Bylaws of the CollegeBYLAWSof the Revised April 2015 The American College of Epidemiology is a professional organization of epidemiologists that serves the interests of its members through sponsorship of scientific meetings, publications and educational activities, recognizing outstanding contributions to the field and advocating for issues pertinent to epidemiology. Article ARTICLE I. Membership Section 1. There shall be five classes of membership: 1) Member, 2) Fellow, 3) Honorary Fellow, 4) Emeritus and 5) Associate Member. Section 2. Any person who has been deemed by the Admissions Committee to have satisfied the following criteria shall be eligible to be a Member: 1) a doctoral degree in epidemiology; or 2) a doctoral degree in a field relevant to epidemiology and specific formal training in epidemiology of at least one year's duration equivalent to a Master of Science degree; or 3) a doctoral degree in a field relevant to epidemiology and at least two years of supervised and structured experience in the practice of epidemiology; or 4) a doctoral degree in a field relevant to epidemiology, or a masters degree in epidemiology, and demonstrated sustained experience and productivity in the practice of epidemiology. Section 3. Any person who has been deemed by the Committee on Admissions to have satisfied the following criteria shall be eligible to be a Fellow: 1) the criteria for Member, and 2) clear evidence of significant and sustained academic and/or other professional contributions to the field of epidemiology. Any Member who has been deemed by the Committee on Admissions to have made sufficient contributions to the field of epidemiology shall be eligible to be a Fellow. Section 4. Any distinguished epidemiologist may be elected as an Honorary Fellow. Candidates shall be chosen by a committee consisting of the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and two other members of the Board of Directors appointed by the President annually. Honorary Fellows shall be entitled to all the privileges of Fellows except voting and serving as officers or directors and shall be exempt from the payment of dues. Section 5. Any Fellow or Member in good standing who reaches her/his 60th birthday and has retired from active professional work may apply for Emeritus status. Each application shall be considered individually by the Admissions Committee with recommendation to the Board of Directors. Emeritus Fellows and Members shall be exempt from the payment of dues and may not hold office or vote. Section 6. Any person who has been deemed by the Admissions Committee to be enrolled in training that, when completed satisfactorily, would qualify the applicant for admission into the College shall be eligible to be an Associate Member. The maximum term for Associate Members shall be five years. Proof of continuance of training shall be submitted annually. Section 7. Members shall be entitled to all the privileges of Fellows except those of serving as officers; they may serve on the Board of Directors of the College, or as Chair of any standing committee in the College. Associate Members shall be entitled to all the privileges of membership except those of serving as officers or chairpersons of committees; they may serve on the Board of Directors of the College or as members of any standing committee of the College. Section 8. The qualifying training and experience of each applicant will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee, who in turn will make one of the following recommendations to the Board of Directors: election as a Member, or Associate Member; election as a Fellow; or not eligible for election. Section 9. The Board of Directors, after receiving the report of the Admissions Committee, may extend or deny membership to an applicant for any reason, whether or not specifically stated in these Bylaws. These reasons shall be made known to the applicant. Membership shall not be denied because of sex, race, ethnicity, religion or other prohibited grounds. Applicants who are denied admission may reapply after a period of two years from the date of the previous application. ARTICLE II. Election to Membership Section 1. An applicant for the rank of Fellow, Member, or Associate Member shall complete an application form. The application shall be sent to the Administrative Office of the College. Section 2. At least three times each year, the Committee on Admissions shall make its recommendations to the Board of Directors. A majority vote of the Board of Directors shall be necessary for election to any class of membership. ARTICLE III. Termination of Membership Section 1. Any Member or Fellow in arrears of dues for two years, or more, will have his/her Membership or Fellowship in the College revoked. Reactivation will be by payment of current dues, unless dues have not been paid for four (4) or more years. When this occurs, a new application for membership to Member or Fellow status must be submitted. Section 2. Any Associate Member who is in arrears of dues for one year will have his/her membership revoked. Reactivation will be by payment of current dues and submission of proof of continuance of training. If training has completed, Associate Members should apply for Member status. ARTICLE IV. Board of Directors Section 1. The affairs of the College shall be managed by the Board of Directors, which shall consist of 12 elected Members or Fellows, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the President (if his/her term on the Board has expired), the Immediate Past-President and the President-Elect. Neither the Secretary nor the Treasurer shall