Constitution of the general interest group

I.      Name

The name of this group shall be The General Interest Group of the American Crystallographic Association (ACA). The group shall also be known as the GIG.

II.     purpose

The Purpose of the GIG is to provide a forum for oral and poster presentation of general topics outside the scope of the special sessions organized by ACA Special Interest Group (SIGs) and ACA Standing Committees (SCs) for upcoming ACA meetings.

III.   Relationship to the american crystallographic association

The Constitution of the GIG shall be consistent with the Constitution, By-laws and Rules of the ACA. In the event of conflict; the Constitution, By-laws, and Rules of the ACA shall prevail. The GIG shall sponsor at least one half-day session at every ACA annual meeting. The GIG shall submit an annual report to the ACA Council prior to each meeting and a representative of the GIG shall meet with the ACA Council at each annual meeting. The GIG shall submit a report of scientific highlights to the ACA Council by December 1 of each year for inclusion in a future issue of the ACA Newsletter.

IV.   membership & Dues

Membership in the GIG is open to all members of the ACA. The founding members shall be those who sign the GIG petition of membership intention to be submitted to the ACA Council in support of this constitution. Once the GIG has been formed and the officers have been elected, additional ACA members may join the GIG by applying to the Secretary-Treasurer of the GIG. The GIG Executive Committee may set yearly dues to be charged to the members subject to the approval of the ACA Council. Such dues shall be collected and disbursed by the ACA Treasurer.

V.    Executive Committee

The GIG shall have four officers: the Chairperson, the Chairperson-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer and the Member-at-Large. These officers shall be elected by the GIG membership and shall make up the Executive Committee of the GIG. The Executive Committee shall carry out all of the official functions of the GIG, including the annual appointment of a Nominating Committee and a Program Committee. The duties of the Chairperson shall include chairing all meetings of the GIG membership and of the GIG Executive Committee. The Chairperson-Elect shall fill in as necessary whenever the Chairperson cannot carry out his/her duties. The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer shall include recording minutes of all meetings of the GIG, maintaining a membership list and keeping records of the finances and expenditures of the GIG. The duties of the Member-at-Large shall be agreed upon by the Executive Committee.

VI.   Terms of Office

The offices of Chairperson and Chairperson-Elect shall each be held for one year. The Chairperson-Elect shall automatically succeed to the office of Chairperson. Thus, the sequence of Chairperson-Elect to Chairperson shall be a two-year term. For the first year of the GIG, the person elected to be Chairperson shall complete his/her term in one year. The terms of office for the Secretary-Treasurer and the Member-at-Large shall be two years, except for the first year so that the Secretary-Treasurer and Member-at-Large shall complete their terms on alternate years. No person shall be elected to more than two consecutive terms as a member of the Executive Committee. Vacancies in unexpired terms be filled by a vote of the GIG membership. Regular terms shall begin on January 1 following an election.

VII.  Nominations

When the GIG is formed, a Nominating Committee of three members shall be agreed upon by a consensus of the founding members. In subsequent years, the Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee. None of the Nominating Committee’s three members may be current members of the Executive Committee. For the first year of the GIG, the Nominating Committee shall nominate two candidates for each of the four offices. After the first year, the Nominating Committee shall provide two nominations for each of the two vacancies that will occur, the Chairperson-Elect every year and the Secretary-Treasurer and Member-at-Large on alternate years. Other nominations may be submitted each year by a petition signed by three or more members of the GIG.

VIII. elections & Voting

Elections for officers shall take place at the same time and in the same manner as the ACA elections. In any election, the candidate receiving the largest number of votes shall be deemed to be elected. All elections and other votes shall be by mail ballot. Except for the election of officers and votes on amendments to the Constitutions (see Section X), a simple majority of votes received shall determine the outcome of any ballot.

IX.    Activities

The activities of the GIG shall be those deemed by its officers and members to serve the purpose of the GIG. Annual GIG business meetings shall either be held at ACA meetings or be conducted by correspondence as announced in the ACA Newsletter by the GIG Executive Committee. In the organization of scientific sessions, oral presentations shall be selected competitively from contributed ACA Program Committee to oversee the selection of papers to be presented during sessions allotted to the GIG by the ACA Program Chair for the meeting.

X.    amendments

An amendment to the Constitution of the General Interest Group of the American Crystallographic Association may be proposed at any time by 5% of the GIG membership to ten members, whichever is smaller, or by the Executive Committee of the SIG. The proposed amendment(s) and ballot shall be mailed to every member of the GIG, together with information on the deadline for the receipt of ballots, along with ACA election ballots or at least sixty days before the votes will be counted. To ratify, an amendment shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of those members voting.