International Society for Aeolian Research - ISAR

Bylaws

A. MEMBERS

1. A candidate for election as individual member or corporate member of ISAR shall send a completed membership application form to the Secretary.

2. The Secretary shall be empowered to decide whether an application for membership is eligible under Article 4 of the Constitution and shall admit to membership any applicant who is in his or her opinion eligible. Should there be any doubt the Board shall be notified and the Officers shall decide.

3. Membership will be terminated by death or by resignation, and any member whose annual fees are more than two years in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned unless otherwise decided by the Board.

4. Honorary memberships may be bestowed upon an individual member for a lifetime, dues free, as stipulated in Article 4, 1c of the Constitution.

B. OFFICERS AND BOARD

1. The President shall preside at meetings of the Organization and its Board and shall rule on questions of procedure that may arise; ad-hoc committees may be appointed at the President's discretion.

2. The President-Elect shall fulfill the duties of the President at any meeting from which the latter is absent, and he or she shall succeed the President if that office becomes vacant between meetings of the General Assembly.

3. In the event of a vacancy occurring through the death or resignation of a Board member, or elevation to the post of President between two successive General Assemblies, the President, acting on the advice of the Board, shall have power to fill such a vacancy for the unexpired part of the term of office.

4. The Secretary shall maintain the records of the Organization and its Board, call meetings of the Organization and Board as provided for in the Bylaws, and be responsible for all secretarial duties required by the activities of the Organization.

5. The Treasurer shall collect and disburse the assets of the Organization and shall be responsible for the Organization's accounts.

6. Besides Officers, additional members may be appointed to fill vacancies to the Board.

7. The total number of members of the Board shall not exceed thirteen.

C. TERMS OF OFFICE

1. The President-Elect of the Organization shall automatically become President of the newly elected Board after the expiration of one term of office as President Elect.

2. After completing one term the President shall automatically serve on a newly elected Board as Past President for one term after which he will retire and not be eligible for election to any position on the Board until one term has elapsed from the date of his retirement from the Board.

3. The Secretary and the Treasurer shall each serve from one General Assembly to the next and may be re-elected, but after they have served three consecutive terms of office they shall only be eligible for re-election by special resolution of the General Assembly.

4. Regular Members of the Board shall serve from one General Assembly to the next and shall be eligible for re-election for one further consecutive term of office, but after two consecutive terms of office they shall not be eligible for immediate re-election as Regular Members, but can be elected Officers.

5. Each term of office shall commence with the close of the session of the General Assembly at which the election takes place.

D. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION

1. The President shall appoint five members of the Organization to serve as a Nominations Committee and appoint a Chairperson among them. This Committee shall, six months before a General Assembly, present to the Board a list of nominations for each office or position on the Board to be filled.

2. Any member of the Organization may, not less than four months before a General Assembly, nominate in writing to the Secretary, with proof of acceptance, any eligible member of the Organization for each office or position shall to be filled on the Board. These nominees shall be added to the list drawn up by the Nominations Committee.

3. The ballot list containing the names and particulars of nominees for the offices of President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be presented to all members in good standing of ISAR at least two months before the General Assembly. The duly completed list shall be returned to the Secretary so as to reach him/her not later than fourteen (14) days preceding the General Assembly after which the elected officers shall commence their duties. Election shall be by simple majority of the votes cast. In the event of a tie the election shall be decided by drawing of lots by the President at the General Assembly.

E. MEETINGS

1. The Organization shall normally hold an International Conference on Aeolian Research every four years. The Conference shall be organized by the Convener who proposes a meeting location. The Convener and selection of the next ICAR meeting location shall be selected by the Board after consideration of proposals presented at the ICAR meeting. The Convener shall appoint an Organizing Committee to be responsible for all arrangements in connection with the Conference, inclusive of the editing and publishing of the Proceedings. The members of the Board shall be advisory members of the Organizing Committee but may not hold office on this committee.

2. Members of ISAR shall receive a reduction in registration fees at all International Conference on Aeolian Research meetings.

3. The International Conference on Aeolian Research shall have an account separate from that of ISAR. The Organizing Committee shall present to the Board the accounts of the International Conference, which must be reviewed by the Treasurer. The accounts must be presented not later than one year after the meeting. If the Organizing Committee has any surplus funds after all expenses concerned with the International Committee have been paid, such surplus shall be transferred to the general accounts of ISAR. The responsibility for any deficits and their settlement lies with the Organizing Committee.

