Page 1 of 11
BYLAWS OF THE
ASSOCIATION OF POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAMS
IN
CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
- Name and Composition of the Association
The name of this Association is the “Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology” (the “Association”).
The members of the Association shall be the Clinical Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Residency Programs (as represented by their Program Directors) that have received initial designation through the Association, have completed any annual membership renewal procedures, and are current in the payment of annual fees. Membership in the Association is for a time-limited period, as designated by the Membership Committee in accordance with initial review and annual renewal procedures (Article VII) and payment of fees. Each member shall have one vote on matters to be decided by the Association, except that no member may vote on matters concerning its own program, including membership. The voting member at meetings is the Program Director unless a substitute is designated in writing by the Program Director to the Association. All elected offices in the Association must be filled by Program Directors of member programs.
- Purpose
The purposes of the Association are:
- To serve the public welfare by providing peer review and designation of postdoctoral residency programs in neuropsychology.
B.To serve the public welfare by establishing standards for postdoctoral residency programs in neuropsychology.
C.To serve the public welfare by maintaining a list of qualified postdoctoral residency programs in neuropsychology and furnishing this information to proper persons, associations, or agencies.
- Composition and Responsibilities of the Board of Directors
- The affairs, business, government, and management of the Association is vested in the board of Directors (BOD).
- In addition to the three Association officers, there shall be three (3) categories of BOD Members: Member Directors (11), Postdoctoral Resident member (1) and Community Directors (2), one of whom shall be a professional psychologist who is not a neuropsychologist and the other who shall be any individual who is not a psychologist). Any Program Director who represents a member of the Association is eligible to be elected as a Member director.
- Candidates for officer or BOD positions must declare any potential conflict of interest (e.g., Board Membership in other professional organizations) to the BOD.
- With the exception of the Postdoctoral Resident Member, BOD Members of will be elected to a term of 4 years by a ballot of all members of the Association. Terms of office shall be arranged so that one fourth of the positions on the BOD are subject to election each year. No more than two successive terms shall be permitted any member, although a term of office can be extended to allow a member to complete a term as an elected Officer of the Association. A term of office shall commence at the annual meeting of the Association following a member’s election.
- The Postdoctoral Resident BOD Member shall be elected to a term of one year, by a ballot of the existing BOD members, following nomination to the nominations and election committee by the resident’s program director. The term of office shall commence at the conclusion of the annual BOD meeting held in conjunction with the North American Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society. Postdoctoral Resident BOD members shall be full time trainees during the entirety of the term as BOD member. The Postdoctoral Resident BOD member shall be a non-voting member of the BOD.
- The nomination and election of Member Directors and Community Directors of the BOD shall be carried out by a Nomination and Election Committee as specified in Article VI., Section C.
- In case of death or resignation from the BOD before the expiration of a member’s term, the BOD shall choose a successor for the unfilled portion of the term from members of the Association or the community, as appropriate.
- Responsibilities of the BOD.
- The BOD will have authority to issue from time to time, and thereafter to amend rules and regulations, relating to the issuance and revocation by the Association of membership for member programs.
- The BOD shall have authority to revoke any membership or to place a member program on probation for a fixed or indefinite time if:
- such membership was granted contrary to or in violation of the bylaws or any rule of the Association.
- the Member Program entered a misstatement or omission of fact to the Association in its membership application.
- the Program has been found in violation of the code of ethics of a national, regional, or state organization or accreditation body.
3.The BOD shall be vested with the management and control of the property, business and affairs of the Association. However, no member of the BOD may vote or decide on matters concerning its own program, including issues of membership and awarding of certificates.
- The BOD shall be authorized to set annual fees for membership through the Association as determined by the needs of the Association. Only Program Directors of programs designated by the Association and for which the annual fee is current shall be eligible to serve as a Member Director of the BOD and/or an officer of the Association, to serve on committees designated by the BOD, to vote for members of the BOD and any other voting matters concerning the Association. Only programs for which the annual fee is current shall be listed in the registry of member programs.
G.Meetings of the BOD
- Meetings of the Board will be held annually, ordinarily in conjunction with the North American meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society or at such time and place designated by the BOD. The Board may schedule such additional meetings as may be required to conduct its work, to include telephone or video conferences.
