Draft Rules of Procedure for SIAM Sections

This Section Rules of Procedure (hereinafter called "Rules") applies to the SIAM Section called "[insert name of Section] of SIAM".

The Section to which these Section Rules apply is formed under the aegis of SIAM, and shall operate within its bylaws. This Section shall not affiliate with any other organization without first obtaining the written approval of the SIAM Board of Trustees or its designee. No provisions of these Section Rules shall be construed so as to contradict the SIAM Bylaws.

These Section Rules may be modified by the Board with due notice to the Section.

Article I: Purpose

[The objectives of SIAM, as established in its Certificate of Incorporation, are

• To further the application of mathematics to industry and science.
• To promote basic research in mathematics leading to new methods and techniques useful to industry and science.
• To provide media for the exchange of information and ideas between mathematicians and other technical and scientific personnel.

Purposes of the proposed Section shall be consistent with these objectives. Organizers of the Section shall state here the specific purposes of the Section.]

Article II: Activities

[Section organizers shall briefly describe the activities they intend for the Section. Examples are organization of local meetings on subjects of interest to students of applied mathematics and engineering, seminars on advanced topics in applied mathematics, conferences on computational science, team projects, programs to enhance mathematics education, etc.]

Article III: Territory

[Section organizers shall specify what boundaries their Section encompasses with respect to "practical" membership activity and in which areas they will normally solicit membership, taking into consideration institutional constraints, geographic boundaries, etc.]

Article IV: Membership

Section 1. Any member of SIAM engaged or interested in mathematics and its applications and who is a resident of the geographical area assigned to the Section shall be eligible for membership in the Section. Any member of SIAM who does not live in the geographical area of the Section may join the Section and participate in its activities, except that that member will not be a voting member nor will that member be eligible for office in the Section. A candidate for nonresident membership shall be advised of these rules at the time of that member's application for membership. Section members will be designated as nonresident members if they reside outside the geographical area of the Section.

Section 2. [Organizers shall specify here what membership grades, if any, there will be and whether dues, if any, will be determined by these grades, e.g. a student membership. The establishment of the annual dues rate shall be the responsibility of the officers of the Section acting in concert or, if it exists, the Executive Committee of the Section (see Article VI).]

Section 3. [Organizers shall specify here what privileges there are for members of the Section or, what the privileges are for each grade of membership, if there is more than one grade.]

Section 4. [Provisions for termination of a member in a Section by resignation or otherwise, should be inserted here.]

Article V: Officers

Section 1. [The Section shall have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into a single office. Each Section may establish additional officers as it deems necessary to conduct its affairs. State here what officers there are for the Section.] Officers shall be regular members of SIAM in good standing.

Section 2. The President of the Section shall preside at the meetings of the Section and the meetings of the Section Executive Committee, if any (see Article VI). In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall assume the duties of the President. In the absence of the latter, the [name officer] shall assume said duties. [In addition to the duties outlined above for the Vice President, the organizers may wish to specify additional duties, such as responsibility for meetings or other Section activities.]

Section 3. The Secretary shall keep a record of the affairs of the Section, handle correspondence, and submit an annual report of Section activities to the Secretary of SIAM, which report shall be suitable for publication in SIAM News or its equivalent.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall receive and take custody of Section funds, and shall submit an annual Treasurer's Report and other financial reports, as requested, to the Treasurer of SIAM. The annual Treasurer's Report shall be prepared as of December 31 and shall be transmitted to the Treasurer of SIAM by no later than January 15 of the year following.

Section 5. [Organizers shall specify here the terms of office of the officers and their dates of expiration. It is suggested that terms of Section officers not exceed two years, but re-election of an officer for an additional term is permissible. Two year terms permit staggering of terms which fosters continuity of Section management.]

Article VI: Executive Committee

Section 1. [It is suggested that the Section be managed by an Executive Committee consisting, for example, of the incumbent officers and the most recent retired president. Section organizers should specify here who has responsibility for Section management and decision making. If there is an Executive Committee, indicate its responsibilities, membership, and how the committee chair is determined.]

