Chinese American Society FOR Mass Spectrometry ByLaws
Article I. Short Titles and Name
This document may be cited as “the Chinese American Society for Mass Spectrometry Bylaws” (the CASMS Bylaws), or “the Bylaws” hereinafter. The name of this organization shall be the Chinese American Society for Mass Spectrometry, and may be referred to as CASMS. Any name associated with CASMS may not be used without the consent of the Board of Directors (hereinafter “the BD”).
Article II. Objectives and Purposes
CASMS is a not-for-profit and non-political organization registered in the State of New York in the United States of America. The primary purpose of CASMS is to serve its membership, the communities of mass spectrometry and its related technologies and applications, and the public interests by:
- educating the public and advancing public knowledge in mass spectrometry and its development and applications in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, clinical, environmental and geological industries and in academia;
- promoting the advancement of mass spectrometry;
- facilitating communication among mass spectrometrists and any individual or group who is interested in mass spectrometry and its related fields in the United States and abroad;
- providing a forum for the interchange and dissemination of technical or non-technical information in mass spectrometry and its related fields; and
- fostering career growth and development of members;
Article III. Membership
Section 1. Members. Any individual or organization who supports the objectives of CASMS and is willing to contribute to the achievement of these objectives is eligible for membership.
Section 2. Admission to Membership. Any individual or organization meeting the requirements in Section 1 of this Article shall be admitted to membership in CASMS upon completion of administrative processing of application accompanied by the payment of the required dues.
Section 3. Definition and Annual Dues. The membership of the Society shall consist of three categories of members: regular members, student members, and corporate members. CASMS membership dues shall be established by the BD. Regular members shall be individual who meet the requirements in Section 1 of this Article, except for full-time students. Student members shall be any undergraduate, graduate, or medical student who is enrolled as a full-time student and meets the requirements in Section 1 of this Article. Corporate members shall be any company who meets the requirements in Section 1 of this Article. The CASMS corporate membership permits a company to be commercially active at any of the CASMS events. At the CASMS annual meeting, corporate members may distribute literature, host a hospitality suite or exhibit booth, and present a news conference for press and financial analysts. These commercial activities and their content need approval from the BD.
Section 4. Membership Rights, Benefits and Services. Each member shall have the following rights, benefits and services:
- voting and being voted;
- participating in and supporting CASMS activities;
- discussing and suggesting about the events to be held by CASMS;
- facilitating exchange of knowledge in the public domain.
The Board of Directors may amend membership benefits and services as it deems necessary or desirable in furtherance of CASMS purposes.
ARTICLE IV. Board of Trustees
Section 1. Composition. The Board of Trustees (hereinafter “the BT”) shall consist of CASMS Past Presidents and distinguish members approved by the BT and the BD with more than two-thirds (2/3) vote. Elected BT members shall be members with long-term leadership in service and/or making significant contributions to the CASMS.
Section 2. Duties and Authorities. The Board of Trustees shall
- resolve any issues regarding the Bylaws and CASMS policies/procedures, and have the ultimate authority on the interpretation of the Bylaws;
- oversee the President and the BD’s management of CASMS to ensure that they fully and faithfully comply with the Bylaws and be obligated to taking necessary preventive and corrective measures in the event of a serious or potentially serious deviation;
- be responsible for long-term strategic planning and major structural changes of CASMS, including but not limited to organizational development, long-term financial planning, and promulgation of policies;
- be charged with the authority to select from nominees for final candidates of President-elect and the BD members, and approve election results.
- be charged with the authority to review and approve major budget proposal (a major budget proposal is defined as any single budget proposal with total amount greater than 25% of the entire CASMS fund) and annual budget proposal that is greater than 80% of the entire CASMS fund.
Section 3. Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. A Chair and a Vice Chair of the BT shall be elected by all BT members from a slate of four (4) candidates, including Immediate-Past President and three (3) BT members. Both Chair and Vice Chair of the BT shall serve for a term of two (2) years. Upon completion of the first term, the Chairs shall be eligible for the second consecutive terms.
Section 4. Terms of Office. The term of the BT members is unlimited unless inactive for three consecutive years. The inactive BT member shall be voted out by the active BT members at annual meeting by at least two-thirds (2/3) of vote.
