AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAMMALOGISTS
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY
PREPARED BY: Alfred Gardner, Hugh Genoways (chair), Glennis Kaufman, Chip Leslie, Sue McLaren, Bruce Patterson, Ron Van Den Bussche, Don Wilson
B. D. Patterson, President
2003
PRESIDENT
The President is empowered to speak for the Society in all matters.
Operations
1. It is the responsibility of the President to oversee and expedite the operations of the Society, including the offices of the President-elect, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary.
2. It is the responsibility of the President to assure the quality and timely publication of the official publications of the Society, including Journal of Mammalogy, Mammalian Species, Special Publications, and the ASM web site.
3. The President represents the Society to those outside the organization by attendance at meetings, and by providing official responses to inquiries, requests, interviews, and public issues.
4. The President serves as arbiter of last resort on all Society issues, including issues with authors of Society publications.
5. The President shall appoint one or more omsbudspersons.
Meetings
1. The President shall conduct all meetings under procedures in the Bylaws and Rules. Procedures not covered by the Bylaws and Rules shall follow Robert’s Rules of Order.
2. The President may appoint a parliamentarian.
3. The President shall preside over two meetings of the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Order of Business shall be as follows:
- Call to Order.
- Introduction of guests.
- Reading of minutes.
- Report of the Secretary-Treasurer; Election of Secretary-Treasurer.
- Report of Trustees for Reserve Fund/Election of Trustee for Reserve Fund.
- Report of Trustees for the Pooled Income Fund/Election of Trustee for the Pooled Income Fund.
- Report of the Publications Committee/Election of new Editors and confirmation of continuing Editors.
- Special Reports.
- Reports of Standing and ad hoc committees and representatives to scientific societies.
- Other business.
- Report of Planning and Finance Committee.
- Budget.
- Adjournment.
4. The President shall select and arrange for tellers to be present at the Members meetings. By tradition, the student plenary speakers have been asked to serve as tellers, with the ASM Fellow serving as head teller. This group has been supplemented with other students making presentations at the meeting and student members of the Local Committee.
5. The President shall preside over two Members sessions at the Annual Meeting of the Society. The Order of Business for these sessions shall be as follows:
1. Reading and approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.
2. Appointment of temporary committees and tellers.
3. Report of the Secretary-Treasurer.
a. Statistical summary.
b. Election of dues-payers to membership.
c. Financial report.
4. Report and recommendations of the Board of Directors.
5. Consideration of amendments to the Bylaws and Rules.
6. Election of Officers and Directors and reports of Committees. Officers are elected in the following order:
- President-elect
- Vice-President
- Recording Secretary
- Directors (nominated during first session and elected during second session)
- Student Director (nominated during first session and elected during second session).
Committee reports generally are recognized in alphabetical order.
(Note: It is important that the chair of the Resolutions Committee reads draft resolutions and that the report of the Honorary Membership Committee is made during the first Members session.)
(Note: The primary reports of the Grants-in-Aid, Honoraria, Merriam Award, Jackson Award, Grinnell Award, Leopold Award, and Latin American Fellowship committees are made at the annual banquet.)
7. New and unfinished business.
a. Reports of representatives to other societies.
b. Final presentation and vote on resolutions to be done in second Members’ session. (NB:the Host Resolution is presented at the annual banquet.)
c. Selection of meeting site two years hence.
d. Other business.
8. Adjournment.
6. The President sends out information by May 15 concerning the Director’s dinner held the evening prior to the first Board of Directors meeting. The information about location and cost is provided by the Local Committee Chair. The President’s letter of invitation asks that reservations be made with the Local Committee Chair.
7. The President serves as chair of the Opening Plenary Session. The President’s responsibilities include:
- Giving the Response to the welcome from the representative of the host institution.
- Introducing the student plenary speakers, with comments about the background of the specific honoraria.
- Hosting the plenary speakers (honoraria recipients, and recipients of the ASM Fellowship, Merriam Award, and any other honorees) at lunch following the session. The Education and Graduate Students Committee determines the location and arrangements in collaboration with the Local Committee and notifies the President in time so that the President may send out a letter of invitation prior to the Annual Meeting.
