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DUTIES SPECIFIED BY THE CONSTITUTION:
The President carries all the implied responsibilities of a chief executive officer. The following list is incomplete but identifies most of the major items of responsibility.
1. Appointed positions (Article 7 & 8). Chairpersons and membership of standing committees shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Executive Committee. All persons appointed by the President, such as committee chairpersons, serve at the pleasure of the Executive Committee.
2. Impeachment replacements (Article 8, Section 2 d). An impeached Executive Editor shall be replaced by a member of the Editorial Board chosen by the President and approved by the Executive Committee. Furthermore, the Second President-Elect, Past-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, or Program Officer shall be replaced by a Member-at-Large appointed by the President with the consent of the Executive Committee.
3. Resignation replacements (Article 8, Section 2 e). Resignations of persons appointed by the President will be filled by an appointee of the President with the consent of the Executive Committee.
4. Annual election of Fellows (Article 8, Section 3). Before obtaining nominations from active Fellows and members of the Executive Committee for the annual election of Fellows, the President shall determine the maximum number of Fellows that can be elected on any ballot. The number of Fellows shall not exceed the limit specified in Section 3 b. The election is a mail ballot conducted prior to the annual meeting (see Policy, Section 5 b 6).
DUTIES IMPLICIT IN THE CONSTITUTION:
1. Preside at impeachments (Article 8, Section 2). Although the Committee on Organization and Bylaws is charged with investigation and prosecution of impeachment charges, the President would preside over the proceedings held before a quorum of the Executive Committee (unless, of course, he/she is being impeached). (See also Bylaws, Article II, Section 1 a.)
DUTIES SPECIFIED IN BYLAWS (Article II, Section 1):
1. Assume overall concern for the affairs of the Society.
2. Preside over Executive Committee and business meetings.
3. With the consent of the Executive Committee, make committee and all other appointments necessary for the function of the Society; committee appointments are to be made for a period of up to three years. By tradition, this includes yearly temporary appointments for liaisons to related organizations (e.g., AAAS, AIBS, APS, and APA).
RESPONSIBILITIES SPECIFIED BY POLICY:
1. Appoint commissions on public issues (Section 3 a). The President with the consent of the Executive Committee may appoint commissions to represent ABS on public issues.
2. Conduct annual nomination and election of new Fellows according to Section 5 b. The election is a mail ballot conducted during the fall. Notify new Fellows early in the year, so they can arrange to attend the annual meeting of the Society where announcement is made.
3. President takes primary role in choosing one plenary speaker (e.g. a second Fellows Lecture; Distinguished Animal Behaviorist; or President's Choice) in coordination with other Plenary Committee members (Section 7d).
4. Consult with Program Officer concerning Fellows lectures (Section 7 g). Invitations for Fellows lectures shall be made by the Program Officer in consultation with the President.
5. Consult with Program Officer concerning compliance of abstracts (Section 8 e). Abstracts for papers to be given at meetings contain a statement of compliance with laws and ABS animal care guidelines. It is the policy of ABS that in the eventuality of a questionable abstract, the Program Officer will consult with the President and Executive Committee for appropriate action.
6. Send letter of inquiry (Section 8 f). A letter of inquiry shall be sent from the President of the ABS and Chairperson of the Animal Care Committee to any individual giving a paper at any of the various ABS affiliated meetings which is thought to violate the ABS Animal Care Guidelines.
7. Approve attendance of visitors at Executive Committee meetings (Section 6). Executive Committee meetings are closed to those who are not members of the Executive Committee, Standing Committee Chairs, or Officers-Elect, except at the discretion of the President.
8. Approve use of the Society's name (Section 25). The name Animal Behavior Society on items for sale requires written approval of the President in consultation with the Treasurer and First President-Elect.
9. Decide if Founders' Award for that year is to honor a deceased founder not previously honored (Section 11 a).
10. Introduce nominees for office at the ABS Business Meeting (Section 5 a 1 b).
11. Forward resolutions (Section 3 d 2). Resolutions passed by the membership usually require the President to forward the resolutions on behalf of the Society to their addressees (staff members of the White House, members of Congress, etc.).
