Governance

APPROVED BY COUNCIL: September 17, 2020

DATE RATIFIED BY UNIT MEMBERSHIP: November 24, 2021

Preamble

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 "Regular Meeting" shall signify the principal meeting held once a year by the Section.

Article I - Name

This Section of the American Physical Society shall be called the Southeastern Section with the acronym SESAPS.

Article II - Objective

The objective of the Section shall be the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of physics within the Southeastern region of the United States of America, including the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Article III - Enabling Constitutional Provision

Article VIII of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society and associated Policies and Procedures, as said documents 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 the Board and 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. Present Life Members of the Section shall retain that status.

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

2. Composition: The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Section, the most recent Past Chair, the Section Councilor when it is the Section’s turn in the rotation, four Members-at-Large elected to staggered four-year terms, and one Student Member of the Section, elected to a two-year term.

3. Executive Committee Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year. That meeting shall be held during the Regular Meeting of the Section. Any member of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a nonvoting alternate who is a member of the Section in good standing to represent him or her, subject to the approval of the Chair. A majority of the voting members, including at least two Officers, shall constitute a quorum.

Article VI - Section Officers, Section Councillor and Council Observer

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

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 automatically become the Section Chair at the end of the term as Chair-Elect. 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 automatically become the Chair-Elect at the end of the term as Vice Chair. The Vice Chair shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.

5. Duties of the Secretary: The Secretary shall maintain the records and membership lists of the Section. The Secretary shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the decision of said Committee and shall, in coordination with the Chair, prepare the agenda of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions. The Secretary 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 two 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 shall keep the Council informed of the activities and needs of the Section by way of the Assigned Councilor when the Section does not have an elected Councilor.

6. Duties of the Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have responsibility for all funds in the custody of or placed at the disposal of the Section and shall, in coordination with the Chair, authorize disbursements from such funds for expenses in a manner that is consistent with the general policies of the Society and the Section. The Treasurer shall present a financial report at each meeting of the Executive Committee and at the annual Business Session of the Section. The Treasurer shall keep and report separate records of the funds contributed for the support of Section awards.

7. Duties of the Section Councillor: When it is the section’s turn, in the rotation among sections as established by The Council of Representatives of the Society, a Section Councilor will be elected as prescribed below. The Section Councilor shall serve as liaison between the Council of the Society and the Executive Committee of the Section. Following each Council meeting, the Section Councilor shall report to the Chair, Secretary, and 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.

8. Duties of the Assigned Councilor: During years in which the Section does not have an elected Councilor, the Council will appoint an Assigned Councilor. This person will attend Council meetings and will perform the duties described in Article VI.7 of these Bylaws.

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

1. Qualifications:Officers, Section Councilor, and Members-at-Large of the Executive Committee must be members of the Section for at least two years prior to nomination. The Student Member must be a member of the Section at the time of their election and during their tenure on the Executive Committee.

2. Ballot: The Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Section Councilor, Members-at-Large, and Student Member of the Executive Committee shall be elected by electronic and/or 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 two candidates for the office of Vice-Chair. During the final year of the term of the current Secretary or Treasurer, the Nominating Committee shall nominate two candidates each for the Secretary or for the Treasurer, and for open positions of Members-at-Large and Student Member of the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consult with the Chair before nominating any candidate for a consecutive term. The Nominating Committee shall notify the Secretary of the slate of candidates not later than six months before the Regular Meeting, except under extraordinary circumstances. In the case where the current Secretary is a candidate for a consecutive term, the election shall be administered by the Past Chair of the Section. No later than 12 weeks before the end of the calendar year, the Secretary shall invite all members of the Section 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 two percent of the total Section membership shall be deemed to have been nominated. Ballots shall be returned, by mail or by electronic means, prior to the Executive Committee meeting at the Regular Meeting, to the election administrator. 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 present and voting. The Secretary shall communicate the results of the election to the Executive Committee at their meeting and post the results at the Regular Meeting. The Society Corporate Secretary shall also be notified of the election results. The general membership shall be notified in a manner designated for official

4. Nomination and Election of the Section Councillor:In the year prior to 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 office, following the same procedure as that for election of officers of the Section and Executive Committee Members.

