Division 34 Bylaws

1. The name of this organization shall be the Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology, Division 34 of the American Psychological Association.

2. The purpose of this organization shall be

(a) to promote research, teaching and services in the general field of environmental, population, and conservation psychology (including study of behavior related to the size, growth and distribution of population, study of behavior related to the natural and designed environment, and study of behavior related to the interaction of environment, population, and conservation):

(b) to stimulate the exchange of information among members of the Society:

(c) to encourage the development of psychology as a science and a profession: and

(d) to develop close relations and interchange with other sciences, especially those dealing with environmental, population, and conservation phenomena.

1. Membership in this Society shall include Fellows, Members, Associates, Affiliates, Affiliates-by-invitation, and Student Affiliates.

2. Fellows shall be persons who are eligible for Fellowship status in the American Psychological Association, and who have made an unusual and outstanding contribution to Environmental Psychology, Population Psychology, and/or Conservation Psychology.

3. Members and Associates shall be persons who are eligible for like membership in the American Psychological Association and who demonstrate active interest in the fields of Environmental Psychology, Population Psychology, and/or Conservation Psychology.

4. Affiliates and Affiliates-by-invitation shall be primarily persons from related disciplines who are concerned with the study of environmental, population, and conservation phenomena from a psychological perspective. Included may be persons from any of the social and behavioral sciences, including demography, and from such disciplines as psychiatry, public health, the design professions, and fields related to the use of natural resources (such as environmental impact assessment and recreation). Affiliates and Affiliates-by-invitation shall be persons who are not members of the American Psychological Association, but whose qualifications otherwise are at least equivalent to those required for membership in the Society.

Affiliates and Affiliates-by-invitation will enjoy full rights in Society affairs including holding office and voting, and all other rights and privileges of Society membership consonant with the By-laws of the Association. Affiliates shall be elected by a majority vote of the Executive Committee of the Society, following nomination by the Membership Committee or by petition of ten Fellows of the Society. Candidates for Affiliates-by-invitation may be suggested to the Membership Committee by any Fellow or Member of the Society. Affiliates-by-invitation will not pay dues.

5. Student Affiliates shall be persons interested in or primarily engaged in the advancement of psychology as a science and as a profession, and who have met the standards of the American Psychological Association for this status. Such persons shall be entitled to attend and to participate in the meetings of the Society, without vote, and shall be entitled to receive the publications of the Society. The minimum standards for election as a Student Affiliate shall be enrollment in a graduate school of recognized standing and in a program of Environmental Psychology, Population Psychology, Conservation Psychology, or other related field. Application for Student Affiliate status shall include evidence of the above.

6. Any member may be expelled from the Society for cause by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting at an annual meeting. The vote shall be taken by secret ballot. Such vote shall be taken only upon recommendation by a special committee of three members to be appointed by the Executive Committee to investigate the particular case. The committee's recommendation will be submitted

(a) only after it has accumulated the relevant facts and has given the member an opportunity to answer the charges both in writing and by appearing in person before the committee, and

(b) after the committee's recommendations have been reviewed and approved by a majority vote taken by secret ballot of the Society Executive Committee. An affiliate membership may be terminated by action of the Executive Committee.

7. On all matters calling for action by the membership of the Society, each member shall have one vote. Voting by proxy is disallowed.

1. The officers of this organization shall be a Society President, a Society President-Elect, the immediate Society Past-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and Society Representatives to the Council of Representatives as are provided for in Article IV of the By-laws of the American Psychological Association.

2. The terms of office for the President shall be one year, preceded by one year as President-Elect and followed by one year as Past-President; for the Secretary, three years; for the Treasurer, three years; and for Society Representative, three years. No officers of the Society may succeed themselves in the same office without at least one year intervening between terms. The tenure of office for Representatives shall be so set initially as to provide for staggered terms in the future. Similarly, the terms of office for Secretary and Treasurer shall be so set initially as to provide for staggered terms in the future.

