Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology Section
Statement of Organization and Procedures
(Approved by
Council 1976, Revised, July 1997, July 1999; 2003, May 2005)
ARTICLE I. Name
The name of this
organization is the Gastrointestinal
AND Liver PHYSIOLOGY
Section (GI&L)
OF THE AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY (hereafter referred to as “Section”).
ARTICLE II.
Purposes
The purpose of the Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology Section of the
American Physiological Society is to promote and enhance excellence in
research and training in gastrointestinal and liver physiology in order to
advance and integrate our understanding of these systems from the molecular
to the organ level. To achieve this, the section will:
-
Provide a forum for dissemination of advances in
gastrointestinal and liver biology through programming of scientific
meetings
-
Enhance interaction among gastrointestinal and liver
biologists through meetings and conferences in which the GI&L section
participates, and through the section newsletter and section web site
-
Foster interdisciplinary and integrative approaches among
gastrointestinal and liver physiologists and other scientific
disciplines at the annual spring meeting meeting
-
Recognize excellence in gastrointestinal and liver
physiology from the trainee through senior investigator levels
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 Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology Sectionas a primary,
secondary, or tertiary section for affiliation through the APS Membership
Services Department.
Voting members are
those regular APS members, in good standing, who hold a primary affiliation
with the Section.
ARTICLE IV.
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:
Section Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Section Program Committee (SPC) Chair,
Committee on Committees (COC) representative, Liaison with Industry
Committee (LWIC) representative, Trainee Advisory Committee (TAC)
representative, Past Section Chair, Editor of Am J Physiol Gastrointest
Liver Physiol and four At-Large Councillors.
The Section Chair will
serve on the Society’s Section Advisory Committee (SAC); the Chair of the
SPC will serve on the Society’s Joint Program Committee (JPC): each for the
duration of his/her term.
A quorum for
conducting official business for the Section will be five of the eleven
voting members of the steering committee. The steering committee will meet
or converse twice yearly, i.e., at the annual spring meeting of the Society,
at a fall conference of the Society, by conference call, or at a meeting of
a parallel-interest society.
Section 2.
Steering Committee Members and Their Duties
The steering committee
members shall serve a three-year term and those terms shall be staggered.
The Section Chair
shall call and chair meetings of the steering committee and supervise the
election process in coordination with the Secretary-Treasurer. The Section
Chair may appoint committees that are necessary for the proper conduct of
the affairs of the Section, including a steering committee member who keeps
the minutes of committee meetings. The Section Chair provides
leadership and direction to the section and the steering committee,
including the execution of existing sectional programs and the development
of new programs. The Section Chair is responsible, with input from the
steering committee and section membership, for the preparation of at least
two section newsletters per year.
The
Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain fiscal records. He/she will assist
in fund-raising activities to generate funds for the section’s restricted
account. The Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for preparing the plaque for
the Distinguished Research Award for
Excellence in Gastrointestinal and Liver Research, which is presented
to the award recipient at the annual section business meeting at Society’s
annual spring meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer also prepares the award
certificates for the two student prize winners of the section
(Postdoctoral and Predoctoral prizes).
The SPC Chair shall chair a committee composed of the members of the
section's steering committee, one or more young people who are working in
exciting new areas of researchand an SPC Chair-elect. The SPC shall be
charged with developing the Section's scientific program for the Society’s
annual spring meeting. The SPC Chair will interact with 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. The SPC Chair may also provide direction
to the SPC in the development of joint programming between the section and
other scientific societies.
The COC representative is responsible for participating in the affairs
of the Society’s COC and providing specific section perspective to that
committee, The Society COC is as an advisory committee that makes
recommendations for nominees to the Society standing committees following
consultation with sections, thus allowing the latter to have a direct
relationship with the affairs of the Society.
The LWIC representative is responsible for participating in the affairs
of the Society’s LWIC and providing specific section perspective to that
committee. The duties of the LWIC are to: foster interactions and improve
relations between the Society and industry by discussing problems of mutual
concern, develop new ways that the Society and related industry can interact
in mutually beneficial ways and, recruit membership in industry.
The TAC representative is responsible for participating in the affairs of
the Society’s TAC and providing specific section perspective to that
committee. The duties of the TAC are to: investigate the needs of
trainees—both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral—to determine how the Society
can provide necessary support and assistance, organize a session at the
annual spring meeting designed to assist trainees in their development of
independent careers, publish an email newsletter for trainees and establish
a web site for trainees on the APS Home Page, bring relevant matters to the
attention of Council and act on Council recommendations, encourage the
active membership of trainees in the Society, coordinate activities with
other such APS committees to enhance the status of trainees and to respond
to the needs of trainees.
The Past-Chair is responsible for providing a historical record and
perspective.
The Editor of Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol is responsible for
providing information regarding the journal and relating section members’
concerns to the APS Publications Committee.
At-Large Councillors are responsible for assisting in programs as they
arise and may be selected to serve on committees designated by the Section
Chair.
Section 3.
Election of Officers and Terms of Office
The terms of office
shall be for three years. The Section Chair and SPC Chair both should have
served on the steering committee prior to being elected to their respective
offices. Both officers will be elected by ballot vote Section’s voting
members prior to the expiration of their respective term as steering
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.
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 voting membership in response to a request by the steering
committee. The Section Chair will appoint a steering committee member to
serve as chair of the nominating committee. The chair of the nominating
committee will ask two other section (but non-steering committee) members to
complete the nominating committee. The nominating committee will prepare a
slate of candidates for the ballot after obtaining assurance that those
individuals who appear on the ballot will serve if elected. 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 will not be
assessed.
ARTICLE VI.
Finances
The Society shall
maintain, under the management of the steering committee, an account of
funds for the Section. Any funds solicited must be received by the Society.
Disbursement of funds will also be made by the Society as directed by a
designated member of the steering committee.
ARTICLE VII.
Amendments and Quorum of the Membership
Section 1.
Amendments
Amendments to these
procedures must be proposed in writing to the steering committee by five
voting members at least two months prior to the annual meeting of the
membership which normally will be held at the Society's annual spring
meeting. The proposal must be distributed to the voting members prior to the
annual meeting of the membership. Amendment requires the approval of
two-thirds of a quorum.
Section 2.
Quorum
The quorum for all
membership business meetings is no less than 25 voting members of the
Section.
ARTICLE VIII.
Awards
Awards will be made as financial and
other circumstances permit in order to recognize members of the Section and
the Society who have made substantial contributions to the affairs of the
Section and the Society. Student and new investigator awards will also be
made when appropriate. Nominations for awards will be accepted when called
for by instructions published in a newsletter. The Distinguished
Research Award for Excellence in Gastrointestinal and Liver Research is
the section’s senior award.
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