The Gerontological Society of America
Bylaws: Section on Social Research, Policy, and Practice

Article I. Name and Purpose

Section 1.

The name of this Section shall be the Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section of The Gerontological Society of America.

Section 2.

The purpose of this Section shall be to advance the social well being of older people through scientific studies and application of knowledge gained therefrom.

Article II. Membership

Section 1.

There shall be four classes of membership: Fellows, Members, Students, and Emeritus. Descriptions of these classes of members are consistent with the bylaws of the GSA.

Section 2.

Applicants for Fellow status must apply through the regular Society process. The Section shall have a Fellowship Committee that will operate as specified in the Code of Procedure and Requirements for Fellowship Status.

Article III. Officers

Section 1. Officers

The officers of the Section shall be a chair-elect, chair, past chair, and secretary.

Section 2. Terms

a. The term of the chair-elect, the chair, and the past chair shall be one year and that of the secretary shall be three years.

b. The terms of Section representatives to GSA committees shall be three years except for the Fellowship Committee, which is two years.

c. All officers shall assume duties at the close of the annual business meeting.

Section 3. Duties

a. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section, act as chair of the Executive Committee, serve as representative of the Section to the Council of the Society as a voting member, and carry responsibility for the administration of the affairs of the Section. The chair of the Section shall appoint all chairs of the Section committees and be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. The chair shall be designated a vice president of the Society.

b. The chair-elect shall serve as Program Chair for the Section, as a representative of the Section to the Council of the Society as a non-voting member unless the Section is entitled to an additional vote in accordance with Article VI, Section 1 of GSA bylaws, and shall perform the duties of the chair in the event of absence or incapacity of the latter. The chair-elect shall make appointments of Section representatives to society-wide committees.

c. The immediate past chair shall serve as a representative of the Section to the Council as a voting member, shall chair the Section Nominating Committee, and shall function as the primary contact between the Section and its Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization.

d. The secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee and be responsible for all records of the Section.

Section 4.

If a vacancy in any of the offices shall occur, the elected officers of the Section shall provide a replacement to serve until the next annual meeting.

Article IV. Committees

Section I.

There shall be an Executive Committee of the Section, consisting of the chair, the chair-elect, the past chair, the secretary, and Section committee representatives in the second year of their term, and two members who are classified as Student Members of GSA. One Student Member shall be appointed each year by the Section chair to serve for two years. Recommendations for the student appointee will be made to the Section chair by the chair of the GSA Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization. The year appointees are identified by the chair-elect, they are Section representatives. All persons appointed by the chair-elect become members of the Section Executive Committee during the period the chair-elect serves as chair. For appointees with three-year terms, in the third year they will serve as Section representatives, but not as Section committee chairs. The Executive Committee will review Section operating procedures on an annual basis.

Section 2. Standing Committees

a. The Fellowship Committee shall be responsible for receiving and acting on applications for fellowship and for recommending Emeritus Fellows and Members. The chair and chair-elect will be members of the corresponding committee of the Society and will serve for a two-year term. The Fellowship Committee will be composed of two representatives to the GSA committee who serve for two year staggered terms; the Section chair and chair-elect, and at least one other representative appointed by the Fellowship Committee chair. All Fellowship Committee members must be Fellows of the Society.

b. The Membership Services Committee shall be responsible for retaining and recruiting new members and for developing at least one Section news article for the GSA newsletter per year. The chair will be appointed by the chair-elect of the Section and will be a member of the corresponding committee of the Society. The Membership Services Committee will have a chair plus three members who serve for staggered three-year terms. The committee chair in consultation with the Section chair-elect will appoint committee members. The committee chair will serve for a three-year term. The committee chair will serve for three years on the corresponding GSA committee.

c. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for preparing a slate of officers annually and submitting a mail ballot to the Section membership. The committee shall be made up of the three immediate past chairs. The most recent past chair will serve as chair of the committee.

d. The Awards Committee is responsible for recruiting, evaluating, and selecting awardees of the SRPP Student Award and the Pollack Award. The Awards Committee has two subcommittees, both chaired by the immediate SRPP past chair who would serve as Chair, the current Chair of the Section who would serve as ex officio, and 5 SRPP Fellows with staggering terms of 2 and 3 years. The Student Award subcommittee is composed of the immediate SRPP past chair who would serve as Chair, the current Chair of the Section who would serve as ex officio, and 5 SRPP Fellows with staggering terms of 2 and 3 years. The Pollack Award Subcommittee is composed of the three immediate past Section chairs, an appointment by the current Section chair, and an appointment by the current GSA president.

e. Program Committee. The Section chair-elect shall serve as chair of this committee and shall appoint additional members, as he/she deems necessary.

Article V. Elections

Section 1.

Officers shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee and be elected by mail ballot six weeks in advance of the annual business meeting. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible, in consultation with Society staff, for conducting the election.

Article VI. Meetings

Section 1.

The annual meeting of the Section shall be held during the annual meeting of The Gerontological Society of America. Special meetings may be called by majority vote of the Executive Committee. Notices of such special meetings shall be mailed to the membership at least one month prior to the meeting.

Section 2.

A quorum shall consist of 25 members of the Section.

Section 3.

The Section Executive Committee shall meet at least once a year at the annual meeting.

Article VII. Amendments

Section 1.

Amendments may be adopted by a majority of those present and voting at the annual meeting of the Section or by a majority of those responding to the mail ballot. Notices of proposed amendments shall be mailed at least one month in advance of either voting procedure.