be one of the 12 elected Board members. The Board of Directors shall have and may exercise all the powers of the College except as indicated by statute or by these Bylaws which require them to be exercised by other than the Directors. Section 2. Each year, four Members or Fellows will be elected to the Board (from a slate of eight nominees) for a term of three years. The Directors shall be elected by mail, email, or internet ballot of the membership. One of the four newly elected Directors may be a Member. Should a vacancy occur during the unexpired term of a Director, the Board of Directors shall fill the vacancy until the next election. At the next election, a Director shall be elected to serve the remainder of the unexpired term. No Director shall serve for more than two consecutive full terms. Directors shall hold office until their successors have been elected. The Board of Directors shall enter upon their duties at the close of the annual meeting following their election. Section 3. The President shall be a Fellow, elected by the members from among current Members of the Board or those who have served on the Board within the past four years. The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by the Board of Directors from the Fellows. Section 4. The Officers shall enter upon their duties at the close of the annual meeting following their election. The Officers shall have the authority and shall perform duties customarily pertaining to their respective offices. Section 5. A quorum for a meeting of the Board of Directors shall consist of a majority of Directors which shall include at least one Officer. The Board may conduct business by mail, telephone, or e-mail providing a quorum is obtained. Section 6. Chairs of Standing Committees are expected to attend Board meeting, and shall report Committee activities to the Board as requested. Section 7. Any member of the Board of Directors who has two unexcused absences from a Board meeting shall be dropped from the Board. Section 8. The composition of the Board of Directors shall include two Associate Members. These will be referred to as the “Outgoing” Associate Board Member, who is in his/her second year of being on the Board, and an “Incoming” Associate Board Member, who is in his/her first year of being on the Board. The Outgoing Board member will have one vote on Board; the Incoming Board member will not have a vote. Both of these positions shall be herewith referred to as Associate Directors. The Associate Directors shall be elected by the members of the current Board of Directors before the Annual Meeting and serve a term of approximately two calendar years from the close of the Annual Meeting of his/her election. The Incoming Associate Director will be elected each year so there will be two Associate Directors serving on the Board simultaneously. One Associate Director will be appointed liaison to the Membership Committee for his/her term. The second will serve as a liaison on one other committee of the College. Candidates for the Associate Director position must be Associate Members in good standing for at least one full year prior to election and must be endorsed by a Fellow of the College in order to be considered for nomination. ARTICLE V. Officers Section 1. The Officers of the College shall be a President, a President-Elect, an Immediate Past-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The offices of the Secretary and Treasurer may be combined if the Board so directs. The President and the President-Elect shall be elected by mail, email, or internet ballot of the membership. Section 2. The Officers shall enter upon their duties at the close of the annual meeting following their election. Section 3. The President and the President-Elect shall hold office for one year or until their successors are elected. They shall not be eligible for re-election. Should the President be unable to serve out the elected term, the term will be served out by the Immediate Past President, if available, or by the President-Elect. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall hold office for five years or until their successors are elected. Section 4. Vacancies occurring between annual meetings shall be filled by the Board of Directors for the unexpired term. Section 5. The Officers shall have the authority and shall perform the duties customarily pertaining to their respective offices and shall have the power to act on behalf of the College between meetings of the Board. Section 6. The Treasurer shall provide to the Board of Directors, when requested, a report showing an audit of the accounts. The Treasurer shall employ a certified public accountant or other appropriate individual for this function. ARTICLE VI. Dues Section 1. The amount of annual dues shall be determined by the College by vote of the majority of Fellows and Members present at any regular meeting as determined by the Board of Directors. Any member who has paid annual dues shall be said to be a member “in good standing.” Section 2. Any Fellow, or Member, in good standing may, for sufficient reason and with his/her consent be absolved by the Board of Directors from the payment of dues. Section 3. The Board of Directors shall have the power to collect fees as necessary for education courses to remunerate instructors and pay other such expenses essential to the education program. ARTICLE VII. Meetings of the College Section 1. The time and place of the annual meeting shall be decided by the Board of Directors. Section 2. A quorum shall consist of twenty-five Fellows or Members, including at least a majority of the members