Governance

Bylaws

In the following text, "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society. "Council" shall signify the Council of the American Physical Society. "Executive Committee" shall signify the Executive Committee of the New York State Section. "Section" shall signify the New York State Section of the American Physical Society. "Executive Secretary" shall signify that Officer of the Society. "Regular Meeting" shall signify either of the two meetings held by the Section.

  • Approved by NYSS APS 4/9/92
  • Amended 6/21/93, Approved by APS Council, June 1993
  • Amended 2/25/02, Approved by the APS Council, April 2002

Article I - Name

This Section of the American Physical Society shall be called the New York State Section.

Article II - Objective

The Section shall promote the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics.

Article III - Enabling Constitutional Provision

Article VIII of the Constitution of the Society, as said Article may be subsequently revised or amended, is 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 methods established by Council.

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 Section Councillor and Section Council Observer (when appropriate), and twelve Members-at-Large elected to staggered four-year terms.

  3. Executive Committee Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice each year during the Regular Meetings of the Section. Any member of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a nonvoting alternate, 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, Section Council Observer

  1. Officers: The Officers of the Section shall be a Chair, 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 whenever possible.

  3. Duties of the Vice-Chair: The Vice-Chair shall act in place of the Chair if the latter is unable to perform. The Vice-Chair is also the Chair-Elect of the Section and, upon completion of the term of office, shall become the Chair. 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 the Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Section activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the decision of said Committee and 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 Executive 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 Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the Council and Executive Secretary of the Society informed of the activities and needs of the Section.

    The Secretary-Treasurer shall have the 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 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 Councillor: The Section Councillor shall serve as a voting member of the Council of the Society and as liaison between the Council of the Society and the Executive Committees of the Section and other Sections represented. Following each Council meeting, the Section Councillor shall report to the Chairs and the Secretary-Treasurers of the Sections represented regarding Council actions that affect the status and operations of the Sections. Reports shall be made to the entire Executive Committee of the New York State Section during its regularly scheduled meetings. The Section Councillor is a voting member of the Section Executive Committee.

  6. Duties of the Section Council Observer: The Section Council Observer shall attend meetings of the Council of the Society. Following each Council meeting, the Section Council Observer 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 its regularly scheduled meetings. The Section Council Observer is a voting member of the Section Executive Committee.

Article VII - Elections and Tenure of The Officers,
Executive Committee Members, Section Councillor and Section Council Observer

  1. Qualifications: Officers, Section Councillor and Section Council Observer, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee must be members of the Section prior to nomination. The Section Council Observer must be or have been a member of the Executive Committee.

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

  3. Nomination and Election of the Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Executive Committee Members: Each even numbered year the Nominating Committee shall nominate candidates for the office of Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and for open positions of Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the results not later than sixteen weeks before the Regular Spring Meeting of the following odd-numbered year. The Secretary-Treasurer shall inform the Section members of the nominations made and shall invite these members to suggest candidates for the various offices and Executive Committee positions. If as many as five percent of the total Section membership determined on 31 December of the year preceding the election suggests the same person for the same office, that person shall be deemed to have been nominated.

    The Secretary-Treasurer shall poll the Section membership by mail or electronic ballot, or a combination thereof, stating a closing date at least three weeks prior to the Regular Spring Meeting of the odd-numbered year. Ballots shall be returned to and counted by the Secretary-Treasurer or his/her 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 Regular Meeting and shall publish the results in a manner designated for official announcements.

  4. Selection of the Section Councillor: In the years when it is the Section’s turn to supply a Section Councillor, the outgoing Chair of the Section will be the Section Councillor elect.

  5. Nomination and Election of the Section Council Observer: In the election years when the Section is eligible to supply a Section Councillor and providing the Section size remains above the necessary threshold, a Section Council Observer shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as other Section officers. In the election years when the Section is not eligible to have a Section Councillor, the outgoing Chair of the Section will be the Section Council Observer.

  6. Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair: The member elected as Vice-Chair shall serve in that office for one two-year term, and then one two-year term as Chair. The Chair shall not be eligible for the office of Vice-Chair for the term immediately following her/his 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 Regular Meeting of the Section following their election. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of four years and may be re-elected to unlimited consecutive terms.

