THE NEW ENGLAND SECTION OF

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS

CONSTITUTION

(Revised, January 2005; Accepted April, 2005)

ARTICLE I : Name

The name of this organization shall be The New England Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers. (NES-AAPT).

ARTICLE II: Object:

The objective of this Association shall be the advancement and integration of the teaching of physics at all educational levels and the furtherance of an appreciation for the role of physics in our culture.

ARTICLE III: Membership

3.1 The membership shall consist of those interested in the teaching of physics in New England. NES-AAPT membership is not contingent upon the membership in the American Association of Physics Teachers

3.2 One applies for membership by sending dues to the Treasurer at any given time or by registering for the Fall meeting.

3.3 Classes of membership shall include:
regular, student and retired. As defined in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE IV: Meetings

The semiannual meetings shall be held in the fall and the spring.

ARTICLE V. Executive Board

5.1 The Executive Board shall govern the Association. It is comprised of: Immediate Past-President, President, President-elect, Vice President, Membership Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Two-Year College Representative, College/University Representative, High School Representative, Section Representative, Webmaster and Archivist. Past Presidents, beyond the current one, serve as ex officio members of the Board, but without a vote.

5.2 Officers normally are elected at the fall business meeting presided over the by the President (or Appointee).

5.3 The Executive Board shall meet three times a year: a short meeting at each of the semiannual meetings, and a longer summer meeting at which the slate of officers is proposed and other important business is discussed.

5.4 The Executive Board shall exercise all powers necessary to carry out the affairs of the organization but may not change or alter corporate or governing policies adopted by the vote of the membership. The power to make financial decisions for the Association shall be vested in the Executive Board exclusively. See the By-Laws.

5.5 The Executive Board shall determine the dates and places of the semiannual meetings.

5.6 A quorum of the Executive Board shall be one-half of the voting membership of the board.

5.7 Special meetings of the Executive Board shall be announced to its members, generally by email and on the section webpage, with at least three weeks written notice. The reason for the meeting shall be stated in the announcement. The President, or the majority of the voting members shall call such meetings.

5.8 The Recording Secretary, with concurrence of the Treasurer, may conduct ballots of the Executive Board by mail, email or phone concerning actions requiring attention before the next meeting.

5.9 The Executive Board shall have the power to create additional offices and standing committees.

ARTICLE VI: Section Officer Descriptions

` All officers are elected with the exception of the Section Representative and the Webmaster. Rotating offices (Immediate Past-President to Vice-President) begin at the end of the fall section meeting. Voting at executive board meetings is restricted to the positions noted below.

Immediate Past-President

Not a ceremonial position. The Immediate Past President is expected to assist the President in various activities throughout the year and to volunteer his/her help for the section meetings.

President:

Responsibilities include supervising the executive board meetings at the fall and spring section meetings and the summer executive board meeting as well as constructing an agenda for each meeting and choosing the site for the summer meeting; working on long-term section issues; assisting the program chair with running the section meetings; soliciting candidates for Vice President and other vacant offices and organizing the selection process for the Janet Guernsey award.

President-Elect:

Responsibilities include acting as program chair of the upcoming spring meeting. Duties of the program chair may be found in the section By-Laws. The President-Elect should attend both fall and spring section meetings as well as the summer executive board meeting.

Vice President:

Responsibilities include assisting the President-Elect in planning, organizing and running the upcoming spring meeting. The Vice President should learn, as an apprentice, what running a meeting entails so that he/she will feel comfortable in the position of program chair for the following fall meeting. Duties of the program chair may be found in the section By-Laws. The Vice President should attend fall and spring section meetings as well as the summer executive board meeting.

Recording Secretary:

Responsibilities include taking notes at the executive board meetings (fall, spring, summer); producing minutes of the meetings that are distributed to all board members for factual revision and editing, after a reasonable time period, the minutes to reflect the comments received and then distributing the final version of the minutes to all members.

Treasurer:

Responsibilities include keeping the books; depositing all membership dues and other sources of section income (e.g. proceeds from a meeting); keeping track of and writing checks for section expenses and reporting the financial status of the section at the three yearly executive board meetings (spring, summer and fall). Members may pay their dues directly to the Treasurer; therefore it is incumbent upon the treasurer to keep an up-to-date list of paid members and to pass the names and addresses immediately on to the Membership Secretary. The treasurer should attend fall and spring section meetings as well as the summer executive board meeting.

Membership Secretary:

Responsibilities include keeping the postal address and email lists current primarily through registration forms from section meetings and membership lists from the treasurer; also, it is incumbent upon the Membership Secretary to maintain a list of paid members and to remain in close contact with the treasurer for the purposes of constantly upgrading that list; providing up-to-date mailing lists to the program chair for the purpose of meeting notification; consulting the spring AAPT Announcer for names of new national AAPT members from our region and then sending a letter inviting them to join our section. The Membership Secretary should attend fall and spring section meetings as well as the summer executive board meeting.

Archivist:

Responsibilities include keeping a running history of the section. This person should be the keeper of the files, including old meeting programs and locations. They should record the names of the members of the executive board and log the minutes of the executive board meetings. They should keep the “how-to-run a meeting book”.

Members-At-Large:

The number of Members-At-Large need not be limited to the current three (high school, two-year and four-year college). The members-at-large serve as liaison between the board and the groups to which they are affiliated. Members should periodically survey their constituencies and bring issues of concern to the board. Members may be asked to undertake activities that would benefit their groups. Members-At-Large should attend the fall and spring meetings as well as the summer executive board meeting. A Member-At-Large serves a three year term.

