Template Rules of Procedure for Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Sections

This Section Rules of Procedure (hereinafter called "Rules") applies to the SIAM section called "[insert name of section] of SIAM".

The section to which these section rules apply is formed under the aegis of SIAM and shall operate within its bylaws. This section shall not affiliate with any other organization without first obtaining the written approval of the SIAM Board of Trustees or its designee. No provisions of these section rules shall be construed to contradict the SIAM Bylaws.

These section rules may be modified by the SIAM Board of Trustees and Council with due notice to the section.

Article I: Purpose

The objectives of SIAM, are

  • To further the application of mathematics to industry and science.
  • To promote basic research in mathematics leading to new methods and techniques useful to industry and science.
  • To provide media for the exchange of information and ideas between mathematicians and other technical and scientific personnel.

Purposes of the proposed section shall be consistent with these objectives. {Organizers of the section shall state here the specific purpose of the section.]

Article II: Activities

[Section organizers shall briefly describe the activities they intend for the section. Examples are organization of regional meetings in applied mathematics and its applications to industry and science, seminars on advanced topics in applied mathematics, team projects, programs to enhance mathematics education, creating and maintaining section web pages, etc.]

Article III: Territory

[Section organizers shall specify what boundaries their section encompasses with respect to "practical" membership activity and in which areas they will normally solicit membership, taking into consideration institutional constraints, geographic boundaries, possible use of the internet for virtual activities, etc. The SIAM Board of Trustees and SIAM Council may change the boundaries of the section at its discretion.]

Article IV: Membership

Section 1. SIAM sections have voting members and nonvoting members. Any dues-paying member of SIAM whose primary address falls within the geographical boundary of the section is considered a voting member of the section. Any member of SIAM whose primary address does not fall within the geographical boundary of the section may join the section and participate in its activities as a nonvoting member. Nonvoting members are not eligible for office in the section. At no time can a SIAM member be a voting member of more than one section.

Section 2. [Provisions for termination of a member in a section by resignation or otherwise, should be inserted here.]

Article V: Officers

Section 1. The section shall have a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Sections shall have the option to combine the Secretary and Treasurer positions with the approval of the SIAM office. Each section may establish additional officers as it deems necessary to conduct its affairs with the approval of the SIAM Office. [State here any additional officers requested for the section.] Officers shall be non-student members of SIAM in good standing.

Section 2. The Chair of the section shall preside at the business meetings of the section and the meetings of the Section Nominating Committee, (see Article VI). In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall assume the duties of the Chair. In the absence of the latter, the Secretary shall assume said duties. [In addition to the duties outlined above for the Vice Chair, the organizers may wish to specify additional duties, such as responsibility for meetings or other section activities.]

Section 3. The Secretary shall keep a record of the affairs of the section, handle correspondence, moderate the section’s online community, and submit an annual report of section activities to the SIAM office each year.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall manage the disbursement of section funds and shall submit an annual Treasurer's report and other financial reports to the SIAM Office. The annual Treasurer's report shall be prepared each year and shall be transmitted to the SIAM Office.

Section 5. [Organizers shall specify here the terms of office of the officers and their dates of expiration. It is suggested that terms of section officers not exceed two years, but re-election of an officer for an additional term is permissible. It is suggested that terms start on January 1st of the first year and end on December 31st of the second year.]

Article VI: Nominating Committee

Section 1. The Section Nominating Committee is formed in order to select candidates for section officer positions in upcoming elections. The committee should consist of four to six members of the section, at least two of whom should not be current officers of the section, and one of whom must be the past Chair.

Section 2. In the event that the past Chair is unavailable, the current officers may fill the position with the next available past Chair or recent former officer.

Article VII: Other Committees

Section 1. [Organizers shall indicate what other permanent committees, if any, there are to manage the affairs of the section, and how additional committees are to be formed (and terminated) when necessary. Responsibilities of each permanent committee and terms of committee members should be specified in separate sections of this Article. Examples of committees are membership, program, and publicity.]