of the Board of Directors and one Officer. Section 3. The duration of the meeting shall be decided by the Board of Directors. Section 4. Special meetings of the College may be called by the President or a majority of the Board of Directors. ARTICLE VIII. Standing Committees Section 1. Standing Committees of the College are Admissions, Associate Member, Awards, Career Mentoring, Communication, Education, Ethics, Finance, Membership, Minority Affairs, Publications, and Policy. Each Standing Committee, with the exception of the Associate Member Committee, shall comprise at least 5 Fellows or Members, and one Associate Member. At least one Fellow or Member shall be a member of the Board of Directors. Standing Committees shall report to the Board as requested by the President. The Outgoing Associate Board Member shall serve as chair of the Associate Member Committee, and the Incoming Associate Board Member shall serve as vice-chair. The chair of each remaining Standing Committee shall be appointed by the President, renewable for up to three consecutive years. The chair of each Standing Committee will appoint Committee members as needed, in consultation with, and with the approval of, the President. Committee members may serve a maximum of two three-year terms. After serving the maximum allowable term, any Committee chair or member may be reappointed to that Committee after a one-year hiatus. One ACE Fellow, appointed by the current ACE President, will serve as Advisor to the Associate Member Committee for a two-year term. Section 2. The Admissions Committee, including the Secretary and the Treasurer serving ex officio, shall receive and judge applications for the various classes of membership, and shall make admission recommendations to the Board of Directors. ARTICLE IX. Special Committees Section 1. A Nominating Committee shall be appointed annually. The Past President, upon completion of her/his term as Past President, shall serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee. This committee shall consist of between three and six (inclusive) Fellows or Members, and shall include the President-Elect. The remaining members, no one of whom is a member of the Board of Directors, shall be appointed by the Chair and include a Membership Committee member. It shall be the duty of this Committee to present the names of at least two candidates for each vacancy on the Board of Directors. The nominees shall be selected with due regard to geographic representation and other considerations including gender and race/ethnicity. Additional names for consideration may be submitted by electronic mail by any Fellow or Member six months prior to the annual meeting; this opportunity shall be publicized through the College's customary channels. The names of those agreeing to serve and a brief curriculum vitae for these candidates shall be distributed by electronic mail ballot at least six weeks prior to the annual meeting. Section 2. The Program Committee for each annual meeting, consisting of three Fellows or Members, shall be appointed and its chairman designated by the President. The Committee shall serve as a Subcommittee of the Education Committee. At least one Member of the Education Committee will serve as an ex-officio Member of the Committee. Section 3. The Board of Directors may, by majority vote, establish any other committee deemed necessary for the welfare of the College. The members of each such committee shall be appointed by the President. Section 4. All special committees shall report to the Board of Directors at least once a year. ARTICLE X. Amendments These Bylaws may be amended by a majority of those Fellows, Members and Associate Members present and voting at any annual meeting of the College, providing that the proposed amendments shall have been submitted in writing to the Board at least two months prior to the annual meeting and distributed in writing to the membership at least one month prior to that meeting. The Bylaws also may be amended by mail, email, or internet ballots. Notice of the proposed changes shall be submitted in writing at least two months prior to voting and specific changes distributed to the membership at least one month prior to voting. A majority of Members, Associate Members, and Fellows casting mail, email, or internet ballots is needed to amend the Bylaws. ARTICLE XI. Rules of Order The rules contained in Robert's “Rules of Order” shall govern the College in any and all cases to which they are applicable. ARTICLE XII. Corporate Seal The Corporate Seal of the Corporation shall consist of the following words and figures inscribed in a circle: The American College of Epidemiology ARTICLE XIII. Fiscal Year The fiscal year shall extend from January 1 to December 31 of the successive year.
ARTICLE XIV. Initial Membership The requirements for - membership stated in Article I of these Bylaws may be waived for all applicants for membership whose qualifying training and experience predates January 1, 1983 . The Board of Directors shall determine by a majority vote whether an applicant is admitted to his/her respective class of membership. The Board of Directors shall notify all applicants whose applications were received prior to December 31, 1980 of the final decision of the Board of Directors regarding their application by June 30, 1981 . All members of the initial Board of Directors, as constituted in the Articles of Incorporation, shall be founding Fellows of the College. The terms of the Board of Directors as constituted in the Articles of Incorporation shall begin at the time of the first annual meeting of the College. |