Article I: Membership Classes and Eligibility

1. Members shall be classified as follows:
• A. Member - a person whose professional activities or interests are in keeping with the objectives of the Association.
• B. Student Member – a student enrolled at least half time in an institution of higher learning.
• C. Honorary Member - a person distinguished in a scientific discipline of significance to the Association.
• D. Institutional Affiliates - Institutional Affiliates shall be those corporations, institutions of higher learning, or other organizations interested in fostering the science of medical geology. Institutional Affiliates shall have the right to appoint a person as their designated representative. Such a person could also be a Member. Institutional Affiliates shall enjoy all the privileges of the Association except that they, or their representatives, shall not hold office or vote. Notwithstanding any of the above limitations, a designated representative of an Institutional Affiliate, who is also an individual Member, may so continue to exercise his/her membership rights and privileges on his/her own behalf.

Article II: Procedures for Election to Membership

1. A person desiring membership in the Association must petition the Executive Committee on an approved membership application. The applicant must be informed of Executive Committee's acceptance or rejection as soon as practicable.
2. Honorary Members are elected for life by a majority vote of the Executive Committee after being nominated by the responsible committee.
3. New members (regular and student) can be proposed by other members or may request consideration from the Executive Committee for themselves.

Article III: Dues

1. Annual dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee and shall be assessed on a calendar year basis. The Executive Committee may substitute appropriate service to the Association, or to Medical Geology, in lieu of the annual dues. Annual dues are waived for Honorary Members.
2. Institutional Affiliates shall pay an annual membership cost to be determined by Executive Committee.
3. Annual dues are payable in advance on or before the first day of each calendar year. Notice of dues will be sent with the newsletter and by electronic mail in the third quarter of each calendar year. A Member who fails to remit by January 1 should be considered in arrears until he/she remits, and any member still in arrears on April 1 will be dropped from membership. Members may be reinstated upon payment of current dues and no membership application will be required provided such reinstatement occurs within one (1) year.
4. Any Member in arrears as defined in Article III Section 4-3 above shall not receive any Association publications nor be allowed to vote or hold office.

All dues are payable in EU or US currency. Alternate methods of payment may be approved by the Executive Committee.

Article IV: Duties and Privileges of Members

1. Members in good standing, defined as a Member not in arrears as defined in Article III, Section 4-3 of the Bylaws, shall have the privilege of holding office, voting, serving on Association Committees, and transacting the business of the Association.
2. Honorary Members shall have all the privileges of membership.
3. Institutional Affiliates in good standing shall receive all publications of the Association.

Article V: Executive Committee

1. Executive Committee shall be composed of the following Officers:
• A. Chair
• B. Co-Chair for geoscience
• C. Co-chair for medical science
• D. Secretary
• E. Treasurer
• F. Six (6) Councillors
• G. Editor – a non-voting appointed position
• H Webmaster – a non-voting appointed position

2. The Executive Committee shall have ultimate executive control and management of affairs and funds of this Association. Duties include planning for conferences, elections, publications, determination of applicant qualifications and membership, administering funds for the benefit of the Association, and any other duties required to accomplish the objectives of the Association.

3. The Executive Committee shall meet at the Annual Meeting and at the call of the Chair. Robert's Rules of Order shall apply at all Executive Committee meetings and a simple majority of Executive Committee Officers shall constitute a quorum. No proxy votes or alternates are allowed. Executive Committee Officers may act on Association matters by mail, telephone, or electronic communication (e.g., e-mail, or World Wide Web site) if needed.

Article VI: Officers

1. The Officers of this Association shall be as follows: Chair, Co-Chair (geoscience), Co-Chair (medical science), Secretary, Treasurer, six Councillors, an Editor, and a Webmaster. The Editor and Webmaster positions are appointed and non-voting. Terms of office shall begin at the close of the Annual Meeting and extend for two (2) years.
2. The Chair shall operate as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and shall preside over all meetings of the Association and Executive Committee.
3. The Co-Chairs shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Chair if the Chair is absent or unable to serve, and shall jointly assume the office of Chair in the event of a vacancy for any cause.
4. The Secretary shall be responsible for recording the actions of the Executive Committee, and be responsible for all communications including coordinating courses and meetings.
5. The Treasurer shall supervise the receipt of all funds and, under the direction of the Executive Committee, be responsible for all disbursements of funds of the Association.The Councilors shall perform specific duties as directed by the Executive Committee.
6. The councillors shall perform specific duties as directed by the Executive Committee.
7. The Editor shall be responsible for all official publications such as the newsletter.
8. The Officers shall each serve for a term of two (2) years. In the initial elections three (3) Councilors shall be elected for a term of one (1) year. Thereafter, three (3) Councilors shall be elected each year for a term of two (2) years.
9. The Officers shall be eligible for one second consecutive term in the same office.
10. The Executive Committee shall select one individual to fill any interim vacancy occurring in the offices of Co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Councillor, Editor or Webmaster.

