Governance

Bylaws

Date Approved by Council: April 14, 2020
Date Ratified by GHP Membership: May 22, 2020

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; and "CEO" shall signify the Chief Executive Officer of the Society.

ARTICLE I – NAME

This Topical Group of the American Physical Society shall be called the Topical Group on Hadronic Physics.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Topical Group shall be the advancement and diffusion of knowledge concerning the physics of the strong interaction. This includes, but is not limited to, hadron spectroscopy and hadron structure, lattice gauge theory, heavy ion physics, jet physics, QCD at high energy, and in QCD at finite temperature and density. Interdisciplinary contacts with high energy, nuclear, and condensed matter physics are also encouraged.

ARTICLE III – ENABLING CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION

Article VIII of the Constitution and Bylaws, and the associated Policies and Procedures of the Society, as said Article, and Policies and Procedures, may be subsequently revised or amended, are hereby incorporated in these Bylaws by reference.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

The members of the Topical Group shall consist of members of the Society who have indicated in accordance with procedures established by Council their desire to join the Topical Group and who retain membership from year to year by the payment of designated dues or by other method established by the Board.

ARTICLE V – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

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

2. Composition. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Topical Group, two Members-at-Large elected to staggered two-year terms, and one Student or Early Career Member-at-Large elected to serve a one-year term.

3. Executive Committee Meetings. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year. Any members of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a GHP member as a nonvoting alternate to represent them, subject to the approval of the Chair. The Chair of the Topical Group shall preside over the Executive Committee meetings. A majority of the voting members, including at least two Officers, shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VI – OFFICERS

1. Officers. The Officers of the Topical Group shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Vice-Chair, a Past Chair and a Secretary-Treasurer.

2. Duties of the Chair. The Chair has overall responsibility for the operation of the Topical Group and shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Topical Group at which the Chair's attendance is possible.

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

5. Duties of the Past Chair. The Past Chair shall participate in meetings of the Executive Committee and perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

6. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records of the Topical Group including minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Topical Group activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the decision of said Committee and shall, with the Chair of the Topical Group, prepare the agenda of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions and shall submit these minutes to each member of the Executive Committee and to the Society Corporate Secretary within four weeks after each meeting. Following elections, such minutes are to include the results of the election and a roster of the current Executive Committee membership. The results of elections shall also be forward to the Society Corporate Secretary.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the Council and Society Corporate Secretary informed of the activities and needs of the Topical Group.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall have responsibility for all funds in the custody of or placed at the disposal of the Topical Group and, in consultation with the Chair shall authorize disbursements from such funds for expenses in a manner that is consistent with the general policies of the Society and the Topical Group. Financial records shall be kept on an annual basis consistent with the fiscal policies of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer shall present a financial report at each meeting of the Executive Committee and at the annual Business Session of the Topical Group.

ARTICLE VII – ELECTION AND TENURE OF THE OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

1. Qualifications. Officers and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee must be members of the Topical Group for at least two years prior to nomination.

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

3. Nomination and Election of the Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Executive Committee Members. Each year the Nominating Committee shall recommend to the Executive Committee for approval at least two candidates for the office of Vice-Chair, for Secretary-Treasurer during the final year of the term of the current Secretary-Treasurer, and for open positions of Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. In forming the list of recommended nominees, the Nominating Committee shall consult with the Executive Committee to ensure the slate of candidates is balanced as much as possible to ensure both demographic diversity and wide representation among the various fields of physics included in the membership of the Topical Group, and before recommending the nomination of any candidate for a second consecutive term. No later than 12 weeks before the end of the calendar year, the Secretary-Treasurer shall invite all members of the Topical Group to suggest candidates for officers and members of the Executive Committee for the following year. Any qualified member proposed as a candidate by not less than five percent of the total Topical Group membership shall be deemed to have been nominated. The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the slate of candidates according to the stated guidelines, eight weeks before the end of the calendar year, except under extraordinary circumstances. The Secretary-Treasurer shall inform the Topical Group members of the nominations made and shall poll the Topical Group membership by mail or electronic ballot, stating a closing date for the voting process at least three weeks prior to the start of the next calendar year. In the case of an election when the Secretary-Treasurer is a candidate for a second term, the election shall be administered by a process determined by the Executive Committee. Ballots shall be returned to and counted by the Secretary-Treasurer or an assigned designate. Election shall be decided by a plurality of those voting. If there is a tie, the Executive Committee shall decide the election, 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 start of the calendar year and shall publish the results in a manner designated for official announcements.

4. Official Year. The official year shall extend from the close of one calendar year to the close of the next calendar year.

5. Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, Chair and Past Chair. The member elected as Vice-Chair shall serve in that office for one year, then for one year as Chair-Elect, then for one year as Chair and then for one year as Past Chair. The Past Chair shall not be eligible for the office of Vice-Chair in the year following the term of office as Past Chair.

6. Terms of Office. The terms of office of the Officers and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall begin, following their election, at the beginning of the next calendar year. 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 be two years.