ARTICLE V. Board of Directors
Section 1. Composition. The Board of Directors shall consist of CASMS presidential officials, including President, Immediate-Past President, President-Elect, Treasurer, Secretary, and elected members.
Section 2. Duties and Authorities. The BD shall be responsible for the management of CASMS affairs within the term of two (2) years. It shall promulgate as appropriate CASMS policies and shall approve and execute all CASMS yearly programs and activities.
Section 3. President. The CASMS President presides the BD and is charged with all CASMS yearly programs and activities. The President-elect shall assist President in all aspects and perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the BD.
Section 4. Term of Offices. All the BD members including the presidential officials shall serve for a term of two (2) years and serve until their successors have been duly elected and installed. Committee Chairs shall be generated through nomination by CASMS President and approved by the BD, and may be re-nominated and serve for more than two (2) years. Other BD members may be re-elected without term limits.
ARTICLE VI. COMMITTEES, TASKFORCE, AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Section 1. CASMS Committees. The President shall appoint BD members to serve on one or more of the following committees:
Professional Development Committee: This committee seeks to address career growth concerns of individual mass spectrometrists. The identification and exploration of significant developmental topics will assist members in achieving their potentials.
Membership Committee: This committee is charged with the responsibility of member recruitment and maintenance of membership roster.
Program Committee: This committee is charged with the development of a suitable program for the Society's annual meeting or other scientific conferences.
Public Relation and Fund Raising Committee: This committee is charged with the public service and fund raising for the CASMS.
Section 2. Taskforce. If deemed necessary, the President may appoint a taskforce and its head from the BD members or CASMS members to achieve a defined task. The formation of the taskforce and its head need approval by the BD with a simple majority. The taskforce shall be automatically dissolved at the end of the term.
Section 3. Advisory Committee. Advisory Committee (hereinafter “the AC”) shall include regular CASMS Advisors consisting of all past presidents and individuals nominated by the AC and BD and approved by the BT, and honorary CASMS advisors who are selectively invited with prior approval by the BD and the BT. Members of the AC shall serve as consultants to the President, the BD and the BT, and may be invited to serve as members in the BD’s or BT’s special task.
ARTICLE VII. ELECTIONS
Section 1. The CASMS President. Upon completion of the first term, the President-Elect shall assume the Office of President without voting. At the end of the first year, the President’s performance shall be evaluated by the BT and if by at least 75% of the BT members vote to remove the President in very special circumstances, the President-Elect shall replace the President immediately to perform President’s duties. The President shall not be eligible to succeed for the second term. The President upon completion of his/her term will automatically be appointed to the Board of Directors as Past-President for a two-year term only.
Section 2. The CASMS President-Elect. The President-Elect is elected biannually via voting ballot by the CASMS members at annual meeting. The candidates shall be nominated by the CASMS members. Two (2) final candidates for the President-Elect shall be selected by the Board of Trustees. At the end of the first year, the President-Elect’s performance shall be evaluated by BT and if by at least 75% of the BT members vote to remove the President-Elect in very special circumstances, a new President-Elect shall be elected by the voting membership. Upon completion of the first term, the President-Elect shall assume the Office of President without voting.
Section 3. The CASMS Secretary. The Secretary shall be elected by the voting members for a term of two years. The candidates shall be nominated by the CASMS members. Two (2) final candidates for the Secretary shall be selected by the Board of Trustees. At the end of the first year, the performances of the Secretary shall be evaluated by the BT and if by at least 75% of the BT members vote to remove the Secretary in very special circumstances, a new Secretary shall be elected by the voting membership. Upon completion of the first term, the Secretary shall be eligible for two consecutive terms after which Secretary shall not be eligible for her/his respective office for a period of four years.
Section 4. The CASMS Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be elected by the voting members for a term of two years. The candidates shall be nominated by the CASMS members. Two (2) final candidates for the Treasurer shall be selected by the Board of Trustees. At the end of the first year, the performances of the Treasurer shall be evaluated by the BT and if by at least 75% of the BT members vote to remove the Treasurer in very special circumstances, a new Treasurer shall be elected by the voting membership. Upon completion of the first term, the Treasurer shall be eligible for the second consecutive terms after which the Treasurer shall be eligible for her/his respective office for unlimited period of time.
