CONSTITUTION

Revised March 22, 2003

Article I - Name and Purpose
1. The name of this organization shall be the Georgia Academy of Science.
2. The purpose of this organization shall be the promotion of the interests of science by activities such as:
(a). Holding an annual meeting for presentation of research, for participation in symposia, and for general discussion of matters of scientific interest.
(b). Publishing of scientific articles and abstracts.
(c). Sponsoring and promoting the Georgia Junior Academy of Science in schools.
(d). Recognizing individuals who make outstanding scientific contributions.

Article II - Membership
1. The membership of the Academy shall be as follows:
(a). Members: Persons who are engaged in scientific work or who are interested in the purpose of the Academy are eligible for membership.
(b). Student Members: Students enrolled in any public or private college or university within the state of Georgia may be sponsored by a faculty member/advisor for membership in the Academy. Student members pay reduced membership fees and do not have voting rights.
(c). Fellows: Fellows of the Academy are members who have been elected as recognition of scientific achievement and outstanding service to the Academy. Fellows do not have special privileges in connection with business to voting. Each year a committee shall be appointed by the President to nominate members to be considered by the council and plenary session as Fellows and Honorary Members. This committee shall consist of three members. At least one of these committee members shall be a Fellow.
(d). Honorary members: The Council may recommend individuals to the Academy for honorary membership. A two-thirds majority vote of the Academy members present at the annual meeting shall be necessary for election. Honorary members do not pay dues and may not hold office.
(e). Patrons: Individuals or organizations who make a specified annual contribution to the funds of the Academy or who render outstanding service in the promotion of its purposes may be designated patrons by action of the Council.
(f). Life members: Members in good standing who have paid dues for 20 years and who have retired from their regular employment shall be exempt from further payment of dues and shall be given the status of life member. Life members shall have all the regular privileges of members of the Academy.

2. The membership of the Academy shall be classified into sections by areas of interest as listed in the By Laws.

Article III - Affiliated Groups
1. Affiliation of national organizations, regional organizations, state organizations, and local organizations with the Georgia Academy of Science is authorized when approved by a two-thirds vote of the members at the plenary session at any annual meeting provided the petition for affiliation has been presented to the Council for approval at least six months prior to final actions. Such affiliation may be terminated by either party on six months notice. At least five percent of the voting members of the affiliated organization must be members of the Georgia Academy of Science; the affiliation is automatically terminated when this condition is not met for two consecutive years.

2. The Georgia Academy of Science shall not assume, by virtue of the affiliation, any responsibility for the financial affairs of the affiliate.

3. Each affiliated organization determines its own membership requirements and form of organization.

Article IV - Officers and Council
1. The officers of the Academy shall be President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Members who are not residents of Georgia or who are not regularly employed in Georgia are not eligible to hold office in the Academy. If any office holder changes his or her place of residence and employment away from Georgia, that office becomes vacant.

The President shall hold office for one year and shall not be subject to re-election for a succeeding year. The President-Elect shall serve one year in that office and at the close of that year shall be come President. The Vice President shall serve one year in that office. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for staggered three year terms and shall be eligible for re-election.

In case the office of President is vacated prematurely, the remainder of that term shall be filled by the President-Elect, who then continues as President for the next term. If the office of President-Elect becomes vacant, either by resignation or by the President-Elect becoming President, the Council will appoint a member to carry out the duties of the President-Elect for the remainder of the term. As many officers as are needed to fill unexpired terms will be elected by the membership at the next annual election. Until the next election, the Council will appoint acting officers as necessary.

2. The affairs of the Academy shall be in charge of a Council composed of: The officers of the Academy, the immediate past President, three Councilors-at-large, the Executive Director of the Junior Academy of Science, the Editor of the Journal, the Historian, one Councilor of each section of the Academy, and one Councilor (who is an Academy member) from each affiliated society.

The Councilors-at-large shall be elected by ballot of the entire Academy membership for three year staggered terms. Vacancies in the position of Councilor will be filled by appointment by the Council.

Councilors shall not serve more than two consecutive terms.

The Executive Committee of the Council shall consist of the officers of the Academy and three other members elected by the Council from its membership. This committee acts for the Council between meetings of the Council or performs functions as directed by the Council. Actions of the Executive Committee must be approved by the Council. Actions of the Council must be reported to the membership.

3. The duties of the officers shall be those usually performed by such officers. In addition, the President and the Secretary shall act as Chair and Secretary of the Council and the Executive Committee. The President-Elect shall preside at meetings if the President cannot preside.

4. The Secretary of the Academy shall be considered the official representative of the Academy in the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The official delegate (the Secretary or an alternate) of the Academy at the AAAS meeting shall receive financial assistance in travel in an amount to be recommended each year by the Treasurer and approved at a meeting of the Council prior to the AAAS meeting.

5. The Editor of the Journal:
(a). The Editor shall be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Council, and shall serve a three-year term with eligibility for reappointment.
(b). The President and Council shall nominate and confirm (as above) an Associate Editor, subject to the approval of the Editor. The Associate Editor shall serve a one-year term and be eligible for reappointment.
(c). The Editorial Board shall consist of the Editor (Chair), Associate Editor, and a minimum of one representative from each Section or discipline of the Academy. The representatives shall be nominated by a committee consisting of the President, Editor and Section Officers, will be approved by the Council, and will serve thereafter at the pleasure of the Council. (No term of office is to be specified.) The Editorial Board shall select responsible reviewers who may or may not be members of the Academy.
(d). Editorial Board policies are subject to review by Council at any time.

6. The Academy Historian shall be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Council, and shall serve a three year term with eligibility for reappointment.

7. The Parliamentarian shall be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Council to assist in the annual meeting and meetings of the Council and of the Executive Committee.