Section Representative:

The office of Section Representative is an appointive one and is a term of three years. An individual is limited to two consecutive terms. The Section Representative serves as liaison between the section and the Association. Responsibilities include attending three meetings at the AAPT Annual Winter Meeting each year. The three meetings include the council and section representative meetings and the section officers’ exchange. Although funding for travel and lodging are available only for the Winter Meeting, the Section Representative is urged to also attend the AAPT Annual Summer Meeting. A one-page report to the board is required within a reasonable period after the end of each annual meeting attended. When unable to attend an Annual Meeting, a substitute should be found. Also, the Section Representative is to provide the Announcer, for each issue (four times a year), a summary of the activities of the section for the prior 3 months.

Webmaster:

The position is an appointive one and the Webmaster serves at the pleasure of the Board and for an indefinite term. Duties include maintaining and updating, as promptly as possible, the section webpage. Good, clear channels of communication between the webmaster and Board members are essential. The webmaster should constantly advise the Board on ways to upgrade the section’s offerings on the webpages.

ARTICLE VII: Representative to the Council of AAPT.

7.1 The Executive Board, from among those members who are active members of AAPT, shall appoint the New England Section Representative to the Council of AAPT.

7.2 The Section Representative shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive Board.

7.3 If the Section Representative cannot attend any meetings of the section representatives or Council, notice shall be given to the President, prior to such national AAPT meeting , who shall appoint an alternate NES-AAPT member of AAPT. If, in the opinion of the Executive Board, the Section Representative cannot show just cause for the absence, the Section Representative position will be declared vacant and a new Section Representative will be appointed.

ARTICLE VIII: Committees:

A. Janet Guernsey Award Committee

8.1 The name of the award is the Janet Guernsey Award For Excellence In Teaching Physics

8.2 The purpose of the award is to recognize a section member who has shown extraordinary commitment, creativity and leadership in the teaching of physics, and service to the profession. See By-Laws

B. Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee is comprised of the Executive Board who, through the President, notifies the membership of an opening position (generally through the section webpage and/or email). The Board accepts nominations from all concerned NES-AAPT members.

ARTICLE IX: Elections

9.1 The President announces openings on the board to the membership via the Section webpage as soon as they occur. He or she directs the writing of the slate, which will be presented to the membership, normally, at the fall business meeting.

9.2 The election of Vice-President, Membership and Recording Secretaries and Treasurer, and Members-at-Large shall be elected by ballot or acclaim at the annual fall meeting.

9.3 If there are two, or more nominees, a vote of the entire membership present at the fall meeting is taken

9.4 A nominee should have the sponsorship of at least two other active members of the section

9.5 The person elected Vice-President shall serve consecutive one-year terms as Vice President, President-Elect, President and Immediate Past-President. The Membership and Recording Secretaries and Treasurer shall be elected, but serve for an indefinite term.

9.6 The Executive Board has the authority to fill a vacant position on the Board by an in term appointment. The election for the vacant position (if electable) shall be held no later than the following Fall Meeting.

ARTICLE X: Dues

Dues shall be collected once a year and the membership term runs from September to September (basically the school year). Dues are normally paid at the fall meeting or to the Treasurer at other times, at a rate for each class of membership determined by the Executive Board.

Classes of membership shall be student, full member, retired.

ARTICLE XI: Nondiscrimination

The Association shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.

ARTICLE XII: Amendments

This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a semiannual meeting. Such amendments may be initiated by the Executive Board or by petition from at least twenty members.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE 1

Membership:

1. Regular members: Those that may be admitted as regular members are teachers of physics and others whose admission will promote the objectives of the Section.

2. Student members: Those that may be admitted as student members are students who have an interest in physics. The student membership may be retained only as long as the member is primarily a student at an accredited academic institution.

3. Retired members: Those that may be admitted as retired members are former members who have since retired from full-time teaching of physics or related activities.

ARTICLE 2

Officers:

1. Terms: In general a term of office runs from the end of a fall meeting to the end of the next fall meeting.

2. The President, Immediate Past-President, President-Elect and Vice President shall serve one-year terms. The Section Representative and Members-at-Large serve three year terms, while the Secretaries, Treasurer, Webmaster and Archivist serve indeterminate terms.

3. The duties of a particular office are found in the Description of the Officer Positions.

4. Program Chair: Responsibilities include:

a. coordinate with host site and (if joint meeting) with APS for the smooth functioning of the meeting

b. obtain workshop presenters, banquet and invited speakers

c. call for and solicit contributed speakers

d. solicit or appoint a solicitor for vendors

e. obtain presiders for the sessions

f. produce an Announcement and a final program copy (including registration forms, lodging/directions and workshop descriptions) for distribution purposes

The Chair may reasonably expect assistance from other members of the Executive Board in organizing and running a meeting.

ARTICLE 3

Finances:

1. The President is responsible for the financial stability of the section and has authority for expenditures under $1000.

2. The President invests financial authority in the Program Chair (total expenditures under $1000) for matters relating to a meeting.

3. The Executive Board has ultimate financial authority and must rule, by 2/3 vote, in all matters over $1000 and in other contested matters.

ARTICLE 4:

Committees:

1. Nominating Committee:

The President represents the Board in the matter of nominations and accepts nominations from all concerned NES-AAPT members and composes a slate of candidates for each vacant position. The President (or Appointee) presents this slate to the membership at either the fall or spring business meeting.

2. The Janet Guernsey Award Committee:

a. The members of this committee shall be determined at the discretion of the Executive Board either at the spring or summer Board meeting. The Chairperson of this committee is usually the immediate past recipient.

b. The Committee solicits nominations from the membership (the Section webpage/email is quite useful in this regard) and upon deliberation the Chairperson informs the President of their decision with ample time remaining before the fall meeting (ample time is necessary for inscription of the plaque).

c. It is usually the immediate past recipient who presents the award at the fall meeting.