Section By-Laws
Adopted: August 7, 1941
Revised: 1944, 1946, March 18, 1972
Amended: April 25, 1976
Approved by Bd. of Governors: January 28, 1977
Amended: May 7, 1983
Approved by Bd. of Governors: January 26, 1984
Amended: May 5, 2001
Approved by Bd. of Governors: January 5, 2002
Amended: May 4, 2019
Approved by Bd. of Governors: June 18, 2019
Bylaws of the Metropolitan New York Section of the Mathematical Association of America
NAME AND PURPOSE
1. The name of this Section shall be the Metropolitan New York Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
2. The purpose of the Metropolitan New York Section shall be to advance the mission of the MAA on a regional level, to offer guidance to the MAA as it forms and fulfills its mission, to provide professional development and networking activities for Section members and mathematics students in geographically accessible locations, and to promote discussion and action on issues affecting mathematics teaching, learning, and research in the region.
MEMBERSHIP
The membership of the Metropolitan New York Section shall be members of the Mathematical Association of America, residing in the Metropolitan New York area, ZIP codes 10000–11999, 12400–12799. Exceptions may be made by the MAA Secretary upon request of the affected member.
OFFICERS
1. The Section's elected officers shall be:
(a) Chair
(b) Chair-Elect
(c) Vice-Chair for Two-year Colleges
(d) Vice-Chair for Four-year Colleges
(e) Vice-Chair for Student Activities (High School/College)
(f) Secretary
(g) Treasurer
The Section's appointed officers shall be:
(a) Speaker's Bureau Chair
(b) Newsletter Editor
(c) College Student Coordinator
(d) Public Relations Chair
(e) Book Exhibit Coordinator
(f) Liaison Coordinator
(g) Webmaster
(h) Section Archivist
(i) Coordinator of Metro NExT
Other personnel may be appointed by the Chair as needed.
2. Each Section officer must be a member of the Mathematical Association of America and Metropolitan New York Section.
3. The Executive committee shall consist of the elected and appointed officers of the Section, Past Chair, and the Section Representative to the MAA Congress. The Executive Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Section between Regular and Special meetings and the Delegate Assembly. All members of the Executive Committee shall have voting privileges. A quorum for a meeting of the Executive Committee shall consist of no fewer than seven people. When the Executive Committee votes on matters, the vote will be decided by a plurality of votes cast. In case of a tie, the Chair shall decide.
4. The Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall appoint a Nominating Committee. All members of the Nominating Committee shall be members of the Metropolitan New York Section.
5. Elections shall be performed electronically before the Section's Spring Annual meeting or, if necessary, manually at the Section's Spring Annual Meeting.
6. The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations for officers through various means, such as the Section website, mailings, and email messages. Any member of the Metropolitan New York Section may nominate any other member who is willing to be nominated; self-nominations are allowed as well.
7. All nominees who accept their nominations must submit a brief Curriculum Vitae and may also submit brief statements. These will be included, together with the list of nominees, on a voting ballot. The winner of each election will be the candidate with a plurality of votes cast. In case of a tie for an elected position, the Nominating Committee shall cast the deciding vote. When the Nominating Committee votes on matters, the vote will be decided by a plurality of votes cast. In case of a tie, the Chair shall decide.
8. The results of voting shall be announced at the annual meeting. Those elected shall take office at the close of the meeting at which their election has been announced.
(a) The Chair-Elect shall be elected for a term of three years and shall then automatically become Chair for the next three years.
(b) Vice-Chairs shall be elected for a term of three years and may not succeed themselves immediately.
(c) The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for a term of three years and may succeed themselves immediately. The maximum number of consecutive years of service for the Treasurer and for the Secretary shall be six years. The number of consecutive years of service for the Treasurer can be extended with the special discussion and vote of the Executive Committee.
9. Filling of Vacancies:
(a) If a vacancy should occur for any reason in the office of the Chair at a time when there is a Chair-Elect, then the Chair-Elect shall succeed immediately to the office of the Chair and shall remain in office for the entire term to which the Chair-Elect was elected.
(b) If a vacancy should occur in the office of the Chair at a time when there is no Chair-Elect, then the Section Representative, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall fill the vacancy by appointment.
(c) If a vacancy in any other office of the Executive Committee should occur, it shall be filled by appointment by the Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee. The election procedure for the Section Representative shall be determined by the MAA.