12. Announce in November NEWSLETTER the availability of the Ethnic Diversity Fund awards to help defray some expenses of graduate students of select background to attend annual ABS meeting (Section 14). In conjunction with Treasurer, determine the number of awards to be given and set deadline for applications.
TRADITIONAL AND IMPLIED RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Sites for future annual meetings. It has been a responsibility of the President, in cooperation with the Program Officer and Secretary, to solicit invitations for sites of annual meetings (see Policy, Section 7b). The site is ordinarily approved by the Executive Committee two years in advance of the meeting. The President maintains the list of future hosts and potential hosts of ABS meetings.
2. Respond to affiliated societies. The Society is affiliated with the Division of Animal Behavior of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB), the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Coalition for Education in the Life Sciences (CELS). The President receives various material from all of these organizations, and in some cases must reply on behalf of the Society. Liaisons from ABS may be appointed to represent ABS at meetings of those organizations as well as the American Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association. By tradition, the Chair of the Education Committee serves as liaison with CELS and the Chair of the Public Affairs Committee serves as representative to the AIBS Public Responsibilities Program.
3. Oversee ABS activities. The President often receives outside inquiries about the activities of ABS and so must keep breast of the actions of its officers and committees. The President should work closely with the Secretary and others to insure that procedures are followed for election of new officers, nominations occur for forthcoming elections, the Newsletter contains all the information that should be getting to the membership, the annual meetings are well planned and preparations are on schedule, and so on.
4. Maintain and update the ABS public relations "Goals and Objectives" statement and promote governmental support of animal behavior research in Washington (D.C.) and in Ottawa.
5. Preside at annual banquet. The President usually conducts the ceremonies at the conclusion of the banquet, which include thanking the Host and his/her local committee, introducing persons who are scheduled to make remarks and present awards, including the First President-Elect for presentation of the Founders' Award and the Second President-Elect for presentation of the Allee Award. Usually there is a talk or some form of entertainment following the after-dinner ceremonies; for this, the podium is ordinarily turned over to the Local Host.
6. Notify new Fellows. Since the President conducts the election of new Fellows, he/she should either notify them directly or have the Secretary do this.
7. Schedule Executive Committee meetings. Ordinarily, the President as presiding officer has the responsibility for setting the time, place, and agenda of meetings in coordination with the Secretary. The Executive Committee meetings will ordinarily be arranged in consultation with the Program Officer, who in turn is the liaison with the Local Host(s). The President is responsible for informing Executive Committee members and committee chairs of the meeting schedule and agenda.
8. Schedule annual business meeting. The time and place of the annual business meeting of the Society is usually scheduled by the Program Officer, who checks with the President. It is, however, ultimately the responsibility of the President to hold such a meeting annually.
9. Set agenda for business meeting. The President, in consultation with the Secretary, determines the agenda for that annual business meeting.
10. Submit annual report. It is a traditional responsibility of each officer and committee chair to submit an annual report in writing. The President not only should prepare his/her report but also should ensure that others do so as well. Each member of the Executive Committee (and, by tradition, each committee chair) should receive a copy of each report a month before the meetings. Annual reports should include expenses and budget request.
11. Submit annual report, correspondence files, and other appropriate archive materials to Historian.
12. Provide suggestions to the Parliamentarian regarding revisions to this statement on the duties of this office.
SUGGESTIONS:
1. Parliamentary procedure. It is useful for the President to become familiar with parliamentary procedure in order to conduct business efficiently at the business meeting and Executive Committee meetings. Although Robert's Rules of Order have not been adopted officially by the Society, in the absence of any other specification the procedures laid out therein form a useful guide.
2. Executive Committee meeting schedule. The traditional pattern has been to meet more or less for the entire day preceding the opening of the annual meeting. This means that the President must arrange with the Local Host, usually through the Program Officer, for a meeting room and also to have dormitory space for arrivals the preceding evening (a day before most of the membership arrives). It is also useful to arrange to have meals available for the participants of the E.C. Meeting. Usually it is necessary to have an additional Executive Committee session, often scheduled after the ABS annual business meeting to deal with any new issues that arise during that meeting. Arrange for a meeting room and announce the time, place, and agenda.
