BYLAW
1. NAME
1.1. The name of this association shall be the Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science, hereafter referred to as “CAPEES.”
1.2. CAPEES is a non-political, non-sectarian, and not-for-profit organization registered in the State of New Jersey as an IRS tax-exempt and non-profit organization (EIN: 83-1300344).
2. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of CAPEES are (1) to promote discovery, exchange, and dissemination of knowledge and ideas in the field of environmental engineering and science (EES), (2) to foster professional growth and career development of Chinese American professors in EES, (3) to provide expert scientific and technical services to the EES community and the society at large. CAPEES shall accomplish these objectives through meetings and symposia, dissemination of technical information, mentoring of students and young scholars, and participation in national and international research and educational programs.
3. STATEMENT OF NON-DISCRIMINATION
CAPEES does not deny or accept membership, membership privileges, or other services on the basis of religion, creed, physical ability, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, or origin of nation or region.
4. MEMBERSHIP CLASSIFICATION, QUALIFICATIONS, AND PRIVILEGES
4.1. CAPEES membership shall include early-career members, lifetime members, student/postdoc members, affiliate members, and honorary members. A Membership Committee may be established from all “eligible voting members” to discuss and approve the memberships, especially affiliate members and honorary members.
4.2. An early-career member of CAPEES is typically an individual who presently holds a full-time tenure-track faculty appointment, or a position deemed equivalent by the Membership Committee, in the field of EES in a higher education institution in North America. An early-career member pays a one-time membership due of $100, regardless of the entry point in the tenure track. When an early-career member leaves tenure-track faculty position in North America, the early-career membership expires, and the member becomes an affiliate member without extra payment. When regular members acquire tenure, they have the option to become lifetime members by paying a one-time membership due as described in Section 4.3.
4.3. A lifetime member of CAPEES shall be an individual who, at the time of remitting life membership dues, holds a full-time tenured faculty appointment in the field of EES in a higher education institution in North America. Lifetime members are entitled to all membership privileges even after retirement from their academic positions. A lifetime member need to pay a one-time membership due of $500.
4.4. A student/postdoc member of CAPEES is typically an individual who presently is a student or post-doctoral scholar in the field of EES in a higher education institution in North America. A student/postdoc member pays a one-time membership due of $10, and their membership is valid as long as they keep student/postdoc status.
4.5. An affiliate member of CAPEES is typically an individual who presently is either (a) a professor in the field of EES in a higher education institution outside North America, or (b) a research scientist, engineer, educator, consultant, or government officer in the field of EES. An affiliate member pays a one-time membership due of $50.
4.6. Honorary members shall be individuals who are not CAPEES members but have made major contributions to promoting the development of CAPEES, CAPEES members, or the broad CAPEES community. Honorary members shall be nominated by the Membership Committee and approved by the Board of Directors. Honorary members do not need to pay membership dues.
4.7 Membership privilege: the general membership privileges include attending CAPEES workshops, lectures, seminars, and advertising through CAPEES platforms for the purposes of research-group level recruitment, promoting scholar publications and seminars, and other career-benefiting activities deemed appropriate by the standing CAPEES strategic communication committee. Only lifetime members can serve on the Board of Directors (Section 6). Only early-career and lifetime members can serve as officers (Section 7), vote, and have access to certain online resources. All members may serve on CAPEES committees appointed by the President.
5. MEMBERSHIP DUES
5.1. The CAPEES members need to pay one-time membership due according to the classification described in Section 4.
5.2. The change of membership dues for new members shall be determined by CAPEES officers and/or Board of Directors.
5.3. Membership dues shall be remitted to the CAPEES Treasurer via the CAPEES website and shall be paid as part of the member registration or status update process.
6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
6.1. The affairs of CAPEES shall be overseen and advised by a Board of Directors (hereafter designated as the Board) under such rules as the Board may determine, subject to the specific conditions of this Bylaw.
6.2. A quorum of the Board shall consist of nine (9) Members and shall include the President and the immediate past President. The rest of the Board Members should be elected when there is a vacancy. Only lifetime members are eligible to serve on the Board. The acts of a majority of the Board Members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall constitute the acts of the Board.
6.3. The immediate past President of CAPEES shall be the Chairperson of the Board.
6.4. When the President-Elect is elected, he/she will become an observer on the Board, and become a Board Member automatically when he/she becomes the President. If it causes the number of Board Members more than nine, the Members who have been on the Board for the longest time need to be removed.
6.5. When there is a vacancy of the Board, it shall be filled by election. A notice shall be sent to the eligible members within seven (7) days, and leave at least fourteen (14) days for nomination. Candidates can be self-nominated or nominated by other lifetime members. If the number of candidates is larger than the number of vacancies, an affirmative vote of CAPEES lifetime and early-career members should be conducted and organized by the Chairperson of the Board. The vacancy shall be filled within 2 months.
6.6. The term of service for all Board Members is not limited but shall be at least two years.
6.7. The duties of the Board are as follows:
6.7.1. The Board shall be the representative of CAPEES and shall manage important affairs and establish policies subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed in the Bylaw.