Section 5. The CASMS Board of Directors Member. Five BD members shall be elected by the voting membership for a term of two years. The candidates shall be nominated by the CASMS members. Two (2) final candidates for each of the vacant BD members shall be selected by the Board of Trustees. The BD members may be re-elected without term limits.
Section 6. CASMS Board of Trustees Member. Upon completion of the term, the President shall become the BT members without voting.
Section 7. Nominations for Election
- Nominations shall be solicited by the Secretary before the annual meeting. Each ordinary member is entitled to nominate no more than one candidate for each vacancy, and shall be seconded by at least one ordinary member. No name shall be placed on the ballot without the approval of BT and the consent of the nominee.
- If the nominations by the membership do not provide at least two candidates for each anticipated vacancy, the Board of Directors shall have the right to nominate additional candidates, so that there will be two candidates for each vacancy.
Section 8. Election. Election shall be carried out at the annual meeting. The number of ballots shall be obtained more than 50% for each candidate to become the CASMS ex officio at the election.
Article VIII. Meetings
Section 1. Annual Meeting. The CASMS shall meet annually at a time, place and date determined by the Board of Directors, usually in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry. At each annual meeting the members shall, by election as set forth in the Bylaws, fill the vacancies on the Board of Directors and Offices. The annual meeting shall consist of a program determined by the Board of Directors. Any meeting relative to the operation and management of the Society shall be open to the public. Discussion shall likewise be open to the public, but voting on motions shall be restricted to all members unless otherwise specified by the Bylaws.
Section 2. Special Actions. At any time in the interval between annual meetings, votes by mail on special issues may be taken from the membership by the President acting upon the request of the Board of Trustees, or a majority of the Board of Directors, or upon request of 10 percent of the membership. For the vote to be valid, a majority of the members must vote within 30 days from the date of mailing. The issues shall be decided by simple majority of the votes (greater than 50%) unless otherwise specified by the Bylaws.
Section 3. Notice of Meetings. Written notice of every annual or special meeting of the members shall be given to each member 30 days or more before such meeting by electronic mailing (email) and the meeting announcement shall be published at the CASMS website.
Section 4. Quorum. At all meetings of members the presence in person of 100 members or ten percent of the voting membership, whichever is greater, shall be necessary to constitute a quorum, provided, however, that quorum shall not be required at the first meeting. Any action required by law to be taken or authorized by the affirmative vote of a majority or other designated proportion of all the members shall be effective and valid if taken or authorized by a majority or designated proportion of all of the votes cast at a duly constituted meeting. In the absence of a quorum the members present at any meeting, by a majority vote and without notice other than by announcement, may adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum shall attend, or to a fixed date.
ARTICLE IX. FINANCES
Financial regulations shall be established and followed. Funds for CASMS activities shall be obtained from public donations, membership dues and other sources approved by the BD. CASMS membership dues shall be established by the BD. CASMS adopts “yearly balanced budget” policy. President and Treasurer shall prepare jointly an annual budget for review and approval by the BD for the CASMS’s fiscal year (from June 1 to May 31). For any single major event budget greater than 25% of the entire CASMS funds, review and approval of the BT are required.
ARTICLE X. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY AND PRECEDENCE
Section 1. Parliamentary Authority. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the CASMS in all cases to which they are applicable. All activities carried out by the CASMS and active individual members shall not be against the laws of the United States of America.
Section 2. Precedence. In any case of conflict between these Bylaws and any parliamentary authority or other rules or procedures, these Bylaws shall prevail. All such apparent conflicts shall be resolved by the BT whose decisions shall be binding on all interested parties. All activities and information exchanged in the CASMS shall be within the public domain.
ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS AND REVISIONS
Section 1. A motion to amend the Bylaws. A motion to amend the Bylaws can be proposed by member of the BD or the BT. After a motion is made and seconded, a taskforce approved jointly by the BD and the BT shall prepare the amendments. Before voting by members, the amendment shall be approved by the BT with more than two-thirds (2/3) vote.
Section 2. Amendments. These bylaws may be amended at an annual meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting, provided the amendments have been approved by the Board of Trustees and notice of proposed amendments has been provided to constituent organizations forty-five (45) days prior to the opening of annual meeting.
