Minutes
BYLAWS OF THE POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATION AT UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES
Drafted January 2013
a. To support and enhance the training experience of USUHS postdoctoral fellows.
b. To promote academic and social interactions among USUHS postdoctoral fellows.
c. To act as a liaison between the USUHS postdoctoral fellows and the USUHS administration.
d. To disseminate information of interest or relevance to the USUHS postdoctoral fellows.
a. All current postdoctoral fellows located at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and AFRRI.
b. A USUHS postdoctoral fellow is defined as an individual who holds a doctoral degree (Ph.D, M.D. or equivalent degree) and is involved in a temporary period of mentored research training at USUHS.
a. Individual Voting Members are individuals who attend at least 50% of the General Meetings and actively participate in 50% of USUHS-PDA sponsored events. Individual voting members are eligible to vote in all USUHS-PDA elections, serve on membership committees, and are eligible for nomination and election to the Executive Committee (as defined in ARTICLE III).
a. The Executive Committee will meet no fewer than 10 times per year.
b. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to make decisions concerning the strategy and budget of the USUHS-PDA and to form new committees as necessary with the input of the Board of Directors. A majority of Executive Committee members and Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum and all action should be taken by majority vote.
c. The general duties of all Executive Committee members shall include:
d. Representation of the USUHS-PDA membership.
e. Organization of and attendance at general meetings of the USUHS-PDA.
f. Organization of and attendance at monthly Executive Committee meetings.
g. Report to the Board of Directors.
a.) Act as chief officers of the Executive Committee.
b.) Outline the yearly goals of the USUHSPDA at the January General Meeting.
c.) Ensure that the USUHS-PDA is making progress towards its mission.
d.) Set the agenda and preside over all Executive Committee meetings.
e.) Set the agenda and preside over monthly General Meetings of the USUHS-PDA in accordance with the guidelines herein.
f.) Ensure that USUHS-PDA members are notified of the time and location of General Meetings.
g.) Ensure that business conducted by the Executive Committee is reported to the USUHS-PDA membership at General Meetings.
h.) Ensure that information from the General Meetings is communicated to the USUHS-PDA membership.
i.) Ensure the timely appointment of committee chairs and election of officers.
j.) Make appointments and delegate responsibilities upon advice and consent of the Executive Committee.
k.) Represent the USUHS-PDA in meetings with USUHS Faculty and Administration.
a. Schedule and plan the logistics of all Executive Committee and General Meetings.
b. Record minutes from all Executive Committee and General Meetings.
c. Distribute minutes to USUHS-PDA membership after Executive Committee approval.
d. Maintain archive of approved minutes.
a. Supervise the receipt and disbursement of any funds for the USUHS-PDA.
b. Maintain a record of any and all financial transactions of the USUHS-PDA.
c. Prepare an annual financial report and budget for the USUHS Administration
a. Attend monthly FelCom meetings.
b. Serve on at least one FelCom subcommittee.
c. Provide written and oral reports on FelCom activities at the USUHS-PDA General Meetings.
a. Pre-printed ballots will be distributed to all attendees.
b. Candidates for each office will have the opportunity to address the USUHS-PDA members and USUHS-PDA members will have the opportunity to discuss the candidates. The order for the address and subsequent discussions will be i.) Co-President candidate(s), ii.) Secretary candidate(s), iii) Treasurer candidate(s), and iiii) FelCom Representative candidate(s).
c. Candidates will leave the room to allow discussion among USUHS-PDA members. To illustrate, all candidates for the office of Co-President will address the General Meeting attendees and then leave the room. At the conclusion of any discussion, the Co-President candidates may re-enter the meeting room so they may participate in the discussion for the other offices.
d. Ballots will be completed immediately following the addresses/discussion and given to the faculty advisor.
e. Votes will be tabulated by the faculty advisor and Board of Directors.
4.1 Notice of monthly General Meetings shall be provided electronically at least ten (10) days before the time selected for the meeting. Special Meetings of the USUHS-PDA may be called by the Co-Presidents at any time upon recommendation of the Executive Committee and/or Board of Directors. Notice of Special Meetings shall be provided electronically at least five days before the appointed meeting.
4.2 The monthly General Meetings of the USUHS-PDA shall be established by the executive committee.
4.3 General meetings of the USUHS-PDA shall follow the following order of business:
a. Meeting called to order
b. Approval of previous meeting minutes
c. Announcements from USUHS-PDA Officers
d. Presentations from other organizations for distribution to USU fellows (when scheduled)
e. Reports from USUHS-PDA committee chairs
f. Old/unfinished business
g. New business
h. Adjournment
ARTICLE V- COMMITTEES
Committees to investigate and recommend action on matters that concern USUHS-PDA shall be created by nomination and majority vote of those present at the regular general meeting or by decision of the Executive Committee and/or Board of Directors. The committees will be comprised of members of the USUHS-PDA. Committee chair positions will be for a term of one year and upcoming vacancies will be announced at the General Meeting one month before the end of the term. Co-chairs are permissible. In the event that more than a single individual volunteer to chair a committee and they want to act as sole chair, an election will be held and the winner decided by a simple majority vote of the attendees at the next General Meeting. The duties of a committee and its power to act on certain decisions shall be outlined at its formation and shall be approved by the USUHS-PDA membership, the Executive Committee and/or the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VI- BYLAWS MODIFICATIONS
These Bylaws shall be considered provisional until ratification by a two-thirds vote of the USUHS-PDA attendees at a General Meeting. Each current member of the USUHS-PDA must be familiar with these bylaws and agree that their activities as members are bound by them. Changes to the Bylaws can be made at any time following discussion at a regularly scheduled General Meeting and a vote of the USUHS-PDA membership. Proposed changes to the Bylaws should be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee no later than 2 weeks prior to the next scheduled General Meeting. The proposed changes should then be distributed to the USUHS-PDA membership no later than 10 days prior to the next scheduled General Meeting and an announcement should be made about the time, day and location at which they will be discussed. All proposed changes will be discussed and can be approved by a two-thirds vote of the USUHS-PDA attendees at the next scheduled General Meeting. When significant changes are made to the Bylaws, all members of the USUHS-PDA must have access to the revised text.
ARTICLE VII- UNIVERSITY FACULTY ADVISOR
The Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the USUHS-PDA will nominate and invite a USUHS faculty member to act as the USUHS-PDA faculty advisor.
ARTICLE VIII- RATIFICATION
The ratification of the conventions of the USUHS-PDA shall be sufficient for the establishment of these Bylaws between the USUHS-PDA representatives so ratifying the same.
