Bylaws

The International Mammalian Genome Society provides opportunities for association and conference among students of mammalian genetics, encourages communication and publication of scientific knowledge, promotes education and research in mammalian genetics, and facilitates interaction between workers in mammalian genetics and related disciplines.

ARTICLE 1. Membership. All persons interested in mammalian genetics are eligible for active membership. Conditions for membership and membership fees shall be determined by the Secretariat and shall be revised as appropriate. Additional membership categories may be established by the Secretariat.

ARTICLE 2. Officers and Secretariat. All Officers and Secretariat members shall be members of the Society. The officers of the Society shall be a President and a Vice-president who is also President-Elect. At the end of their term of service, the Vice-President shall automatically become President and shall serve for two years in that capacity and for two years thereafter as Past-President. They together with the immediate Past-President, the President and Vice-President, and six other members elected by the Society shall constitute the Secretariat. Each Secretariat member shall have one vote on each issue on which votes are held.

Election and Terms of Office for Officers and Secretariat Members. The officers of the Society shall be elected by a simple majority of ballots cast by active members of the Society. Each year the Nominating and Election Committee (see Article 8) shall submit names of at least two nominees for each position to be filled, taking into consideration names suggested by members of the Society. The ballot, mailed to all members in good standing, shall list the nominees and also provide space for write-in votes. The elections shall be held 1-3 months prior to the last annual meeting before terms of service expire.

Society members who hold no other office shall be eligible for election as Officers or as members of the Secretariat. Each year the Nominating and Election Committee of the Secretariat shall submit the names of at least five nominees for election to the Secretariat. The two receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected to serve a term of two years. The Nominating and Election Committee shall count the votes and report the results at the next annual meeting. No more than four people from any one broad geographic region (e.g. Europe, North America or Asia) but a minimum of one person may be members of the Secretariat at any one time. This balanced representation is to be achieved in the Secretariat and not necessarily on each ballot; balanced representation shall be taken into account when the Nominating and Election Committee counts the vote and determines the results. Terms of all officers and members of the Secretariat shall begin on January 1 of the year following their election and shall end on December 31 of the year ending their three year term. Members of the Secretariat shall not serve consecutive terms. Secretariat members may be elected as Officers but Officers may not be reelected as President or Vice-President.

ARTICLE 3. Meetings. An annual meeting, which is open to the entire membership of the Society and to the public, upon payment of the registration fee, shall be held at a time and place designated by the Secretariat. During the annual business meeting of the membership, which shall be held during the annual meeting, the Secretariat shall make its annual report to the membership, including the results of the election of Officers and Secretariat. Special meetings may be called by the Secretariat. More than half of the Society registrants attending the annual meeting and more than half of the invited participants at a special meeting shall constitute a quorum. The Secretariat shall also meet at least once each year, usually in conjunction with the annual meeting. Additional meetings may be called by the President or on request of a majority of the Secretariat members.

The program shall be arranged by the host of the annual meeting, the President and an ad hoc Program Committee (see Article 6) in accordance with the program rules and recommendations adopted by the Secretariat. The Secretariat may arrange joint programs with related scientific societies and for presentation of invited papers.

ARTICLE 4. Dues. Annual dues for all membership classes shall be fixed by the Secretariat. Dues shall include a subscription to Mammalian Genome. Graduate students may join the Society without subscribing to the Society’s journal. Spouses may obtain a joint membership upon payment of the membership fee and need not pay for two full memberships. The fees for graduate student and spouse Society memberships shall be determined by the Secretariat. Payment for all classes of membership shall be due January 1. New members shall be billed for dues from the previous January 1 and shall receive Mammalian Genome for the entire year. Members whose dues are in arrears shall not receive publications or communications of the Society and shall be ineligible to vote. Members in arrears for one year shall be dropped from the rolls. A member who has been dropped for nonpayment may be reinstated upon payment of dues for the year in which reinstatement is desired.

ARTICLE 5. Publications. Mammalian Genome is the official journal of the Society and is published, owned and managed by Springer Verlag. Subscription to the journal shall be considered an integral part of active membership. Publication in the journal shall be open to members and nonmembers alike. The terms and conditions agreed in the 1994 vote selecting Springer Verlag as the publisher of the Society journal shall remain in effect until modified with mutual agreement by Springer Verlag and the Society.

