2022 SEB Bylaws Change Vote Information
As previously communicated, 57.4% of voters in the recent ranked-choice vote expressed a preference to change the name of the Society to The Society for Ethnobotany. Please see the previously shared vote breakdown by clicking here.
However, in order to implement this change, the Society's bylaws must be amended. This action requires at least 60-days notice (notice was sent to all current SEB members on April 22, 2022) and a 2/3 majority.
In accordance with these rules, the bylaws committee has prepared the language below which was then ratified by the council. Voting on these amendments will open June 23 for online voting by current SEB members and close at midnight EST on June 30. If you are a current SEB member and did not receive an email to vote please email seb@econbot.org.
You will see four recommended bylaws changes which will each be a separate vote on the ballot. The first amendment is necessary to change the name and the subsequent 3 amendments are additional changes that were recommended to remain consistent with a name change. You may vote to approve or deny any or all of these amendments independently of each other.
For your reference, please see the proposed bylaws amendments recommended by the bylaws committee and approved unanimously by the council:
***
In the following ballot, members are asked to vote on the following four proposed changes to the Bylaws of the Society for Economic Botany. Each amendment will receive a separate vote. Amendments where two-thirds of the vote is yes will be implemented at the business meeting of the next society conference in 2023.
Amendment 1
Amendment 2
Amendment 3
Amendment 4
***
AMENDMENT 1: Change of the society name from “Society for Economic Botany” to “Society for Ethnobotany” and update the New York certificate of incorporation as provided after filing.
Location of changes in the bylaws underlined:
Article I: NAME
This organization shall be known as The Society for Ethnobotany, Inc. (hereinafter called the Society). The Society was and shall be incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the State of New York with Certificate of Incorporation #419253, filed 3 February 1964.
***
AMENDMENT 2: Change field descriptions to include the term “ethnobotany” in addition to economic botany.
Location of changes in the bylaws underlined; deleted sections are represented with struck lines:
Article II: PURPOSE AND DEFINITION
The Society is organized to foster and encourage scientific research, education, and related activities on the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and people, and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community and the general public through meetings and publications. It is recognized that the fields of ethnobotany and economic botany include all or parts of many established disciplines such as agronomy, anthropology, archaeology, chemistry, economics, ethnobotany, ethnology, forestry, genetic resources, geography, geology, horticulture, medicine, microbiology, nutrition, pharmacognosy, and pharmacology, in addition to the established botanical disciplines.
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Society shall consist of individuals, corporations, and institutions interested in ethnobotany and economic botany and in the promotion of research in this field. Each member will have one vote in elections; each member present will have one vote on motions before the annual Business Meeting. Representatives of Institutional Members or Corporate Members may not vote both as an individual member and as a representative of an Institution or Corporation. The following classes and types of membership will be recognized:
Individual Members
1. Active members. Persons who are interested in any aspect of ethnobotany and economic botany and who shall pay dues.
2. Student members. Students actively interested in ethnobotany and economic botany may apply for student membership in the Society at a reduced rate. Student membership shall be held only by bona fide undergraduate or graduate students. Student members will have all privileges of active membership.
E. Education and Outreach Committee. The Committee shall consist of three members, the President to serve as Chairperson, and two others to be appointed by the Council to three-year terms. The Committee will bring to the attention of the public and scientific communities significant accomplishments and events in ethnobotany and economic botany, and promote educational programs involving plants and people.
G. Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee shall consist of three or four persons appointed by the Council to examine ethical questions relating to ethnobotany and economic botany and the Society in particular. Committee members will serve three-year terms and will be eligible for reappointment.
Article XII: SECTIONS AND CHAPTERS
1. Sections may be organized to promote the various special interests of the Society. Each section shall be approved by vote of the Council and of the Society. Each section will elect its own officers. Each section will present a written report on its activities to the Council at the annual meeting. Any constitution or bylaws established by the section will be subject to approval by the Council of the Society. A section may be discontinued by action of the Council.
2. Chapters may be organized on a local basis. The purpose of chapters is to encourage interest in the field of ethnobotany and economic botany and to enhance communication between ethnobotanists and economic botanists locally and between the parent Society, its sections, and its members. Each chapter shall be approved by vote of the Council and of the Society. Each chapter will itself elect its own officers, and will present a written report on its activities to the Council at the annual meeting. Any constitution or bylaws established by the chapter will be subject to approval by the Council of the Society. A chapter may be discontinued by action of the Council.
***
AMENDMENT 3: Change all reference to the Society’s journal from “Economic Botany” to a non-specific journal title: “the Society’s journal”.
Location of changes in the bylaws underlined; deleted sections are represented with struck lines:
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
3. Family members. Active members who are husband and wife or domestic partners may receive the privileges of family membership. They shall pay dues at a lower rate than for two individual active members. They will receive one copy of The Society’s journal for the two, but each will have a vote and all other privileges of active membership.