8. The President shall preside over any special meetings of the Board of Directors or Members of the Society.
9. The President shall serve as the Master of Ceremonies at the annual banquet.
Committees and Representatives
1. The President shall appoint all members of the Standing Committees and their chairs. This must be accomplished by August 1 so that committee compositions may be forwarded to the Journal Editor for inclusion in November issue of the Journal of Mammalogy.
2. The President shall appoint all representatives to other societies. This must be accomplished by August 1 so that their names may be forwarded to the Journal Editor for inclusion in November issue of the Journal of Mammalogy.
3. The President may organize, charge, and discharge ad hoc committees as needed to conduct the affairs of the Society. The President will inform the Journal Editor of the status of ad hoc committees.
4. The President will give a written charge to each committee chair and representative outlining actions and tasks for the committees and representatives for the coming year.
5. The President shall request and receive reports of all committees prior to the annual meeting. It is anticipated that these reports will be requested by March 1 and received by May 1. It is the responsibility of the President to be certain that all committee reports are sent to the Local Committee by May 15 so that they may be reproduced for distribution to the Board and Members at the Annual Meeting.
Budgets
1. The President in consultation with the Planning and Finance Committee and the Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare a budget for the operations of the Society.
2. The President will send the budget to Board members by May 15. Committee chairs should have their budgetary requests to the President no later than May 1.
3. The budget will be discussed, amended, and (whenever feasible) approved at the first meeting of the Board of Directors.
Ballots
1. Whenever feasible balloting of the Board of Directors shall be conducted at the Annual Meeting.
2. The President shall conduct ballots of the Officers and Board of Directors during the year as is necessary to conduct the affairs of the Society and communicate the results to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the unabridged minutes.
3. The President shall conduct mail ballots as appropriate for Honorary Members, Merriam Award, Jackson Award, Grinnell Award, and Leopold Award. These ballots should be mailed by the end of the first week of May and returned no later than the end of the third week of May.
4. The President shall recommend replacements for vacancies among the Officers, Directors, and Editors and shall conduct a mail ballot to seek approval of the Board to temporarily fill these positions.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
1. The President-elect shall serve in the absence of the President.
2. Upon completion of a two-year term as President-elect, the President-elect will serve two years as President of the Society.
3. The President-elect shall serve on standing committees, ad hoc committees, or special assignments as mutually agreed with the President. The President-Elect normally serves as Chair of the Planning & Finance Committee.
4. The President-elect shall organize the Merriam Award presentation. This duty entails contacting the current year’s Merriam Awardee concerning making an address in the Plenary Session of the next meeting, securing a commitment from the speaker, and working with the Program Committee and Local Committee as related to the inclusion of the Merriam Award presentation in the Plenary Session.
5. The President-Elect serves as chair of the second Opening Plenary Session. The President-Elect’s responsibilities include introducing senior plenary speakers, including the previous year’s Merriam, Grinnell, and Leopold recipients, with comments about the history of each award.
6. It is the President-elect’s responsibility to learn all management, operational, and publication activities of the Society during this two-year period in preparation for assuming the office of President.
VICE-PRESIDENT
1. The Vice-President shall serve in the absence of the President and the President-elect.
2. The Vice-President shall organize the presentation of the Capstone Speaker. This duty entails selecting a speaker to make the capstone address, obtaining a commitment from the speaker, making financial arrangements for reimbursement of the speaker, and working with the Program Committee and Local Committee as related to the Capstone Address.
3. The Vice-President shall perform other duties as requested by the President or the Board of Directors. The Vice-President may be directed to perform a duty of the President or President-elect to allow that officer to concentrate on another duty for the good of the Society. For example, the Vice-President may receive the request from the President to organize the Merriam presentation for the President-elect.
SECRETARY-TREASURER
The primary responsibility of the Secretary-Treasurer’s office is to serve as a liaison between the membership of the Society and Allen Marketing & Management and Allen Press. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the Secretary-Treasurer to ensure that Allen Marketing & Management and Allen Press are completing their contractual requirements regarding the maintenance of membership databases, financial affairs, and publications for the American Society of Mammalogists, all in a timely and professional manner.