Editors. The Editors shall be selected by mutual agreement of the Secretariat, Springer Verlag, and any remaining editors. The number of Editors shall be determined by the current Editors, the Secretariat and Springer Verlag. The Editors shall represent the Society in all dealings involving Springer Verlag and the Society. Editors shall serve five year terms and may be reappointed. The Editors’ appointments may be extended or terminated at any time by a two-thirds vote of the Secretariat and with the agreement of Springer Verlag. The Editors of Mammalian Genome shall carry out policy decisions of the Secretariat and Springer Verlag in arriving at editorial decisions and in conducting routine business. After editorial review for merit and suitability, the Editors shall make decisions regarding acceptance of manuscripts for publication. The Editors shall arrange meetings of the Editorial Board as necessary or upon written request of three members of the Editorial Board. The Editors shall preside over meetings of the Editorial Board. The Editors shall, on request, communicate recommendations of the Secretariat or Society members to the Editorial Board and shall represent the Editorial Board in dealing with the Secretariat. The Editors shall submit an annual report to the Society regarding operation of Mammalian Genome. The Editors shall, in cooperation with the Editorial Board, the Secretariat and Springer Verlag, take measures necessary to assure appropriate income from membership dues and subscriptions.

Editorial Board. An Editorial Board of Mammalian Genome shall be appointed and approved by the Secretariat, the Editors and Springer Verlag. Editorial Board members shall serve three-year terms and may be reappointed. The Secretariat and the Editorial Board shall advise the Editors in matters relating to Journal policy and shall, with the Editors, determine editorial policy for the Journal in all respects not specified by these Bylaws.

ARTICLE 6. Administrative Office. The President shall establish the Administrative Office for conducting the business of the Society as dictated by the Secretariat. Supervision of the Administrative Office shall be the responsibility of the Administrative Manager, who shall assist the officers of the Society in carrying out their responsibilities. The President shall have the responsibility and ultimate authority for the administrative office and resolution of conflicts related to it.

The Administrative Office shall: (1) keep the records of the Society; (2) direct the arrangement of meeting plans in accordance with the rules, guidelines and recommendations formulated by the Secretariat and the Vice-President shall function ex officio on the Program Committee; (3) send all members the date and place of the annual meeting, a call for papers to be presented at that meeting and a call for suggestions for nomination for all offices to be filled by election, (4) send the names of nominees for office not later than one month before the annual meeting, and (5) the Administrative Office shall prepare minutes of the annual meeting and shall present an annual report to the members concerning actions of the Secretariat, activities of the Society and its committees and representatives, and the membership of the Society.

ARTICLE 7. Duties of Officers, Administrative Office, and Secretariat. The President shall preside at meetings of the Society and the Secretariat. The President shall send an annual statement and report concerning the Society and Mammalian Genome to all Society members at least one month before the annual meeting. With the advice of the Secretariat, the President shall appoint such committees and representatives as may be needed. The Vice-President shall preside in the absence of the President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the Vice-President shall become President for the remainder of the unexpired term as well as for the subsequent term. In the event of any other vacancy among the officers or directors, the Secretariat shall appoint an active member to serve for the remainder of the year and the office shall be filled at the next annual election.

The President shall have charge of all funds of the Society and be responsible for their investment; send to all members bills for annual dues, with the assistance of the Administrative Office; and prepare an annual statement to the members of the financial status of the Society. The President, together with the conference host and organizer, shall be responsible for applying for grants to support the annual conferences.

ARTICLE 8. Committees

Nominating and Election Committee. A Nominating and Election Committee shall be elected by the membership each year at the annual meeting and shall consist of six active Society members who are not members of the Secretariat and who include representatives of different areas of mammalian genetics and different countries. Each year two members shall be elected to the Committee to serve a three year term. One of the two members serving their final year on the Committee shall serve as Chair by vote of the Nominating and Election Committee. In addition, the Vice-President shall be ex officio a non-voting member of the committee. Members of the Nominating and Election Committee shall not serve consecutive terms.

Program Committee. To help organize the annual meeting, a Program Committee shall be selected at each annual meeting to help the organizer of the subsequent annual meeting. The Secretariat and the organizer of the next annual meeting shall select two Society members and the Vice-President shall serve ex officio. The organizer of the next annual meeting shall be chair of the Committee.

Other Committees. The President shall create and appoint members to such committees as are deemed necessary and advisable by the Secretariat.

ARTICLE 9. Amendments. Amendments to the Bylaws may be adopted at the annual business meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that any proposed amendment, signed by five members, has been submitted in writing to the President at least one month before the annual meeting and has been communicated to the members of the Society at least two weeks before the annual meeting.

ADDENDUM 1 Mechanism for approving these Bylaws. A draft of these Bylaws will be sent to all current members of the Secretariat for their comments, concerns and suggestions. As appropriate, their feedback shall be incorporated into the Bylaws. If a reasonable consensus seems to exist, a formal draft of the Bylaws will be sent to the Secretariat for their recommendation of approval, or disapproval. If recommended for approval by a two-thirds vote, a draft of the Bylaws will be sent to members of the Society at least three weeks before the next annual meeting. At the business meeting, the draft of the Bylaws will be submitted to the membership for a vote of approval, or disapproval. A two-thirds vote of members attending the business meeting will be required for approval. Amendments may be submitted and voted upon by the membership with a majority vote required for approval. If the Bylaws fail to pass, the Secretariat shall appoint a committee to resolve the differences.

