Contents 1 Bylaws of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP) 1.1 Article I: Name and purpose 1.2 Article II: Membership 1.3 Article III: Officers 1.4 Article IV: Executive Board 1.5 Article V: Elections 1.6 Article VI: Meetings 1.7 Article VII: Committees and Liaisons 1.8 Article VIII: Electronic Discussion List (Listserv) 1.9 Article IX: Financial Arrangements 1.10 Article X: Amendments

Bylaws of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP)

Article I: Name and purpose

Article II: Membership

1.    The membership of the Section shall consist of three classes: Divisional Member, Member-at-Large, and Student Member.

2.    To qualify for the status of Member-at-Large, an individual shall have an interest in the purpose of the Section. A Member-at-Large is a member of the Section, but not a member of the Division. Members-at-Large shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of the Section, except that a Member-at-Large shall not hold the position of the Section's Representative to the Board of Directors of Division 12, nor shall s/he vote on Division 12 issues.

a. Note that “Member-at-Large” is a membership class and is not the same as the “At Large” Executive Board Officers. See Section IV below.

3.    To qualify for the status of Divisional Member, an individual shall be a member of the Division. A Divisional Member shall have an interest in the purpose of the Section. A Divisional Member shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership in the Section and the Division.

4.    To qualify for the status of Student Member, an individual shall be a student with an interest in the purpose of the Section, who is currently enrolled in a degree program. Student Members are entitled to reduced dues.  Student Members shall be entitled to attend and participate in the meetings of the Section and to receive its publications and communications.  Student Members may not vote in the Section except for Student and Post-doc Representatives or hold office in the Section except as Student Representative.

5.    A Member-at-Large who becomes a member of the Division shall automatically become a Divisional Member of the Section.

6.    If a Member-at-Large of the Section represents themself as a member of the Division they shall be expelled from membership in the Section.

7.    Anyone who wishes to become a member shall indicate whether they are a member of the Division and whether they are a student currently enrolled in a degree program.  

8. Any member who wishes to resign their membership in the Section shall indicate their intention in writing to President. Any member who is in arrears of effective dues for a period of one year shall be presumed to have resigned from the Section.   

   

Article III: Officers

1.    The officers of the Section shall be a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Treasurer, and Representative to the Board of Directors of the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12). The term of office of the President, President-Elect, and Past-President shall be one year and run from January 1 to December 31.  The term of the Treasurer and the Representative to the Board of Directors of the Division shall be three years.  They shall take office on the January 1 following their election and shall remain in office until their successors are seated.

2.    The President shall be the individual who has just completed their term as President-Elect. They shall perform such duties as are customarily incident to their office.

3.    The Section's Representative to the Board of Directors of the Division must be a member of the Division. They shall perform the duties specified in Article V of the bylaws of the Division, shall serve on the Section's Executive Board, shall submit a report on Section activities at each Division Board meeting as requested, and shall provide a verbal or written report following each Division 12 Board meeting to the Section’s Executive Board.

4. The Treasurer shall keep the financial records of the Section, and have custody of all funds of the Section.  At least one other Board member (typically the President) should also have access to the accounts.  The Treasurer shall have authority to sign/send checks on behalf of the Section for the disbursement of funds authorized in the budget.  They shall keep a full record of all money received and all money disbursed and shall report thereon at the annual meeting of the Section and/or Board meetings and shall at all reasonable times exhibit their books of accounts to any member of the Section as requested.  They shall be responsible for fulfilling the Section's financial responsibilities to the Division (e.g., reporting financial information for tax purposes), as outlined in article VI of the bylaws of the Division.

Article IV: Executive Board

1.    Board membership.  The Executive Board of the Section shall consist of the Officers (President, President-Elect, Past President, Treasurer, Section Representative to the Board of Directors of the Society of Clinical Psychology), two At-Large Board members, one Post-Doctoral Representative, and two Student Representatives.  

2.    At-Large Board members.  The term of office of At-Large Board members shall be 3 years, except in the case of the first election, in which the term of the candidate receiving the second most votes will be 1 year to stagger the terms of the two members.

3.    Post-doctoral and Student Representatives.  The term of office of the Post-Doctoral and Student Representatives shall be 2 years.

