Association of Nepali Physicists in America
Constitution/By-laws
July 30, 2022
ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be Association of Nepali Physicists in America ( ‘ANPA’ in short). ‘Nepali physicist’ here shall mean an individual of Nepali heritage, whose background is physical science either by educational training or by research interest.
ARTICLE II: INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
ANPA is a not-for-profit, apolitical, non-religious, professional, and membership organization, formed by the physicists of Nepali heritage in the USA and is dedicated to serving mankind through educational and scientific activities.
Section 1
ANPA shall serve to disseminate and exchange knowledge and experiences in research and teaching activities in physical sciences as well as their applications
Section 2
ANPA shall serve to promote research and education related activities in physical sciences.
ARTICLE III: LOCATION, GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNICATION
Section 1
This organization has been registered in the state of North Carolina.
Section 2
The activities of ANPA shall be governed under applicable laws and constitution/by-laws.
Section 3
The official method of communication shall be written documents such as e-mails or physical mails.
ARTICLE IV: MEMBERS, MEMBERSHIPS, AND VOTING RIGHT
Section 1
Eligibility: An individual enrolling or holding a bachelor’s or higher degree in physical sciences or engineering and agrees with the purpose of ANPA (listed in ARTICLE II) is eligible for general as well as life membership. ANPA shall not exclude any person based on the race, origin, religion, color, or sex.
Section 2
Membership Types:
(i) General membership: Anyone who satisfies the eligibility defined in Section 1 shall meet the requirements for this category.
(ii) Student membership: A university/college student at good standing student status (as defined by United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS)) in physical sciences or engineering program shall meet the requirements for this category.
(iii) Life membership: Anyone who satisfies eligibility requirements defined in Section 1 shall meet the requirements for life membership.
(iv) Associate Membership: An individual who does not meet the eligibility requirement defined in Section 1 may obtain an associate membership. An associate member shall not have voting right and cannot become a candidate for BOD and EC.
(v) Honorary membership: The Board of Directors (in short, BOD; defined in ARTICLE VI) shall decide to issue an honorary membership at no cost to individuals or organizations who have made substantial contributions in the field of science and technology.
Section 3
Member right:
(i) All members shall have full right to be involved in scientific and educational activities of ANPA.
(ii)Associate and Honorary members, however, shall not have voting rights and cannot become a candidate for BOD and Executive Committee (in short, EC; defined in ARTICLE V).
(iii) An individual must be a general, student, or life member to attend the annual general meeting (AGM) and practice voting right. The membership fee shall be paid before the election process starts to attend the election-year general meeting and practice voting right in the election.
Section 4
Membership terms/duration and fee:
(i) General, student, and associate membership may be purchased for one or multi years.
(iii) Life and honorary memberships are permanent. An eligible individual can be a life member upon the payment of a one-time permanent life membership fee.
(iv) BOD shall have the right to decide and update the membership fee and duration. All membership fees are non-refundable in nature.
ARTICLE V: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EC)
Section 1
The Executive Committee (EC) shall be composed of five officers: President, the Immediate Past-President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and four members at-large. However, the EC shall be composed of four officers; President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and five members whenever the Immediate Past President is not available.
Section 2
The EC shall be legally responsible for all activities including the implementation of the policy setup by BOD and day-to-day operations of the organization all time.
Section 3
The EC shall exercise its power under applicable laws and the governing documents of ANPA.
Section 4
All EC officers and members At-large, except the immediate past president, shall be elected for a two-year term by an alternate annual general meeting. All the committee members shall serve without any compensation. No officer shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same designation.
Section 5
ANPA EC officers and members shall maintain ANPA membership all time during the tenure. Discontinuation of membership automatically disqualifies one from continuing serving as an ANPA officer.
Section 6
An ANPA officer/member may be removed from office as the result of misconduct in office. Removal shall be conducted in accordance with ARTICLE XI.
ARTICLE VI: BOARD OF DIRECTORS (BOD)
Section 1
The Board of Directors (BOD) shall be composed of the EC.
