The American Society of Pharmacognosy

This Society has been formed by the pharmacognosists of the United States of America to formalize and perpetuate the standards and ideals of the Plant Science Seminar, which was founded in 1923.

1. The Society shall consist of associate members, active members, fellows, honorary members, and emeritus members.
2. Membership shall be open to professional pharmacognosists, to graduate students, and to others with allied interests, these from all nations as provided for in the By-Laws. Fellows and honorary members shall be selected by the Executive Committee after nomination by the appropriate committee. Fellows shall be appointed based on exceptional contribution to the sciences promoted by the society. Honorary members will be selected on the basis of meritorious service to the Society and shall be exempt from the payment of dues. Fellows and Honorary members will be eligible to vote and will be eligible to hold either appointed or elective offices. Fellows shall constitute no more than five percent of the total membership and honorary members shall constitute no more than two percent of the total membership of the Society. Students may become associate members without voting privileges and without being eligible to hold elective offices.
3. Any active member who reaches the age of 65 years and has maintained active membership for at least the preceding 5 years may request emeritus membership. Emeritus members shall be assessed dues at a reduced rate and shall retain all of the rights and privileges of active membership.
4. A member, of any category, may be removed from membership of the Society by a three-fourths vote of the Executive Committee, if actions by that member are deemed to damage the reputation of the Society.

Article IV : Meetings

1. The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held at such a time and place as may be determined by the Executive Committee and shall embody principally a Scientific Program for the dissemination and propagation of science; a social program for the interaction of members and an Annual Business Meeting for the the direction and control of the Society.
2. The Annual Business Meetings will be conducted in concordance with Robert's Rules of Order. The President will appoint a parliamentarian from among those members present at the Annual Meeting to rule on any questions concerning the order of the meeting.
3. Non-members may attend the Annual Business Meeting but may not vote and may not speak from the floor unless recognized by the Chair.

Article V : Officers

1. The officers of the Society shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer and the Chair of the ASP Foundation. An Individual shall hold only one office at any one time.
2. The President and Vice-President shall serve for one-year terms and the Vice-President shall succeed automatically to the office of President upon the death or resignation or upon the installation of his/her successor as Vice-President. A member shall be ineligible for election to the vice-presidency within a period of five years from the date he/she assumes that office.
3. In the event that a President’s term is shorter than the statutory term, the Vice President shall serve as President until such date as that Vice President would have served had the President completed his/her normal term.
4. The Secretary shall be elected for a three-year term and may be eligible for re-election.
5. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall serve for a five-year term.
6. The Assistant Treasurer shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall serve for a five-year term which should not be coincident with the five-year term of the Treasurer.
7. The Chair of the ASP Foundation will be selected by the Executive Committee and will serve for a five year term.
8. Candidates for appointment by the Executive Committee shall be nominated by the membership. Nominations shall be taken by solicitation from the Secretary prior to the Annual Meeting as well as from the floor during the Annual Meeting. Any active member who has so consented may have his/her name placed in nomination.
9. In the event that any officer of the Executive Committee is rendered unable or unwilling to fulfill his/her duties, they can be removed from the Executive Committee via a two-thirds vote of the committee.
10. The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer shall be bonded. The Executive Committee shall determine the amount and form and shall secure such a surety bond.

Article VI: Executive Committee, The American Society of Pharmacognosy Foundation (ASP Foundation), and Other Standing Committees

1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President who will serve as Chair, the immediate Past President, the Vice-president, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Chair of the ASP Foundation, and the Chair of the Publications Committee. There shall also be four elected members, one member elected by the Society each year and each serving a term of four years. Business shall be conducted at a called meeting, for which at least one week’s notice has been given to all members, only when a quorum is present. A quorum shall consist of one more than half of the membership of the Executive Committee.

2. The Membership Committee shall consist of three members, with the Vice-President serving as Chair. The other two members of the Committee shall be appointed by the President. Their terms of office shall be two years, and they will be eligible for reappointment.

3. The Honorary Membership Committee shall consist of three members, appointed by the President, their terms of office shall be for three years, and each will be eligible for reappointment. The President shall appoint a chair.

4. The Meetings of the Society will be organized by a Planning Committee, which shall consist of not less than three members to be appointed two years in advance of each Meeting by the President of the Society. The President will also designate the Chair of this Planning Committee, and the Treasurer shall serve as an ex-officio member of the Planning Committee. Additional members may be designated by the Chair of the Planning Committee in consultation with the President.

5. The Committee on Awards and Funds shall consist of five members, appointed by the President, with terms of office of five years. (The initial appointment of these members

   shall be for one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively.) The Treasurer of the ASP Foundation shall serve ex officio. The President shall appoint the Chair of the Committee.

6. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members, with the immediate past-President serving as its chair. The remaining two members, who must not be currently serving on the Executive Committee, shall be elected at the annual meeting of the society.

7. The Publications Committee shall consist of the Editor of the Journal of the Society, who as a member of the Society will serve as Chair, those Associate Editors who are members of the Society, two members appointed by the Executive Committee representing the ASP on the Management Board of the Journal, and those members of the Editorial Advisory Board who are members of the ASP. The terms of appointment of the members of the Publications Committee shall be coincident with their terms of appointment to their positions with the Journal in accordance with the agreement between the Society and the American Chemical Society. Such members as may be necessary for a search committee for the editor shall be appointed by the Executive Committee, which will also vote the concurrence of the Society with the final selection of the Editor. All Publication Committee members other than the Editor will be appointed by the Executive Committee.
8. The Constitution and By-Laws Committee, consisting of three members, shall be appointed by the president to three-year terms. Members shall be eligible for re-appointment, but not more than one member of the Executive Committee may be designated to serve concurrently on the Constitution and By-Laws Committee. The President shall appoint the chair of the committee.
9. The Publicity Committee shall consist of three members, appointed by the President, to terms of office of three years. The Treasurer of the Society shall serve ex officio .The President shall appoint the chair of the committee. The Publicity Committee will work with the Planning Committees to ensure the appropriate advertisement of future events
10. The Norman R. Farnsworth ASP Research Achievement Award Committee, consisting of three members, shall be appointed by the President, and shall serve for three-year terms. The President shall appoint a chair to this committee. If a member of the Committee is nominated for the award, the President shall appoint another member to replace the nominee for the duration of his/her appointment.
11. The Executive Committee, in order to help accomplish the purpose and goals of the Society as outlined in Article II Section 2, shall have constituted a separate corporate body to be known as the American Society of Pharmacognosy Foundation (The ASP Foundation). The By-Laws of The ASP Foundation shall be drawn up by the Executive Committee and may be changed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. The Officers and Directors of The ASP Foundation will be appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the Executive Committee of the Society.

Article VII : Election of Officers

1. The incoming officers shall be installed during the last business session of the Annual Meeting. The terms for elected committee members shall commence at the time of the installation of new officers. Officers and elected committee members shall serve until the installation of their successors. Members may be appointed to other committees at any time, but their appointments shall terminate with the installation of officers at the next Annual Meeting, except as specifically provided for in the Constitution.
2. The Nominating Committee shall present the names of a minimum of two candidates for each elective office at the Annual Meeting. At that time additional nominations from members shall be accepted from the floor.
3. The ballot shall consist of those names presented by the Nominating Committee and any additional names, which may be presented and accepted from the floor at the Annual Meeting.
4. The Secretary shall forward one copy of the ballot to each active member no later than eight months after the close of the Annual Meeting of the Society, with provision made to guarantee the secrecy of the ballot. All ballots must be completed properly and returned to the Secretary of the Society six weeks after the ballots were sent to members.
5. All ballots returned shall be counted by a Tellers Committee consisting of the Secretary of the Society and two persons designated by the President. In years when the Secretary of the Society runs for re-election, the President shall appoint a third member to replace the Secretary on the Tellers Committee.
6. A plurality of votes shall elect. If the vote results in a tie, the names of those candidates who have tied shall be resubmitted to the Society in a runoff election. The Secretary shall state a reasonable date for return of the ballots, which will then be counted, and result reported, by the Tellers Committee.
7. All candidates on the ballot shall promptly be notified of their election to office by the Secretary.
8. Vacancies in any elected position, except for the presidency and vice-presidency, resulting from death, incapacity or resignation shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Committee for a term until the next scheduled general ballot. The Nominating Committee shall present the names of two members for that position at the ballot and the Secretary shall conduct the election as part of that ballot.

Article VIII: Formation of Local Sections

1. The committee/individual initiating formation of a local section (chapter) must first receive approval from a simple majority of the Executive Committee before submitting an application to all Society members at the Annual meeting.
2. After the application has been approved, members of the local section shall vote to form a Governing Board. The Governing Board shall be an independent body, but its fiscal responsibilities, and its constitution and by-laws, must be approved by the Executive Committee, and be consistent with the ASP's Constitution and By-laws.
3. All members of the local section shall also be members of the ASP.

Article IX : Amendments

Proposed amendments to the Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee at least two months in advance of the Annual Meeting of the Society. Amendments must receive the approval of a simple majority of the Executive Committee before being submitted to the membership at the Annual Meeting for approval of a mail ballot vote by the members. An amendment must receive a two-thirds majority from those members voting in order to be accepted.

