New Mexico Society of Student Physician Scientists

NMSSPS Constitution and By Laws

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Article I.  Name
The name of this group will be the New Mexico Society of Student Physician Scientists.  (NMSSPS)

Article II.  Object
The purpose of this society will be to represent, serve and motivate those students that are interested in doing research that is translational, basic, or clinically related.  This will be done by, but not limited to, conferences, publications and social events.  This society shall support and strengthen the careers of existing and future students that are interested in pursuing translational, basic and clinical research.

Article III.  Members
Section 1.  Persons may become members of the Society as an Individual Member.

Section 2.  Membership shall be gained by invitation and approval by a majority vote.

Section 3.  Individual members shall be entitled to one vote in person or by e-mail as may be appropriate on any question pertaining to the Society.

Section 4.  Termination of membership shall be effected upon death, written resignation, or decision of the Society by a majority vote.

Article IV. Officers
Section 1.  The officers of the Society shall be President, Vice President, Past-President, Executive Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these By-Laws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society. Additionally the Society will elect two representatives.

Section 2.  An officer must be listed as an active member of the Society on the current membership list of the Society. He/she shall not hold more than one office at the same time.

Section 3.  Members of the Society may be eligible for office if the person is a 2nd year medical student or a 1st or 2nd year graduate student (this may be extended to 3rd year graduate students if their doctoral studies are for a period of 4 years instead of 3 years).

Section 4.  The terms of office for officers shall be for one year beginning on September 12th of each year. Officers may not be elected to the same office for consecutive years.

Section 5.  If any office becomes vacant prior to the end of the term of office, a special election shall normally be called to fill the vacancy, but may be deferred at the discretion of the Society. If the vacancy is in the office of Secretary or Treasurer, the President, with the approval of the Society, may appoint a person to act in that office until a new person is elected.

Article V. Duties of Officers
Section 1.  The President shall be the chief executive office of NMSSPS. He/she shall preside at general meetings of the membership and all society meetings and shall be an ex-officio member of all standing and special committees, except as otherwise stated in these By-Laws. The President, upon completing his/her term in that office, shall assume the position of Past-President in the new term of office. The President will attend the annual chartering workshops and meetings as required by the University of New Mexico.

Section 2.  The Vice President shall assist the President and in the event the President can not or will not act in any manner through incapacity or any other reason, with the approval of the society, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President. He/she shall normally assume the position of President in the new term of office.The Vice President will chair the Awards Committee. Along with the President, the Vice President will attend the annual chartering workshops and meetings as required by the University of New Mexico.

Section 3.  The Secretary shall prepare and keep the minutes of the Society; shall be responsible for all records of the Society; shall keep the seal of the Society and shall execute all documents as appropriate by custom or law; shall issue notices to the Society and membership of all meetings and, in general, shall perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the Council.

Section 4.  The Treasurer shall have charge and custody of and be responsible for all funds, securities, and assets of the Society, and shall deposit all such funds, assets or securities in the name of the Society in such bank depositories as shall be selected by the Officers. He/She shall keep a full accounting of all the Society’s financial transactions and shall draw checks as authorized by the Officers. He/She shall file all reports required by the laws of any state, local, and national government and shall render a statement of the conditions of the Society at all meetings of the Officers and give a full financial report at the general meeting of the membership. He/She shall be familiar with all University of New Mexico funding opportunities through interaction with the Student Government Accounting Office (SGAO), and shall be responsible for filing applications for such funds as deemed necessary by the Officers. He/She shall, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as may be assigned to him/her by the Officers.

Section 5.  The Past-President shall assist the President and perform other duties as may be assigned by the President or Officers.

Article VI. Executive Office
Section 1.  The executive office consists of the officers, excluding the representatives, of the organization as chosen by all the members of the NMSSPS.

Section 2.  With regard to voting power, each member of the executive office has one vote.

Section 3.  The By-Laws of the Society will be reviewed annually and revised as necessary. The date of the review and any applicable revisions shall be noted at the end of the By-Laws.

Article VII. Meeting and Conferences
Section 1.  The NMSSPS will host a minimum of two administrative meetings a year. The meetings shall be held at the University of New Mexico in a site as selected by the officers.

Section 2.  An executive meeting shall be held at least once a year at the discretion of the executive office. At any Executive Office Meeting a majority of the executives shall constitute a quorum. All questions arising at these meetings will be subjected to a majority vote. In his/her absence, an executive officer may appoint a member of the organization to attend and vote at the meeting.

