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Bylaws

By-laws of the Theoretical Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America, as adopted July 1993 and amended August 1997

Article 1. NAME. The official name of the Section shall be “The Theoretical Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America.”

Article 2. PURPOSE. The objectives of this Section shall be to:

  1. foster theoretical research in all areas of ecology;
  2. sponsor meetings for the presentation of results;
  3. foster communication and research collaborations between theoreticians and experimental/field ecologists;
  4. encourage the application of ecological theory to the resolution of societal problems.

Article 3. ORGANIZATION. The Theoretical Ecology Section shall be a sub-division of the Ecological Society of America and shall be governed by the Constitution and By-laws of that Society.

Article 4. MEMBERSHIP. Any member of any class of the Ecological Society of America who so desires may become a member of the Theoretical Ecology Section. Notice in writing to the Secretary of the Section, or to the Business Manager of the Society, plus payment of current dues, if any, shall be the only other requirements. Dues will be set by the Council of the Society.

Article 5. OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS. The officers of the Section shall be a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary. Officers shall be elected by mailed ballot. Candidates will be nominated for each office by the Section Executive Committee. Additional nominations may be made to the Section Executive Committee by petition of 10 or more members. The slate of nominees and ballots will be mailed to Section members no later than 60 days before the annual business meeting of the Section. Balloting will occur until 30 days before the annual business meeting and results of the balloting will be announced at the annual business meeting. The terms of office of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be as follows: (1) Chairperson shall serve for a term of one year, and (2) Vice-Chairperson shall serve for a term of one year after which time the Vice-Chairperson will assume the office of Chairperson and serve in that capacity for one additional year. Thus, a new Vice-Chairperson shall be elected each year. The term of office of the Secretary shall be two years. The election of the Secretary shall be in odd-numbered years. The official terms of office shall commence with the close of the annual meeting and shall continue until their successors assume office.

Article 6. DUTIES OF THE CHAIRPERSON. The Chairperson shall preside at the business meeting of the Section and shall promote the interests of the Section. The Chairperson shall represent the Section on the Council of the Society, and shall appoint committees as required to promote the interests of the Section. Such committees shall serve until the next annual meeting of the Section and may be reappointed at the discretion of the Chairperson.

[Note: The by-laws were amended by unanimous vote at the 1997 meeting of the section in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was agreed that the secretary should be able to disperse funds without the prior authorization of the chair. — THK 28 Jan, 1998]

Article 7. DUTIES OF THE VICE-CHAIRPERSON. The Vice-Chairperson shall serve as program officer and shall arrange the scientific program for the annual Section meetings. The Vice-Chairperson shall assume the duties of the Chairperson whenever that person is unable to act.

Article 8. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. The Secretary shall keep the records of the Section, including current membership and mailing lists. The Secretary shall attend the annual Section business meeting and report on the activities of the Section annually in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. The Secretary also serves as Treasurer and is responsible for corresponding with the Society Business Manager concerning expenditures made in connection with official Section Business. The secretary may authorize expenditures of the Section funds, but must report all section expenses to the Chairperson and Society Business Manager.

Article 9. EXPENSES. The necessary expenses of the Section shall be paid from the treasury of the Society, but in no year shall the total expenses of the Section exceed the sum of any amount allotted for this purpose in the annual budget of the Society and the amount, if any, collected as dues by the Society on behalf of the Section. No officer or member of the Section shall have authority to incur expenses in the name of the Society, except as specified above.

Article 10. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. The Section Executive Committee, consisting of the officers of the Section, may act on behalf of the Section during intervals between annual meetings.

Article 11. MEETINGS. The Section shall meet with the Society at its annual meeting. A business meeting of the Section shall be held during the annual meeting of the Society, and the Section members present shall constitute a quorum. The Executive Committee may also organize or sponsor meetings related to the Section’s objectives at other times and places, or on written request by 10 members of the Section. Notice shall be sent to each member of the Section at least 60 days in advance of any Section sponsored or organized meeting, but it is understood that publication of a notice of the meeting in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America shall constitute adequate notice.

Article 12. AMENDMENTS. These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of attending members at any annual meeting of the Section, provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been supplied to members of the Section at least 60 days prior to the annual meeting date. A notice of the proposed amendment in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America shall constitute adequate notice. Members wishing to vote on amendments but who are unable to attend the annual meeting may do so by notifying the Secretary of the Section in writing at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting.

Content Update History

24 May 2001 by Michael Neubert
28 January 1998 by Timothy Keitt

Page last updated on: August 21, 2009
Colin Kremer
Page transferred to new site on: June 19, 2015