CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I. NAME
The Section will be known as the North American Micropaleontology Section of SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Section is to promote all aspects of micropaleontology through application, research and education dealing with morphology, biostratigraphy, ecology/paleoecology, and geologic history of all groups of microfossils occurring in the stratigraphic record. NAMS is the sponsor of the MMRG group, a formal research group within SEPM which reports to the SEPM research committee. The group meets before or during the Annual AAPG/SEPM meeting. The President of NAMS presides as the chair of the group and the Secretary of NAMS serves as the co-chair. 

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
1. The Section is composed of Members and Honorary Members.
2. The membership of the Section will be derived primarily from persons engaged in micropaleontological research and application and who reside in North America (United States, Canada or Mexico). It is also open to micropaleontologists from countries outside of North America.
3. The Council may elect as Honorary Members persons who have made major contributions to the sciences of Micropaleontology. Honorary Members shall not be required to pay dues.
4. Each candidate for membership (excluding Honorary Membership) must submit an application to the Secretary on a form authorized by the Council for this purpose.
5. New Members enrolled after September 1, will be considered as having paid their dues for the next calendar year.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
1. Executive authority of the Section is vested in a Council consisting of the immediate Past-president and five duly elected officers: President, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Editor. The Council will have ultimate control and management of the affairs of the Section.
2. The term of President, President-elect, and Past-president is one year. At the end of one year the President-elect automatically becomes President and the President fills the role of Past-president.
3. The President is the presiding officer at all meetings of the Section and Council. The President is responsible for appointing the chairs of all committee and research groups. In addition, the President is the official Section representative to the Executive Council of SEPM. Other duties of the President include notifying nominees of election results, selection of an auditing committee and a nominating committee, presiding as chair of the MMRG and attending the appropriate SEPM meetings.
4. The President-elect, assisted by the President, is responsible for arranging the MMRG program held at the annual AAPG meeting. In the event that the President is unable to serve, the President-elect will assume the President's duties.
5. The Past-president is responsible for arranging symposia and field trips at the AAPG, GSA, SEPM and other annual meetings. The Past-President will chair a committee composed of the NAMS Council to review applicants for the Jones-O’Neil Award for NAMS Student Research. In the event that neither the President nor the President-elect is available to serve as a presiding officer of the Section, the immediate Past-president will assume the President's duties.
6. The Secretary will keep records of the proceedings of the Section and a complete list of the membership. The Secretary will prepare and mail all notices, membership application blanks and other materials necessary to the Section's business. The Secretary prepares the ballots per information supplied by the nominees for inclusion in the Autumn newsletter. The Secretary tabulates the ballots and notifies the President of election results.
7. The Editor prepares the newsletter for the Section 1 month prior to the Geological Society of America and American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Meetings unless otherwise directed by the Council. The Editor performs all other editorial duties requested by NAMS Council.
8. The Treasurer will have custody of and responsibility for all funds of the Section. The Treasurer keeps account of receipts and disbursements, and submits this account to the Council on an annual basis as stated below. Treasurer will consider all candidates for membership and pass on the qualifications of the applicants; applicants deemed unacceptable will be referred to the Council for review. A unanimous vote of the Council will be required before rejecting any applicant.
9. The positions of Secretary and Treasurer will be for a two-year period changing in alternate years. The position of Editor will be for a two year period. Terms may be renewed for two years at a time with unanimous approval of the Council. Terms may be renewed in this fashion up to a six-year total term.

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS
1. The Section holds an annual business meeting at a location decided by the Council (traditionally at the SEPM Annual Meeting).
2. The Section will periodically review sponsorship of a symposium (oral or poster) or field trip each year, to be held at the SEPM annual meeting.
3. The Section sponsors and coordinates a quadrennial international conference, Geologic Problem Solving with Microfossils.  It is focused on solving geologic problems using all types of microfossils, not limited by group, age, or environment.

ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS
Any proposed amendments must have the approval of the majority of the Council before being submitted to the members. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of returned mail ballots received by the Secretary, thirty (30) days after proposal of amendments.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I. DUES
1. The fiscal year of the Section shall commence on March 1 and expire on the last day of February of the following year.
2. The annual dues of Members and Associates of the Section shall be $10.00 (U.S.). Penalty of $.50 (U.S.) will be assessed for late payment of dues. The penalty may be waived upon payment of dues for two or more years.

ARTICLE II. FINANCIAL PROCEDURE
No Officer or Member shall enter into contract to disburse any of the Section's funds without the verbal approval of a member of the Council. Disbursal of a sum in excess of $100.00 must be approved by a majority of the Council, except for routine non-capital costs associated with the duties of Secretary and Editor as stated in the constitution. 

ARTICLE III. ELECTIONS
1. The President appoints a nominating committee of 3 persons. Per majority decision of the committee, 1 or 2 persons are nominated for the pertinent offices of President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer and Editor before August 1. The President notifies the Secretary of the slate of candidates. The Secretary will solicit resumes from the nominees for each office and prepare the ballots for distribution to Section members.
2. Ballots containing the nominations for officers, arranged alphabetically under each office, shall be prepared by the Secretary and mailed to each member of the Section with the Autumn newsletter. The Secretary counts all ballots which are to be postmarked on or before the thirty days following distribution of ballots. Receipt of a majority of the votes cast for any office shall constitute election. In case of a tie vote, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
3. Results of balloting will be immediately reported to the President by the Secretary. The President will then notify all nominees of election results. These results will be announced in the Spring newsletter. New officers assume duty at the adjournment of the annual business meeting immediately following their election.

ARTICLE IV. AMENDMENTS
1. Any proposed changes to the by-laws must have prior majority approval of Council before being submitted to the Members. The by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of returned mail ballots received by the Secretary within thirty days after a proposal of amendments.
2. A petition containing the signatures of twenty active Members is considered sufficient to bring before the Council a proposed change in the Constitution or by-laws. A majority of the Council is also considered sufficient to initiate a proposed change.

ARTICLE V. AUDIT
TThe Treasurer submits a report at the annual business meeting. The President may, if necessary, appoint an Auditing Committee of no less than 3 people. The Auditing Committee will review and approve the end of fiscal year report submitted by the Treasurer. Auditing Committee approval must be completed no later than 45 days after appointment.

ARTICLE VI. VACANCIES
1. A vacancy occurring in the office of President shall be filled by the President-elect.
2. A vacancy occurring in the offices of Past-president, President-elect, Secretary, Treasurer or Editor shall be filled by Council appointment until the appropriate election time for that office.

ARTICLE VII. GRANTS AND AWARDS
1. The Section will annually solicit applications for the Garry Jones and Brian O’Neill Memorial Grant for NAMS Student Research, from the NAMS student membership, to support research with a substantial micropaleontological component.  Proposals for the Grant will be ranked by the NAMS Council, chaired by the Past-President, based on scientific merit, faculty recommendation, and financial need.  An announcement will be made in the Fall Newsletter, and followed-up by an email notification to the membership.  Award notification will be scheduled in mid-February in time for inclusion in the Spring Newsletter.  The Board will annually review the amount of the Award.
2. The Section will annually choose a candidate to nominate to SEPM for the Mobil Foundation’s Student Travel Grant, to send the student to the SEPM/AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition.  A call for applicants for the Grant will be placed in the Spring Newsletter, with a deadline set each year to ensure a selection is made before the close of abstract submission to the AAPG Student Poster Session.  The President will chair a committee of the NAMS Council to make the selection. 

ARTICLE VIII.  SEPM FOUNDATION REPRESENTATIVE 
1.  The NAMS Council of Officers will select, by majority vote, a NAMS member to serve as its representative on the SEPM Foundation Board.  The nomination shall be forwarded by the President to SEPM for ratification by the SEPM Council.  The term shall be for two years, consecutive terms admitted, in accordance with SEPM Foundation policies.

 

Static page. Last updated: 24 April 2013