Section 2
The BOD shall be legally responsible for making policy, developing the policy implementation strategy, and managing finance of the organization.
Section 3
The BOD shall exercise its power under applicable laws and the organization’s governing documents.
Section 4
The BOD shall have authority and responsibility to create and disband divisions, local chapters, committees, subcommittees, task groups, or similar entities whenever required to enhance the activities and support its mission. An individual must be a member of this organization to serve in such entities.
Section 5
The BOD shall have authority and responsibility to form an Advisory Committee as defined in ARTICLE VIII.
Section 6
All committees, divisions, or entities including the Advisory Committee will be automatically dissolved after the dismissal of the appointing BOD.
ARTICLE VII: DIVISIONS AND ENTITIES
Section 1
(i) ANPA BOD may form Divisions to exchange, share, and advance knowledge in a specific subject area or sub-field of physical sciences.
(ii) BOD shall appoint at least one officer to serve in the division.
(iii) Divisions shall operate within the umbrella of ANPA and shall serve to foster research and education through symposiums, workshops, schools, or similar activities in the designated field.
(iv) Divisions shall provide suggestions, input, or any assistance to the BOD.
(v) The activities/rules of divisions shall not conflict the constitution and activities of ANPA.
Section 2
(i) ANPA BOD may form any types of entities (e.g. Editorial board, subcommittees, workgroups, teams) to conduct a task or to ease ANPA activities.
(ii) All Workgroups, Teams, and Entities shall operate within the umbrella of ANPA and shall directly report to the BOD.
(iii) The tenure of the individuals serving on these entities shall terminate upon completion of the assigned tasks/activities unless BOD decides otherwise.
Section 3
BOD shall have the right to dissolve a division and/or an entity at any time for reasons it seems good and sufficient for the welfare of the organization.
Section 4
Division officers may be removed from the office at any time as a result of misconduct in office. Removal of officers shall be conducted in accordance with ARTICLE XI, Section 6.
ARTICLE VIII: ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Section 1
The BOD may form an Advisory committee to advise and support the BOD and executive committee for the organization’s activities. The advisory committee, however, does not have any formal legal responsibilities.
Section 2
The oldest of the advisor committee members shall chair the advisory committee meetings.
Section 3
An individual, neither needs to be an ANPA member nor needs to meet the membership eligibility to serve as an advisor.
ARTICLE IX: MEETINGS
Section 1
The organization’s fiscal and program year shall be August 1st – July 31st.
Section 2
At least one general meeting of members of ANPA shall be held per year either by physical meeting or by electronic means of communication. The BOD has the right to call more than one meeting a year if needed.
Section 3
The President shall call special meetings when requested by the BOD/EC, or by a written petition from one-third of the general members presented by any member of the BOD/EC. Except in the cases of emergency, at least a week prior notice shall be given via US mail or email to the BOD/EC.
Section 4
A quorum for this organization shall be >50% at the BOD and EC meetings.
Section 5
Immediate Past president shall not vote in EC/BOD meetings except tie vote cases.
ARTICLE X: ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1
The officers and members of EC shall be elected for a two-year term by the General Assembly.
Section 2
Election shall be conducted by the election committee consisting of the Immediate past president and two members appointed by then BOD. In case of unavailability of Immediate past president, BOD shall appoint additional member to serve in election commission and the oldest of the members shall serve as the chair.
Section 3
The election shall be held during the Summer (May – July) of every alternative year.
Section 4
The officers shall be elected by first-past-the-post voting method. In case of tie-vote, the Election Committee will toss.
Section 5
BOD/EC Candidacy Eligibility:
(i) All general, student, and life members are eligible to attend AGM.
(ii) All the nominees for the positions (President, Vice-president, Secretary, Treasurer, and EC members) of the executive committee must be general, student, or life member of ANPA for at least a year. This rule, however, will not apply for the founding BOD and EC.
Section 6
New EC/BOD shall assume the office on the first day of new fiscal/program year (August 1st).
Section 7
The election committee for the first EC/BOD shall be created as proposed by the current Ad-Hoc committee and approved by the first general meeting.