3. Executive Committee meeting agenda. There is no set policy on this point and the President has whatever latitude he/she needs to conduct business efficiently. Certainly in recent years the volume of Society business that must be accomplished in these meetings requires planning and efficient conduct, working from a pre-established agenda. It is recommended that a "sequence of business" similar to that established by Robert's Rules be used: approval of the minutes of the last meeting (dispensing with their reading), reports of officers, reports of committees, unfinished business, and new business. Generally, it is most efficient to restrict the reports to an information phase, with simple approval after questions, and to defer complicated issues raised by reports and requiring action to the "business" phases. In the business phases, it is generally most efficient to have a formulated motion on the floor to focus discussion and prevent time lost in rambling. However, sometimes a discussion without motion is called for, this is justified under Robert's Rules either under the interpretation that the Executive Committee is a committee (where discussion can always take place) or else that the body temporarily forms a "committee of the whole" for the purposes of discussion without a motion.
4. Business meeting. As the minutes are published in the Newsletter, their reading is ordinarily dispensed with unless requested from the floor. Instead the Secretary ordinarily summarizes both the annual reports and the transactions of the Executive Committee. It is a good idea to introduce all the officers and committee chairpersons, so that the members can see who is currently running the Society. It is also useful to introduce the Local Host(s), allowing a few minutes for an informal report on the meeting, registration, etc. Members nominated for office should be introduced too.
The main items of business at the annual business meeting will ordinarily be changes in the Bylaws (e.g., raising of dues) and the consideration of resolutions (which will be brought by the Public Affairs Committee). It is important to strive for some best compromise between thorough discussion of these items and efficient decision for or against. This compromise may not always be easy to achieve, but keep in mind that these are almost the only issues on which members have a direct say, so when possible they should be given opportunity to speak. However, no person should speak a second time to any issue, until all persons wishing to speak have spoken; this parliamentary rule usually helps curb rambling debate.
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF PRESIDENT'S DUTIES
1. At the start of your term: the National Meeting when the duties are passed on to you
A. Weeks before, check current list of officers and committee assignments for chairs finishing their 3 year stints of service. Identify a slate of replacements that can be voted on by the EC at the national meeting. You might contact outgoing chairs for suggestions of particularly active committee members that might be moved up to chair the committee. You might also go outside for candidates. Be sure to get each nominee's acceptance of the projected workload for a 3 year term before presenting his or her name to the EC..
B. Post a volunteers needed form on all message boards at the meeting (see end of this entry). These lists will help you to identify members wishing to serve ABS by participating on a particular committee or in any way that they might be needed.
C. Prepare a short statement to be made at the banquet which should include some idea of what you hope to accomplish during your year in office.
2. Meeting aftermath
A. Send letters of thanks to meeting hosts and find out to whom they would like letters of acknowledgment of their efforts sent to (usually administrators at their institution).
B. Send letters of thanks to calligrapher who prepared awards certificates and to each of the publishers who offered cash or book awards.
C. Obtain all ongoing business from outgoing president and let interested parties know that you will now be representing ABS in these matters.
D. Send letters of thanks for services rendered to all committee chairs and members that are outgoing with specifics where possible
E. Identify new committee members for each committee requiring placements (the chair of the committee may have some people in mind and remember the volunteer list). Check with the potential new committee members to determine their willingness to serve and obtain current email addresses and telephone #s etc. to pass on to the committee chair. Send each new committee member a letter of appointment. Send list of new committee chairs and members por
F. Send a letter to each committee chair, assigning goals for the year and letting them know who their committee consists of.
G. Contact associated societies and let them know that you are now in the residing pres
for ABS.
3. Establish a president's log in which you record the date you took action, the problem, and the action taken by executive decision or as a result of majority vote of the EC. Examples of past logs can be obtained from the Central Office.
A. For important issues that come up, poll the EC by email (elected officers; no committee chairs).
B. Forward updated log to secretary periodically or at least inform the secretary of decisions made by copying emails and letters to her/him.
