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CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM SECTION
Statement of Organization and Procedures
(Amended October 2004)
 

ARTICLE I.  Name

The name of this organization is the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM SECTION (CNS Section) of the American Physiological Society.

ARTICLE II.  Purposes

The purposes of this organization are to:

  • Advise the Society on matters of interest to the members of the Section.

  • Advise the Publications Committee and the Editors of the American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Neurophysiology on the selection of editors and members of editorial boards as vacancies occur or the need arises for expertise represented by members of our section.

  • Assist the Education Committee on issues relevant to education of physiologists about the special area of the central nervous system.

  • Assist the Society, through representation on the Joint Program Committee, in the organization of the scientific meetings of the Society.

  • Nominate individuals for membership on Society committees.

  • Be open to all members of the Society expressing an interest in Section membership.

  • Provide the President‑elect with recommendations of and supporting material for individuals to be nominated by the Society for awards.

  • Organize and promote interdisciplinary activities that foster interest in the central nervous system.

  • Recognize members who have made significant contributions to the affairs of the Section and the Society.

  • Recognize significant contributions of graduate and post-graduate level physiologists in the field of the central nervous system.

ARTICLE III.  Membership

Membership is open to any member of the Society (student, affiliate, regular, emeritus, or honorary) who wishes to become a member. Section membership is conferred by designating the CNS Section as a primary, secondary, or tertiary section for affiliation through the APS Membership Services Department.

ARTICLE IV.  Committees and Officers

Section 1. Steering Committee

The responsibility for management and supervision of the affairs of the Section shall be vested in a Steering Committee. The members of the Steering Committee shall be the Chair, the Secretary-Treasurer, six regular members, a representative to the Liaison with Industry Committee, a student/fellow member (who shall also serve as the Section’s representative to the Trainee Advisory Committee), those individuals serving on major APS committees and who list CNS Section as their primary affiliation, and the Editor of the Journal of Neurophysiology or his/her designate.  Each of the above shall be a voting member of the Steering Committee.  At least two regular members of the Steering Committee will be under the age of 40.  The Committee on Committees (COC) representative and the Chair of the Section Program Committee (SPC) will be selected by the Steering Committee. The SPC Chair will serve as the section representative to the Joint Program Committee and the Section Chair will serve on the Section Advisory Committee (SAC). A quorum for conducting official business for the Section will be a simple majority of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will meet or converse two or more times yearly, i.e., at the annual spring meeting, at a fall conference of the Society, by conference call, or at the meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

Section 2. Steering Committee Members and Their Duties

The Steering Committee members shall serve three‑year terms and those terms shall overlap so that no more than one third of the Steering Committee shall be elected each year except in unusual circumstances. The Chair shall call and chair meetings of the Steering Committee and supervise the election process in coordination with the Secretary‑Treasurer. The Chair may appoint committees that are necessary for the proper conduct of the affairs of the Section.

The Secretary‑Treasurer shall keep the minutes of the Steering Committee and the membership list, prepare and send Spring and Fall newsletters to the membership of the Section, maintain fiscal records, and serve as the section representative to the APS Committee on Committees.

The SPC committee shall be composed of the SPC chair, the Chair of the Section (ex officio), three regular members of the Section Steering Committee (at least one under the age of 40), the Journal of Neurophysiology representative, and the student/fellow member. The SPC shall be charged with developing the Section's scientific program for the Experimental Biology meeting. The SPC Chair will serve on the Society's Joint Program Committee to ensure minimal overlap or redundancy with respect to other sections' programming activities and to develop joint programs integrating more than one section. A quorum for the Section Programming Committee shall be four of the seven members, including the Chair of the SPC.

Section 3. Election of Officers and Terms of Office

The terms of office shall be for three years. The Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, SPC Chair, and COC representative should have served on the Steering Committee prior to being elected to their respective offices. These officers will be elected by ballot vote of the regular membership with a primary affiliation in the CNS Section prior to the expiration of their respective term as a regular committee member.

Terms of office of all members of the Steering Committee will begin and end at the close of the annual spring meeting of the Society.

Terms of office for members of the Steering Committee can be terminated if the individual is not available for three consecutive Steering Committee meetings.  After missing the third meeting, the Chair will send a letter to the individual indicating that the CNS Section Steering Committee will vote on his/her early dismissal.  A simple majority vote in favor of dismissal will result in termination of that appointment.  The Committee will then vote on a new member from the list of APS members that list CNS Section as their primary affiliation.

Section 4.  Nomination for Membership on the Steering Committee. 

Nominations for membership on the Steering Committee will be made annually, as appropriate, by the Section's membership in response to a request by the Steering Committee. Election will be by ballot distribution and counted by the Membership Services Department of the Society. The election shall be scheduled to take place prior to the annual spring meeting of the Society.

ARTICLE V.  Dues

Dues shall not be assessed.

ARTICLE VI.  Amendments or Changes to Procedures and Guidelines

Section 1. Amendments

Amendments or changes to these procedures must be proposed in writing to the Steering Committee. The proposal must then be sent to the Society members whose primary affiliation is in the CNS Section. Amendments or changes require the approval of two‑thirds of a quorum.

Section 2. Quorum

The quorum for all membership business meetings is no less than 25 members of the Section.

ARTICLE VII.  Awards

0An Awards Subcommittee, composed of three or more members of the Steering Committee (at least one under the age of 40) with one person being designated to Chair this group, will be responsible for selecting the winners of the CNS Section Awards.  Information about these Awards can be found on the CNS Section web page as well as in the Call for Abstracts for the annual Spring meeting of the Society.

0The Van Harreveld Memorial Award of the Central Nervous System Section consists of a cash prize and certificate. The prize recognizes outstanding research by a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who presents an abstract at the Experimental Biology meeting. The winner is selected by a subcommittee appointed by the Chair of the Section from among nominated abstracts. Nominations for awards will be accepted when called for by instructions published in the CNS Section Newsletter or the call for abstracts.

At least two Young Investigator Awards will be offered annually by the CNS Section in recognition of meritorious research by young investigators who participate in the annual Experimental Biology meeting. These awards consist of a cash prize, complimentary meeting registration, and a certificate.  To qualify for this award, the applicant must have received a Ph.D. or other professional degree within the past 10 years and must present a poster or talk at the Experimental Biology Meeting. The subject matter of this presentation can be any topic related to the central or peripheral nervous system. Applications are reviewed and rated by the CNS Section Awards Committee. Nominations for awards will be accepted when called for by instructions published in the CNS Section Newsletter or the call for abstracts.