3. It shall be the duty of the Society President to preside at all meetings of the Society, to serve as chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Society, to exercise supervision over the affairs of the Society, to be ex-officio member of all committees, and to perform such other duties as are incident to the office or as may properly be required of the President by vote of the Executive Committee.

4. It shall be the duty of the Society Past-President for the one year following his/her term of office as the Society President to serve on the Executive Committee and to carry out such other duties as may be delegated by the President.

5. It shall be the duty of the Society President-elect to serve as a member of the Executive Committee, to preside in the absence of the President, and to carry out such other duties as may be delegated by the President.

6. It shall be the duty of the Society Representatives to discharge the responsibilities specified in Article III of the By-laws of the American Psychological Association, and to carry out such other assignments as may be properly imposed by the President or Executive Committee.

7. In the case of the death, incapacity, or resignation of the President, the President-Elect shall act in his/her stead, performing all the duties incident to the office. In the case of the death, incapacity, or resignation of any other officer, the Executive Committee shall, by majority vote, elect a successor to serve until the next annual meeting of the Society.

1. There shall be an Executive Committee of the Society, consisting of the Society President, the Society President-Elect, the immediate Society Past-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Society Representatives, three Members-at-large, the chair of the Student Committee, and chairpersons of all Standing and ad hoc Committees.

2. Members-at-large shall serve terms of three years. In order to effect staggered terms, the tenure for members-at-large elected at the first election shall be planned accordingly. The other members of the Executive Committee shall serve for the duration of their terms of elected office or appointment.

3. The Executive Committee shall exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Society, legislating such policies as may seem proper to the interests of the Society. This committee shall perform the duties and abide by the limitations specified in these By-laws. It shall use mail ballots or electronic voting whenever they are deemed appropriate in matters affecting Society policy. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year, before the time of the annual Society business meeting, and shall make a full report to the membership at the time of the annual business meeting. Actions of the Executive Committee are subject to approval by a majority vote of the members present and voting at an annual meeting or voting in special mail ballots or electronic voting.

4. Voting members of the Executive Committee will consist of members of the Executive Committee elected by the society members and the chair of the Graduate Student Committee elected by student members.

5. Spending and Budgets: The Society President, with assistance of the Society Treasurer, will maintain a budget for expenditures that is balanced with revenues. Capitol projects will be evaluated in terms of outcomes and impacts on division funds and savings. The President or Treasurer will seek approval by the Executive Committee of expenditures over 200.00.

1. All officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee of the Society shall be elected by a majority vote of the members casting mail ballots or electronic votes. Nominations and elections shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures of the American Psychological Association. Every effort should be made to obtain proper representation of the constituencies represented in the Society.

2. There shall be at least twice as many nominees as there are persons to be elected for each office and for members-at-large of the Executive Committee.

3. At its discretion, in order to broaden representation as to field of interest, geographic location, sex, institutional affiliation, age, etc. of the officers of the Society, the Election Committee may place one additional name on the ballot for each office for which election is being held.

4. Before a nominee is placed on the ballot, his/her willingness to be a candidate must be confirmed by the Election Committee or APA.

5. Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee shall assume office on the first day following the close of the annual meeting at which their elections are announced, and shall hold office until their successors are elected and assume office in their stead. If an officer or member-at-large of the Executive Committee fails to accept his/her election, that place shall be filled by action of the Executive Committee under Article III, Section 8, of these By-laws.

6. In the event that any society election processes or results are challenged on the basis of alleged irregularities, the Society President shall notify the full Executive Committee by phone, mail, or electronic communication concerning the allegations, and the Executive Committee shall vote on the correctness of the challenge. If the challenge is supported by a majority vote of the responding members of the Executive Committee, the election for the affected office(s) shall be speedily re-conducted by a special mail or electronic ballot of the Society membership.

