SICB Constitution & Bylaws Revisions
[Back to Discussion Board]SICB Constitution & Bylaws Issues Overview
The membership categories are now more uniformly defined; voting and office-holding privileges for each category are specified. Emeritus Membership is better defined.
There is a reference to a Public Affairs Committee (PAC) in the present SICB Bylaws, but this is not established as a Standing Committee. References (2) are to Secretary and Program Officer working with the PAC. The executive officers suggest that this should be a standing committee.
Ditto above for the Development Committee in the SICB Bylaws. Treasurer duty is to serve as ex officio on the Development Committee, but the Development Committee is not a Standing Committee.
Article VII. Section 5 states that the Program Officer will chair a Program Committee of divisional Program Officers. But this committee is not listed as a standing committee. The wording in Article VII. Section 5, which outlines the duties of the Program Officer, can be streamlined to reflect that the PO is the chair of the Program Committee for the general purposes of organizing the program at the annual meeting. Specifics of what the Program Committee does can then be moved to the section establishing it as a standing committee. We also suggest some wording on the membership of the committee to include the divisional Program Officers (current wording), but others appointed by the President. We have other individuals currently serving on this committee, but no real mechanism for their appointment.
The current wording of Bylaw Article XVI does not prescribe a mechanism for changing the bylaws. Wording is borrowed from Article VII of the SICB Constitution to accomplish this.
Proposed changes - Additions in Bold Underline; Deletions
SICB Constitution Revisions
Article II: Membership - substantive change in Emeritus Membership definition; edits elsewhere for consistency
Section 1. The Society shall consist of Full Members, Student Members, Postdoctoral members, Emeritus Members, Honorary Members, Life Members and Family Members.
Section 2. Full Members: Any individual who has scientific training and is professionally engaged in the study or promotion of biology as a scientific discipline shall be eligible for Full Membership. Full Members shall receive announcements of meetings and all Society publications. Full Members may vote and hold office.
Section 3. Graduate Student Members: Any student enrolled in a graduate program in the biological sciences shall be eligible for Graduate Student Membership. An individual may hold Graduate Student Membership for a maximum of six years. After six years, the Graduate Student Member who has completed a doctorate shall automatically be promoted to Full Membership. A Graduate Student Member may request a limited extension of Graduate Student Membership by written request to the Business Office. Graduate Student Members shall receive announcements of meetings and all Society publications. Graduate Student Members may vote but may not hold office. A Graduate Student Member may present one paper or poster at each meeting of the Society under sponsorship of a Full Member.
Section 4. Student-in-Training (SIT) Members: Any undergraduate college or upper level high school student who has demonstrated a precocious and clear-cut understanding of science, which should lead to Full Membership at a later date, may hold this membership. Normally an individual may not hold SIT Membership for more than five years, after which he/she should be eligible for Graduate Student Membership. SIT Members shall receive announcements of meetings and all Society publications. They may neither vote nor hold office. A SIT Member may present one paper at each meeting of the Society, under sponsorship of a Full Member.
Section 5. Emeritus Members: Any
individual SICB member who has retired belonged
to the Society for at least 10 years and has reached the age of 65,
or who has belonged to the Society for at least 25 years and has been
granted retirement shall, after written application to the
Secretary, be designated as an Emeritus Member. Emeritus Members
members shall receive announcements of
meetings and may elect to receive the Journal. Emeritus
members shall hold one of two levels of membership; thos who receive
the Journal and those who do not. The Executive Committee will set
membership dues as stated in the Bylaws. They may
vote and hold office.
Section 6. Postdoctoral Members:
Any student who has earned a doctoral degree and is
professionally engaged in the study or promotion of biology as a
scientific discipline in biological science
and is a postdoctoral fellow or associate shall be eligible for
Postdoctoral Membership. Postdoctoral Members shall receive
announcements of meetings and all Society publications. Postdoctoral
Members may vote but may not hold office.
Section 7. Family Members: SICB
offers three types of family memberships: Full Family Membership,
Postdoctoral Family Membership, and Graduate Student Family
Membership. Family memberships allow two persons in one household to
be members. Although both members are eligible to vote, only one
subscription of Integrative and Comparative Biology
the Journal per household is included in this
membership category.
Section 8. Life Members:
Individuals qualified for Full Membership may elect to become Life
Members upon payment of the appropriate dues as set by the Executive
Committee. Such members would receive all the rights, privileges and
benefits of traditional full membership Full
Membership, for life.
