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 the Chief Executive Officer of the Society, and “Regular Meeting" shall signify either of the two principal meetings held each year by the Section.

Approved by Council on November 14, 2015

Article I - Name

This Section of the American Physical Society shall be called the New England Section (SNES).

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

Any person not a Fellow or Member of the Society who is engaged in physics teaching, research, or other activities related to physics, including graduate work in physics, may be elected an Associate Member of the Section by the Executive Committee. Associate Members have all rights and privileges of Section membership, save those of voting or holding elective office.

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, and six Members-at-Large elected to staggered three-year terms. The Newsletter Editor shall serve as a nonvoting member of the Executive Committee.

3. Executive Committee Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice each year. One meeting shall be held during the Fall Regular Meeting of the Section, and the other shall be held during the Spring Regular Meeting. Any member of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a nonvoting alternate to represent him or her, subject to the approval of the Chair. The Chair of the Section 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, Section Councillor and Council Observer

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

2. Duties of the Chair: The Chair shall have overall responsibility for the operation of the Section and shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Section at which his or her attendance is possible. The Chair shall be an ex officio member of all operating committees and shall be responsible for all appointed positions.

3. Duties of the Vice-Chair: The Vice-Chair shall act in place of the Chair 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.

4. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records of the Section including minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Executive Committee motions made and votes taken electronically, Section activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the decision of said Committee and shall 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 Corporate Secretary within four weeks after each meeting. Following elections, such minutes are to include the results of the election, a roster of the current Executive Committee membership, and the membership of the various committees of the Section.

   The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the Council and CEO of the Society informed of the activities and needs of the Section.

   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, in consultation with the Chair, from such funds for expenses in a manner that is consistent with the general policies of the Society and the Section. 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 Section.

5. Duties of the Section Councilor: When it is the Section’s turn in the rotation among Sections as established by the Council, a Section Councilor will be elected as prescribed below. The Section Councilor shall serve as liaison between the Council and the Executive Committee of the Section. Following each Council meeting, the Section Councilor shall report to the Chair and the Secretary-Treasurer regarding Council actions that affect the status and operations of the Section. Reports shall be made to the entire Executive Committee during their regularly scheduled meetings.

6. Council Observer: During years in which the Section does not have an elected Councilor, the Executive Committee will appoint a Council Observer. This person will attend Council meetings and will perform the duties described in Article VI.5 of these Bylaws.

Article VII - Election and Tenure of the Officers, Executive Committee Members, and Section Councilor

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

2. Ballot: The Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Section Councilor and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall be elected by electronic or postal mail 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 one candidate 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 the case of nomination of any candidate for a second term, the Nominating Committee, in consultation with the Chair, will determine if the re-appointment is appropriate.

   Members may also be nominated by a petition signed by at least ten (10) members of the Section. The petition must clearly identify the nominee and the particular position for which the petitioners are nominating the nominee. The petition must be submitted to the Nominating Committee and to the Executive Committee by July 1 of the year in which the election will be held. A nominee may stand for only one position. If there are petitions nominating the same candidate for more than one position, the Nominating Committee will choose one of these positions and assign the nominee a place on the ballot for it.

   The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the slate of nominees not later than eight weeks before the Fall Regular Meeting, except under extraordinary circumstances. The Secretary-Treasurer shall provide the Section membership with a ballot, including space for write-in candidates, at least four weeks prior to the Fall Regular Meeting. Ballots may be returned either electronically or postally to the Secretary-Treasurer, who will tally the results, with the exception of elections when the Secretary-Treasurer is a candidate for a second term. In that case the election shall be administered by a process determined by the Executive Committee 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. No later than twenty (20) days after the completion of a Section election, the Secretary-Treasurer will inform the Corporate Secretary and the Executive Committee of the election results.

4. Official Year: The official year shall extend from January 1 following the close of one Fall Regular Meeting to December 31 following the close of the next Fall Regular Meeting.

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

6. Terms of Office: The terms of office of the Officers and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall begin on January 1 following the close of the Fall Regular Meeting of the Section 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.

   With permission from the Chair, a member of the Executive Committee may attend an Executive Committee meeting by electronic means. An Executive Committee member who is absent from two successive regular semi-annual executive committee meetings mandated by these bylaws is taken to have submitted to the chair his or her resignation from the Executive Committee.