4.    Vacancy.  In the case of a vacancy in the Executive Board for any reason, the President shall nominate a replacement from the membership of the Section to serve the remainder of the term, subject to approval by a majority of the remaining members of the Board.

5.    Powers and Duties.  The Executive Board shall exercise general supervision over the management of the property, business, and affairs of the Section, shall be the primary authority on matters of policy and procedure within the Section, and shall exercise all such powers and do such things as it deems consistent with these bylaws and the policies and procedures of the Division to effectuate the purposes of the Section.  All committee chairpersons are immediately responsible to the Executive Board.  The major actions of the Executive Board shall be reported to the membership at the annual meeting.

6. Other Roles. The Executive Board may nominate other individuals to serve in additional leadership roles, including (but not limited to): Newsletter Editor, Convention Coordinator, Diversity Committee Representative, and Listserv Manager. These individuals will be invited to attend and participate in Executive Board Meetings, but will not participate in voting that occurs during Executive Board Meetings. These individuals are not considered a part of the Executive Board, and are eligible for Section awards.

Article V: Elections

1.    All Officers, the At-Large members, and the Post-Doctoral and Student Representatives shall be elected by a plurality vote from a ballot which shall ideally but not necessarily contain at least two candidates for each position to be filled. All members shall vote for all positions, except the Postdoctoral Representative and the Student Representatives. Only Student members shall vote for the Student Representative positions, and only Postdoctoral members shall vote for the Postdoctoral Representative position.

2.    Nominations and elections shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations set forth in Article VI of the bylaws of the Division.   

Article VI: Meetings

1.    The section shall hold an annual business meeting, typically at the time and place of the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, or Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.  A simple majority of members present and voting shall be required to pass a motion at this meeting, unless otherwise provided for in these bylaws.

2.    The section shall sponsor or conduct such other scientific and professional events as the Executive Board may deem appropriate.

3.    The Executive Board shall hold meetings, which may be in person or remote, as needed throughout the year to conduct the business of the Section.  At any such meeting, in the absence of the President, either the President-Elect or past President by mutual agreement shall serve in this role pro tempore.  A member of the Executive Board will take notes at each meeting. Most actions of the Executive Board shall be taken by an informal consensus of the Executive Board. In the event that a consensus cannot be reached such that an action requires a vote, a two-thirds majority of the Executive Board must participate, and a simple majority of those participating shall be required to effect such an action.

Article VII: Committees and Liaisons

1.    The President, with the consent of the Executive Board, shall appoint committees as may be needed to conduct the affairs of the Section. The President shall report on the committees' activities at the annual meeting of the Section.

Article VIII: Electronic Discussion List (Listserv)

1.    The Section has an electronic discussion list or listserv.  Any member of the Section may choose to be a member of the listserv.

2.    The Executive Board may propose or revise policies regarding the listserv or its use. Any such new or revised policies regarding the listserv or its use shall be subject to approval by a majority of SSCP members voting via electronic ballot, with a minimum of 1-month for return of ballots.  Policies regarding the listserv and its use will be provided to Section members annually (in early January).  Use of the listserv constitutes agreement to abide by these policies.  Any listserv policies or revisions thereto approved by the SSCP membership will be in effect from the time that the members’ approval is announced on the listserv and otherwise. 

Article IX: Financial Arrangements

1.    By a majority voting on a ballot, the Section may decide to collect or raise dues from its Divisional Members, Members-at-Large, and Student Members.

2.    The Treasurer is hereby authorized to sign checks on behalf of the Section for the disbursement of funds duly authorized in the approved budget. In the event of the incapacity of the Treasurer, the Section President is hereby authorized to sign checks on behalf of the Section under the same provisions.  All financial documents, other than checks, shall be signed by the Section President and the Treasurer.

3.   In the event of the dissolution of the Section, all unencumbered funds in the Section treasury at that time shall be turned over to the Division.

Article X: Amendments

1.     These bylaws may be amended by:

a.      a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at an annual meeting held not less than two weeks after notifying the members of the proposed amendment, OR
b.      by a two-thirds majority of the members voting (which might be less than 2/3 of the total Section membership) on a ballot which shall close not less than two weeks after the distribution or publication of the proposed amendment.