1. Membership Activities (Dues)
Membership in the Society is awarded to individuals upon approval of both the Board of Directors and members present at the first Members meeting held at the annual meeting. The membership is activated upon payment of the annual dues of $35.00 ($25.00 for students). Members in good standing (who have paid the current year’s dues) receive the Journal of Mammalogy as part of their membership privileges. Allen Press currently processes membership payments for about 3,600 individual members per year.
In addition to individuals who become members of the Society, individuals who do not wish membership and institutions such as libraries and universities may subscribe to the Journal of Mammalogy on a yearly basis upon payment of a fee. Allen Press currently processes the subscription payment for about 1,100 subscriptions annually.
Calendar Items
Incoming dues and subscription payments must be forwarded to Allen Press to be processed.
2. Accounting
Finances for the Society—receipts associated with the Journal of Mammalogy, including page-charge payments by authors, contributions to the Society in general, as well as the Future Mammalogists Fund and the Latin American Fund, sales of member-address lists, payments for advertising in the Journal of Mammalogy, transactions connected with the Mammalian Species accounts and Special Publications of the Society—are maintained in accounts administered by Allen Marketing & Management. Payments on behalf of the Society are made by Allen Marketing & Management. Checks drawn on these accounts require the signatures of a representative of Allen Marketing & Management plus the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Mammalogists.
3. Computer Updates
All membership and payment information will be kept in the computer records of Allen Press and/or Allen Marketing & Management. Allen Marketing & Management will quarterly generate prepared letters to be sent to members who donate the Journal of Mammalogy to other mammalogists, to confirm donation, recipient, and term.
Calendar Items
March
31 – Secure a computer printout of figures for year-end report. This is the end of the fiscal year for Allen Press and Allen Marketing & Management
April
5 – Organize Secretary-Treasurer’s report, especially membership tables (secured from Allen Press and Allen Marketing & Management)
8 – Supply information to committee chairpersons as needed
July
18 – Sign and send letters to both donating member and recipient confirming the existing situation and the member’s and recipient’s desire to continue the arrangement.
4. Bill Paying
The vast majority of bills are paid by Allen Marketing & Management, but it is the responsibility of the Secretary-Treasurer to ensure that financial transactions occur in a timely manner. All checks written at Allen Press for ASM transactions require the signature of both a representative of Allen Marketing & Management plus the signature of the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Society of Mammalogists. Payments listed as Calendar Items are recurring and do not include payments made to reimburse editorial expenses, committee expenses, and other items submitted for reimbursement.
Calendar Items
January
1 – Contact Allen Marketing and Management to receive monies for Patron and Life Memberships, contributions, and royalties
6 – Ensure that Allen Marketing & Management has paid annual dues to other societies (AZN, AIBS, ASC, and IUCN) and host-server fees to AIBS as budgeted and directed by the ASM Board of Directors.
12 – Send check to Trustees for Patron and Life memberships, contributions, and royalties.
April
22 – Ensure that Allen Marketing & Management has sent checks for Honoraria to Secretary-Treasurer for signature and to be mailed to recipients.
23 – Ensure that Allen Marketing & Management has sent checks for Grants-in-Aid to Secretary-Treasurer for signature and to be mailed to recipients.
October
6 – Send advance money available (up to $3,000) to local committee upon request
December
31 – Make all final deposits to the bank and close ledger book for the year
5. Taxes
The Society is classified as a non-profit organization and needs to pay only withholding and social security taxes on its employees; however, the Society is responsible for filing a federal tax form and report its financial transactions as required by the IRS.
Calendar Items
January
15 – Ensure that Allen Marketing & Management has gathered materials for taxes and audit from the Society records and deliver them to an auditor of choice.
6. Budget Development
Budget development for the Society is the responsibility of the Planning and Finance Committee in consultation with the Secretary-Treasurer and under the direction of the President. The budget is developed upon examination of the previous year’s expenses plus consideration of requests and needs that have been identified by the President and the various committees of the Society.
