Bylaws of the Biogeosciences Section of the Ecological Society of America.
Article 1: NAME. The official name of this Section shall be "The Biogeosciences
Section of the Ecological Society of America."
Article 2: PURPOSE. The purpose of this Section shall be to promote research
and
education in studies of the influence of biology on the chemistry of the surface
of
the Earth, the processing of energy and materials in Earth's ecosystems, and
the
impact of humans on Earth system function. The Section shall act as a liaison
between investigators, societies, and other groups interested in these subjects.
The purpose of the Section shall be reviewed and renewed by a vote of the
membership every five years.
Article 3: ORGANIZATION. The Biogeosciences Section shall be a subdivision
of
the Ecological Society of America and shall be governed by the Constitution
and
Bylaws of that Society.
Article 4: MEMBERS. Any member of The Ecological Society of America who wishes
to become a member of the Biogeosciences Section may do so upon payment of
the designated dues.
Article 5: OFFICERS. The officers of the Biogeosciences Section shall be a
Chairperson, Chairperson-Elect, Secretary, The Past-Chairperson, and the
Webmaster. The first three shall be elected by majority vote taken by written
and/or electronic ballot of members of the Section. The Chairperson appoints
the
Webmaster. Officers can be re-elected with a limit of two terms of service.
Article 6: CHAIRPERSON. The chairperson shall preside at the business meetings
of
the Section, authorize expenditures of Section funds, and promote the interests
of the Section. The Chairperson shall serve for a term of two years. He/she
shall
represent the Section on the Council of the Society.
Article 7: PAST-CHAIRPERSON. Upon completion of a two-year term, the
Chairperson shall serve as the Past-Chairperson of the Section for one year
and
shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the Section.
Article 8: CHAIRPERSON-ELECT. The Chairperson-Elect shall serve for a term
of
one year before assuming the duties of the Chairperson. During this period he/she
shall assume the duties of the Chairperson whenever that person is unable to
serve.
Article 9: SECRETARY: The Secretary shall keep the records of the Section
and
shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him/her.
The Secretary shall serve for a term of two years.
Article 10: The WEBMASTER shall promote the Section's interests through
maintaining and updating the Section's web page.
Article 11: FINANCES. The necessary expenses of the Section shall be paid
from
the treasury of the Society, but in any one year the total expenses of the
Section shall not exceed the sum of the amount allotted for this purpose in
the
annual budget of the Society plus the amount, if any, collected as dues by the
Society on behalf of the Section.
In the event that the Section is dissolved, its assets will be transferred
to the
general funds of the Ecological Society of America.
No officer or member of the Section shall have authority to incur any expense
in
the name of the Society, except as specified above.
Article 11: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: In intervals between annual meetings an
Executive Committee composed of the Chairperson, Secretary, and either the
Past-Chairperson of the Section or Chairperson-Elect may act for the Section.
Article 12: MEETINGS. A business meeting of the Section shall be held at least
once a year. Ordinarily this meeting shall be held concurrently with the regular
annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, but if such a concurrent
meeting is not feasible, then the Executive Committee of the Section shall decide
when and where the business meeting shall be held.
Section meetings may be held at other times and places on call of the Chairperson
or on written request by ten members of the Section. Notice shall be sent to
each
member of the Section sixty days in advance of any meeting.
A quorum of twenty members must be present at the meetings of this Section
when legislative action is taken.
Article 13: PUBLICATIONS. The annual report of the Section and its official
notices
shall be eligible for publication in print and on-line publications of the Ecological
Society of America. The Section shall publish a newsletter, which shall be posted
on the Section's webpage and mailed to individual members of the Section on
request.
Article 14: AMENDMENTS. These Bylaws may be amended by two-thirds vote of
those members present at any annual meeting of the Section, provided that
notice has been given to all members sixty days in advance, or by a two-thirds
vote in a ballot sent to all Section members.