    The tenure of a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall terminate in the event of her/his assumption of a post as an elected Officer of the Section, and the unexpired portion of the term shall be filled as hereinafter provided for a vacancy.

    The term of office of the Section Councillor shall commence as provided in the Bylaws of the Society. The Section Councillor shall serve for a term of four years.

    The term of office of the Section Council Observer shall commence at the end of the regular Spring Meeting of the odd numbered year. The Section Council Observer shall serve for a term of two years and may not be re-elected.

  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 two-year term. The office of Vice-Chair shall be filled by the Executive Committee for the remainder of the term. In the next scheduled election, candidates for Vice-Chair shall be nominated.

    If vacancies occur in the office of both the Chair and the Vice-Chair the immediate Past Chair shall serve as interim Chair until a special election can be held to fill offices of Chair 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 Secretary-Treasurer, the office of Secretary-Treasurer shall be filled by the Executive Committee for the remainder of the term. Nominees for the office of Secretary-Treasurer will be presented at the regular election following the expiration of the term (which does not necessarily coincide with terms of office for the other officers or members of the Executive Committee).

    Vacancies in any other office may 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 four members appointed by the Chair in odd-numbered years. The Secretary-Treasurer shall ascertain through the Executive Secretary the identity of the Council representative on the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the positions of Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Section Council Observer (when appropriate), and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee according to Article VII.3 of these Bylaws. The Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties as described in the Bylaws.

  2. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Vice-Chair, the Secretary-Treasurer and other members appointed by the Chair, upon recommendation of the Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee. The Program Committee will be formed prior to each Regular Meeting of the Section and shall be responsible for development of the technical program of a designated Semiannual Symposium of the Section. This activity shall include the scheduling of invited talks within the area of interest of this Section.

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

  4. Archivist: The Executive Committee shall designate a qualified member of the section to serve in the permanent position of Archivist. The Archivist shall keep the historical records of the Section and provide reports, anecdotes, documents, or data as the occasion may require.

Article IX - Meetings

  1. Regular Meetings: Two meetings of the Section will be held annually, at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the Executive Board. Should it be feasible and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Section, the Executive Committee may order any regular meeting to be held jointly with another society, conference, or group, so long as such joint meeting does not conflict substantially with the schedule of Meetings of the Society as determined by the Executive Board. The registration fee for the Regular Meeting shall be fixed by the Executive Committee. Non-members of the Section shall pay a surcharge to be set each year by the Executive Committee.

  2. Annual Business Session: Each year the Section shall hold a Business Session which shall be a session of the Regular Spring 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. A majority vote of those Section members present at the Business Session shall be sufficient for approval of actions. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Section members of the agenda for the Business Session no later than three weeks prior to the Regular Meeting.

  3. Papers at Meetings: The Executive Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of the meeting. The amount of time to be allowed for the presentation of a paper at a Regular Meeting shall be determined by the Program Committee, except as otherwise directed by the Executive Committee.

Article X - Dues

Dues for maintenance of membership in the Section shall be established by Council. Dues for maintenance of associate membership shall be set by the Executive Committee of the section.

Article XI - Newsletter

The newsletter of the Section, shall be managed and edited by the Secretary-Treasurer. There shall be at least two issues per year; the frequency and timing of these issues shall be determined by 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.

Article XII - Official Announcements

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News, etc., of the American Physical Society , in the Section newsletter, and in such other publication as the Executive Committee may direct.

Article XIII - Procedure of Amendment of Bylaws

Proposal of an Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Executive Committee, or by petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent (10%) 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 copies of the proposed Amendment to all members of the Section either by mail or electronically, or a combination thereof, and post such on the Section web page not less than three weeks before a Regular meeting and opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. With the unanimous consent of the members present and voting, the voting on the proposed Amendment may be carried out at the Business Session, provided that no less than 10% of the membership is present at the Business Session. Lacking that quorum, or without that consent, the voting on the proposed Amendment shall be as follows: Not later than twelve weeks after said Regular Meeting the Secretary-Treasurer shall again distribute copies of the proposed Amendment either by mail or electronically, or a combination thereof, accompanied by ballot forms. Adoption of the Amendment shall require approval by two-thirds of those voting.

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