Calendar Items
January
1 – Begin to examine last year’s ledgers to determine income and expenditures for various purposes
April
15 – Examine tax records to verify income and expenditures for previous year; verify Allen Marketing & Management files tax forms.
15 – Obtain budget report from Allen Marketing & Management
May
1 – Prepare and send to the Planning and Finance Committee projections for future year to determine budget needs
7. Correspondence
Letters and e-mail messages are answered as quickly as possible after their receipt in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer. The Calendar items listed below are the items, which must be considered and handled on a yearly basis. Letters of inquiry and letters of claims and complaints are answered on a daily basis after sufficient research has been done to verify each situation. Those deemed the responsibility of Allen Marketing and Management will be forwarded to Allen Press for action.
Calendar Items
March
15 – Contact local committee to verify expected date for receipt of program
October
6 – Contact local committee concerning advance monies for upcoming annual meeting
November
15 – Contact local committee to verify expected date for receipt of “Call for Papers”
8. Mailing and Preparation for Mailings
Items to be printed are organized and mailed to Allen Press for printing. As circumstances demand, items are mailed in the most economical way from Stillwater, Oklahoma, under the umbrella of the Oklahoma State University Mail service or are mailed from Lawrence, Kansas, by Allen Press.
On an as-needed basis, special brochures including “Information Brochure”, “Science of Mammalogy” brochure, “Careers in Mammalogy” brochure, and others are printed at Allen Press and circulated.
Calendar Items
January
5 – Ensure that Allen Press mails “Call for Papers” on or before this date; preparation for this mailing must be completed during the previous year.
March
15 – Contact local committee to confirm receiving copy in a form suitable for printing program
20 – Begin preparing Secretary-Treasurer’s Annual Report
April
1 – Confirm that Allen Press is ready to print program for annual meeting; organization of format must be confirmed and proofread before final printing can be accomplished
15 – Confirm that Allen Press is ready to print copies of Secretary-Treasurer’s report; final copy must be proofread before printing can be accomplished
May
1 – Confirm that Allen Press is ready to mail programs for annual meeting to members and local committee
4 – Have calligraphy done by Allen Press on certificates for annual meeting
15 –Send electronic copies of Secretary-Treasurer’s report to Board Members and local committee
July
1 – Have Allen Press print Officers’ letterhead and create pdf file for distribution to officers; preparation of design and proofreading of final copy must be done before final printing can be accomplished; mail certificates not distributed at annual meeting; have Allen Press print Editorial letterhead and create pdf file; preparation of design and proofreading of final copy must be done before final printing can be accomplished
September
15 – Mail invoices for individuals who sponsor memberships for others
November
13 – Have Allen Press print envelopes for mailing “Call for Papers;” preparation of design and proofreading of final copy must be done before final printing can be accomplished
December
1 – Have Allen Press print “Call for Papers;” preparation of design and proofreading of final copy must be done before final printing can be accomplished’
RECORDING SECRETARY
Job Duties
It is the responsibility of the Recording Secretary to provide a written record of scheduled meetings of the ASM Board of Directors and Society Members. Transcripts of these meetings are provided, in various forms, to ASM Officers and Directors, the Journal of Mammalogy, and the ASM Archives.
Duties Prior to the Annual Meeting
1. The Recording Secretary should contact the Chairperson of the Local Committee, generally no later than early February, with specific information related to the Annual Meeting. One purpose of this communication is to remind the Chairperson that the Local Committee is to provide certain ASM officers (President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary) with free accommodations for the duration of the Annual Meeting (free room but not free meals).
2. This communication also should outline the Recording Secretary’s specific requirements for the Board and Members Meetings, including the following:
- Instructions for tape recording the two Board Meetings, including the need for several area microphones, the required quality of the resulting recording, the number of blank cassette tapes needed, etc. Specifically, several microphones should be positioned around the meeting room in such a manner that anyone who speaks can be heard clearly on the tapes. Several microphones are required, as it is not possible to pass microphones from person to person during the meeting. Also, the Local Committee either needs to provide someone to run the tape recorder or it should be positioned at the head table where the Recording Secretary will be sitting, so that he/she can change tapes as necessary.
