BY-LAWS
of the
HOUSTON NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Article I. Name, Office and Fiscal Year
Section 1. Name. The name of the Society shall be Houston Neuropsychological Society.
Section 2. Principal Office. The principal office of the Society shall be the professional office of the President, or of one of the typically recurring members of the Board of Directors (i.e., Treasurer and Secretary), or at such other place as the Board of Directors may determine advisable from time to time.
Section 3. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year for the Society shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31, unless otherwise designated by the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Chartering. Houston Neuropsychological was chartered in 1992. Charter members of all classes are those persons elected to membership at the first meeting of the Charter Board of Directors for the purpose of voting on new applicants.
Article II. Purposes
The primary purposes of the Society will be for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. With respect to the scientific and educational component of the organization’s purposes, programming will be divided into the following:
A. Major Annual Symposia or Workshops
B. CEU Presentations and Related Talks, Lectures, or Case Conferences
Interested professionals from all relevant disciplines will be regularly notified of the programs; CEU presentations and related talks, which are free of charge.
Annual symposia and workshops will be half- or full-day programs conducted by regionally, nationally, and internationally known scientists and professionals in disciplines relevant to neuropsychology. The proceeds from these symposia will be used to further the primary organizational purposes (e.g., to plan, conduct and underwrite the cost of future educational programs).
Article III. Membership
Section 1. Membership. There shall be two classifications of members: (a) Regular members and (b) Affiliate members. Regular members are individuals at the doctoral level who currently work in or have interests in the field of neuropsychology. Regular members have voting privileges and are eligible for election to the Board of Directors. Affiliate members are individuals who are (a) retired from a career in neuropsychology or a related field; (b) undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled in a degree-granting program and with specific interest in neuropsychology; (c) postdoctoral fellows in neuropsychology or a related field; and (d) non-licensed professionals who currently work in or have interests in the field of neuropsychology (e.g., psychometrist). Affiliate members are eligible for reduced cost participation in the Society, as encouragement to enhance its educational goals. Students who have received their terminal degree or trainees who have completed postdoctoral fellowship are eligible to become regular members. All references in these by-laws to members shall refer to regular members except as otherwise expressly provided.
Section 2. Term of Membership and Fixing Record Dates. All memberships will be for a term of one year, the record date for determination of membership shall be fixed as January to December of the year in which a member pays dues, as set by the Board of Directors. Dues paid after July of a given year will be applied to membership for the following calendar year.
Section 3. Qualification and Application Process. Persons at the doctoral level who are actively interested in neuropsychology and neuropsychological disorders shall be eligible for regular membership. Please see Section 1 above for membership information.
Section 4. Dues, Membership Roll, Voting and Resignation and Endorsement Waiver.
a) Annual dues for each year shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Society and be fixed as covering the calendar year (January to December) for which they are paid. Dues may be reduced in order to promote membership, at the Board’s discretion. Dues may be collected at any time during the calendar year. New members joining the society after July 1 of a given calendar year will not owe dues for the following calendar year, but will annually thereafter. The board has at their disposal the right to offer new members a reduced rate. Any member failing to pay dues by December 31 of the following year shall be considered to have resigned, but may remain on the Society listserv.
b) The membership roll will constitute those individuals having joined within a given calendar year, or having renewed their membership therein. The list of current members showing the list of members in good standing will be kept by the Secretary.
c) Any member of the Society may resign at any time upon tendering a resignation in writing to the President or Secretary. The membership of any member in the Society may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board of Directors for violations of the ethical standards as put forth by the American Psychological Association
d) Membership in the Houston Neuropsychological Society shall not be construed as constituting an endorsement of professional competence. The Society logo or official stationary may not be used by any non-Board Member without the expressed consent of the majority of the Board of Directors. Such consent must be obtained in writing.
Section 5. Board Meetings.
The officers of the Society shall meet at least quarterly to arrange the upcoming year’s agenda, as well as discuss other relevant issues for the Society. A yearly review of the proceedings and business of the Society shall be published on the website once a year for the membership.
Robert’s “Rules of Order” shall govern all proceedings of the Society, unless otherwise indicated by the Board of Directors.
Article IV. Procedures
Section 1. Management of the Society. During the first calendar year, the Society will be managed by the Charter Board of which will consist of a President, President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. The positions of President-Elect and Secretary may be held by the same person. For the second calendar year and thereafter, the Society will be managed by the President, Immediate Past-President, President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. All officers must be of a professional status, and a diversity of disciplines within the area of brain behavior relationships is encouraged. There shall be no more than four board members from a single independent institution per year.