Section 9. Honorary Members:
Honorary Members are individuals distinguished for their research
and/or for their contributions to the Society for Integrative and
Comparative Biology. Honorary Members are exempt from yearly dues,
and receive the journal Journal.
Potential Honorary Members may be nominated by divisions, the
executive officers, and/or the Membership Committee.
The Membership Committee shall review the credentials of nominees,
and make recommendations for approval/denial to the Executive
Committee. The Executive Committee will vote on the recommendations.
The President will notify a new Honorary Member of his or her
election. Honorary Members may neither vote nor hold office.
Rationale: Most of the changes in the membership section are for consistency from section to section. For example, nowhere in the current Constitution does it state that Full Members can vote or hold office. Stipulations for voting and holding office are included in each section and follow current practices. The addition of the word "executive" in Section 9 makes this section consistent with the recommended use of this term below (see Article III. Section. 2. Executive Committee below).
Article III: Administrative Organization - changes: word additions in Sections 1 and 2
Section 1. Officers: The executive officers of the Society shall be a President, Past President, President-Elect, Secretary, Secretary-Elect, Program Officer, Program Officer-Elect, Past Program Officer, Treasurer and Treasurer-Elect. The President-Elect shall be elected before one annual meeting and serve for a term, as hereinafter provided, and shall then successively and automatically become President for two years and then successively and automatically become Past President for two years. The term of the President-Elect shall be two years. The Secretary-Elect and Treasurer-Elect shall be elected triennially, and shall hold office for a term of one year, and then automatically succeed to their elected office for three years. The expiration date of the terms of these offices shall be arranged so that only one of these two officers need be elected in any one year. The Program Officer-Elect shall be elected to serve for one year and shall then successively and automatically become Program Officer for two years and then successively and automatically become Past Program Officer for one year.
Section 2. Executive Committee: The management of the Society shall be vested in an Executive Committee consisting of the executive officers, three Members-at-Large from the Society general membership, the Chairs of the Divisions of the Society, the Editor of Integrative and Comparative Biology, the Chair of the Graduate Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee, and the Chair of the Educational Council. Of the three Members-at-Large, one shall be elected each year for a term of three years. The Executive Director of the Society shall serve as an ex officio member of the Executive Committee, but may not vote.
Rationale for changes in Sections 1 and 2: The executive officers are specified here and clearly (from section 1) include President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Secretary-Elect, Program Officer, Program Officer-Elect, Past Program Officer, Treasurer and Treasurer-Elect. The "executive" officers in practice confer with each other and the executive director on a regular, often weekly, basis about the management and operation of the society. Adjectives describing this group such as "core" officers and "primary" officers have been used and the addition of the word "executive" simply provides a convenient designation for referencing this subset of the Executive Committee. Such a designation is a common practice for scientific societies. The designation "executive" officers implies no change in powers or duties of any officer or the Executive Committee.
The Past Program Officer should be included in the list of officers in the first sentence, since clearly that is the intention in the last part of the paragraph. The term of the Past Program Officer should be established just like the terms of the other officers. It is logical that it is a one year term so that each year the society has a Program Officer and Program Officer-Elect or a Program Officer and a Past Program Officer. In this way, after being elected, the Program Officer-Elect serves SICB for a period of four years through the end of the Past Program Officer term.
The practice of this society is that the Executive Director is involved in most aspects of running the society, but does so without an official vote. This change codifies the practice.
Article III. Administrative Organization. Section 4. Elections - changes: balloting process is expanded to cover divisions.
Section 4. Elections: Elections of
Society-wide Officers, and Members-At-Large
of the Executive Committee, and Divisional Officers
shall be held by both paper and appropriately secure electronic
ballots. The Secretary shall make certain that ballots are made
available to the entire membership of the Society and allow one month
for their return, the due date being stated on the ballot. The
Secretary shall be responsible for overseeing the counting,
tabulation, and recording of the votes and shall notify the
candidates and the Executive Committee of the results of the
election. The results of the election will be published in the Fall
Newsletter of the Society prior to the Annual Meeting. In the event
that the vote for any Society-wide candidate should
result in a tie, the three Members-at-Large of the Executive
Committee shall vote by mail to resolve the tie.
Rationale: The voting process is now centralized for all SICB voting, including divisions. It is a process that is done electronically with paper ballots issued upon request. This is overseen by the Society-wide Secretary. The proposed wording changes account for this. Divisional Secretaries are still involved in the balloting process. Divisions are being asked to make appropriate adjustments in bylaws to account for the current practice.
