Section Business Meeting Archives
Section By-Laws
I. NAME
1. The organization shall be called the Section on the History and Philosophy of Psychology hereinafter referred to as "the Section".
II. PURPOSE
1. Sections are the primary agents through which the particular and special needs of members of the Canadian Psychological Association (hereinafter referred to as "CPA") are met and interests are served. The purpose of this Section is to promote the development of History and Philosophy of Psychology as a special interest area in psychology.
2. In pursuance of this purpose, The Section is expected to:
a. provide information to members about current activities, events, research and practice developments in the area;
b. organize sessions at the annual CPA Convention that are of interest to members;
c. represent the interests of the Section within CPA through initiating such activities as position papers, policy statements, and special meetings; and make representations, on behalf of its members to external organizations or agencies with the approval of the Executive Committee of the CPA Board of Directors.
3. The Section may also engage in the following activities:
a. fostering the study of historical and philosophical aspects of psychology.
b. promoting the dissemination of knowledge about those fields.
c. Without intending to limit the Section’s scope, specific subjects may include: the history of Canadian psychology and the expansion of the Archives of the Canadian Psychological Association for research purposes; historiographic methods; the evolution of psychology as independent field of research and practice; the development and critical analysis of psychological concepts and of theoretical systems; intellectual and social history of psychology as a discipline; theories of mind and of human nature; studies of individuals who have contributed to the development of the field; and, the teaching of the history of psychology and the philosophy of psychology.
d. The Section shall administer the Mary J. Wright award for the best graduate student paper presented each year at the conference. A cash prize, the amount which may be fixed each year at the annual meeting, and a letter of commendation will be presented and publicised in the newsletter, etc.
4. The Section shall have access to the Board of Directors through the Executive Committee for consideration of issues of concern to the Section involving matters relevant to the relationship of the Section to the Association as a whole or component parts thereof, or concerning agencies or activities external to the Association. These may in turn be referred to the Board for consideration and action.
III. FORMATION
1. The Section is an agent of the CPA and operates in accord with By-Law VII of the Association.
2. Approval to establish the Section within the Association is granted by the CPA Board of Directors in accord with CPA By-Law VII.2.
3. The Section may be dissolved by the CPA Board of Directors in accord with By-Law VII.3.
IV. MEMBERSHIP
1. Full membership in the Section is open to all Fellows, Members and Student, Foreign and Special Affiliates of CPA.
2. Associate membership in the Section is open to those who do not meet the requirements for full membership, i.e., who are not CPA members, but who nevertheless declare an intention to pursue the stated purpose of the Section. Criteria for Associate membership are defined by the Section as follows:
a. Registration with the Secretary/Treasurer and payment of the annual dues. They shall receive all section mailings and newsletters.
b. Applications for Associate membership shall normally be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of the Section. For complicated applications, a recommendation may be brought forward for the consideration of the general membership.
3. Members of the Section who are full members of CPA may exercise full voting rights, and may nominate, vote and hold office. Each member and affiliate is entitled to one vote. Affiliate members of CPA who are members of the Section and Associate members of the Section may enjoy full privileges of membership except for holding office.
4. Any member of CPA shall be admitted to full membership in the Section upon application to CPA or to the Section and upon stated commitment to the purposes of the Section and upon payment of the annual dues.
5. The Section shall establish annual dues. Membership fees adequate to carry out the purposes of the Section shall be established by a majority vote of members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting. Differential dues may be set for Full members, Student members, and Associate members.
6. Any member may resign from membership in the Section by giving written notice to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section. Membership dues are not refundable following resignation.
7. Any member of CPA whose fees are six months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned from CPA and therefore is no longer eligible to be a member of the Section. Members whose Section membership fees are six months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned from the Section, and are therefore not permitted to vote, to make nominations, or to hold office in the Section.