10. The responsibilities of the Section Officers are as follows:
(a) The Chair shall provide leadership for the Section in attaining its objectives, preside at each meeting of the Section, Delegate Assembly, and Executive Committee, appoint, in consultation with other officers, the standing committees and other committees as needed, and be an ex-officio member of each committee unless directed otherwise by the membership of the Section at an official Section meeting. In consulation with and support from the Executive Committee, the Chair can appoint other officers and redefine officers' responsibilities as needed and assume ultimate responsibility for the effective functioning of the Section.
(b) The Chair-Elect shall assist in providing leadership for the Section in attaining its objectives, learn, with the aid of the Chair, how to be an effective Chair, assist the Chair in planning and implementing a program for each Section meeting, preside at meetings of the Section or of the Executive Committee of the Section in the absence of the Chair. The Chair-Elect shall work with the Chair in planning for a smooth transaction.
(c) The duties of the Secretary shall include the preservation of all records of the Section, keeping custody of records of the Section, writing official correspondence of the Section, notifying members of all Regular Meetings and Special Meetings, and notifying members of the Executive Committee of meetings of the Executive Committee. Specific duties entail: ensuring that timely meeting announcements are sent to the members and that meeting information is posted on the Section's website, corresponding with the MAA and acting as a liaison between the MAA and the Executive Committee. In particular this entails: sending meeting reports after each meeting of the Section and an annual Section report to the Chair of the MAA Committee on Sections, reporting to the MAA the place and date of future meetings and the names of newly elected officers in a timely fashion, corresponding with the MAA regarding the names, affiliations, and email addresses for the 25 and 50-year members for the Spring meeting and ensuring certificates are sent out, submitting the name of the Section's annual teaching award winner, submitting the Section's nomination for the Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award, communicating to the Committee on Sections about any proposed revisions to the Section bylaws.
(d) The duties of the Treasurer shall include collecting registration fees and receiving the allowance provided by the national office of the MAA, the safekeeping of all monies of the Section, maintaining proper and accurate books of account of the Section monies, and paying the bills of the Section. No signature but that of the Treasurer shall be necessary for the authorized expenditure of Section funds. The Treasurer shall prepare a financial report for each Section meeting and, following its conclusion, prepare a report on the finances of the Section for the spring Section meeting, submit the annual financial report to the MAA, and send copies of all final financial reports to the Secretary and Chair of the Section.
(e) The duties of the Vice-Chair for Four-Year Colleges shall include representing the interests of four-year colleges in the Section and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(f) The duties of the Vice-Chair for Two-Year Colleges shall include representing the interests of two-year colleges in the Section and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(g) The duties of the Vice-Chair for Student Activities shall include representing the interests of high school and college students in the Section and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(h) The duties of the Speaker's Bureau Chair shall include maintaining an updated list of speakers along with the title(s) and description(s) of talks, alerting the Webmaster of any changes to that list as it appears on the Section website, soliciting speakers, and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(i) The duties of the Newsletter Editor shall include soliciting items for inclusion in the newsletter, the timely creation of the newsletter prior to the annual spring meeting, sending the final version to the Webmaster for inclusion on the Section webpage, having the MAA send an e-mail to the Section members with a link to the newsletter (or having the Secretary contact the MAA for this purpose), and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(j) The duties of the College Student Coordinator shall include representing the interests of college students in the Section, organizing student activities for Section meetings, coordinating activities of the MAA-affiliated student groups at various institutions, assisting the Chair and Program Chairs in planning and implementing a program for each Section meeting, and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee.
(k) The duties of the Public Relations Chair will include alerting local news organizations to the meetings of the Section and documenting the meetings through photographs.
(l) The duties of the Book Exhibit Coordinator shall include interacting with publishers, organizing book exhibits of the Sectional meetings, and organizing publisher's presentations and talks.
(m) The duties of the Liaison Coordinator shall include maintaining an updated list of campus liaisons in the Section, alerting the Webmaster of any changes to that list as it appears on the Section website, soliciting liaisons where needed, and assisting with such endeavors as charged by the Executive Committee. (Each Liaison of the Section has the responsibility of promoting the objectives of the MAA in the colleges or schools of his or her representative level that are located in the geographical area encompassed by the Section and assisting in the business at the Delegate Assembly and other meetings of the Section).
(n) The duties of the Webmaster shall include maintaining the Section website and, thereby, updating it in a timely fashion as needed, in particular when updates are sent by Section officers.
(o) The duties of the Section Archivist shall include maintaining copies of all relevant documents (such as minutes of all official meetings, meeting programs, etc.).
(p) The duties of the Coordinator of Metro NExT shall include organizing events and meetings for new or untenured mathematics faculty.