Article VII: Program Officer - changes: eliminate part of Section 3, eliminate Section 4, reword and eliminate part of Section 5, add Section 6 (formerly part of Section 5)
Section 3. The
Program Officer shall oversee the arrangement for and supervise the
publication of the programs and abstracts of meetings of the Society
in collaboration with the Editor of Integrative and
Comparative Biology.
Rationale: The provision for collaborating with the Editor can be dropped since we no longer publish meeting abstracts in ICB.
Section 4.
The Program Officer shall authorize purchases and employ
assistance as provided for in the Annual Budget in order to
expedite the business of the Society. All actual monetary
transactions shall be reimbursed from the funds of the Society
for such expenses.
Rationale: It is unclear what this section is for!
Section 5 will become the new Section 4 and the additional section will be the new Section 5.
Section 4. The
Program Officer shall chair the Program Committee for the
purposes of establishing and organizing the program for the annual
meeting. a
committee composed of Divisional Program Officers. Each year
this Committee shall decide upon at least one Society-wide symposium,
to be held at the annual meeting one year hence. The members of this
Committee shall also identify topics for the planned oral
contribution sessions arranged on inter-divisional lines, which will
be made known to the members in the call for papers. The Program
Officer shall work with the Public Affairs Committee to broadly
advertise the selected Society-wide symposia.
Rationale: This is the current Section 5, which becomes Section 4. The committee of Program Officers should have a name, which it doesn't. There was once a Program Advisory Committee, but the committee referred to above is not advisory, it actually sets the program with some approvals of the Executive Committee. The suggestion is to call it a Program Committee and it needs to be established as a standing committee (see SICB Bylaws revisions below).
Section 5. The Program Officer shall work with the Public Affairs Committee to broadly advertise the program of the annual meeting.
Rationale: This is a new section, but it is derived from the last sentence of the present Section 5, with some wording changes. As mentioned elsewhere, the Public Affairs Committee will be established as a standing committee (see SICB Bylaws revisions below). However, this new section states that the Program Officer will work with the Public Affairs Committee to advertise the entire program of the annual meeting and not just the Society-wide symposia.
Article VII: Amendments - changes: minor word changes to make this consistent with the process of amending the bylaws (see below)
Section 1. Proposed amendments of the Constitution may be originated by the Executive Committee or by the members of the Society. Proposals from members shall be submitted to the Executive Committee in writing and shall bear the signatures of at least twenty-five members.
Section 2.
The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the
members voting by ballot, provided a quorum of the Society membership
votes (see Article V). Voting shall be by mail or by
electronic ballots. Proposed amendments to the Constitution
shall be posted by the Society Secretary on the Web Page at least one
month prior to voting. Ballots will be made available to the
membership and one month will be allowed for voting. The ballot
closing date shall be stated on the ballot. With a quorum
voting (see Article V), an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the
members voting shall be necessary for the adoption of amendments to
the Constitution.
Section 3. Votes will be collected and tabulated and the Secretary will notify the Executive Committee of the results. The Secretary will also post the results on the Society's Web Page and in the appropriate fall or spring Newsletter.
Section 4. Amendments shall become effective following their adoption as stated in Article VII Sections 1-3.
Section 5. Articles of Incorporation: The Articles of the Constitution and Bylaws of this Society may be amended except that no such action shall be taken that would adversely affect the qualification of the Corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended (or the corresponding provisions of any future United States Internal Revenue law).
Article XIII: Duties of the Executive Committee - changes: rewording and clarification in Section 1
Section 1.
The Executive Committee shall serve as the governing Board of the
Society. The Executive Committee is responsible for the
conduct of the affairs of the Society and shall review and
establish policies and procedures of the Society in line with the
provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws. The Executive
Committee is responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the
Society during periods between annual meetings.
Rationale: The new wording of this section suggests that the Executive Committee is responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the Society at all times, during and between annual meetings.
Article XV: Standing Committees - changes: reword Section 3 and add Sections 9, 10, and 11 to establish three new standing committees
Section 3.
Membership Committee: The President shall appoint a Membership
Committee of three members, each for a term of three years.
The Committee shall consider matters relating to the recruitment of
new members and the procedures and policies of membership in the
Society. The appointment of members of the Committee shall
be ordered so that the term of one member shall expire each year. The
senior member of the Committee shall serve as Chairperson and the
Secretary shall be an ex officio member of the Committee. The
Committee shall consider matters relating to the recruitment of new
members and the procedures and policies of membership in the Society.
The Committee shall review the credentials of nominees for honorary
membership, and make recommendations for approval/denial to the
Executive Committee.
