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Bylaws of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
Last revised 11/4/2007

ARTICLE I: NAME AND OBJECT

  1. The name of the Society is “The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition,” (SARMAC).
  2. The object of the Society is to foster applied research in memory and cognition and promote the communication of this research within and between the applied and basic research communities.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERSHIP

  1. Membership shall be on a calendar-year basis with current and past members being invited to renew their membership annually.
  2. The Society shall have four classes of membership: Regular member, second family member (if spouse is a regular member), student member (graduate or undergraduate), and affiliate. Regular members shall hold a Ph.D. or have equivalent experience, and be qualified to conduct scientific research on applied issues concerning memory and cognition. Graduate and undergraduate students in psychology or related disciplines may apply for student status. Individuals without a Ph.D. or equivalent experience can join as affiliates of the Society; affiliates will ordinarily be professionals new to this field.
  3. Only regular members are eligible to vote in SARMAC elections or to serve on the Society's Board of Governors. Regular members also enjoy certain advantages in terms of presenting their work at SARMAC conferences (see Article VI).

ARTICLE III: GOVERNING BOARD

  1. The Governing Board shall supervise the affairs of the Society, subject to the articles herein.
  2. The Governing Board shall hold a business meeting at the biennial meeting of the Society, and may also meet electronically or via a telephone conference call on an as-needed basis between the biennial meetings. Meetings of the Governing Board will normally be convened by the President of the Society. If the President cannot attend a meeting of the Governing Board, the meeting shall be convened by the President’s designee from the Board.
  3. The Governing Board shall normally consist of twelve regular members, elected by the regular members of the Society. The Executive Director of the Society shall serve with the Governing Board in an ex officio capacity.
  4. If when a Board Meeting is held, the organizer for the forthcoming SARMAC conference has been identified, this individual shall be invited to attend the Board Meeting in an ex officio capacity.
  5. The members of the Board shall be elected for staggered terms of four years each. All decisions of the Board shall be decided by a majority vote.
  6. The Governing Board may establish standing committees of the Society as needed and shall solicit members of the Society to serve on these committees.
  7. Any decision by the Governing Board may be subjected to a vote of all regular members of the Society. A decision of the Governing Board may be overturned by a dissenting vote by a majority of the regular members of the Society. Such a vote shall be conducted if a petition by 10% of the membership requests that an alternative decision be considered by all regular members of the Society.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

  1. The Society’s officers consist of the President, President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer and the Executive Director. The terms of the President, President-Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer shall be two years. The President may serve only two consecutive terms. There is no limit on the number of consecutive terms that may be served by the Secretary-Treasurer or Executive Director.
  2. The members of the Governing Board shall elect the President, President-Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Society. These three officers must be current members of the Governing Board at the time of the election. The election of officers is to take place at the biennial meetings scheduled to occur closest to the termination of each officer’s term, or electronically if a meeting is not scheduled within 12 months of the termination of an officer’s term.
  3. Officers whose terms extend beyond their elected terms as Board members, shall continue as Board members until the end of their terms as officers, and the Governing Board will have more than twelve members for this duration.
  4. The President shall preside over all meetings of the Board (except as specified in Article III.2). The President-Elect shall function as a Vice-President, assuming the responsibilities of the President when necessary. The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board and circulate these minutes electronically to all Board members following each meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer and the Executive Director shall keep the financial records of the Society.
  5. The President may appoint a Parliamentarian at any meeting of the Governing Board. The role of the Parliamentarian would be to enforce adherence to Roberts Rules of Order.
  6. The Executive Director shall be a regular member of the Society who has been elected by the Governing Board to serve a term of four years. The Executive Director is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Society, including but not limited to maintaining the membership roster, annually soliciting membership renewal, handling the financial transactions of the Society, ensuring that the SARMAC newsletter is distributed biannually, and conducting elections of Governing Board members and officers on the schedule specified above. The Executive Director shall keep the financial records of the Society jointly with the Secretary-Treasurer.
  7. The Executive Director may be paid for work on behalf of the Society. The nature of this pay is to be decided by the Governing Board. The Executive Director is the only officer of the Society who may be paid for work on behalf of the Society.

ARTICLE V: ELECTIONS

  1. The Executive Director shall monitor the terms of the members of the Governing Board, and at least four months prior to the expiration of each term, shall solicit from all regular members of the Society, nominations of regular members who might be willing to be considered for that position.. Ordinarily such solicitations shall be conducted electronically.
  2. A vacancy on the Governing Board shall be filled by a person who has accepted a nomination and has received the highest number of votes from all regular members of the Society. In the case of an election to fill more than one vacancy, vacancies shall be filled by those receiving the highest number of votes, starting with the person with the highest total and proceeding through the next highest totals in order until all vacancies are filled.
  3. Normally, elections to the Board will be conducted in early November, with terms for all Board members and officers beginning January 1.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS

  1. To promote the object of the Society, a SARMAC meeting will ordinarily be held at least once every two years.
  2. Members of the Governing Board, along with the Executive Director, shall solicit suggestions for locations and hosts for forthcoming conferences. The proposed sponsor/s shall draft a proposal for the forthcoming conference that shall be presented to the Board for consideration. A vote of the Governing Board is required to approve the conference site. Ordinarily it is desirable to discuss and decide at the biennial SARMAC meeting, the conference site for the subsequent conference.
  3. After selecting the conference site, the conference hosts, along with Members of the Governing Board, shall suggest the composition of the conference planning committee. A vote of the Governing Board is required to approve the conference planning committee. Ordinarily it is desirable to decide the composition of the conference planning committee for the subsequent conference, at or shortly after the biennial SARMAC meeting.
  4. At the biennial meetings of the Society, any regular member may present a scientific paper that reports applied research on memory and cognition, subject to availability of time on the program, as determined by the conference organizers.
  5. Individuals besides regular members may also present papers subject to availability of time on the program, as determined by the conference organizers. All papers must be authored, co-authored, or sponsored by a regular member of SARMAC.

ARTICLE VII: PUBLICATIONS

  1. The Society has two official journals, Applied Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Technology. In addition, the SARMAC newsletter is electronically distributed biannually to all members.

ARTICLE VIII: DUES

  1. The Governing Board shall determine the amount of annual membership dues.

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

  1. Changes in the bylaws shall first be recommended by a majority vote of all Governing Board members and then approved by at least two-thirds of the voting members of the Society. These two votes may be conducted electronically.

ARTICLE X: SEAL

  1. The corporate seal shall consist of the words “The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.” The Seal shall be affixed to any document that involves the Society’s business.

Last updated: November 4, 2007