Constitution

Article I. Name

Section 1. The name of this organization is "The Kansas Academy of Science," hereafter referred to as the "Academy."

Article II. Purpose

Section 1. To encourage education in the sciences and dissemination of scientific information through the facilities of the Academy.

Section 2. To achieve closer cooperation and understanding between scientists and non-scientists, so that they may work together in the common cause of furthering science.

Article III. Bylaws

The Academy shall establish bylaws concerning the organization and procedures to be followed.

Article IV. General Prohibitions

Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution or the Bylaws which might be susceptible to a contrary interpretation:

  1. the Academy shall be organized and operated exclusively for scientific purposes;

  2. no part of the net earning of the Academy shall or may under any circumstance inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;

  3. no substantial part of the activities of the Academy shall consist of carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation;

  4. the Academy shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office;

  5. the Academy shall not be organized or operated for profit;

  6. the Academy shall not:

    a. lend any part of its income or corpus, without the receipt of adequate security and a reasonable rate of interest;

    b. pay any compensation, in excess of a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services actually rendered;

    c. make any purchase of securities or any other property for more than adequate consideration in money or money's worth from;

    d. sell any securities or other property for less than adequate consideration in money or money's worth from;

    e. engage in any other transaction which results in a substantial diversion of its income or corpus to; any officer, member, or substantial contributor to the organization.

    The prohibitions contained in this subsection 6 do not mean to imply that the organization may make such loans, payments or sales to or purchases from anyone else, unless such authority be given or implied by other provisions of this Constitution or Bylaws.

Article V. Distribution on Dissolution

Upon dissolution of the Academy, the Executive Council shall distribute the assets and accrued income to one or more organizations as determined by the Council, which organization or organizations shall meet the limitations prescribed in subsection 1 to 6 inclusive, of Article IV immediately preceding.

Article VI.

This constitution may be amended by two-thirds of the membership by mail vote.

Bylaws

Article I. Members

Section 1. Membership shall be open to all persons who shall make formal application to the Secretary and pay the prescribed dues. The Secretary in agreement with the President has the authority to negotiate special cases on an individual basis.

a. Regular Membership -- Regular membership shall be open to all persons, who shall make formal application to the Secretary and pay the prescribed dues. Regular membership dues will be set annually by the Council before the First of August for the following year. In the case of no action, the dues will remain the same as the current year.

b. Sustaining Membership -- Sustaining memberships shall be those who pay the prescribed regular membership dues and a donation to the Academy Endowment and/or the Dehner Award Fund that equals or exceeds one-half of the regular membership dues.

c. Family Membership -- Family membership shall be open to individuals in a family who wish to become members of the Academy jointly and pay the dues of one and one-half times the regular membership dues.

d. Student Membership -- Student membership shall be open to all college students of at least half-time status, who shall make formal application to the Secretary and pay the dues equal to one-half of the regular membership dues.

e. Life Membership -- Life membership shall be open to all persons, who wish to remain as members of the Academy for the duration of their lives and pay a one-time fee. The cost for life membership shall be three-fourths the current annual rate of dues times the number of years difference between the applicant’s age and age 65, not to exceed 20 years nor to be less than five years. Applicants of age 65 or above shall remit the minimum amount of dues for life membership (five times three-fourths current dues).

f. Emeritus Membership -- Emeritus memberships shall be those who have been active members of KAS or an affiliate academy of the National Association of the Academies of Science (NAAS) for 20 or more years and have retired from active professional employment. Emeritus members will receive all regular mailings and publications of the Academy for an annual maintenance fee equal to one-half of the regular membership dues.

Section 2. The Executive Council shall have the right to refuse any new member or to terminate the membership of an existing member for cause and without prior notice. However, a person whose membership has been terminated or refused may appeal to the general meeting of the Academy.

Article II. The Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Academy shall be of two kinds, elective and appointive.

a. The elected officers shall be President, President-elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, and six Council Members-at-Large.

b. The appointed officers shall include an Editor of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, an Editor of the Academy Newsletter, an Historian, and Director of the Kansas Junior Academy of Science (KJAS).

Section 2. No one individual may hold two or more elective offices concurrently.

Section 3. The terms of office for the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Immediate Past President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be one year, and for the Director of the KJAS, three years; those for the Council Members-at-Large shall be for three years (with election to provide for staggered terms so that no more than two council members shall be elected in any one year); and those for the Historian shall be three years.

Section 4. The duties of the elective officers shall be as follows:

a. The President shall preside at meetings of the Academy and its Executive Council; shall be the nominal head of the Academy; shall rule on questions of procedure that may arise; and shall appoint standing and ad hoc committees as needed.

b. The President-elect shall fulfill the duties of the President when the latter is absent; shall succeed the President at the termination of the latter's term; shall assume the Presidency should that office become vacant during a term; and shall conduct a financial audit for the previous year to be presented to the KAS Council for review by August 1.

c. The Vice President shall record minutes of proceedings at all Council meetings and at the annual business meeting of the Academy.

d. The Secretary shall maintain the records of the Academy and its Executive Council; shall notify the membership of the Academy of pertinent business; shall be responsible for all general correspondence of the Academy; shall maintain the membership roster; and shall be the liaison with the coordinator of the annual meeting.

e. The Treasurer shall keep financial records and accounts of the Academy including all monies received and disbursed; shall receive the dues; and shall be responsible for all financial reports required by the business of the Academy. The Treasurer shall be responsible for posting a security bond.

f. The Council Members-at-Large shall serve as members of the Executive Council.

g. The Immediate Past President shall form and chair a nominations committee as described in Article IV Section 1, which shall select a slate of nominees for elective office, to be presented at the annual business meeting.

