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs in a statement. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition.”

A 2012 report by the Los Angeles Times showed that Oscar voters were made up of 94% Caucasian and 77% male members. The academy did not list specific numbers for the new membership goals.

The diversity issue has dominated discussion after an all-white slate emerged in the acting categories for the second year in a row at the Academy Award nominations.

The ignominiously-dubbed #AllWhiteOscars has led to outcry as well as director Spike Lee, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith to boycott the February 28 Oscars hosted by Chris Rock.

Here are some of the other diversity enhancing steps the academy announced Friday:

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Potential limits for existing members: The academy set out to limit the voting powers of members not active in the film industry.

Beginning later this year, each new academy member’s voting status will last 10 years, and will be renewed if that new member has been active in movies during that decade. Members will receive lifetime voting rights after three ten-year terms; or if they have won or been nominated for an Academy Award.

"Those who do not qualify for active status will be moved to emeritus status (who) enjoy all the privileges of membership, except voting," according to the academy release.

Shawn Edwards, co-founder of the African-American Film Critics Association, said this change was crucial to gradually change the academy make-up.

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Limiting the terms of inactive or retired members means they will be replaced by new, diverse voters.

"Right now the academy is too top-heavy old," says Edwards. "This change means that academy members can’t necessarily be like a Supreme Court judge and ride this out for life. This will bring a whole different ball game and bring a whole different attitude and generational dynamic, a different appreciation of pop culture."

Bringing in new members: The academy will supplement the "traditional process in which members sponsor new members" by launching an "ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity," according to the academy release.

Addressing diversity on the board of governors: The academy will establish three new governor seats that will be nominated by the president. This will increase diversity on the board "where key decisions about membership and governance are made," according to the release.

Currently, Isaacs is the only African-American on the board of governors which is predominantly white.

"Cheryl has been this lone voice there in terms of diversity on the board," says Pete Hammond, awards columnists for Deadline.com. "That will change now."

The surprise Friday release led to immediate response from Selma director Ava DuVernay who tweeted, "Just received from @TheAcademy. One good step in a long, complicated journey for people of color + women artists."

Edwards also expressed excitement about the new steps.

"This is a great first, and I need to underscore first,step," says Edwards. "Change is still not going to happen overnight. But this is really the first serious attempt at diversifying the academy. And they had to do it."

Hammond says future board of governors meetings will address additional changes, including to Oscar voting procedure, to aid diversity in Oscar voting.

"These initial changes are just part one," says Hammond. "But (the academy) needed to get something out right away."