Rationale: The composition of the committee and details of the appointments are reordered to precede the duties of the committees as is done in other sections. The addition of the duty of making recommendations on honorary membership is already specified in the SICB Constitution, Article II Membership, Section 9 and is repeated here for clarity and completeness.
Section 9. Public Affairs Committee: The President shall appoint a Committee consisting of at least three members, each for a term of three years. The President shall appoint the chair of the Committee. The appointment of members of the Committee shall be ordered so that the term of one member shall expire each year. The Committee shall promote the programs and interests of the Society, consistent with the Society mission, to the public. The Committee shall also conduct programs and workshops for Society members in order to develop skills and provide information regarding public affairs. The Committee shall work with the Program Officer to broadly advertise the program of the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Committee shall work with the Secretary to report to the press important activities of the Society. The Program Officer and the Secretary shall be ex officio members of the Committee.
Rationale: This is a new section to change the Public Affairs Committee, already a temporary committee, to a standing committee. The intention that this be a standing committee is already apparent in the two references to it in the present bylaws; Article V. Section 3 and Article VII. Section 5 reference the committee working with the Secretary and the Program Officer, respectively.
Section 10. Program Committee: The Program Committee shall consist of the Program Officer, who shall chair the committee, the Program Officer-Elect or the Past Program Officer, the Divisional Program Officers, and other individuals appointed by the President. This Committee shall decide upon at least one Society-wide symposium to be held at the annual meeting. The Committee shall identify topics for the planned oral contribution sessions arranged on inter-divisional lines, which will be made known to the members in the call for papers.
Rationale: This establishes the committee and its membership mentioned in Article VII. Section 5 of the SICB Constitution as a standing committee giving it the name Program Committee. The practice is that there are other individuals on this committee representing different societies with whom the SICB meets. This provision allows these appointments by the President.
Section 11. Development Committee. The President shall appoint a Committee consisting of at least three members, each for a term of three years. The appointment of members of the Committee shall be ordered so that the term of one member shall expire each year. The senior member of the Committee shall serve as Chairperson and the Treasurer shall serve as an ex officio member. The Committee is broadly charged to assist the Executive Committee to develop and enhance resources for the Society to support its programs.
Rationale: The Development Committee currently exists as a temporary committee. The addition the Development Committee as a standing committee makes the bylaws internally consistent, since reference is already made to the Development Committee in our SICB Bylaws Article XI: Treasurer, Section 5 where the Treasurer duties are described. The functioning of such a committee could be very important.
Article XVI: Bylaws - changes: wording changes to make the process consistent with that used to amend the constitution; one substantive change disallows amending bylaws at the annual business meeting by majority vote; this change does not preclude discussion of bylaws (or constitutional amendments) at the business meeting, but attendance at the business meeting is a rather small subset of the society; see more comments below under Rationale
Section
1. Bylaws for the Society may be enacted by the membership.
Section
2. The Bylaws may be amended or new ones enacted at the Annual
Business Meeting by a majority vote, a quorum being present, or by a
two-thirds vote of the members voting by ballot. Proposed changes in
the Bylaws must be posted on the Society's Web Page by the Secretary
at least one month prior to any vote being taken. Votes will be
collected and tabulated. The Secretary will notify the Executive
Committee and post the results on the Society's Web Page as well as
in the appropriate fall or spring Newsletter.
Section 1. Proposed amendments of the Bylaws may be originated by the Executive Committee or by the members of the Society. Proposals from members shall be submitted to the Executive Committee in writing and shall bear the signatures of at least twenty-five members.
Section 2. The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members voting by ballot, provided a quorum of the Society membership votes (see Article V of the Constitution). Proposed amendments to the Bylaws shall be posted by the Society Secretary on the Web Page at least one month prior to voting. Ballots will be made available to the membership and one month will be allowed for voting. The ballot closing date shall be stated on the ballot.
Section 3. Votes will be collected and tabulated and the Secretary will notify the Executive Committee of the results. The Secretary will also post the results on the Society's Web Page and in the appropriate fall or spring Newsletter.
Section 4. Amendments shall become effective following their adoption as stated in Article XVI Sections 1-3.
Rationale: The current wording is vague on how bylaws can be changed. The proposed wording is borrowed from the process used to change the constitution (see above). The only substantive change is to disallow voting on bylaws amendments at the Annual Business Meeting. Improvements in web technology allowing "discussion" of bylaws amendments provides all members with the ability to participate in discussing and voting on bylaws and not just a subset of the members who attend the annual meeting and a subset of those who go to the business meeting. Bylaws (and constitutional) amendments may still be discussed at the business meeting.