Section 2. [If there is an Executive Committee, organizers should indicate how a vacancy is filled for the unexplored term.]

Article VII: Other Committees

Section 1. [Organizers shall indicate what other permanent committees, if any, there are to manage the affairs of the Section, and how additional committees are to be formed (and terminated) when necessary. Responsibilities of each permanent committee and terms of committee members should be specified in separate sections of this Article. Examples of committees are membership, program, and publicity.]

Article VIII: Meetings

Section 1. There shall be at least [indicate the number] technical meeting(s) per year. [How meeting topics are to be selected and meetings scheduled and implemented should be indicated here.]

Article IX: Elections

Section 1. Section elections shall be by mail ballot, or by secret ballot at the annual Section business meeting. The winners of the election shall be determined by the plurality of the votes cast for each office. Mail ballots must be submitted to the Section membership at least 60 days, and no more than 120 days, in advance of the date when the terms of office expire.

Section 2. [Organizers shall specify how nominations for officers and other elected officials are to be prepared and submitted. For example: "A Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee. Nominees must be eligible as stated in Article VI. Organizers shall also indicate how elections are to be implemented.]

Article X: Annual Business Meeting

Section 1. The Section shall conduct an annual Section business meeting once per year [specify when]. Other business meetings may be called by the President or the Treasurer on four weeks' notice.

Article XI: Section Funds

Section 1. [The Section may levy dues, voluntary or otherwise, collect registration fees for Section meetings, and otherwise raise funds in any lawful manner consistent with these Section Rules and the bylaws and certificate of incorporation of SIAM. Section policy should be inserted here.]

Section 2. [Although the payment of Section dues may not be a criterion for membership in the Section, the Section may limit the privilege of voting for officers and others holding office to these members of the Section who have paid such dues. Insert policy here.]

Section 3. The Section shall deposit all unused funds to which it has legal title in excess of $200 in an insured savings account, unless current operating commitments are in excess of that amount or unless the Section Treasurer obtains a written authorization from the SIAM Treasurer.

Section 4. The Section Treasurer shall maintain books of account that show income and expense items for all activities and balances for all accounts of the Section.

Section 5. Requests for funds in support of Section activities shall be made in writing to the Treasurer of SIAM who will forward it to the SIAM Committee on Section/Chapter Funds. Loans or grants to Sections may be made by the SIAM Treasurer acting on behalf of the Committee on Section/Chapter Funds. Only one such loan or grant may be made to any given Section during any fiscal year. Other requests for funds shall be substantiated by a proposed budget for expenditures and a current statement of accumulated revenue and expenses.

Section 6. No officer or member of the Section may apply for a grant to support Section activities or enter into any contract to support such activities or provide services, or have authority to contract debts for, pledge the credit of, or in any way bind SIAM, except to the extent that Section funds exist.

Section 7. All Society dues of Section members shall be payable to SIAM, however, Sections may levy Section dues, as specified in the Section Rules.

Article XII: Amendments

Section 1. These Rules may be altered or amended with the approval of the SIAM Board of Trustees. Submission to the Board of proposed alterations or amendments shall be made only after approval by the majority vote of members of the Section present (or represented by proxy) at a scheduled meeting. [Organizers may wish to include provisions for bringing the notice of the proposed change to the attention of the Section members.]

Article XIII: Termination of the Section

Section 1. A Section may terminate itself by the unanimous vote of the members of the Section present (or represented by proxy) at a scheduled meeting, provided that notice of the proposed termination and the meeting at which it is to be considered has been given to all Section members at least 30 days in advance and to the Board at least 90 days in advance.

Section 2. A Section may be terminated by the Board if there has been no Section activity for one year.

Section 3. In the event a Section is terminated, the funds to which it has legal title shall revert to the account of SIAM.