Article VIII: Elections

Section 1. Section elections shall be by electronic ballot and managed by the SIAM Office. The winners of the election shall be determined by the plurality of the votes cast for each office. Election polls should remain open for at least one month to allow all section members the opportunity to vote. All candidate details should be submitted to the SIAM Office at least four weeks prior to the start date of the election. Elections should run at least two months in advance of the date when the terms of office expire.

Section 2. Suggestions for nominations for all officers will be accepted from all voting members of the section. The final slate of candidates for officers shall be selected by the Nominating Committee and approved by the SIAM Office. Nominees must be eligible as stated in Article IV. Elections should be contested with at least two candidates for each officer position. Should a candidate run uncontested, a written explanation must be approved by the SIAM Vice President at Large.

Article IX: Annual Business Meeting

Section 1. The section shall conduct an annual section business meeting once per year [specify when]. Other business meetings may be called by the Chair or the Treasurer with notice provided to section members and SIAM office.

Article X: Section Funds

Section 1. The section may collect registration fees for section meetings, and otherwise raise funds in any lawful manner consistent with these section rules and the bylaws of SIAM.

Section 2. The section shall deposit all funds to which it has legal title in an insured savings account.

Section 3. The section Treasurer shall maintain books of account that show income and expense items for all activities and balances for all accounts of the section. The books of account shall be provided to the SIAM office for review on request.

Section 4. Requests for funds in support of section activities shall be made in writing to the SIAM Office upon request. The budget request may be evaluated by the SIAM Committee on Section Activities. The budget request will be evaluated as part of the SIAM operating budget review and approved by the Office of the Chief Executive and Board of Trustees.

Section 5. Any funding raised by the section that comes from non-SIAM sources must be approved by SIAM in advance.

Section 6. No officer or member of the section may apply for a grant to support section activities or enter into any contract to support such activities or provide services, or have authority to contract debts for, pledge the credit of, or in any way bind SIAM, except to the extent that section funds exist without specific approval in writing by the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. Should a section wish to apply for an external grant to support section activities, section officers must request permission from the SIAM Office.

Article XI: Prizes and Awards

Section 1. A section seeking to institute any prize using SIAM funds or with SIAM’s name must go before the Major Awards Committee and, if requested by the Major Awards Committee, the SIAM Council and Board of Trustees for approval. Section prizes must be awarded based on an appropriate open competition using selection committees that abide by SIAM’s policy on conflicts of interest. Sections interested in instituting a new prize should contact the SIAM Prize Coordinator to begin the approval process.

Section 2. Travel awards to students can reimburse for partial or full reasonable travel expenses to a SIAM section event. All expenses for prizes and travel must be included in the budget request and receipts must be submitted with the annual Treasurer’s report. Sections should refer to the funding guidelines for SIAM sections.

Article XII: Publications

Section 1. With the approval of the SIAM Managing Editor, the section may publish articles and news columns in SIAM News. No separate sections publications including conference proceedings are permitted without the specific written approval of the SIAM office.

Article XIII: Amendments

Section 1. These Rules may be altered or amended with the approval of the SIAM Board of Trustees and SIAM Council. Submission to the Board of Trustees proposed alterations or amendments shall be made only after approval by the majority vote of members of the section present (or represented by proxy) at a scheduled meeting or online vote. In addition, election results, along with the total number of votes must be submitted to the Board of Trustees. [Organizers may wish to include provisions for bringing the notice of the proposed change to the attention of the section members via SIAM online community.]

Article XIV: Termination of the Section

Section 1. A section may terminate itself by the unanimous vote of the members via online vote sent out to all members, provided that notice of the proposed termination and the meeting at which it is to be considered has been given to all section members at least 30 days in advance and to the Board of Trustees, SIAM Council, and the Office of the Chief Executive Officer at least 90 days in advance.

Section 2. A section may be terminated by the SIAM Board of Trustees, in consultation with the SIAM Council, after two years of inactivity, where inactivity is defined as any of (a) failure to submit a Secretary's annual report or an annual Treasurer's report, (b) a Secretary's annual report showing no activity, or (c) failure to hold a scheduled election.

Section 3. In the event a section is terminated, the funds to which it has legal title shall revert to the account of SIAM.

(revised Nov. 24, 2010, revised Jan. 8, 2011, revised Oct. 2014, revised Nov. 2018, revised Jun. 2024)