CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS

American Committee on Laboratory Animal Diseases

CONSTITUTION

Article I. Name.

This organization shall be known as the American Committee on Laboratory Animal Diseases, designated herein as ACLAD.

Article II. Purpose.

The primary purpose of ACLAD shall be to advance and communicate knowledge about diseases of laboratory animals for the benefit of laboratory animal science and comparative medicine.

Article III. Membership.

Members in good-standing shall be persons who support the purpose of ACLAD and who have fulfilled the financial obligations of membership.

Article IV. Officers.

ACLAD officers shall be elected by the membership and constitute the ACLAD Council. They shall be members in good-standing and consist of the President, the President-Elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and three Councilors, one of whom shall be the Immediate Past-President.

Article V. Meetings.

There shall be an Annual Meeting of the full membership. The Council shall meet as requested by the President.

Article VI. Elections.

Elections for officers shall be held annually. Terms for new officers shal begin on January 1 of the year immediately following their election.

Article VII. By-Laws.

By-laws shall be written to interpret and implement the Constitution.

Article VIII. Enactment of the Constitution and By-Laws.

The Constitution and By-Laws shall be enacted by majority vote of a quorum of the membership.

Article IX. Amendment of the Constitution or By-Laws.

The Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by majority vote of a quorum of the membership. Amendments shall be proposed by written petition to the President signed by at least 10 members in good-standings. Copies of the proposed amendment(s) shall be distributed to the membership at least 60 days before an Annual Meeting so that it (they) can be discussed at the Meeting and prior to balloting.

BY-LAWS

1. Membership
   
   a. Admission to membership shall consist of the submission of a completed Application for Membership and a full annual dues payment. Applications are requested from the ACLAD business office.
   
   b. Annual membership dues shall be established by the Council and be commensurate with ACLAD's goals and operating budget.
   
   c. Annual dues shall be paid by January 1 of the calendar year to which they are applicable. Members who are delinquent in the payment of dues shall relinquish their voting privileges until payment has been made. Members who remain delinquent in the payment of dues for more than one year shall be removed from membership.
   
   
2. Officers
   
   a. Duties
   
   
   i. The President shall be the chief officer and preside at all meetings of the Council and the general membership. He/she shall be responsible for providing leadership to advance the goals of ACLAD and for maintaining ACLAD's fiscal soundness.
   
   ii. The Vice-President shall be the President-Elect and preside in the absence of the President. The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President upon the expiration of the President's term or if the President relinquishes office before the end of a standard term.
   
   iii. The Secretary shall serve as ACLAD's communications and archival officer. The Secretary shall take and distribute minutes of all meetings of the Council and general membership. He/she will maintain an archive of all written documents about ACLAD including minutes, correspondence, publications and records of membership. He/she shall serve as Editor of the ACLAD Newsletter.
   
   iv. The Treasurer shall serve as ACLAD's financial officer. He/she will be responsible for all financial transactions and particularly the collection of all revenues and the disbursements of all payments. He/she shall provide financial statements to the general membership at least annually and/or at the request of the President. He/she shall assist the President and the Council in preparing an annual operating budget.
   
   v. The Councilors shall assist and advise the preceding officers in the administration of ACLAD. One Councilor also shall serve as Chair for Membership and one shall serve as Chair for Programs.
   
   vi. All officers shall be members in good-standing during their terms of office.
   
   
   b. Terms of Office
   
   i. All officers shall each serve a two-year term beginning on January 1 after election.
   
   ii. Terms for the two Councilors exclusive of the immediate Past-President shall be staggered so that one term expires per year.
   
   iii. No officer shall serve in a given office for more than two consecutive terms.
   
   iv. The President may fill unexpected vacancies on the Council with temporary appointments for the remainder of the fiscal year in which they occurred. The President shall call for elections during the same fiscal year to fill such vacancies.
   
   
   
3. Meetings
   
   a. Rules of Order
   
   All meetings and administrative actions shall be consistent with parliamentary procedures as described in Robert's Rules of Order.
   
   b. Quorums
   
   i. A quorum for a meeting of the Council shall consist of the President and at least 3 other members of the Council.
   
   ii. A quorum for a meeting of the general membership shall consist of the President, at least three other members of the Council, and at least 10 additional members in good-standing.
   
   
4. Elections
   
   a. Selection of Candidates
   
   The President shall appoint a nominating committee of at least three members in good-standing to propose a slate of officers. The slate will be presented to the general membership in a mailing prior to the Annual Meeting. Nominations also may be accepted from the floor during the Annual Meeting, after which nominations will be closed.
   
   b. Election
   
   Election of officers shall be held by closed written ballot mailed to all members in good-standing within 30 days after the Annual Meeting. A valid election shall consist of ballots returned by at least 10 members in good-standing. The candidate for each office who receives the greatest number of votes shall be declared elected to that office. The results of the election shall be published in the first ACLAD Newsletter following the election.

For questions about this site, contact the ACLAD WebMaster
at E-mail: bweigler@fhcrc.org

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Last modified 6/21/00 bjw