ARTICLE XI: REMOVAL OF OFFICERS
Section 1
Removal of EC officers/members shall require formal removal proceedings resulting in a vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly attendees in favor of removal. The requirements of quorum must be met for these proceedings.
Section 2
Removal proceedings of an EC officer/member shall require a written complaint of misconduct presented to the president except in the case that the written complaint is against the president where the written complaint must be presented to the Vice-President. The officer/member whom the complaint was registered shall be automatically suspended until the final decision is made by the General Assembly.
Section 3
The BOD shall appoint an Ad-Hoc committee to investigate the complaint. The investigating committee may recommend the BOD either to present the complaint and committee’s findings to the General Assembly or to dismiss it.
Section 4
If the investigating committee recommends the removal of the EC officer/member, the BOD, upon review of the committee’s findings, must follow Section 1 of Article XI.
Section 5
If the complaint is dismissed, all documentation regarding the complaint is to be destroyed. The identity of the EC officer/member whom the complaint was brought must be kept confidential throughout the investigation process and after the dismissal.
Section 6
The removal of a division officer does not require a General Assembly. Instead, two-third majority votes of the BOD shall have the right to remove a Division officer/member based on the recommendation of the Ad-Hoc committee as defined in ARTICLE XI, Section 3.
ARTICLE XII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Clause A The President
Provides leadership to reach the objectives of the organization.
Calls and presides over all meetings of ANPA, the Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors.
Appoints officers for the subcommittees, Divisions, and Entities with other Executive Committee members’ consultation.
Responsible for selecting and booking speakers, setting agenda for regular programs, and ensuring a meeting location. The President may choose to appoint a committee to assist in program-related duties.
Ensures that an annual audit of the ANPA is conducted.
Clause B The Immediate Past-President
Advises new executive committee regarding past practices and other matters.
Acts as liaison between EC, advisory committee, and past presidents.
Serves as the Chair of the Election Committee and Council of Past Presidents.
Serves as an ambassador to members to represent the Executive Committee when requested.
Other responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.
Clause C The Vice-President
Presides in the absence of the president.
Performs the duties of the president defined on Article VIII Clause A in the case if the president is unable to perform the duties defined on Article VIII Clause A.
Shall assume the position of the President for the remaining term in case of the permanent absence of the president before the end of the term.
Other responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.
Clause D The Secretary
Responsible for maintaining all records of ANPA.
Keeps all the official records of ANPA. The Secretary will keep the minutes of every meeting as an official record of ANPA.
Assists the President in communications with the ANPA members.
Delivers records to the incoming Secretary.
Other responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.
Clause E The Treasurer
Collects all dues, makes all disbursements and keeps financial records for the ANPA.
Prepares and submits financial records for an audit.
Furnishes financial reports to the members at regular meetings as directed by the Board of Directors.
Furnishes financial reports in general meetings and delivers them to the incoming treasurer.
Responsible for overseeing all fundraising activities initiated by the ANPA.
Other responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.
Clause F Committee Members
Perform duties as task-specific directors and/or other roles assigned by the Board of Directors.
Serve to increase/maintain the members of the organization and other membership related issues.
Take part in every meeting of the Executive Committee and make suggestions if necessary.
Other responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE XIII: NON- PROFIT STATUS
The organization will be registered exclusively for charitable, religious, education, and/or scientific purposes under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by an organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
ARTICLE XIV: DISSOLUTION
Upon the dissolution of the corporation, the Board of Directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of all of the assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code as the Board of Directors shall determine, or federal, state or local governments to be used exclusively for public purposes. Any such assets not so disposed of by the Superior Court of the country in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organizations, such as the court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes, or to such governments for such purposes.
ARTICLE XV: AMENDMENTS
Any member may propose an amendment to this Constitution. The amendment shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee of ANPA. Any amendment to this Constitution shall require two-third vote of the General Assembly. Only members who have been official members of this organization for at least one year can vote on amendments proposed.