- Instructions for tape recording the two Members Meetings, including the need for two or three microphones on the head table (to be used by the President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary), one microphone at a podium adjacent to the head table (to be used for other formal presentations), and two or three area microphones placed out in the auditorium (to be used by Committee Chairpersons and others presenting reports to members). As indicated above, the Local Committee either needs to provide someone to run the tape recorder or it should be positioned at the head table where the Recording Secretary will be sitting, so that he/she can change tapes as necessary. If the Recording Secretary does not bring his/her own tape recorder for playback and transcription of tapes, a portable tape player needs to be provided by the Local Committee.
- Copies of the unabridged minutes of the Board and Members Meetings from the previous year should be sent to all ASM Officers and Directors prior to each year’s Annual Meeting. If these minutes were not sent during the summer, immediately after the Annual Meeting, then copies need to be mailed to all Officers and Directors no later than mid-April. Before the Annual meeting and in collaboration with the President, the Recording Secretary should compile a listing of all Board actions conducted via email since the previous meeting, and include these in the minutes and Archives.
Duties During the Annual Meeting
1. The Recording Secretary attends all meetings of the ASM Board of Directors and the Members and keeps a written record of meeting proceedings. Written notes and tape recordings are used to produce several versions of meeting proceedings, including:
- An abridged version of the first Board Meeting, which is read by the Recording Secretary at the first Members Meeting.
- An abridged version of both Board Meetings, which is provided to the President (and any other appropriate Officers and Directors) within 3-4 weeks after the Annual Meeting. This version contains all approved motions and decisions of the Board.
- An abridged version of the Board of Directors and Members Meetings, including resolutions passed by the Membership, which is published in the November issue of the Journal of Mammalogy.
- An unabridged version of the Board of Directors and Members Meetings, which is provided by the Recording Secretary to each Officer and Director prior to the next Annual Meeting.
2. During the first meeting of the Board of Directors each year, the Recording Secretary reads an abridged version of the minutes from the previous year’s Board Meetings into the meeting record. As this serves only to update Board members on last year’s activities, the content should be limited to Board actions and decisions. When transcribing the minutes of the first Board Meeting from written notes and recorded tapes, the Recording Secretary should make note of any items that require action during the second scheduled Board Meeting; this list should be provided to the President prior to the second Board meeting.
3. During the first Members Meeting each year, the Recording Secretary makes a motion to accept the minutes of the previous year’s Board and Members Meetings, as published in the November issue of the Journal of Mammalogy (rather than reading these minutes into the record); reads an abridged version of the minutes from this year’s first Board Meeting into the record, to update members on the actions and decisions of the Board; provides an overhead transparency listing current and out-going Directors to facilitate the election of new Directors.
4. During the annual Awards Banquet, the Recording Secretary should note the names and affiliations of the recipients of various ASM awards, so that this information can be included in the meeting record.
5. Following the second Members Meeting and the Awards Banquet, the Recording Secretary should contact the Chairperson of the Resolutions Committee and the author of the annual Host Resolution to ensure that final copies of all resolutions are received by the Recording Secretary in sufficient time to include them in the official meeting minutes that are published in the November issue of the Journal of Mammalogy. Given the required publication lead-time, these minutes must be in the hands of the Journal Editor no later than September 1 each year.
6. In the absence of the Historian, the Recording Secretary shall collect copies of all available committee Annual Reports and other documents circulated during Board and Members Meetings. These documents should be submitted to the Historian for inclusion in the Archives following the Annual Meeting.
Duties After the Annual Meeting
1. As soon as possible after the Annual Meeting, an abridged version of the minutes from the two Board of Directors Meetings should be sent to the ASM President.
