Governance

Bylaws

In the following text, "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society, "Council" and " Board" shall signify the Council of Representatives and the Board of Directors of the Society, respectively; "CEO" shall signify that Chief Executive Officer of the Society; and "Annual Meeting" shall signify the principal meeting held once each calendar year by the Section, normally the first meeting of a calendar year.

Article I - Name

This Section of the American Physical Society shall be called the Four Corners Section of the Society.

Article II - Objective

The objective of the Section shall be the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics.

Article III - Enabling Constitutional Provision

Article VIII of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society, and the associated Policies and Procedures of the Society in current or subsequently revised form are incorporated in these Bylaws by reference.

Article IV - Membership

1. Geographical Region: The members of the Section shall primarily consist of members of the Society residing in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

2. Eligibility: Members of the Society who have indicated, in accordance with procedures established by Council, their desire to join the Section and who retain Society membership from year to year by the payment of designated dues or by some other method established by Council shall become members of the Section.

Article V - Executive Committee

1. Governance: The Section shall be governed by an Executive Committee, which shall have general charge of the affairs of the Section.

2. Composition: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Section, the most recent Past-Chair, the Section Council Liaison (ex officio, nonvoting), and seven Members-at-Large elected to three-year terms. At least two of the Members-at-Large shall be student members of the Section.

3. Executive Committee Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice each year. At least one meeting shall be held during the Annual Meeting of the Section. A majority of the voting members, including at least two Officers, shall constitute a quorum.

Article VI - Officers and Section Advisor to Council

1. Officers: The Officers of the Section shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary-Treasurer.

2. Duties of the Chair: The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Section at which his or her attendance is possible and shall perform other duties normally associated with the office of Chair.

3. Duties of the Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect shall act in place of the Chair if the latter is unable to perform his or her duties. The Chair-Elect shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

4. Duties of the Vice-Chair: The Vice-Chair shall act in place of the Chair-Elect if the latter is unable to perform his or her duties. The Vice-Chair shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

5. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records of the Section including minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Section activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the action of said Committee. The Secretary-Treasurer shall inform the other officers and the committees of their duties and responsibilities in a timely fashion and shall maintain and distribute a Section Handbook that explains the duties of the officers and committee chairs. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the Council and the Executive Officer of the Society informed of the activities, actions, and needs of the Section. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare the agenda of the Executive Committee meetings and of the Business Sessions and shall submit the minutes of these meetings to each member of the Executive Committee and to the Executive Officer of the Society within four weeks after each meeting. Following an election, the minutes are to include the results of the election and a roster of the current Executive Committee membership.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall have responsibility for all funds in the custody of, or placed at the disposal of, the Section and shall authorize disbursements from such funds for expenses in a manner that is consistent with the general policies of the Society. The Chair shall be authorized to make appropriate disbursements during times that the Secretary- Treasurer is unable to do so. Financial records shall be kept on an annual basis , consistent with the fiscal policies of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer shall present a report of the Section finances at each meeting of the Executive Committee and each Business Session of the Section.

6. Duties of the Section Council Liaison: The Section Council Liaison shall serve as liaison between the Section Council Representative and the Executive Committee of the Section. Following each Council meeting, the Liaison shall report to the Chair and the SecretaryTreasurer regarding Council actions that affect the status and operations of the Section. Reports shall be made to the Executive Committee during the meetings of that Committee and at such other times as may be requested by the Chair.

Article VII - Election and Tenure of the Officers, Executive Committee Members, and Section Advisor to Council

1. Qualifications: Officers, Section Council Liaison, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee must be members of the Section.

2. Ballot: The Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall be elected by ballot as hereinafter provided.

3. Nomination and Election of the Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Executive Committee Members: Each year the Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for the office of Vice-Chair and for each open Members-at-Large position on the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall make every reasonable effort to propose a slate of nominees such that there will be representation from the small colleges as well as from the larger institutions, compliance with Article V.2 as regards student nominees, a reasonable balance in representation from the four states, and such that the terms of no more than three Members-at-Large end simultaneously. During the final year of the terms of the current Secretary-Treasurer, the Nominating Committee shall nominate at least one candidate. The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the slate of nominees not later than sixty days before the Annual Meeting, except under extraordinary circumstances.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall make known to the membership the vacancies that will be filled by upcoming elections, solicit suggestions for nominees, and announce opportunity for nominations from the membership.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall poll the Section membership by ballot containing the names of candidates proposed by the Nominating Committee along with means by which the voter may enter other names. The Secretary-Treasurer shall ensure that communication and voting are carried out in such a manner that no members are unable to participate due to the techniques used. Nominations for any office may be made by the membership and the Secretary-Treasurer will include on the ballot names of those whose nomination is supported in a manner and in a timely fashion as specified by the Secretary-Treasurer, by at least twenty percent of the current membership of the Section. To be valid, each ballot must be returned in a manner specified by the Secretary-Treasurer and received by the Secretary-Treasurer or his or her designate at least three weeks prior to the Annual Meeting. During the first two full years after the formation of the Section, the ballots shall be counted by the Secretary-Treasurer or by his or her designate. During later years the ballots will be counted by a Past Chair designated by the current chair or, if necessary, by another person designated by the Chair. The election shall be decided by a plurality of those voting. If there is a tie for one or more offices, the Executive Committee shall decide the election for those offices, with the Chair voting only in the case of a tie among the other Executive Committee members. The Secretary-Treasurer shall communicate the results of the election to the Chair at least two weeks prior to the Annual Meeting.

4. Selection of a Section Council Liaison: During its final meeting of the calendar year, the Executive Committee shall elect or re-elect, a member of the Section to serve as Section Council Liaison for the calendar year following his or her election.