6.7.2. The Board may review all Committee reports and make recommendations to these reports as necessary/appropriate.
6.7.3. The Board shall provide guidance and suggestions on organizational investments and spending of CAPEES funds. The Board, individually and collectively, shall not incur any unauthorized liability on behalf of CAPEES.
6.8. At least one (1) meeting of the Board shall be held each year on such day and at such place as the Chairperson of the Board may direct. Special meetings may also be called at any time by the President, or in his/her absence by the President-Elect, or upon written request of at least half of the Board Members. Notice of all regular and special meetings of the Board shall be given by the Secretary to each Board Member at least ten (10) days in advance.
6.9. Board members, having intent of leaving the board, shall contact the board for advance notification, and continue the service until the vacancy is filled following the procedure described in 6.5. Board members who remain inactive and fail to commit services or duties to CAPEES shall be removed after board discussion and approval.
7. OFFICERS
7.1. The Officers of CAPEES are typically formed by President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and other Officers. The President-Elect shall be elected and shall succeed the President at the end of his/her term. The term of CAPEES president is two (2) years: one year with a maximum of two elected terms. The Secretary, Treasurer, and other Officers shall be appointed by the President with a typical term of at least one year.
7.2. Duties and Functions
7.2.1. The Officers shall have general supervision of the affairs and activities of CAPEES. They shall have the authority and shall exercise the powers and perform the duties specified by the Board.
7.2.2. The President shall be the chief officer of CAPEES. He/she shall preside, advise, and manage all the affairs and activities of CAPEES.
7.2.3. The President-Elect shall assist the President in the performance of the duties and, in the absence of the President, shall act in place of the President.
7.2.4. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping of meeting minutes and other official documents.
7.2.5. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the finances of CAPEES, including filing of tax returns, banking, reporting annual budgets, and keeping of financial records.
7.3. Nominations for President-Elect shall be received and evaluated by a Nomination Committee, which shall be chaired by the immediate past President. The Nomination Committee shall prepare a list of nominees and submit the nominations to the Board for review.
7.4. The Secretary shall make up a ballot containing the names of candidates for President-Elect in alphabetical order and send it to all eligible voting members at least thirty (30) days prior to voting.
7.5. If there are more than one candidate, the President-Elect shall be elected by affirmative vote of lifetime and early-career members. Each eligible voting member may vote for only one candidate.
7.6. All ballot must be returned via electronic mail to the Secretary within ten (10) days of voting to be counted. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. In case of a tie, a run-off election, either at a meeting or by e-mail, will be held promptly to elect a new President-Elect.
7.7. In the case of a vacancy of an appointed Officer, the President shall appoint a new Officer to fill that vacancy within thirty (30) days.
8. MEETINGS
8.1. CAPEES shall hold an annual conference and/or business meeting (onsite or virtual online), plus additional meetings as necessary, to accomplish its objectives. The time, location, and format of each conference or meeting shall be determined by the Board and notice thereof shall be sent to all CAPEES members and posted on CAPEES web site at least thirty (30) days in advance of an annual conference/meeting and at least ten (10) days in advance of other meetings.
8.2. At any meeting of CAPEES, a majority of lifetime and early-career members present constitutes a quorum.
9. COMMITTEES
9.1. The President shall appoint chair (and vice chair if applicable) of ad hoc committees on matters such as admission, nomination, membership, awards, collaborations, outreach, conferences, and other affairs of CAPEES.
9.2. The chair of each committee shall be a member of CAPEES in good standing. The chair shall have the relevant experiences or qualifications on matters involving the work of the committee. The chair shall also designate the active members of the committee with the approval of the President. The chair has the right to establish subcommittees necessary to accomplish the committee’s purpose.
9.3 The ad hoc committee, included the chairs, will sunset when the task assigned by the President is completed.
9.4. All reports and recommendations of a committee shall be submitted to the CAPEES President for consideration and further action, as necessary.
10. AMENDMENTS OF BY-LAW
10.1. Amendments may originate from or through the Board or the Officers, or on petition of a majority of lifetime and early-career members of CAPEES. The Secretary shall e-mail notice and complete text of an amendment on the instruction of the Board to each member at least fifteen (15) days before it is to be voted upon. Amendments may be voted upon at the annual meeting, at a special meeting, or by letter or email ballot.
10.2. A majority of affirmative votes of the total votes, cast either at a meeting or via e-mail ballot, shall be required for passage of an amendment.
10.3. Upon passage, amendments shall take effect immediately.
10.4. The Board cannot make changes to the Bylaws that change the Board composition and election, name, objectives, membership rights and privileges without the approval of the lifetime and early-career members by a majority vote.
11. DISPOSITION OF ASSETS UPON DISSOLUTION
In the event of dissolution of CAPEES, the property and assets thereof, after providing for all obligations and liabilities of CAPEES, shall then be disposed of exclusively for the purpose of CAPEES, or to organizations with similar purposes and exempt from taxation under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as shall be determined by the Board.