- Special meetings of the BOD may be called by the President or upon the written request, made to the President, of at least one third of the members of the BOD, provided that written notice of the time of the special meetings and that subjects to be discussed at such meetings shall have been sent to each member of the Board not less than 20 days prior to such meetings. The President shall have the right to fix the place of such special meetings.
- A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Association. Except as herein may be specifically otherwise provided, the votes of a majority of the quorum shall be sufficient to pass upon any business of the Association. There shall be no voting by proxy.
- The Board shall be authorized to carry on the business of the Association by ground or electronic mail ballot between meetings. In such instance, it shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members to pass upon any business of the Association. Formal acceptance of all business conducted by electronic mail will be approved at the annual BOD meeting.
- Officers of the Association
- The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, a President-elect, and Secretary-Treasurer, and other officers and agents as may from time to time be elected by and from the BOD. One member may hold up to two offices. Each of the officers named above shall be a Member Director.
- The President and President-elect, shall each be elected to serve for a term of two years and until their successors are elected and qualify. The President-elect shall assume the office of President at the end of his/her two-year term as President-elect. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve a term of four years. Officers of the Association may not serve more than two successive terms. At its annual meeting, the BOD shall elect a member to fill each of the offices named above whose term expires at the annual meeting, and other officers as may be deemed advisable.
- Any officer may be removed from his/her office, for cause, by a three-fourths vote of the entire BOD. If there is a vacancy among the officers of the Association by reason of death, resignation, removal, or otherwise, that vacancy may be filled for the unexpired term by the BOD.
- The President shall preside at all meetings of the members of the Association and of the BOD. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and see that all directions of the BOD are carried out; shall with the approval of the BOD, appoint members of all committees other than the Executive Committee (Section VI., A.), of which he/she shall be a voting member; shall direct the preparation and submission to the annual meeting of the Association a report of the Association’s business, activities, and affairs during the year; and shall have other duties as may from time to time be prescribed by the BOD.
- The President-elect shall perform the duties and have the powers of the President during the absence or disability of the President. He or she shall have other duties as may from time to time be prescribed by the BOD. The President-elect also shall serve as the Chair of the Membership Committee. As Chair of the Membership Committee, he/she shall convene meetings of the Committee as often as necessary to conduct its business. He or she shall make a report to the BOD at its semi-annual meetings, of the actions of the committee, including recommendations for new members, renewal of membership, and termination of membership.
- The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep or cause to be kept minutes and records of all Association proceedings, of all meetings of the members, of all meetings of the BOD, and of all certificates issued. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also keep or cause to be kept records of all of the financial affairs of the Association. He or she shall deposit all receipts of the Association to its accounts and have the power to sign checks on the Association’s accounts; shall cause to be prepared annual audits of the Association’s books; shall render from time to time and upon demand by the BOD or the President reports of all matters within his or her jurisdiction.
- The BOD shall have authority to appoint from time to time an Executive Director who need not be a member of the BOD. If the Executive Director is not a member of the BOD, he or she will not have a vote on the business of the BOD. The Executive Director may be compensated for services in an amount established from time to time by resolution of the BOD and shall furnish a bond to the Association in an amount and with terms established by the BOD.
- Association’s Offices shall be located at such place or places as designated by the BOD.
- Committees
- Executive Committee
There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the Officers of the Association. The duties of the Executive Committee will be to develop an agenda for the annual meeting, to make recommendations to the Board for action, and to act on matters which do not require the vote of the Board.
- Membership Committee
The Membership Committee shall consist of three Program Directors representing members of the Association, one of whom is the President-elect of the Association. The remaining two members shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the BOD; at least one of these members must not be a member of the BOD. All members of the Committee shall be appointed for 2-year terms. No member of the committee may serve more than three consecutive terms.
The Membership Committee shall:
1. Develop and maintain New Membership Application Procedures.
2. Develop and maintain criteria for review of membership.
3. Develop and maintain Membership Renewal Procedures.
4. Develop and maintain Criteria for membership renewal.
5. Receive, review, evaluate, and recommend actions regarding new membership applications and membership renewal.
6. Document all reasons for each recommendation regarding new membership and membership renewal.
7. Present all recommendations regarding new membership and membership renewal to the BOD for its review
8. Perform any additional functions as assigned to the Membership Committee by the BOD.
All actions taken by the Membership Committee between each meeting of the BOD shall be presented to the BOD by the chair of the Membership Committee for approval by the BOD.