1. The annual meeting of the Society shall take place during the annual convention of the American Psychological Association and in the same locality. The Society shall seek to coordinate its program with and participate in the program of the Association, and it shall transact such business and arrange for such activities as are proper to its fields of interest.

2. Other meetings may be called, as are considered appropriate and feasible, by action of the Executive Committee.

3. A quorum shall consist of those members present and voting at the annual meeting of the Society and at any other properly called and announced meeting of the Society.

1. The committees of the Society shall consist of standing committees. Standing committees will consist of a chair, chair-elect, and past-chair. Additional members of each committee can be appointed by the chair with approval from the executive committee. The President-elect has the option of forming a special committee to prepare for this person's presidential year. Additional special committees may be specified in these By-laws and such special committees as may be created by the President with the advice of the Executive Committee or established by vote of the voting membership.

2. With the exception of the Election Committee and Student Committee, members of the Standing Committees shall each serve for three-year terms with the chair serving their first year as chair-elect, their second year as chair, and their third year as past-chair. The Chair-elect will be appointed by the Society President-elect and subject to the approval of the executive committee. Chair-elect will begin their representation on the committee when the Society President-elect starts their position. .

3. There shall be a Membership Committee whose responsibility is to develop and implement programs and procedures to both recruit and retain membership in the Society.

4. There shall be a Program Committee responsible for making arrangement for the program and annual meeting of the Society in accordance with Article VI, Section 1, of these By-laws. The president may choose to chair or co-chair this committee.

5. The Committee on Fellows shall consist of Fellows of the Society. It shall be the duty of the Committee on Fellows to receive all nominations for Fellowship, to collect and consider such supporting materials as are necessary, and to recommend nominees for Fellow status in the Society, in accordance with the By-laws of the Society and of the American Psychological Association.

6. The Election Committee shall consist of the Society President, President-Elect, immediate Past-President, Secretary and Treasurer. It shall be the duty of this committee to seek suggestions from the Society membership regarding individuals to be nominated for Society offices and, in cooperation with the Election Committee of the American Psychological Association, to conduct and supervise the mail and electronic elections of the Society as provided in Article V of these By-laws.

7. There shall be a student committee responsible for promoting the interests of student members of the Society. Only student members of Society will participate in election of the student committee chair and other elected positions on the student committee. There shall be one member of the Society or Executive Committee who will serve as a mentor to the student committee. In consultation with the mentor and Society President, the student committee will determine the structure, positions, and function of their committee.

8. The President, with the advice of the Executive Committee or by vote of the membership, may create other committees. The responsibilities and functions of other special committees shall be delineated by the Executive Committee when they are established and may be changed at any time by action of the Executive Committee.

1. A part of the annual dues paid to APA by Fellows, Members and Associates reverts to the Society, as determined by APA regulations. Dues and assessments for Affiliates, who are not members of the Association, shall be established by the Society Executive Committee.

2. Dues and assessments for APA members are collected by APA. The Society Treasurer shall collect dues and assessments from Affiliates.

3. Changes in assessments shall be recommended by the Society Executive Committee and shall be decided by a majority vote of those Fellows and Members voting at an annual meeting or by mail ballot or electronic voting of the members. Dues and assessments shall be levied against all members except Affiliates-by-invitation.

1. The Society, by vote of two-thirds of the voting membership present, at any annual meeting, or by a majority vote of the voting membership voting on a mail ballot or via electronic voting, may adopt such amendments to these By-laws as have been (a) read at the preceding annual meeting, or (b) mailed or sent electronically to the voting membership at least two months prior to vote, or (c) published in an appropriate communication of this Society, or otherwise communicated to the Society voting membership, at least two months priors to vote.

1. The new Society shall come into being and these By-laws shall be in force when the Society and the By-laws have been approved by the American Psychological Association.

Notes: The last published version of the Division 34 Bylaws was published in "Population & Environmental Psychology Bulletin", 21(3), Autumn 1995, pp. 11-14.