8. Any member suspended from the CPA under its By-Law XI shall be deemed to be suspended from the Section.
9. Members whose conduct is considered by the Executive Committee of the Section to be contrary to the stated purposes of the Section shall be asked by the Executive Committee to explain or justify their actions. If the members are unwilling or unable to do so, they shall be asked by the Executive Committee to resign from the Section. If they do not resign, the Executive Committee shall give notice of motion, to be considered at the next general meeting, requesting their expulsion from the Section. A copy of this motion shall be communicated to the member concerned in time for that person to make a written response. If a response is made, it shall be circulated with the notice of motion. The members concerned shall be given an opportunity to explain their positions at the meeting at which the motion requesting their expulsion is considered. Approval of such a motion shall require a two-thirds majority of votes cast.
V. OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. The Chairperson, Chairperson-Elect, the Past-Chairperson shall be elected officers. The term for each elected office is one year ending at the close of the Annual General Meeting. In addition, a Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected annually. In addition, one or two Programme (Co-)coordinator(s) will be elected annually. These persons comprise the Executive Committee of the Section. The management of the Section shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee.
2. Nominations for the Chairperson-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer and Programme (Co-)Coordinator(s) may be made up to the time of the annual election; the executive committee may wish to present a slate of candidates and nominations will also be open from the floor of the annual meeting. Persons previously having held office are eligible for re-election.
3. The Chairperson-Elect, Programme (Co-) Coordinator(s) and Secretary-Treasurer shall all be elected by majority vote of members present and voting at the Annual General Meeting.
4. The Chairperson shall:
a. Provide the overall supervision and administration of the affairs of the Section and ensure that all policies and actions approved by the general membership or by the Executive Committee are properly implemented.
b. Preside at general meetings of the Section and chair meetings of the Executive Committee.
c. Represent the Section on the CPA Committee on Sections, to the CPA Board of Directors, and to external bodies.
d. Provide an annual report to the members and to the CPA.
5. The Chairperson-Elect is available to carry out duties assigned by the Chairperson or requested by the Executive Committee or the general membership.
6. The Past-Chairperson shall:
a. Fulfill the duties of the Chairperson when that person is temporarily absent or otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office.
b. Perform duties assigned by the Chairperson or requested by the Executive Committee or the general membership.
7. The Secretary-Treasurer shall:
a. Issue notices and agenda, and prepare, maintain, and distribute the minutes of general meetings and of the Executive Committee.
b. Work with the CPA Head Office to maintain an up-to-date list of members, including a record of the dues paid by members in order to establish those in good standing. Membership dues shall be collected by the CPA Head Office at the time of the annual membership subscription to the Association. The CPA Head Office disburses the dues collected to the Section along with a roster of the names and addresses of Section members. A fee for processing Section dues and memberships is set by the CPA Board of Directors in consultation with the Committee on Sections and with sufficient notice given to allow for the Section to plan a budget.
c. Be responsible for the care and custody of the funds and other assets of the Section and for making payments for all approved expenses.
d. Maintains books of the accounts which shall be made available for inspection by members at any reasonable time on request.
e. Annually, at least four weeks before the Annual Meeting of the Association, the Secretary of the Section shall submit an Annual Report, which includes a financial statement to the Board of Directors of the Association. The financial statement shall include a budget for the ensuing year which shall be subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
f. Carry out other duties as may be assigned by the Chairperson.
8. The Program (Co-)Coordinator(s) shall:
a. in consultation with the other members of the Executive Committee and in coordination with the CPA Convention coordinator and progamme committee, prepare the Section programme presented as part of the annual convention of the Canadian Psychological Association;
b. develop proposals for invited speakers and invited symposia for the annual convention of the Canadian Psychological Association; and
c. encourage the participation of Section members (with special encouragement to graduate students);
d. solicit programme contributions, arrange for their refereeing, and organize thematic sessions or symposia prior to the CPA submission deadline;
e. co-ordinate with the newsletter editor the publicizing of the section programme prior to the annual meeting;
f. carry out other duties as may be assigned by the Chair.