Section 3.  Special meetings may also take place during the academic year. All meetings shall be held upon the consent of all the executive officers. If for any reason, one of the officers can not attend, an appointed officer may take his/her place. In addition, the NMSSPS website will host a site for discussion of issues regarding the organization. In these discussions all members are permitted to participate. In the event of an issue regarding a vote, the executive office will discuss the issue above at the next executive meeting, or a meeting will be organized at the discretion of the executive office.

Article VIII. Committees
Section 1.  Committees will be established by the Executive Office through the designation of a committee chair. The chair shall select a committee from members of the NMSSPS or as otherwise stated in these By-Laws, subject to the approval of the President and Vice-President. The term of office for the appointed member will last until the next administrative meeting or as stated by the Executive Office. All committees are to report to the Executive Office Meetings as required.

Section 2.  The Conference Committee consists of the Chair and as many committee members as appointed by the Chair. The purpose of the Conference Committee is to assist the NMSSPS with the preparations and procedures for holding conferences involving the organization.

Sections 3.  Other committees may take place in the organization and shall follow the requirements as stated in article VIII section 3. The committees will be: (1) a Publications Committee to assist with the distribution of information regarding events and other aspects of the NMSSPS, (2) a Membership Committee in order to monitor and promote memberships in addition to acting as mediators of membership-related issues, (3) an Ethics Committee in order to arbitrate on questions of dispute between members and the governing body, (4) the Awards Committee.

Section 4.  The president of the NMSSPS shall be a member of all committees.

Article IX.  Finances 
Section 1.  The executive office shall determine the Annual Membership dues for the NMSSPS.

Section 2.  If after 2 months a NMSSPS members annual dues remain unpaid, the executive office will first notify the member that their membership privileges have expired and allow three weeks for that member to remit payment.  If no payment has been received by said time point, his/her name will be removed from the membership list, thereby withdrawing all privileges associated with Society membership.

Section 3.  There shall be a financial audit approved by the society Treasurer and President at each change of office for approval by the incoming Executive Office, including the incoming Treasurer.

Section 4.  There shall be no remuneration to individual officers or executive office members, except for expenses as incurred though their duties and approved by the Executive Office.

Section 5.  All checks and other documents implying financial obligations to society shall be signed by the Treasurer and/or the President.

Article X. Publications
Section1.  Publications produced by NMSSPS shall be overseen by the Publications Committee with approval by the Executive Office.

Section 2.  When necessary an Editorial Board will be appointed to monitor larger publications.  This board will consist of an Editor and as many Assistant Editors as necessary.  The Editorial Board will be overseen by the Publications Committee.

Section 3.  The editor shall chair all meetings of the editorial board and shall have the right to sit at meetings of the executive office without voting privileges.

Section 4.  The term of the Publications Committee shall coincide with the terms of the officers of NMSSPS. 

Article XI. Awards Committee
Section 1.  The awards committee shall be chaired by the Vice President.

Section 2.  Members of the awards committee will be appointed from a list of active NMSSPS fellows during an open meeting.

Section 3.  The purpose of the committee shall be to present to the Executive Office for approval:

  • The necessary criteria, guidelines, and types of awards, presented by NMSSPS to individuals and institutions.

  • Any revisions and/or changes to existing criteria, guidelines, and types of awards they deem necessary.

  • A complete list of all candidates for each type of award as well as its own considered recommendations.

Section 4.  The president alone may choose replacements upon resignations.

Article XII.  Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised in principle, shall govern the NMSSPS in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these By Laws, and if necessary, Robert's Rules of Order, shall be the responsibility of the Executive Office and its decision shall be final.

Article XIII.  Amendment of By-Laws
By-Laws of NMSSPS may be repealed and or amended only upon recommendation of the Executive Office and by a two-third vote of the eligible membership of the Society responding to the ballot.  The Executive Office shall entertain all recommendations from the membership of changes to the By-Laws.  Recommendations of the Executive Office shall be put to the membership when necessary.  Voting shall be by vote in person or through e-mail as may be appropriate.   A minimum of 14 days from the date of receiving ballots shall be allowed for the return of the ballots.  An amendment to the By-Laws goes into effect immediately upon its adoption unless the amendment specifies otherwise.

Addenda
In these By-Laws, the singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular; also, the masculine shall include the feminine and vice versa.  

Revision
Last Revised 05/31/2007