5. Official Year: The official year shall extend from the close of the Annual Meeting to the close of the Annual Meeting of the succeeding calendar year.

6. Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair: The member elected as Vice-Chair shall serve in that office for one year, then for one year as Chair-Elect, and then for one year as Chair. The Chair shall not be eligible for the office of Vice-Chair in the year following his or her term of office.

7. Terms of Office: The terms of office of the Officers and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall begin at the close of the Annual Meeting of the Section immediately following their election. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of three years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The tenure of a Member at- Large of the Executive Committee shall terminate in the event of his or her assumption of a post as an elected Officer of the Section, and the unexpired portion of his or her term shall be filled as hereinafter provided for a vacancy. The term of office of the Section Council Liaison shall begin at the beginning of the calendar year following his or her election. The Section Council Liaison may serve no more than three consecutive terms.

8. Vacancies in Offices: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Chair-Elect shall succeed and complete the term and shall serve as Chair also in the following year. The Vice-Chair shall serve simultaneously as Chair-Elect during the remainder of the term and shall continue to serve as Chair-Elect in the following term.

   If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair-Elect otherwise than through advancement to Chair, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair-Elect. In this case, and if the office of Vice-Chair becomes vacant for other reasons, the office of Vice-Chair shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term. For the next scheduled election, candidates for both Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair shall be nominated.

   If vacancies occur in the offices of both the Chair and the Chair-Elect, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair and shall complete the term. In this case a special election shall be held to fill the offices of Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair. The members so elected shall continue to serve as officers in the normal succession order.

   If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer, the Section Council Liaison, or a Member-at-Large, the Executive Committee may elect a replacement to serve until the vacancy can be filled by means of a regular election by the members of the Section in the case of Secretary-Treasurer and Members-at-Large.

Article VIII - Appointed Committees

1. Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least four members appointed by the Chair and one member appointed by the Council, each for a one-year term. The Chair shall ascertain through the CEO the identity of this member. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the positions of Vice- Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall advise the Chair on suitable candidates for Section Council Liaison and for Society committees, including relevant Society Prize and Award committees, and on candidates for Society offices. The Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties as described in the Bylaws.

2. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Chair-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer and at least two other members, including one student, appointed by the Chair, upon recommendation of the Chair-Elect, to one-year terms, commencing at the close of an Annual Meeting of the Section. The Chair-Elect shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee. The Program Committee shall be responsible for the solicitation and selection of invited and review papers and for the arrangement of the programs for Annual and regular meetings of the Section.

3. Terms of Office of Appointed Committee Members: The term of a committee member appointed or recommended by an incoming Chair shall be the official year, as defined in Article VII.5 of these Bylaws, in which the Chair assumes office.

4. Ad Hoc Committees: The Chair shall appoint other ad hoc committees as necessary, which shall serve only during the term of office of the Chair.

Article IX - Meetings

1. Annual Meeting: At least one meeting of the Section, to be known as the Annual Meeting, shall be held annually at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the Executive Board of the Society. Whenever it shall be feasible and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Section, the Executive Committee may decide that this or any other meeting shall be held jointly with a Meeting of the Society or of another society, conference, or group, so long as such joint meeting does not conflict importantly with the schedule of Meetings of the Society as determined by the Executive Board. The registration fee for a regular meeting, when not held jointly with a Meeting of the Society, shall be fixed after consultation with the CEO. Those who are not members of the Society shall pay a surcharge to be set each year by the Board.

2. Annual Business Session: At least once each year the Section shall hold a Business Session which shall be a session of the Annual Meeting. This Business Session shall be devoted exclusively to the reports of officers and committees, election results, and the transaction of business affairs. No scientific program of the Section shall be presented simultaneously with the Business Session. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Section members of the agenda for the Business Session no later than three weeks prior to the Annual Meeting. A quorum for the transaction of business shall be three percent of the membership of the Section.

3. Other Meetings: Meetings of the Section, other than Annual Meetings, may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by petition of twenty percent of the members of the Section to the Executive Officer of the Society, subject to approval by the Board. Special conferences may be sponsored in whole or in part by the Section, subject to the rules and regulations specified in the Society Constitution and Bylaws.

4. Papers at Meetings: Programs of meetings of the Section may provide for the inclusion of both invited and contributed papers. When a meeting of the Section is held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the rules of the Society shall apply to submitted papers. When a meeting of the Section is not held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the Executive Committee shall prescribe the subject and/or character of the meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer shall fix the deadline date for receipt of titles and abstracts in consultation with the CEO and shall designate the place to which they should be sent and the manner(s) in which they are to be delivered. The amount of time to be allowed for the presentation of a paper at a meeting shall be determined by the Program Committee, except as otherwise directed by the Executive Committee. These allotments of time shall be consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society and with regulations of Council.

Article X - Dues

Dues for maintenance of membership in the Section shall be established by the Board.

Article XI - Official Announcements

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News and in such other publications as the Executive Committee may direct.

Article XII - Procedure for Amendment of Bylaws

Proposal of an Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Executive Committee, or by a petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent of the members of the Section. If the proposed amendment originates within the Section, it must be approved by Council before further action can be taken. Following Council approval, the Secretary-Treasurer shall distribute the proposed amendment to all members of the Section not less than three weeks before an Annual Meeting and opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. The voting on the proposed Amendment shall be as follows. Not later than twelve weeks after said Annual Meeting the Secretary-Treasurer shall again distribute the proposed Amendment, including a ballot and directions for voting. Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds positive vote by those voting and this shall not be less than ten percent of the current membership of the Section.