9. The executive committee together decides the winner of the Mary J. Wright Award for best graduate student paper.
10. The signing officers of the Section shall be the Chairperson and the Secretary-Treasurer.
11. Officers shall remain in office until their successors are elected or appointed, unless they resign, or are removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the body that elected or appointed them. Proper notice must be given of a motion to remove a person from office and the individual concerned shall be given an opportunity to speak before such a motion is put to a vote.
12. Vacancies that occur on the Executive Committee shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Committee. A vacancy in the office of Past-Chairperson shall normally be filled by the next immediate Past-Chairperson.
VI. GENERAL MEETING
1. The general membership shall retain all powers of the Section except the management duties delegated in Section By-Law V to the Executive Committee of the Section.
2. An Annual General Meeting shall be held at the time and in the location of the annual convention of the CPA.
3. The Executive Committee of the Section may call a special general meeting by giving at least 30 days notice of the time and place of the meeting and of the specific agenda items to be considered.
4. A quorum for the transaction of business at all general meetings shall be twice the number of the Executive Committee plus one. In the case of one Programme coordinator, the quorum shall be 11; in the case of two co-ordinators, it shall be 13.
5. The meetings of the general membership shall be conducted in accordance with the latest edition of Procedure for Meetings and Organizations, by M.K. Kerr and H.W. King, Carswell Legal Publications, Toronto.
VII. COMMITTEES
1. The Executive Committee may appoint standing or other committees as it deems desirable to facilitate the achievement of the purposes of the Section. (Standing committees that Sections may wish to establish include Convention Programme Committee, Newsletter Committee, Public Information Committee, Scientific Affairs Committee and Professional Affairs Committee.)
2. Terms of reference of standing committees shall be prepared by the Executive Committee of the Section and put before the membership for approval at a general meeting. Ad hoc committees may be established by approval of a motion at a general meeting or at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Section.
3. A Newsletter Committee will be appointed by the Executive Committee to produce at least twice yearly an informative newsletter. A Fall issue might contain the call for papers; the Spring issue might contain the CPA programme. Section minutes, budgets, may be published in the newsletter, along with book reviews, articles, bibliographic references, calendar of relevant events, etc. The Newsletter Committee may coordinate their efforts with other international newsletters. The Secretary-Treasurer will assist with mailing lists.
VIII. AMENDMENTS
1. These By-Laws may be amended by approval of a motion by a two-thirds majority of votes cast at the Annual General Meeting of the Section, provided that at least thirty days notice is given for such a motion, and that the amendments receive subsequent approval by the Board of CPA.
IX. AMENDMENT 1:
1. In 2006 the By-Laws were amended by approval at the Annual General Meeting of the Section and approved by the Board of CPA to add a History & Philosophy of Psychology Section Archivist Position to the Executive Committee.
2. Responsibilities of the Section Archivist:
a. The Section Archivist will be responsible for collecting material relevant to the Section (e.g., minutes of meetings, conference programs, decisions, activities, sets or copies of the History and Philosophy of Psychology Bulletin, photographs, etc).
b. When or if appropriate (e.g., once a term), the Section Archivist will make arrangements to forward Section-relevant material to the CPA Historian, who will then forward it to Library and Archives Canada so that it may be placed among the Canadian Psychological Association fonds, according to Library and Archives Canada policies, and so that it may be made available to researchers.
c. Potential donors of Section-relevant material should be made aware that some material may not, in the end, be forwarded to Library and Archives Canada.
d. The Section Archivist may collect some items that cannot be passed along to the CPA Historian (e.g., because the material dos not meet the requirements for inclusion in the CPA fonds) but that may have archival or historical value.
e. The Section Archivist will provide an annual report at the Section Business Meeting regarding his/her activities over the previous year.
3. Length of Term: The position of History & Philosophy of Psychology Section Archivist will have a 3-year term (renewable after 3 years).
4. Voting Rights: Like other members of the History & Philosophy of Psychology Section Executive, the Section Archivist will have full voting rights.