7. Section Councilor: Two years prior to the first year of the Section’s turn in the rotation established by the Council, the Section will elect a Section Councilor. The nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for this position, following the same procedure as that for election of officers of the Section and Members-at-large of the Executive Committee. The Section Councilor shall serve for one year as a non-voting Council Observer and then for a term of four years as a voting member of the Council, except when a different term is specified by the Council.

8. Vacancies in Offices: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Vice-Chair shall succeed and complete the term and shall serve as Chair also in the following year.

   If a vacancy occurs in the office of Vice-Chair otherwise than through advancement to Chair, the Executive Committee shall designate a Vice-Chair who shall then be placed on the slate of candidates for Vice-Chair in the next scheduled election. In the next scheduled election, candidates for both Chair and Vice-Chair shall be nominated.

   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 consist of three members appointed by the Chair to a one-year term, with not more than two members of the Executive Committee so appointed, and one member appointed by the CEO 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, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee according to Article VII.3 of these Bylaws. The Nominating Committee shall advise the Chair on suitable candidates for Society committees and on candidates for Society offices. The Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties as described in the Bylaws. The Past Chair shall oversee the work of the Nominating Committee.

2. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Local Organizing Committee, together with the Vice-Chair of the Section. The Program Committee shall be chaired by the local host.

3. Academe-Industry Committee: The Academe-Industry Committee shall be chaired by the Vice-Chair or his or her designate.

4. Physics Education Committee: The Physics Education Committee shall be chaired by the Past Chair or his or her designate.

5. Term of Office of Appointed Committee Members: The terms of committee members recommended by an incoming Chair and appointed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee shall commence at the beginning of the year in which incoming Chair assumes office.

6. Ad Hoc Committees: The Chair shall appoint other ad hoc committees as necessary, which shall serve only during his or her term as Chair.

Article IX - Meetings

1. Regular Meetings: Two meetings of the Section, to be known as the Fall Regular Meeting and the Spring Regular Meeting, shall be held annually at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the APS Director of Meetings. Whenever it shall be feasible and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Section, the Executive Committee may order this or any other meeting to be held conjointly 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 APS Director of Meetings. The registration fee for the Regular Meetings, when not held jointly with a Meeting of the Society, shall be fixed after consultation with the APS Director of Meetings. When the meeting is not held jointly with another organization, non-members of the Society shall pay a surcharge to be set each year by the Executive Committee.

2. Regular Business Session: Each year the Section shall hold a Business Session which shall be a session of a Regular 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 post the agenda for the Business Session no later than the beginning of the Regular Meeting.

3. Other Meetings: Meetings of the Section, other than the two Regular Meetings, may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by petition of twenty percent of the members of the Section, subject to approval by the APS Director of Meetings. 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. The Local Organizing Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of the meeting, which may include limitations on the subject matter of submitted papers. The Local Organizing Committee shall fix the deadline date for receipt of titles and abstracts in consultation with the APS Director of Meetings and shall designate the place to which they should be sent. The amount of time to be allowed for the presentation of a paper at the Regular Meetings shall be determined by the Local Organizing 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 Policies and Procedures of the Council.

Article X - Dues

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

Article XI - Newsletter

The newsletter of the Section shall be managed and edited by an Editor, who shall be elected by the Executive Committee for a term of three years. The Editor shall oversee the preparation and distribution of the Newsletter. There shall be at least one issue per year. The frequency and timing of the issues shall be determined by the Editor in consultation with the Secretary-Treasurer, subject to approval of the Executive Committee or its delegate. The Executive Committee may direct the Secretary-Treasurer to distribute complimentary copies of the newsletter to specified non members of the Section. The Editor shall be assisted in policy decisions by the Executive Committee.

Article XII - Official Announcements

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News with the approval of the APS News Editor, in the Section Newsletter, and on the Section web page.

Article XIII- Procedure of Amendment of Bylaws

Proposal of an Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Executive Committee, by the Governance Committee, or by a petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent of the members of the Section. However an Amendment is initiated, it must be approved by the Council before further action can be taken. Following Council approval, the Secretary-Treasurer shall distribute copies of the proposed Amendment not less than three weeks before the Regular Meeting and opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. If a special election is not held to ratify the amendments, at the time of the next regular election, the Secretary-Treasurer shall again distribute copies of the proposed amendment accompanied by ballot forms to the members of the Section. Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds vote by those voting.