   The Section Councilor shall serve for a term of four years as a voting member of the Council. In any other case, an Assigned Councilor shall be appointed by the Council to represent the Section.

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

6. Vice Chair, Chair-Elect and Chair: The member serving as Chair-Elect shall serve in that office for one year, 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. The Chair-Elect shall also serve as Program Chair for the Regular Meeting following election. The member elected as Vice Chair shall serve one year in that office before becoming Chair-Elect in the year following his or her term of office. The Vice Chair shall also serve ex-officio (non-voting) on the award committees of the section, along with other award committee members appointed by the section

7. Terms of Office: The terms of office of the Officers, Members-at-Large, and Student Member of the Executive Committee, and the Section Councilor shall begin on January 1 following the close of the Regular Meeting of the Section following their election. The Secretary and Treasurer shall serve for a term of five years, with election years staggered so that both are not elected in the same or consecutive years. The Secretary and Treasurer may not serve more than two consecutive terms.” The tenure of a Member-at- Large of the Executive Committee shall be four years and will 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 Student Members shall serve a two-year term. The term of office of a Section Councilor shall be four years.

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. If vacancy occurs in the office of Chair-Elect, the Vice Chair shall complete the term and serve as Chair-Elect also in the following year. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Vice Chair, a special election shall be held to fill that office. The member elected shall then serve in the normal succession.

   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 the members of the Executive Committee, plus one member appointed by the APS. The Chair shall ascertain through the Society Corporate Secretary the identity of this member. The Nominating Committee shall direct the Secretary in the preparation of a slate of candidates for Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Members-at-Large, and Student Member of the Executive Committee, and Section Councilor, according to Article VII.3, 4 and 7 of these Bylaws.

2. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Chair-Elect and at least four additional members of his or her choosing. The Program Committee shall be responsible for organizing the sessions for papers to be presented at the Regular Meeting.

3. Award Committees: The Award Committees shall each consist of the Vice-Chair, as specified in Article VII.6, and three members appointed by the Section

   Duties of each award committee will be to select awardees from among those candidates nominated by the members of the section.

4. 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 Meeting: One meeting of the Section, to be known as the Regular Meeting, shall be held annually 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 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 Society Director of Meetings. The registration fee for the Regular Meeting, when not held jointly with a Meeting of the Society, shall be fixed after consultation with the Society Director of Meetings. Non-members of the Society shall pay a surcharge normally equal to the cost of membership in the Society.

2. Annual Business Session: Each year the Section shall hold a Business Session which shall be a session of the 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. A majority vote of those Section members present at the Business Session shall be sufficient for approval of actions which shall then be advisory to the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall post the agenda for the Business Session no later than the beginning of the Regular Meeting.

3. 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 character of the meeting, which may include limitations on the subject matter of submitted papers. The Secretary shall fix the deadline date for receipt of titles and abstracts in consultation with the Society 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 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, and Policies and Procedures of the Society.

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 provided by the Secretary to the membership of the Section in the spring and summer of each year. The primary purpose of the newsletter will be the announcements regarding the Regular Meeting, including the deadline for submission of papers, location of the meeting, housing and travel information, plus other information as directed by the Executive Committee.

Article XII - Official Announcements

Official announcements shall be made in APS News (at the discretion of the APS News Editor) and in such other publications 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 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 Section. However initiated, revisions or amendments must be reviewed by the Society Governance Committee and approved by the Council before further action can be taken. Following Council approval, the Secretary shall distribute copies of the proposed Amendment to all members of the Section 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.

Not later than twelve weeks after said Annual Meeting, the Secretary shall again distribute the proposed Amendment, including a ballot and directions for voting. Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds vote by those voting.

Previously amended April 20, 2018