Article VII: Election of Officers

1. The Chair of the Executive Committee shall appoint a Nominating Committee of not less than three (3) Members, one (1) of whom shall be designated as Chair and none of whom shall be members of the Executive Committee. The Members of the Nominating Committee should be selected from the Association and should be representative of the disciplines included in the membership. The Chair shall instruct the Nominating Committee to submit the names of at least two (2) qualified nominees for each of the offices. Competitive elections are encouraged but not required for the office of Secretary, Treasurer. Election of officers shall be completed six (6) weeks prior to the Annual Meeting.
2. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for the preparation, receipt and counting of all ballots requiring a vote by Members. In the case of election of Officers, a ballot and a biography of each nominee shall be mailed (e-mail, or by postal service where a member does not have access to e-mail) to every voting Member. All ballots shall be returned to the Nominating Committee Chairman and shall be counted by the Nominating Committee within seven (7) days following the designated closing date. Results of balloting shall be promptly reported by the Nominating Committee Chair to the Chair of the Executive Committee who will in turn report ballot results to the Executive Committee and candidates.
3. A simple majority of the votes received for any office shall constitute election. In the event of a tie, the vote of the Executive Committee shall prevail.
4. Nominees for all elective Officer positions shall be Members in good standing or Honorary Members. Representation on the Executive Committee should, if possible, reflect global demographics, and different disciplines, and should also strive for gender balance.

Article VIII: Business Procedures

1. The Executive Committee shall appoint committees, and arrange: IMGA representation with other groups; production of journals; special publications; short courses; symposia; and conduct day-to-day business. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by its elected Executive Committee who must be Members in good standing.
2. The Executive Committee is responsible for the annual budget, which shall be based on the calendar year.
3. The Executive Committee shall cause an audit of the Association's financial records to be performed at the conclusion of a Treasurer's term of office and prior to installation of a newly elected treasurer. The Executive Committee may call for an audit of the Association’s financial records at shorter intervals.
4. In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the assets remaining after discharge of all liabilities, shall go for charitable, scientific or educational purposes. Under these circumstances, no Member of the Association shall have any right of interest in the assets of the Association.

Article IX: Publications

1. The Executive Committee is authorized to provide for publications in keeping with the objectives of the Association.

Article X: Awards

1. The Executive Committee shall have the responsibility for establishing an Awards Committee, approve the recipients of awards, and accord them appropriate recognition.

Article XI: Committees and Representatives

1. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to establish, direct and dissolve Standing Committees of the Association.
2. The appointment of committee Chairmen shall be at the direction of the Chair of the Executive Committee and approved by Executive Committee.
3. Ad hoc Committees may be appointed by the Chair of the Executive Committee upon approval of the Executive Committee to consider specific questions, or conduct specific studies.
4. Committee chairs and the representatives shall jointly submit an annual written report to the Executive Committee.

Article XII Regional Divisions

1. The Excecutive Committee of IMGA can decide on the establishment of Regional Divisions.
2. The purposes, membership and Regional Division authority can be found in the By-Laws of the Regional Divisons.
3. The Chair of each Regional Division will together with the Excecutive Committee of IMGA form an initial Regional Council.

Article XIII: Annual Meeting

1. One meeting of the Association each year shall be designated as the Annual Meeting. The Executive Committee shall designate the time and place of the meeting.
2. At the Annual Meeting there shall be a business meeting, at which time Executive Committee may present to the Members present items of business for information, recommendation, discussion, or vote.

Article XIV: Professional Ethics

1. Members of the Association are expected to maintain the highest level of professional ethics. Any Member of the Association who is found guilty by due legal process of a legal infraction that includes a breach of professional ethics, shall have his/her membership in the Association automatically terminated.

Article XV: Amendments

1. Amendments to these By-Laws may be proposed by the following means: resolution of the Executive Committee, or written proposal signed by ten (10) percent of the voting Members of the Association.
2. Proposed amendments shall be approved by the Executive Committee, which then shall submit such amendments to the Members by mail ballot (e-mail and/or postal), or to the Members present at the Annual Meeting, and shall be passed by a two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of the Members voting with a minimum of twenty (20) percent of the membership responding.

