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Bylaws

BYLAWS: Women in (Soil) Ecology

 

ARTICLE 1. NAME. The official name of the Section shall be the Women in (Soil) Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America, hereafter the “Society”.

 

ARTICLE 2. PURPOSE. The purpose of the Women in (Soil) Ecology of the Society, hereafter the “Section”, is to (1) promote communication and network building between ecologists who identify as women working in ecology across all sectors, with a particular focus on early career members and those focused on soil ecology, (2) serve as a formal means of communicating the interests and concerns of women ecologists with the Society; (3)  increase participation of individuals from underrepresented groups and promote their interests within the Society; (4) advocate for closing racial and gender wage gaps. The purpose of the section shall be reviewed and renewed by a vote of the membership every five years.

 

ARTICLE 3. ORGANIZATION. The Section shall be a subdivision of the Ecological Society of America, Incorporated, and shall be governed by the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society.

 

ARTICLE 4. MEMBERS. Any member of the Society may become a member of the Section upon payment of the designated dues.

 

ARTICLE 5. OFFICERS. The Officers of the Section shall be a Chair, Vice-Chair, Past-Chair, Secretary, Webmaster and Mentorship Coordinator. The Officers comprise the Coordinating Committee and may act on behalf of the Section membership during intervals between annual meetings. Election of Officers shall be by majority vote with a written or email ballot that is distributed to members each year. The Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary shall serve terms of two years. The WiSE organization maintains a voluntary Leadership Team. The Coordinating Committee will collaborate and engage with the Leadership Team. There will be potential for overlap in members of the Coordinating Committee and Leadership Team. 

5.1. CHAIR. The Chair shall preside at the business meetings of the Section, authorize expenditures of Section funds, create and/or approve Section initiatives, and work with the other Officers to promote the interests of the Section. The Chair will appoint a Webmaster and committees as necessary for specific tasks. The Chair and Vice-Chair will prepare, from nominations received from the membership, a list of candidates for positions that must be filled for the following year (the Chair and Vice-Chair shall be elected in alternate years from the Secretary). Nomination must be received by the Chair thirty days before election. The Chair will represent the Section on the Council of the Society. The Chair will communicate with the leadership team about all activities. 

5.2. VICE-CHAIR. The Vice-Chair shall be responsible for working with the leadership team, arranging the scientific program for all meetings and symposia (workshops, special sessions) of the Section and shall assume the duties of the Chair whenever that person is unable to act. 

5.3. PAST-CHAIR. Upon completion of the term as Chair, this person shall serve as Past- Chair. Duties will be limited to an advisory role as needed to support the actions of the Chair and the interests of the Section.

5.4. SECRETARY. The Secretary shall keep the records, accounts, and files of the Section, keep the minutes of the annual meeting, maintain up-to-date membership and email contact lists, dispatch communications between the Coordinating Committee, leadership team, and the Section membership as requested by the Officers and approved by the Chair, and perform other duties at the discretion of the Chair to promote the interests of the Section. 

5.5. WEBMASTER. The Webmaster shall promote the Section’s interests through maintaining and updating the Section’s web page including notices of meetings, minutes of past meetings, the purpose of the Section and the five year goals, coordinating social media presence, as well as other topics that arise.

5.6. MENTORSHIP COORDINATOR. The mentorship coordinator shall be responsible for communications with mentorship matches, working with the leadership team to create matches and creating opportunities for matches to engage with one another at annual Society conferences.

 

ARTICLE 6. FINANCES. The Section will charge dues at a level approved by the Governing Board of the Society. Membership dues and donations shall constitute the treasury of the Section, from which the necessary expenses of the Section shall be paid. Section expenses shall in no year exceed the sum of the amount in the Section treasury. No Officer or member of the Section shall have authority to incur any expenses in the name of the Society or Section except as approved by the Chair and as specified above.

 

ARTICLE 7. COMMUNICATIONS. The Coordinating Committee will make adequate effort to communicate official notices to the Section membership. Official notices include, but are not limited to, notices of business meetings, Officer elections, Bylaws amendments, and annual reports. It is understood that adequate effort to communicate an official notice may include, but does not necessitate, a notice published in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, a notice emailed to the membership email contact list, and/or a notice posted on the Section website.

 

ARTICLE 8. MEETINGS. The Section shall meet with the Society at its annual meeting and may organize special meetings, workshops, and symposia at other times and places on the call of the Chair or when requested by ten or more members of the section. A business meeting of the Section shall be held at the annual meeting, and the members present shall constitute a quorum. Notice shall be sent to each member of the Section in advance of each meeting. The Coordinating Committee may organize additional and/or alternate business meetings at other times and places at the approval of the Chair, with at least one member of the Coordinating Committee present to preside. It is understood that publication of a notice of the meeting published in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America shall constitute adequate notice. Notice shall also be posted on the Section web page.

 

ARTICLE 9. PUBLICATION. The annual report of the Section and its official notices shall be eligible for publication in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.

 

ARTICLE 10. AMENDMENTS. These Bylaws may be amended by two-thirds vote of the membership attending any business meeting of the Section, provided that notice of the proposed amendment has been communicated to the Section membership at least 14 days prior to the business meeting as per Article 7 of the Section Bylaws.

 

ARTICLE 11. REVIEW AND RENEWAL. The Purpose of the Section shall be reviewed and renewed by a vote of the membership every five years by two-thirds vote of those members present at any annual meeting of the Section, provided that notice has been given to all members in advance, or by a two-thirds vote in a ballot sent to all Section members.