C.Nominations and Elections Committee
The Nominations and Elections Committee shall consist of the immediate Past President of the Association, the President, and two other Association members appointed by the BOD, at least one of whom must not be a member of the BOD. The past President shall be the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee. Members of the Nominations and Elections Committee will serve for a term of 2 years. At least 90 days before the annual meeting of the Association, the Committee will issue a Call for Nominations for Board membership to all members of the Association. Any member receiving five or more nominations will have their name appear on the ballot. A slate of no fewer than five nominees will be submitted by mail ballot to all members of the Association at least 45 days before the annual meeting. If fewer than five individuals are nominated in the Call for Nominations, the Nominations and Elections Committee will fill the balance of the slate. The three individuals receiving the highest number of votes, without regard to order of preference, will take office as Member Directors. Nomination and election of Community Directors of the BOD will follow the same procedure as for Member Directors of the BOD.
- Membership in the Association
- Conditions of membership
- Certificates of membership are granted by a majority vote of the membership of the Association, on recommendation of the Membership Committee and the BOD, at the annual meeting of the Association. Certificates are granted for specified time periods only.
- Membership is for 1 year.
- Membership is renewed yearly
- New membership is granted only upon the successful completion of the Membership Application, Review and Designation Process, as specified by the Membership Committee, and approved by the BOD.
- Membership renewal will be automatically granted upon payment of annual dues.
- All new memberships take effect and commence on the date following the annual Membership Meeting of the Association at which the new membership is announced; this initial membership automatically terminates, unless renewed, on the date following the annual meeting of the Association, 1 year later.
- Renewals of membership commence on the date following the annual meeting of the Association, immediately upon completion of the term of the member program’s current membership, and terminates on the date following the annual meeting one year later, depending upon the recommendation of the Membership Committee and the BOD and the vote of the membership.
- New and renewed membership certificates are granted only upon the recommendation of the Membership Committee, payment of annual dues, and approval of the BOD.
- There is no limit on number of consecutive membership renewals (i.e., the number of times that a postdoctoral residency program’s membership can be renewed), provided that the postdoctoral residency program fulfills all the criteria for continued membership.
- Programs that either lose or voluntarily terminate their membership can become members again only upon re-application and successful completion of the New Membership Application review and Designation Process.
- Programs that have not offered residency positions for a period of two consecutive cycles (4 years) will be placed in “inactive” status. Programs in inactive status are required to pay annual membership dues. Programs wishing to return to active membership status shall forward a letter of request to the President. A program on inactive status would have their fee reduced by 25%.
- Member programs whose Program Director leaves the program during the term of active membership shall be required to replace the Program Director with another ABPP/ABCN board certified neuropsychologist. Those programs unable to replace the Program Director with a board certified neuropsychologist shall remain in a probationary status until a board certified Program Director is retained. During probationary status, the Program may employ a consulting board certified neuropsychologist until a permanent replacement can be retained.
- Payment of annual fees is required to maintain membership. Membership renewal may be withheld for nonpayment of fees at the first annual meeting of the Association following the Fiscal Year in which fees have not been paid.
- Withdrawal of Membership
- A program can withdraw from membership at any time by submitting a certified letter of termination to the Association’s Secretary-Treasurer.
- Withdrawals take effect immediately upon receipt of that letter by the Association’s Secretary-Treasurer, who is responsible for:
- Noting in the Association’s official records the date that the letter of withdrawal was received,
- Reporting the withdrawal to the President and the Executive Committee at its next meeting, and
- Reporting the withdrawal to the general membership at its next meeting.
- A program that withdraws from membership is not relieved of any fees or assessments accrued by that program prior to the date on which the certified letter of withdrawal was received by the Association’s Secretary-Treasurer.
- Programs withdrawing during any given membership year will have their fees for that year prorated, based upon the month of receipt of their withdrawal letter. Fee payment is required for the full month in which the letter of withdrawal is received.
- Except for membership fees, no other fees, assessment, and other financial responsibilities owed by the program that is withdrawing shall be forgiven at the time of termination. The program that withdraws retains responsibility for satisfaction of all outstanding monies owed.
- Transfer of Membership is not permitted.
- Certificates of Membership.
- There will be such certificates.
- They will be issued to all programs in good standing.
- They will be issued for the calendar year.
- They will be renewable.
5. They will be signed by the President, President-elect, and Secretary-Treasurer.