2. Each year, a commemorative copy of the Host Resolution is sent to the Chairperson of the Local Committee. For many years this has been provided to ASM by Susan Smith (Biographics--sandjsmith@earthlink.net; 15970 W Dale Lane, Surprise, AZ 85387; tel: 623 556-1075). To facilitate this process, the Recording Secretary should send an electronic and/or hard copy of the Host Resolution to Susan, with instructions that the finished product be forwarded to the ASM President, who will then send it to the Local Committee Chairperson. A second copy is deposited in the ASM Archives.
JOURNAL EDITOR
1. The Journal Editor of the Journal of Mammalogy serves as a voting officer of the ASM.
2. The Journal Editor is responsible for receiving manuscripts from authors (300–350 manuscripts/year), notifying authors of receipt of their manuscript and assignment of an Associate Editor to handle peer review, resolving conflicts that develop between authors and Associate Editors, notifying the Chair of the Publications Committee if an Associate Editor does not fulfill responsibilities in a professional and timely manner, receiving manuscripts from Associate Editors that have been recommended for publication and notifying authors upon their receipt, accepting and editing manuscripts for publication, organizing contents of each issue of the Journal, and forwarding contents of each issue to the Managing Editor (see below) at Allen Press on schedule for copyediting and production. The Journal Editor regularly reviews and updates “Instructions to authors.”
3. The Journal Editor receives and edits manuscripts that have been recommended for publication as Special Features from the Editor for Special Features.
4. The Journal Editor receives, solicits, reviews, and edits invited manuscripts (e.g., C. Hart Merriam Award recipients, keynote speakers), Letters to the Editor, submissions by the Historian, and supplements.
5. The Journal Editor solicits and edits obituaries to appear in the Journal of Mammalogy. It is the policy of the ASM Board that obituaries will be solicited upon the death of Honorary Members, Past Presidents, recipients of the Merriam, Jackson, Leopold and Grinnell awards, and such other mammalogists as may be deemed by the Publications Committee to have been eminent in the field (Journal of Mammalogy, 68:207, 1987).
6. The Journal Editor is responsible for materials and information on the front cover of Journal of Mammalogy, the order of materials in the Journal of Mammalogy, the Comments and News section, soliciting and receiving names of reviewers from Associate Editors for publication in the April issue of the Journal of Mammalogy, working with Allen Press to assure that all corrections in proof have been made, and checking and approving final page proof of the Journal of Mammalogy. These tasks are accomplished through regular communications with the Managing Editor at Allen Press. Questions or disputes between authors and the Managing Editor on content, format, and style are resolved by the Journal Editor.
7. Subject to approval by the Board of Directors, the usual term for a Journal Editor is 3, but not more than 5, years.
8. The target publication dates for the 6 annual issues of the Journal of Mammalogy occur in the middle of February, April, June, August, October, and December. The following is the schedule for volume 86 published in 2005. (Failure to meet annually established dates in the production schedule can result in delays in mailing an issue.)
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No. 1 |
No. 2 |
No. 3 |
No. 4 |
No. 5 |
No. 6 |
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Allen Press (AP) receives copy from Journal Editor (JE) |
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10/28/04 |
01/03/05 |
03/02/05 |
05/02/05 |
07/01/05 |
08/31/05 |
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JE receives revised proofs from AP |
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01/04/05 |
03/03/05 |
05/03/05 |
07/01/05 |
09/01/05 |
11/01/05 |
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JE returns revised proofs to AP |
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01/11/05 |
03/10/05 |
05/10/05 |
07/11/05 |
09/09/05 |
11/08/05 |
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JE receives final proofs from AP |
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01/20/05 |
03/21/05 |
05/19/05 |
07/20/05 |
09/20/05 |
11/17/05 |
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JE returns final proofs to AP |
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01/21/05 |
03/22/05 |
05/20/05 |
07/21/05 |
09/21/05 |
11/18/05 |
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Issue Mails |
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02/15/05 |
04/15/05 |
06/15/05 |
08/15/05 |
10/14/05 |
12/15/05 |
9. Duties and responsibilities of other editorial positions are described in the document “Duties and Responsibilities of the Publications Committee.”