4. During each four-yearly Conference of the Organization a General Assembly shall be held at which the business affairs of the Organization shall be transacted. If a General Assembly cannot be held within the normal period, the matter should be put to the membership by email ballot. A two-thirds majority is required for a decision.

5. An Extraordinary General Assembly to transact business of the Organization may be called at any time by the Board, and one shall be called if the President receives a requisition for such an assembly from a total of at least 10 members resident in at least 3 separate countries.

6. At a General Assembly or an Extraordinary General Assembly no matter can be decided upon that has not been specifically mentioned in the agenda of the meeting.

7. The members shall be informed of the time and the place of a General Assembly or an Extraordinary General Assembly not later than two months before it is to be held.

8. At all meetings of the Organization each member shall have one vote, and the President shall have a casting vote. Except for decisions described in Articles 8 and 9 of the Constitution, all decisions are made by simple majority of the votes cast.

9. Twenty per cent of the membership of the Organization shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

F. FINANCE

1. The expenses that can be charged by the Treasurer include office expenses, publishing expenses and, with the approval of the Board, special expenses relating to the operations and activities of ISAR.

2. The balance sheets of ISAR shall be prepared per 31 December each year, and financial accounts shall be forwarded to the Board before 1 May in the following year.

3. The membership fees for individual and corporate members shall be recommended by the Board and determined by the General Assembly. The membership fees shall be due on 1 January.

G. MANAGEMENT BETWEEN GENERAL ASSEMBLIES

1. The Board shall hold a meeting immediately before each General Assembly. Additional meetings may be called by the Secretary, President or by a majority of the Board. Should a meeting be required, but personal attendance of a majority of the Board not be practical, then the Board may conduct a meeting by correspondence or other distant communication means, providing that a quorum be established by acknowledgement of all items of correspondence by a majority of the Board. The full business of the meeting should be completed within 30 days.

2. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum.

3. The business at each Board meeting shall include:
a. Reports and proposals by the President, Secretary and Treasurer
b. Reports and proposals by the Chairpersons of Committees and Working Groups;
c. Examination of applications for membership;
d. Examination of proposals for Honorary Memberships.

H. COMMITTEES, WORKING GROUPS AND RELATIONS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

1. Members of standing Committees and Chairpersons and Secretaries of Working Groups shall be appointed by the Board. Members of ad-hoc committees and observers shall be appointed by the President.

2. The Organization may cooperate with organizations in other fields of science aimed at similar general purposes. Such cooperation may take the form of joint committees, invitations, delegation of observers, etc.

3. Persons with special talents, interests, or experience appropriate to the agenda may be invited by the President to attend meetings of the Organization.

4. Membership composition of all Committees and the names of Chairpersons and Secretaries of Working Groups shall be announced to the members of the Organization.

I. NATIONAL/REGIONAL BRANCHES OF ISAR

1. If appropriate, National/Regional Branches of ISAR may be founded. They shall be governed by a Board, which should consist of at least a Chairperson, a Secretary and a Treasurer. These Officers shall be nominated and elected by the national/regional membership of ISAR.

2. National/Regional Branches of ISAR shall conduct their business in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of ISAR.

3. National/Regional Branches of ISAR can only be effectuated if officially recognized by the Board of ISAR.

J. 'AEOLIAN RESEARCH' JOURNAL

1. ISAR shall scientifically support the International Journal, 'Aeolian Research’, and shall encourage its members to use this journal as the prime international medium of information in the domain of aeolian research and related fields.

2. The Editors-in-Chief and the Associate Editors of 'Aeolian Research' shall be appointed by the publishers after consultation with the Board of ISAR. In this way, ISAR shall safeguard the required high scientific standard of the journal.

3. The Secretary, or another member of ISAR appointed by the Board, shall be responsible for all contributions to the news and announcements section of Aeolian Research.

4. ISAR is not financially responsible for any profits or losses which accrue from the Journal.

L. AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS

1. The Bylaws may be amended at a General Assembly or Extraordinary General Assembly of the Organization by simple majority of the votes cost.

2. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by the Board, or by petition to the President by ten or more members of the Organization.