Section 5. All records and implements of office shall be turned over by any officer to his successor immediately subsequent to the latter's assumption of the office.

Section 6. The duties of the appointive officers shall be as follows:

a. The Editor of the Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science shall be responsible for all phases of publication and may appoint staff members to assist. In general, the Editor will be obligated to implement the stated objectives of the Academy insofar as the publication of a learned journal contributes to those objectives. The Editor is responsible for reporting annually to the Executive Council.

b. The Editor of the Academy Newsletter shall be responsible for all phases of its publication. Inasmuch as the newsletter is the principle mechanism for written communication to the membership, the Editor is obligated to publish all communications of the Academy and its Executive Council on first priority and to include, as space permits, other items consonant with the stated objectives of the Academy. The Editor is responsible for reporting annually to the Executive Council.

c. Historian shall collect and archive the records of the Society so as to record the history of the Society, and shall publish summaries of such and as directed by the Executive Council.

d. The Director of the Kansas Junior Academy of Science shall coordinate scientific activities of the Junior Academy, appoint a District Director for each of the KJAS districts in Kansas, and work with these directors in organizing regional and state meetings of the KJAS. The Director shall maintain membership rolls, be responsible for all finances and correspondence of the Junior Academy, keep records of Junior Academy business and accomplishments, and make an annual report on these activities to the Executive Council.

Article III. Executive Council

Section 1. The Executive Council shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Director of the Kansas Junior Academy of Science, six Council Members-at-Large, and the Immediate Past President.

Section 2. The Executive Council shall be empowered to manage the affairs of the Academy and to designate all appointive officers for terms of one year.

Section 3. The Executive Council may declare an office vacant when the occupant resigns or fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the Council. The Executive Council shall fill any vacancy occurring among the officers, except that of President, by an appointment for the unexpired term.

Section 4. The Executive Council shall be specifically responsible for the publications of the Academy and shall set such policy as is needed to coordinate the contents of the various media so as to further the stated objectives of the Academy and to insure the availability and distribution of the publications.

Article IV. Elections of Officers and Council Members-at-Large

Section 1. The Immediate Past President shall appoint three members of the Academy to serve as a nominating committee, except that not more than one member of the Executive Council may be appointed to the committee in any one year.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of at least two candidates for each office to be filled, except that at its discretion, the committee may offer only one candidate for the position of President-Elect, one for the Director of the Kansas Junior Academy of Science, one for the position of Secretary, and one for the position of Treasurer. The slate must be presented at the annual meeting, at which time nominations may be made by the membership.

Section 3. The Nominating Committee, or a member of the Academy proposing a nominee, shall obtain the written consent of the candidate to serve if elected.

Section 4. The President shall appoint an Elector from among the membership who will count the vote.

Section 5. Officers shall be elected by plurality mail vote of the membership.

Section 6. Newly elected persons will take office on the first of January of the year following the fall election.

Article V. Meetings

Section 1. The Academy shall hold an annual meeting at a time and place set by the Executive Council, except when this is contrary to the national interest or public safety. Not more than 25 months shall elapse between meetings.

Section 2. The membership shall be informed in writing or e-mail of the time and place of the annual meeting not later than one month prior to the meeting.

Section 3. One-tenth of the membership shall constitute a quorum of the Academy at any annual meeting.

Section 4. Special meeting may be called by vote of a majority of the Executive Council, or on petition of a quorum of the membership. The time and place of such special meetings must be announced to the membership in writing or e-mail prior to the meeting.

Section 5. All meetings shall be conducted under Robert's Rules of Order (Revised).

Article VI. Meetings of the Executive Council

Section 1. The Executive Council shall meet at least once a year.

Section 2. Any meeting of the Executive Council shall be open to attendance by interested members of the Academy unless the Executive Council moves for Executive Session.

Section 3. A simple majority of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum.

Section 4. A majority of those present and voting shall be necessary to pass any motion.

Section 5. The meeting shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order (Revised).

Section 6. Special meetings of the Executive Council may be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Council.

Article VII. Dues

Section 1. The Executive Council shall be authorized to establish such dues as are compatible with the financial status of the Academy.

Section 2. A member in arrears for payment of dues for a period of 6 months shall be dropped from the membership roll.

Article VIII. Fiscal Year

Section 1. The fiscal year of the Academy shall embrace the period from 1 January of any year through 31 December of the same year.

Article IX. The Kansas Junior Academy of Science

Section 1. The Kansas Junior Academy of Science shall be established as an arm of the Academy to promote precollege student-initiated scientific activities in the state of Kansas.

Article X. Amendment of Bylaws

Section 1. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Council or by petition to the Secretary by ten or more members of the Academy.

Section 2. Proposed amendments must be submitted in writing or e-mail to the Secretary one month before the meeting at which they are to be discussed.

Section 3. Such amendments shall be submitted in writing or e-mail by the Secretary to the general membership at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which they are to be discussed.

Section 4. To be approved, an amendment must receive a positive vote by two-thirds of those voting at the meeting.

Section 5. Any adopted amendment shall become an integral part of the Bylaws and the Secretary shall be instructed to add them to copies of the Bylaws and to distribute the amended Bylaws to the members of the Executive Council and to other interested members of the Academy.

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