LIVING PAST PRESIDENTS
1. Living Past Presidents are lifetime members of the Board of Directors and as such they hold all voting rights and responsibilities of Directors of the Society. As lifetime members of the Board, Living Past Presidents cannot hold other elected or appointed voting offices of the Society.
2. By tradition, the most recent five Living Past Presidents form the Honorary Membership Committee with the penultimate member serving as the Chair of the Committee.
- Living Past Presidents because of their broad knowledge of the Society’s past actions, will stand ready for special assignments and membership on ad hoc Committees.
DIRECTORS
Appointment of Officers
1. The Directors shall appoint the Secretary-Treasurer. The Directors shall review annually the performance of the Officer and may reconfirm and reappoint the Secretary-Treasurer by mutual consent of both parties. The Directors, by a majority vote of no confidence, may decline to reappoint theOfficer. If a petition of no confidence is signed by 20% or more of Members attending the annual stated meeting, the Directors must submit the question of confidence to the membership for vote.
2. The Directors shall appoint the Journal Editor of the Journal of Mammalogy. The Directors shall review annually the performance of the Officer and may reconfirm and reappoint the Journal Editor by mutual consent of both parties. The Directors, by a majority vote of no confidence, may decline to reappoint the Officer. If a petition of no confidence is signed by 20% or more of Members attending the annual stated meeting, the Directors must submit the question of confidence to the membership for vote.
3. The Directors shall appoint one Trustee for the Reserve Funds for a three-year term at each annual stated meeting. The Directors may fill a vacancy among the Trustees by election at any time by a majority vote. The Directors shall establish the monetary limit for bonding of these Officers.
4. The Directors shall appoint one Trustee for the Pooled Income Funds for a three-year term at each annual stated meeting. The Directors may fill a vacancy among the Trustees by election at any time by a majority vote. The Directors shall establish the monetary limit for bonding of these Officers.
5. The Directors are empowered to temporarily fill vacancies among the Officers and Directors by appointment, and these appointed persons shall hold office until their successors are elected.
6. The Directors shall elect Editors upon recommendation of the Publications Committee.
Finances
1. The Directors shall adopt a budget based on recommendations from the President and Planning and Finance Committee, and shall approve in advance the proposed annual expenditures of special funds other than the Reserve Fund. The Directors may approve a part of the Reserve Fund to be returned annually to the Secretary-Treasurer to conduct the business of the Society.
2. The Directors may consider special issues from time to time to promote global interactions among mammalogists. For example, the Directors may vote a financial grant to help support the Organizing Committee of an International Theriological Congress if held in a developing country. The Directors may elect to assist the Organizing Committee locate an alternate site if a previous commitment to host the Congress is broken.
3. The Directors shall approve expenditures for honoraria, grants for research, special recognition, and service rendered to the Society.
4. The Directors shall set the annual dues as well as the dues for life memberships and patron memberships, subject to approval by two-thirds of the Members in attendance and voting at the annual stated meeting.
5. The Directors shall take action for members that are in arrears of dues for more than two years.
6. The Directors must approve for investment the monies received from life memberships and patron memberships as well as gifts for undesignated or designated purposes in the Reserve Fund.
7. The Directors shall consider the object, conditions, and specifications attached to any bequests and trusts before acceptance of any bequest or trust by the ASM. The Directors shall report their actions to the Society.
8. In the event of the dissolution of the Society, the Directors shall distribute the assets and accumulated income for such charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes as in their judgment qualify under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
Operations
1. The Directors shall make the policies of the Society and execute the business of the Society as indicated in the Bylaws.
2. The Directors shall advise the President on affairs pertaining to the Society.
3. The Directors shall review the annual report of the activities of the Executive Office, including an audit, at the annual stated meeting. The Directors shall regulate the expenditures of general fund accounts by the Secretary-Treasurer.
4. The Directors shall receive reports from the Chairs (or their designates) of the functions of the Standing Committees and ad hoc Committees between annual stated meetings. Upon request by the Committee Chair (or their substitute), the Directors must approve or express their opinions upon action items of the Standing Committees and ad hoc Committees and on activities of these Committees which require funding to complete.