7. 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 also 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. In 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.

   Vacancies in any other elected office shall be filled (or left unfilled) by the Executive Committee until such time as the vacancy can be filled by regular election procedures.

ARTICLE VIII – APPOINTED COMMITTEES

1. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall be chaired by the immediate Past Chair and shall include three members appointed by the GHP Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, and one member appointed by the Society for one-year terms. The GHP Chair shall ascertain through the Society Corporate Secretary the identity of this member. If the immediate Past Chair is unable to serve, the GHP Chair may nominate a member of the Executive Committee as a replacement. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates according to Article VII.3 of these Bylaws.

2. Program Committee. The Program Committee shall include at least three members appointed by the GHP Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, to one-year terms. The Chair-Elect shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee. The Program Committee shall be responsible, in cooperation with the Executive Committee, for arranging sessions of Society meetings sponsored by the Group, the biennial scientific meeting of the topical group, and shall, if required, organize special meetings and workshops. It shall also have the responsibility of assisting the Society Director of Meetings in arranging meetings of the Society.

3. Fellowship Committee. The Fellowship Committee shall be chaired by the Vice-Chair or an assigned replacement as selected by the GHP Chair, if the Vice-Chair office is vacant, and shall include three members appointed by the GHP Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, to one-year terms. The Fellowship Committee shall solicit nominations for APS Fellowship, shall review the qualifications of such candidates, and shall submit its recommendations to the Society Director of Honors.

4. Dissertation Award Committee. The Dissertation Award Committee will comprise the GHP Chair and four other members appointed by the Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee. The Dissertation Award Committee shall solicit nominations of candidates who have completed their PhDs within two years of the nomination deadline, review qualifications of the candidates, and communicate their recommendation to the Secretary-Treasurer, who will disseminate the result to the successful candidate and the membership.

5. Appointment and Terms of Office of Committee Members. The Chairs of the named Committees above shall recommend for approval to the GHP Executive Committee a slate of GHP members to serve on the Committees. The terms of the appointed committee members shall commence from the time of their appointment and will be completed at the end of the calendar year.

6. Ad Hoc Committees. The GHP Chair shall appoint other ad hoc committees as necessary, which shall serve only during the Chair's term.

ARTICLE IX – MEETINGS

1. Regular Meeting. A meeting of the Topical Group to be known as the Regular Meeting shall be held every two years at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to coordination with the Society Director of Meetings. Whenever it shall be feasible, and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Topical Group, the Executive Committee may order this or any other meeting to be held jointly with a Meeting of the Society.

2. Annual Business Session. Each year the Topical Group shall hold a Business Session. If the year coincides with a Regular Unit Meeting, the Business Session will be held at that Meeting. If it does not, the Business Session shall be held during one of the Regular Meetings of the Society. This Business Session shall be devoted to the reports of officers and committees, election results, items of interest to Topical Group members, and to the transaction of business affairs. No scientific program shall be presented simultaneously with the Business Session. A majority vote of those Topical Group members present at the Business Session shall be sufficient for approval of actions. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Topical Group members of the agenda for the Business Session no later than three weeks prior to that session.

3. Other Meetings. Special scientific meetings of the Topical Group may be initiated by the Executive Committee and arranged by the Program Committee, subject to the rules and regulations specified in the Society Constitution and Bylaws and associated Policies & Procedures. The rules of the Society shall apply to scientific sessions of invited or contributed papers held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society. The Program Committee shall have the responsibility for all arrangements concerning such sessions.

4. Papers at Meetings. Programs of meetings of the Topical Group may provide for the inclusion of both invited and contributed papers. When a meeting of the Topical Group 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 Topical Group is not held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the Executive Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of the meeting, which may include limitations on the subject matter of submitted papers.

ARTICLE X – DUES

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

ARTICLE XI – NEWSLETTER

The newsletter of the Topical Group shall be managed and edited by the Secretary-Treasurer, who shall oversee its preparation and distribution. The frequency and timing of these issues shall be determined by the Secretary-Treasurer, subject to approval of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may direct the Secretary-Treasurer to distribute complimentary copies of the newsletter to specified non-members of the Topical Group.

ARTICLE XII – OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News at the discretion of the APS News Editor, in special mailings to the membership, or in such other publications as the Executive Committee may direct.

ARTICLE XIII – PROCEDURE OF AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

Proposal of an Amendment or revision to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Society Governance Committee, by the Executive Committee, or by a petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent of the members of the Topical Group. However the change is initiated, it must be reviewed by the Society Governance Committee and it must be approved by Council before further action can be taken. Following Council approval, the Secretary-Treasurer shall distribute copies of the proposed Amendment to all members of the Topical Group not less than three weeks before the Regular Meeting and opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. The voting on the proposed Amendment shall be as follows.

If a special election is not held for member ratification of the proposed amendments or revisions, Secretary-Treasurer shall again distribute copies of the proposed Amendment, accompanied by ballot forms as part of the next regularly scheduled election. Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds vote by those voting.