Article V - Sections
1. Each section formed under Article II, Section 2, shall have the following section officers: a Chair, Secretary, and a Councilors.

The Chair of each section shall be responsible for that program at the annual meeting. The Chair shall prepare and transmit to the Technical Program Chair of the Academy the program of his section for the annual meeting.

The Section Chair or Secretary may succeed him/herself twice or serve three years consecutively.

The Section Secretary need not automatically become Section Chair.

The Section Secretary will call for nominations in the call for papers, to fill the posts of Section Chair, Secretary, and, every three years, Councilor. A nomination committee consisting of the Section officers will determine a slate of at least one, and, most effectively, two nominees with a provision for write-in for each position. After consultation with the prospective nominees concerning the duties of office and acceptance of the nomination, balloting for section officers will occur in the mailing with the General Academy officer ballots. The ballots will be returned as specified in the By-Laws for counting and will be reported at the Section business meeting.

The Secretary will be in charge of student paper awards. The Secretary of each section shall prepare a record of the activities of the section (including elections of officers and any business transacted) and transmit this record to the secretary of the Academy.

The term of the Councilor shall be three years. A Councilor shall not serve more than two consecutive terms.

2. Section officers are eligible for nomination to any other office of the Academy but may hold only one office. If a section officer is elected or is appointed to another office, his position as section officer becomes vacant. Interim vacancies in any of the section offices shall be filled by appointment by the Council. Such interim appointees hold office until the time of the next scheduled election.

Article VI - Committees
1. The standing committees of the Academy are the following:
(a). Academy Improvement Committee. The members shall be the President-Elect (Chair), the last two past Presidents in residence in Georgia, and two members appointed by the President. Its duties shall include the making of recommendations to the Council for improvement of the Academy. A written annual report shall be provided by the immediate past president to the Council no later than the fall Council meeting held after the annual meeting of the Academy. This Committee or a subcommittee thereof shall frequently review the Constitution in relation to the current needs and practices of the Academy. Revisions shall be presented at the winter meeting of the council so that the membership can be informed and prepared for action at the annual meeting. It shall be the duty of the Chair of this committee to insure that each new member of the Council and each new section officer receive a copy of the Constitution within one month of the annual meeting of the Academy.
(b). Committee on Membership. The members shall be the Vice President and two members appointed by the President. The committee is to recommend appropriate ways of improving membership in the Academy. The committee will review and select yearly student travel award applications to attend the Annual Meeting.
(c). Committee on Budget. The members shall be the Treasurer and two members appointed by the President. The committee is to prepare a budget to recommend to the spring meeting of the Council, including recommendations for dues levels for members and subscription rates for the Journal for the following calendar year.
(d). Auditing Committee. This committee is composed of three members appointed by the President to examine the books of the Treasurer. A written report of this audit shall be submitted with the annual report of the Treasurer and filed with the Secretary.
(e). Nominating Committees. One committee is composed of three members appointed by the President to nominate officers in accordance with Article IV of the Constitution and Article III of the By-Laws. A second nominating committee is composed of three members, including at least one Fellow, appointed by the president to nominate Fellows and Honorary Members in accord with Article II of the Constitution and Article II of the By-Laws.
(f). Elections Committee. This committee is composed of three members appointed by the President to receive and count ballots and to certify the results to the President.
(g). Committee on Local Arrangements for the Annual Meeting. The Chair of this committee is appointed by the President of the Academy in consultation with the proper officials of the host institution. Other members are selected by the Chair and officials at the host institution.
(h). Scientific Exhibits Committee. This committee is composed of the Councilors-at-large and the Councilors of any formally affiliated organizations. The committee Chair will be appointed by the President. The committee will maintain an updated roster of appropriate exhibitors for the annual meeting and set fees for exhibition space. The Local Arrangements Committee will contact those exhibitors no later than the fall preceding the meeting, so that adequate time is available to assure their attendance. The Local Arrangements Committee will arrange adequate and optimum exhibition space. The Scientific Exhibits Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee will strive to improve the quality of the scientific exhibitions held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Academy.
(i). Legislative Liaison Committee. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the President. The duties shall be to regularly review all legislation introduced in Georgia and to make recommendations to the Council of the Academy concerning any that require consideration by the Georgia Academy of Science. The committee will evaluate and recommend an appropriate course of action concerning the introduction of any legislation deemed necessary and prudent by the Council of the Georgia Academy of Science.

2. The President shall designate the Chair of each committee, except for the Academy Improvement Committee, the Committee on Membership, and the Committee on Budget.

3. The President is an ex officio member of all committees.

4. Unless specifically provided herein to the contrary, all committee appointments shall terminate at the close of the next annual meeting.

Article VII - Authorization for Acceptance and Administration of Funds
1. The Georgia Academy of Science is authorized to accept gifts from interested parties, firms, or corporations either for general gifts for research or for special projects designated by the donor.

2. The gifts are to be accepted, held, and administered by the Council of the Georgia Academy.

Article VIII - Meetings

1. There shall be an annual meeting of the Academy during the spring term, the date of which shall be determined by the Academy Council and the hosting institution. The Junior Academy shall have at least one Council meeting prior to the annual meeting of the Academy.

2. The President shall solicit invitations from institutions to host annual meetings up to three years in advance. The Council shall accept or reject such invitations.

3. The Council will meet in the spring following the annual meeting, in the fall, in the winter, and at the annual meeting at times announced by the President.

Article IX - Assets of the Academy

In the event of dissolution of the Academy, its assets shall be distributed to other non-profit organizations with similar purposes.

Article X - Amendments

This Constitution may be amended at the plenary session of any annual meeting by a three-fourths majority of those members present and voting provided the proposed amendment in writing has been mailed to the membership at least thirty days before such meeting.