 

Medical Geology Regional Divisions

Article1: Name

International Medical Geology Regional Divisions (IMGRD) herin referred to as Divisions.

Article II: Constitution and By-Laws

The Divisions shall pledge to abide by the Constitution and By-Laws of the International Medical Geology Association.

Article III: General purpose

1. International Medical Geology Regional Divisions (Divisions) shall be formed to encourage broad participation in medical geology research, training and education, and to disseminate medical geology information in their respective regions.
2. Divisions may organize scientific and educational meetings when and where necessary, that may consist of activities that provide for effective exchange of plans, information, analyses results, ideas, and other activities among its professional and student members; activities that are designed to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation of Medical Geology.
3. The International Medical Geology Association (The Association) shall strive to support and encourage the Divisions.
4. The Divisions shall conform to standard geographic boundaries as determined by the Association.
5. The Divisions shall cooperate with other organizations operating in the field of Medical Geology, exchange information with the public, other scientists, individuals, decision-makers and organizations, act as an information resource center in the field of Medical Geology, promote communication among members on matters of common interest and importance, establish regional research priorities in the field on the basis of current and future needs and disseminate information, ideas, and other activities to its members in their respective regions
6. The Divisions shall be open for membership to any persons interested in Medical Geology living in the region or to any organization chartered in the region.
7. The Divisions shall be run in a democratic manner having elections for Officers at regular intervals. The Officers of the Division shall reflect the geographic, gender, ethnic, and disciplinary diversity of the Division’s membership.

 

Article IV: Membership

1. Types of Membership may be Individual or Institutional
2. Active members shall consist of individuals who are up-to-date with their dues or accepted commitments.
3. The Divisions shall be open for membership to any persons in Medical Geology living in the region or to any organization chartered in the region.
4. The Divisions shall be run in a democratic manner having elections for Officers at regular intervals. The Officers of the Division shall reflect the geographic, gender, ethnic, and disciplinary diversity of the Division’s membership.
5. Wherever possible the positions of Officers in each Regional Division Committee should conform with those of the Association Executive Committee. Additional positions may be approved by the IMGA for any particular region.
6. Institutional members shall pay dues as determined by the Executive Committee of IMGA.
7. A request to the Association to form a Regional Division shall be signed by at least ten (10) full members in good standing of the Association and shall be submitted to the Executive Committee of IMGA. For regions containing less than five countries, the signers must be from at least two countries within the region. For regions containing more than five (5) countries, the signers must be from one third (1/3) of the countries represented in the Association membership. A majority vote by the Executive Committee of IMGA is required for recognition.

 

Article V: Membership dues

1. The Divisions shall abide by the dues structure approved by the Association.
2. Members of the Divisions shall be considered as full members of the Association and shall enjoy all benefits that accrue with Association membership.
3. Funds generated by dues, donations, or other means under the auspices of the Division shall be used only for the promotion of Medical Geology within the region, unless otherwise agreed to by the Executive Committee of IMGA.
4. The Divisions Committees shall maintain clear and complete records of regional activities and comprehensive and accurate financial accounts. The Divisions shall provide the Association Executive Committee periodic reports on regional activities for inclusion in the Association Newsletters and other documents. The Divisions shall respond in a timely manner to any requests for information from the Executive Committee of IMGA.

 

Article VI: Termination of office holders

The Executive Committee of IMGA may discharge Officer(s) of a Regional Division for malfeasance. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Executive Committee is necessary for dismissal.

 

Article VII: Regional Division authority

1. Regular meetings of Regional Division members shall be held at least once in every two (2) years. Notice of such meetings shall be given to regional members by mail (e-mail and/or postal).
2. The method of formation of an initial Regional Council is defined in the Article XI, Section 3, of the By-Laws of IMGA.
3. The Regional Division Committee can also make decisions without meeting, under the condition that proposals have been sent to all Regional Division Committee Members, and that all Regional Council members have the opportunity to vote by postal mail ballot or e-mail.
4. Each Regional Council member of a Regional Division shall have one vote. Decisions within a Regional Division and shall be made by simple majority.

Article VIII: Termination of a Regional Division.

1. The termination of a Regional Division can be done by approval of the Association Executive Committee either at the request of the Regional Division Committee, or after due consideration by the IMGA Executive Committee.
2. Prior to the approved terminarion of any Regional Division Committee all monies remaining in the Regional Committee account(s) will be transferred into the account(s) of the IMGA Executive Committee unless otherwise authorised by the the IMGA Executive Committee.