5. The Directors shall decide the location of an annual stated meeting if no decision is made by Members in attendance at an annual stated meeting or in case of an emergency.
6. The Directors may recommend amendments to the Bylaws of the Society that can be adopted at any annual stated meeting by a two-thirds vote of the Members present and voting provided that notice of each proposed amendment has been sent to each Member at least two months before the meeting.
7. The Directors may recommend rules of the Society be adopted, amended, or repealed at any annual stated meeting by a two-thirds vote of the Members present.
Awards
1. The selected nominees of the Grinnell Award Committee, the Jackson Award Committee, the Leopold Award Committee, and the Merriam Award Committee must be submitted to the Directors for a vote of approval before the respective award (Grinnell Award, Jackson Award, Leopold Award, and Merriam Award) and honor is bestowed on each awardee.
2. The Directors may establish awards for students (e.g., grants-in-aid, travel awards, and fellowships) that support or recognize their contributions to outstanding achievements in mammalogy. The Directors shall set the monetary limits of any of these awards.
Membership
1. The Directors may recommend individuals for election to Honorary membership, in recognition of their distinguished careers in mammalogy. Election of Honorary members is by Members attending an annual stated meeting.
2. The Directors recommend and elect an individual for Patron membership.
3. The Directors approve a Member's request for Emeritus membership.
RESERVE FUNDTRUSTEES
1. It is the duty of the Reserve Fund Trustees to protect and manage the Reserve Fund of the Society in a manner that seeks to obtain optimal performance in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash instruments.
2. It is the Reserve FundTrustees’ responsibility to try to increase the value of the Reserve Fund and to provide revenue as requested by the Board of Directors for support of programs and publications that enhance the science of mammalogy and the training of mammalogists.
3. It is the further responsibility of the Reserve Fund Trustees to provide accurate and current information and recommendations regarding the Reserve Fund to the Board of Directors so that body can make the most informed financial decisions possible on behalf of the membership.
4. The Chair of the Reserve Fund Trustees is a voting member of the Board.
ARCHIVIST
1. The Archivist for the Society will work with the Archives Division of the Smithsonian Institution to assure that appropriate documents of the ASM are added to existing Archives of the Society. The Archives of the Society are professionally managed by the Smithsonian Institution under written agreement.
2. The Archivist will work with researchers to be certain that they have appropriate access to the Society’s Archives.
3. The documents that the Archivist will seek to add to the Archives have been designated by the Board. These include the following: publications, including special reports and documentation; financial reports; trustees’ reports; officers' correspondence; board members' correspondence; committee correspondence and reports; editors' correspondence (except correspondence soliciting reviewsand old manuscripts); photographs of all ASM activities and any mammalogically important activities; résumés of all officers, editors, board members, honorary members, and awardees; photographs of presidents, honorary members, and awardees.
HISTORIAN
1. The Historian will work with the Archivist to assure that the documents delineated above are obtained and added to the Society’s Archives.
2. The Historian will be responsible for keeping a photographic record of the activities of the ASM and will work with members to obtain photographs taken by other members of the Society.
3. The Historian will solicit résumés and photographs from presidents, honorary members, and awardees.
4. The Historian will from time to time publish in the Journal of Mammalogy articles elucidating the history of mammalogy and of the ASM. These articles will be handled by the Journal Editor to assure their high quality and prompt publication.
5. The Historian will work with the President to have an Assistant Historian appointed as necessary to address special projects relating to the Society’s history and archives.
6. The Historian will submit a written annual report to the Board of Directors before each annual meeting.
OMBUDSPERSON
1. One or more Ombudspersons are appointed by the President to hear and to respond appropriately to complaints of unprofessional behavior by any ASM member or participant at the annual meeting or in the governance of the ASM through its committee structure. Selection of appointees and duration of appointment are the prerogative of the President.
2. Selection criteria emphasize the possession of common sense, sensitivity to gender and minority issues, discretion, seniority within the ASM, possession of the respect of the membership in general, and a willingness to serve.
3. All issues brought before one or both of the appointed individuals will be resolved as discreetly as possible and in a manner they deem most suitable.