MEETINGS
1. The Section shall hold one Program Section meeting in the spring of each academic year at which time the annual business meeting will be held and one Delegate Assembly meeting in the fall.
2. The Delegate Assembly meeting brings together appointed and elected officers and liaisons of the Section to discuss and vote on Section related matters. The Delegate Assembly Meeting shall be planned by the Chair and Executive Committee members. A quorum for the Delegate Assembly meeting shall consist of the appointed and elected officers and liaisons of the Section who are present at the Delegate Assembly meeting. The major details of the Program of the Annual Spring Meeting shall be discussed at the Delegate Assembly, the main members of Program Committee working on the Spring Meeting shall be identified at the Delegate Assembly. At the Delegate Assembly, the vote will be decided by a plurality of votes cast. In cases of a tie, the Chair shall decide.
3. The Spring Meeting shall be planned by the Program Committee and the host institution. The Program Committee is formed and chaired by the Section Chair. It includes members of Executive Committee and, if needed, some additional members.
4. The annual business meeting shall be held during the spring meeting and planned by the Executive Committee. The agenda shall include the results of the elections and reports, and additional matters, as needed. The quorum for this meeting shall be 20 people.
5. Additional meetings may be organized by the Executive Committee.
6. A special business meeting can be initiated by the Executive Committee. Members of the Section may recommend a special business meeting by submitting a request in writing, signed by these members, to the Chair or Secretary of the Section to be discussed by the Executive Committee. If the Executive Committee considers a meeting to be appropriate, the requested special business meeting should take place within half a year from the day when the written request is submitted. The Executive Committee shall make arrangements for the meeting.
7. Each member of the Section shall be notified at least ten days in advance of any Program or Special meeting of the Section.
DUES AND ASSETS
1. There shall be no dues for the Section but a registration fee, determined by the Program Committee, shall be collected for each program meeting.
2. The Executive Committee may also determine specific voluntary dues, fees, or contributions that may be made to the Section.
3. The assets of the Section shall be used exclusively to further the purposes of the Section and, in the event of the dissolution of the Section, the remaining assets shall be turned over to MAA to be used for purposes consistent with the bylaws of that organization.
STANDING COMMITTEES
1. The Section shall have a Service Awards Committee, a Nominating Committee, and a Teaching Award Committee. These committees are appointed by the Section Chair, and they must have at least three people. A Service Awards Committee and a Teaching Award Committee shall be formed yearly and shall be announced at the annual Liaison meeting. A Nominating Committee shall be formed before the elections to take care of the elections process; after the elections, it shall be dismissed. Section committees should reflect the diversity of the MAA membership and the profession. Therefore, the charge to, and composition of, standing committees should be designed to minimize implicit bias in accordance with the policies of the association.
2. The Service Awards Committee shall select the winner of the Service Awards at both the Section and the Association level. The committee shall prepare a citation indicating the reasons for the selection of the nominee. For the certificate of meritorious service, the committee shall send the final recommendation with the citation to the MAA Secretary's office electronically.
3. The Nominating Committee shall nominate candidates for Section Representative and shall prepare a slate of candidates for the elected officers of the Section.
4. The Teaching Award committee shall oversee the awarding of the Metropolitan New York Section Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics Award. It shall publicize the call for nominations for this award and select a winner of this award following procedures consistent with guidelines recommended by the MAA's Haimo Award committee. This committee shall also be responsible for selecting the Section's Haimo nominee and other teaching awards as appropriate.
5. Executive and Program committees shall function as described in Articles III, IV.
6. Ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the Chair as needed. Ad hoc Committees shall consist of at least three members of the Section.
AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS
1. Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by the Executive Committee. Members of the Section may recommend amendments to the bylaws by submitting them in writing, signed by at least three members of the Section, to the Executive Committee.
2. Subject to subsequent approval by the Board of Directors of the Mathematical Association of America, these bylaws may be amended by 2/3 of the votes cast by a quorum at a business meeting of the Section or 2/3 of the electronic votes of the participated voting part of the Section during the electronic vote.
3. After an amendment is approved by the members of the Section and subsequently by the Board of Directors, it becomes effective immediately.
4. When an amendment governing the length of term becomes effective, time served previously shall be included for determining the fulfillment of that term.
5. The secretary of the Section shall notify each member of the Section of any proposed amendment(s) at least 20 days before the meeting at which voting on the proposed amendment(s) takes place or before the electronic vote on the matter.
6. A complete revision of these bylaws shall be subject to all of the same procedures required for other amendments to these bylaws.
April 5, 2019