Section 2. Election and Term of Officers. The Board of Directors shall present a slate of candidates in election years by electronic ballot. Additional nominees shall be taken from the floor and a ballot shall be emailed to membership no later than the last month of the calendar year. The accepted officers shall hold terms of one year, beginning with the January meeting, immediately following acceptance by the membership.
Section 3. Vacancies. In the event that a board member submits his/her resignation, the executive committee shall appoint a board member until the time of the next election.
Section 4. Removal. Any or all officers of the Society may be removed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the general membership in good standing. An officer who is absent from three consecutive meetings without notification or stated causes, may be removed from his/her office and the position filled as stated in Article IV, Section 3, Vacancies.
Section 5. Resignation. An officer may resign at any time by giving written or verbal notice to the President or Secretary of the Society. The resignation shall take effect upon receipt by the officer. Acceptance of the resignation is not necessary to make it effective.
Section 6. Quorum of Officers. A majority of the entire Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, or of any specified item of business. Quorum will be dependent upon the maximum number of Members at Large that shall be left to the discretion of the annual board.
Section 7. Action by the Officers. No business may be transacted without the holding of a meeting at which a quorum of the Board of Directors is present.
Article V. Board of Directors
Section 1. President. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Society. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the membership and of the Board of Directors. He or she shall have the general management of the affairs of the Society and shall see that all actions of the Board are carried into effect. The immediate past president will provide guidance to the current president and board, as needed.
Section 2. President-Elect. The President-Elect shall assist the President in carrying out his or her duties. He or she shall also assume responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer in the absence of the President in any membership meeting or meeting of the Board of Directors. The first President-Elect of the Society shall be voted on by the membership at the same time the other officers are elected.
Section 3. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of all the funds and securities of the Society and shall deposit said funds in the name of the Society in such bank or trust company as the Board of Directors may choose. He or she shall, when duly authorized by the Board of Directors, sign and execute all contracts in the name of the Society (in cooperation and countersigned, if need be, by the President). He or she shall maintain all tax return and other key financial documents, and sign all checks, drafts, notes and orders for the payment of money, when duly authorized by the Board of Directors. He or she shall at all reasonable times exhibit the books and accounts to any officer or member of the Society, upon application at any meeting of the members or the Board of Directors. At the end of each year, he or she shall have an audit of the accounts of the Society and an annual report setting forth in full the financial condition of the Society to present for the membership on the website. If an individual expresses interest in the Treasurer position or the current Treasurer wishes to step down from the position, the title of Treasurer-Elect will be assumed prior to his or her transition to Treasurer the following year.
Section 4. Secretary. The Secretary shall be responsible for the roll of the membership in good standing alphabetically arranged. It is the primary duty of the Secretary to notify the membership of the date, time, place and topic of each general membership meeting and the Society. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Board of Directors and post them on the website for general membership access. He or she shall have charge of such books and papers (e.g., bylaws and their amendments, articles of incorporation), as the Board of Directors may direct and perform all duties incidental to the office.
Section 5. Members at Large. The Board of Directors of the immediate preceding year shall be responsible for appointing Members at Large based on membership nomination and voting. The maximum number of Members at Large will be left to the discretion of the annual Board. The term shall last for one year. These positions shall be included as voting members of the Board of Directors. Members at Large shall be responsible for speaker recruitment as well as specific initiatives that are of interest to each Member of Large. These positions shall liaison with the membership and assist officers of HNS in the governorship of the organization (e.g., website management, newsletters).
Section 6. Trainee Liaisons. The Board of Directors may choose to appointment Student Liaisons to increase trainee participation. Student Liaison positions would be for one year and begin in the month of April. This position will not include voting rights. Candidates for these positions should be active registered members of HNS. The job responsibilities are as follows: 1) represent the views and concerns of trainee-members of HNS (interns and postdocs), 2) attend monthly phone board meetings, 3) attend in-person HNS meetings twice per year, 4) promote upcoming HNS events (e.g. monthly speakers, Fall Symposium) to trainees in the Houston area, 5) assist in planning of the Fall Social, in collaboration with the HNS Student Liaison and other Board members, 6) assist with planning of any other HNS events, as available, and 7) work with the HNS Student Liaison to ensure HNS social media accounts are updated (e.g. Facebook).
Article VI. Amendments
The by-laws may be adopted, amended or repealed by a two-thirds majority of members in good standing. By-laws may also be adopted, amended or repealed by the Board of Directors, but any by-laws adopted, amended or repealed by the Board of Directors may be reversed by a two-thirds vote of the members entitled to vote thereon, as hereinbefore provided.
If any by-laws regulating an impending election of the Board of Directors is adopted, amended or repealed by the Board of Directors, there shall be set forth in the notice of the next meeting for the election of the Board of Directors, any by-law so adopted, amended or repealed, together with a concise statement of the changes made.