Article V: OFFICERS
4. Secretary. The Secretary shall record the proceedings of the Society and maintain close contact with all committees, sections, and chapters established within the Society. The Secretary will report annually to the Council. The Secretary or her/his designee will keep on file a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation and will comply with its requirements for good standing. The Secretary or her/his designee will conduct all authorized balloting. The Secretary will arrange for all business meetings of the Society. The Secretary or, with Council approval, his/her designee, will keep a master list of all members and forward the names of new members to the President and President-Elect. The Secretary will serve as a member of the Bylaws and Protocol Committee as well as the Program and Publicity Committee. The Secretary will forward the results of all elections and awards to the other officers, and to the editors of the Society’s journal and the Newsletter.
5. Treasurer. The Treasurer is the chief fiscal management officer of the Society. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Society's funds and endowments, financial records, and the development of its fiscal policies. The Treasurer will be responsible for disbursement of all Society funds, including those for the costs of publications. The President and Secretary are further authorized to handle monetary transactions when necessary. The Treasurer or, with Council approval, his/her designee, will be responsible for the receipt of membership applications; the maintenance of the membership list; the notification of the President, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, and Managing Editor of the Society’s journal of new members and other changes in membership; and the billing and receipt of dues and funds for other designated purposes. The Treasurer will present a financial report and budget for the forthcoming year to the Council prior to the annual Business Meeting for the Council's approval. The Office of Treasurer will be bonded. The Treasurer will serve as a member of the Executive Committee and Membership Committee, Chairperson of the Finance Committee, and Trustee of the Economic Botany Quasi- Endowment Fund of the Society, administered by the New York Botanical Garden, and will receive an annual report from the Garden for presentation to the Council. No financial obligations against the Society will be contracted by any officer or member except as specified in the annual budget or as provided for by special action of the Council.
Article VII: COUNCIL
1. The Council shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor of the Society’s journal, Editor of the Newsletter (both editors ex officio and non-voting), Student Representative and six members-at-large.
Article VIII: COMMITTEES
H. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, President- Elect, Immediate Past-President, Secretary, Editor of the Society’s journal (ex officio and non- voting), and Treasurer. The President will be Chairperson of the Executive Committee. In the interim between annual meetings all powers not delegated by the Council to committees or to specified officers will be considered as delegated to the Executive Committee acting as a body and reaching its decisions by majority vote, except as these powers may be specifically restricted by the Council. It may not modify or rescind instructions from the Council or from the membership as decided by vote in a regular meeting. The Committee will make an annual report to the Council.
N. Publications Committee. The Publications Committee shall consist of the Editors of the Society’s journal, Plants and People, and the Chairperson of the Web Site Committee. The Publications Committee will consider and resolve, with approval of the Council, matters of mutual concern, such as duplication of effort, and the adequacy with which areas of interest to the members are covered. The President-Elect will serve as Chairperson of the Committee. If the President-Elect is an Editor or Chairperson of the Web Site Committee, the President will appoint a Publications Committee chair who is not.
Article X: PUBLICATIONS
The official publication of the Society shall be Economic Botany beginning with Volume 13, 1959. The Newsletter, Plants and People, is authorized by the Council and the Council may authorize other publications. The Council will determine what part of the annual dues will be allocated to The Society’s journal and other publications.
***
AMENDMENT 4: Change the award name for “Distinguished Economic Botanist” to “Distinguished Ethnobotanist”.
Location of changes in the bylaws underlined; deleted sections are represented with struck lines:
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
5. Honorary members. Honorary members, who shall receive life membership and be exempt from dues payment, are selected by the Nominations and Awards Committee as Distinguished Ethnobotanist, subject to confirmation by the Council. No more than one honorary member may be selected each year. Previous membership in the Society will not necessarily be required for this honor, which will be bestowed on the basis of distinguished accomplishments pertinent to the goals of the Society.
Article VIII: COMMITTEES
L. Nominations and Awards Committee. The Committee shall consist of the Immediate Past- President as Chairperson, plus two members-at-large appointed by the Council for one-year terms. No more than one member of the Nominations and Awards Committee will be appointed for a second term. The Committee will be responsible for nominations for the offices of President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and members-at-large of the Council, and annually will select nominees for the Distinguished Ethnobotanist Award, subject to confirmation by the Council. It will obtain written consent to serve from all nominees before their names are placed on the ballot.
Article XIII: AWARDS
1. The award of Distinguished Ethnobotanist shall be bestowed annually by the Society upon an individual on the basis of outstanding accomplishments pertinent to the goals of the Society. A nominee does not need to be a member of the Society. The Chairperson of the Nominations and Awards Committee will be responsible for the citation, which will be published in Economic Botany. The only responsibility of the awardee will be to present an address at the annual meeting the year of his/her selection. He/she will become an honorary member of the Society for life.
|