By-Laws

Section 1 : Duties of Officers

1. The President shall preside at the Annual Meeting of the Society and shall appoint those committees of the Society as indicated in the Constitution. Special Committees shall also be appointed by the President.
2. The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the absence or, at the request of the President and shall preside at certain sessions of the Annual Meeting and the Executive Committee meetings. The Vice President shall also be Chair of the Membership Committee.
3. The Secretary shall arrange for all meetings of the Society and the Executive Committee, shall conduct all balloting, shall keep all records of the meetings, and shall conduct all official correspondence of this office.
4. The Treasurer shall collect dues, pay bills, be responsible for the business management of Society publications, serve as a member of the Committee on Awards and Funds, receive applications for membership of the Society, assist the Planning Committee, and present a financial report at the Annual Meeting.

Section 2 : Duties of Committees

1. The Executive Committee shall carry out the duties assigned to it in the Constitution and shall have the power to consider or act upon other matters in the intervals between annual meetings of the Society.
2. The Membership Committee shall promote the increase in Society membership and the Vice President, as Chair shall send a letter of welcome to all new members.
3. The Honorary Membership Committee shall carry out its duties as prescribed under the guidelines approved by the Executive Committee. These duties shall include the receipt of nominations for honorary membership in the Society from the membership and the presentation of the committee recommendations to the Executive Committee.
4. The Planning Committee shall arrange for a meeting place and accommodations and make other arrangements necessary for conducting an annual or other meeting of the Society. The Planning Committee shall also be responsible for publicizing said meeting in conjunction with significant assistance from the Publicity Committee. The Planning Committee will select scientific topics for the program, arrange for social programs, arrange for suitable speakers, issue the call for research papers, make necessary arrangements for conducting the scientific program, and be responsible for securing funds for the support of the program. All of the above will be conducted under the guidelines approved by the Executive Committee.
5. The Committee on Awards and Funds shall coordinate with the ASP Foundation for the offering and presentation of Awards, within the policy guidelines laid out by the Executive Committee
6. The Nominating Committee shall generate a slate of candidates for each elective office. Candidates shall be selected from the active membership of the Society. The Nominating Committee must present the names of at least two candidates for each elective office to the membership at the Annual Meeting.
7. The Publications Committee shall maintain and facilitate the orderly publication of the Journal of the Society.
8. The Constitution and By-Laws Committee shall be responsible for maintaining the currency and integrity of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society. As required by the Constitution, this committee shall draft amendments to the Constitution and/or By-Laws to address the ever-changing needs of the Society, and submit these changes to the Executive Committee at least two months in advance of the Annual Meeting.
9. The Publicity Committee shall publicize the existence and activities of the Society and the significant achievements of its members. Such publicity shall include, but not be limited to, announcements and advertisements in scientific journals, as well as releases to the lay press. Specifically, the Committee shall publicize the various research and travel awards for students and members of the Society, and the Norman R. Farnsworth ASP research award; further publicity for the annual meeting (in concert with the Planning Committee), and for the various types of membership in the Society shall be incumbent upon the Committee.
10. The Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award Committee shall be charged with the responsibility for the selection of the recipient of the Norman R. Farnsworth ASP Research Achievement Award from the membership of the Society. No more than one (1) award winner may be selected in each year. Selection shall be based primarily on the research achievements of each candidate in the area of natural products, but the Committee may also consider the relatedness of the research to the Society's objectives and other criteria, at its discretion. Former recipients of the award shall not be eligible for consideration.

Section 3: Dues and Fiscal Year

1. 1. Changes in annual dues for associate, active, fellows, and emeritus membership shall be proposed by the Executive Committee and approved by the members of the Society in attendance at the Annual Meeting. Dues are payable in the last quarter of the fiscal year for membership in the society for the following year.
2. 2. The fiscal year of the Society shall coincide with the calendar year.
3. 3. Any member in arrears for dues or other financial obligations to the Society may be dropped from membership by action of the Executive Committee.

Section 4: Quorum for the Annual Meeting

Five percent of the active membership of the Society shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business which may properly come before the Society at the Annual Business Meeting

Section 5: Amendments

Proposed amendments to the By-Laws shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee at least two months in advance of the Annual Meeting of the Society. Amendments must receive the approval of a simple majority of the Executive Committee before being submitted to the membership for the Annual Business Meeting for approval by a simple majority in order to be accepted.

Questions or comments? The ASP Webmaster
Site last updated August 11, 2006
© 2006 American Society of Pharmacognosy. All Rights Reserved.