ADDENDUM 2 Initiating the rotation of Secretariat members. To stagger the terms of the current Secretariat members, the Nominating and Election Committee shall assign random numbers to each Secretariat member; the value of these numbers shall be 1, 2 or 3, representing the members remaining term on the Secretariat. These terms will begin on 1 January 1996.

ADDENDUM 3 Establishing the first Nominating and Election Commttee for the 1995 meeting Mouse Genome Conference. The Secretariat shall select a Nominating Committee of six members. The Nominating and Election Committee shall chose its own chair. By random draw, their terms will be staggered in order to begin the rotation of Society members onto and off the Nominating and Election Committee. For this first term of the Nominating and Election Committee, the terms shall start 20 October 1995 until December 1996. The Committee’s immediate responsibilities shall be 1) to randomly assign terms to the current Secretariat members, 2) to submit at least five nominees for election to the Secretariat to replace the three members whose term expires 31 December 1996, 3) to prepare for and conduct the elections in conjunction with the 1996 annual meeting, and 4) to announce the results of the election at the annual meeting. Thereafter the mechanisms and policies outlined in the Bylaws shall be followed.

ADDENDUM 4 Continuing the terms for the current editors. The current editors of Mammalian Genome, P.N. Goodfellow, J.H. Nadeau and L.M. Silver shall complete their current term 1 June 1995 – 31 May 2000, with the conditions provided above (ARTICLE 5) for replacing an editor as mutually agreed by the Society and Springer Verlag.

ADDENDUM 5 Accounting for the absence of a Past President. Because the Society will not have a Past President until 1998, the Secretariat shall be composed of eight members until the end of the term of the Society’s first President.

ADDENDUM 6 Terms of office for the Nominating and Election Committee. The Nominating and Election Committee shall not have more than one member from a single institution.

ADDENDUM 7 Terms of office for the Nominating and Election Committee. No member of the Nominating and Election Committee shall be eligible for election to President, Vice President, or to the Secretariat at any time during their office.

ADDENDUM 8 Addressing the eligibility of Mammalian Genome editors to stand for officers of the IMGS. The editors of the IMGS journal Mammalian Genome are not eligible for election to President or Vice President of the IMGS.

ADDENDUM 9 Addressing the role of Mammalian Genome editors on the Secretariat. If no editor of the journal Mammalian Genome is elected to the Secretariat, one editor, chosen by the editors, becomes a member of the Secretariat, ex officio (i.e. non voting).

ADDENDUM 10 Addressing the term of office of the Nominating and Election Committee. Each year three members shall be elected to the Nominating and Election Committee to serve a two year term.

ADDENDUM 11 Addressing the geographic distribution of Secretariat members. The IMGS is an international society, and the Nominations and Election Committee should endeavor to identify candidates who will effectively represent its broad geographic membership. The ballot for nomination will be selected such that each of the three regions has at least one member among the 6 Secretariat members. Further, not all 3 officers can be of the same region.

This addendum supersedes the geographic representation mandate dictated in Article 2 and takes effect as of the election beginning in 2013.

ADDENDUM 12  Addressing the timing of submission and voting on Addendums to these By Laws. The Secretariat of the IMGS can suggest changes to the By-Laws at the annual meeting without prior notice to the members of the Society provided that the Secretariat has approved this by a majority (65%) vote. These new motions can be voted upon at the Annual Meeting in which they are proposed.  This addendum supersedes Article 9.

ADDENDUM 13  Addressing the make up of the Nominating and Election Committee. The Nominating and Election Committee shall be reduced to four members. This addendum supersedes Article 8.

Prepared by Peter D’Eustachio and Joe Nadeau in consultation with Verne Chapman, Lee Silver, Peter Goodfellow and members of the Secretariat (Phil Avner, Rudi Balling, Steve Brown, Verne Chapman, Jean-Louis Guenet, Mary Lyon, Joe Nadeau, Miriam Meisler, and Kazuo Moriwaki).

Date: 7 August 1995

Modified: 27 November 1995, after input at the IMGS business meeting, Ann Arbor.

Modified: 3 December 1996, after input at the IMGS business meeting, Paris.

Modified: 24 October 2012, after input at the IMGS business meeting, Florida.

Modified: 1 September 2016, after input at the IMGS business meeting, Orlando, Florida.