4. Send items for inclusion in each of the newsletters.
A. Requests for volunteers and meeting host bids.
B. Notify membership of actions taken (e.g., an anonymous report of the results of any ethics case that has come to a conclusion).
C. News that might affect the Society or field of animal behavior
D. A president's address to the membership.
5. Maintain all correspondence by date and topic for submission to ABS historian at end of your term.
6. Conduct Fellows Election. In November request list of active fellows from historian. Send request for nominations and narratives to each person on the list with directions from the handbook for officers (e.g. 1 nomination per fellow per year; the nominee must have had his/her Ph.D. for a minimum of 5 years). Be sure to include a list of fellows in your request so that fellows do not waste time nominating each other. When the nominations are in, calculate the number that can be admitted for the year (# of fellows must be less than 5% of ABS total membership). Then send out ballots to EC members with accompanying narratives and info on # that can be admitted. These ballots are to be sent to the Secretary. After the secretary lets you know the outcome of the balloting, record the new names of the fellows in the president's log.
7. Preparation for Annual Meeting
A. Send request for annual reports to all officers, committee chairs of standing and ad hoc committees, and liaisons. Ask that these persons copy all other persons on the list and send email addresses and names along with your request. Also determine who will be in attendance at the EC meeting and request that representatives attend for those who can't make it themselves. Finally ask these officers, chairs, and liaisons for items they would like to have included on the agenda.
B. Try to tie-up ongoing business so that it does not get caught in transition.
C. Prepare and send out President's report.
D. Prepare an agenda for the all day Saturday meeting including:
1. Approval of minutes from last EC meeting.
2. Brief summaries of items requiring actions in the reports of officers and committee chairs in open session. Vote on simple matters at the time. Table problems for later in the session.
3. Closed or executive session for confidential matters (elected officers only). The fellows election results will be presented here as well as ethics case problems.
4. Brief reports of meeting hosts and new meeting bids.
5. Revisit problems and try to reach decisions on these or pass them on to appropriate committees.
6. New business
7. Save bylaws changes for business meeting with the membership.
8. Budget gets voted on in short evening meeting of EC.
9. Motion to adjourn
8. The ABS Business meeting.
A. Approve minutes of last business meeting.
B. A brief statement of state of the society and major events of the year.
C. Acknowledge officers and committee chairs. Special recognition to outgoing and introduction of new.
D. Announce slate of new officers for election later in the year. Be sure to outline the procedure for additional nominations from the membership---5 signatures nominating an individual submitted in writing to past president by October 1.
E. Report of Secretary
F. Report by Treasurer
G. Report by Executive Editor
H. Service Awards
I. Recognize parliamentarian for discussion of bylaws changes requiring vote.
J. Ask for new business.
K. Motion to Adjourn
9. 2nd EC meeting
A. All reports not given at main EC meeting (people arriving late).
B. Take up matter sent to committees early in the meeting.
C. Detailed budget consideration.
D. New business
E. Motion to Adjourn
10. Banquet
A. Have host start with their local awards.
B. Acknowledge host
C. Brief report from next year's meeting host
D. Recognize new Fellows
E. Call on past President for Quest and Exemplar and Teaching Awards
F. Call on 1st President-elect for Founders Awards results
G. Call on 2nd President-elect for Allee session announcements
H. Introduce new President, pass on Robert's Rules, and turn festivities over to this person.
11. Send letter of thanks to all who have helped during the year.
12. Send off materials
A. Requiring action to new president
B. All correspondence and decisions to historian, including a set of officers, committee, and liaison annual reports.
VOLUNTEERS APPRECIATED
ABS needs and appreciates active participation by its members on standing and ad hoc committee volunteer to volunteer your services for one or any of the committees listed here: Membership, Education, Animal Care, Public Affairs, Film, Research Grants, Endowments, Career Awards, Conservation, Investments, Latin American Affairs..., you are active in another society with which ABS has an association, you might also volunteer to serve as liaison: AAAS, AIBS, APA, AAALAC, SICB.
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