Constitution

The International Primatological Society is incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. This status will be maintained according to the laws of the country of residence of the Secretary General, the legal office of the Society. When necessary, addenda that will guarantee the tax exempt status of the Society may be made to the Bylaws of the Society to provide uniformity with the laws of the country of residence of the elected Secretary General.

The purposes of the Society are to encourage all areas of non-human primatological scientific research, to facilitate cooperation among scientists of all nationalities engaged in primate research, and to promote the conservation of all primate species. The Society is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations as in, for example, section 501 (c) (3) of the International Revenue code of 1954 of the United States of America (or the corresponding provision of any future United States of America Internal Revenue Law) or the appropriate legal designation of such an organization stipulated by the laws of the country in which the Secretary General of the Society resides.

The Society knows two categories of Membership. Any person engaged in non-human primate research or interested in supporting the purposes of the Society may apply for Individual membership. Membership may not be denied on grounds of sex, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or political party. Institutions or Corporations wishing to further ideas and purpose of the Society may apply for Corporate membership.

The Officers of the Society include the President, Secretary General, Treasurer and Vice President for Membership (one office), Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Conservation, Vice President for Captive Care and Breeding, Vice President for Education, Vice President for Research, Ex-officio officer, and other officers as deemed necessary by the Council. The term of all officers is four (4) years. Consecutive terms are permissible for all officers with the exception of the President. The President will serve as the ex-officio member of Council for the term immediately following his or her term as President.

The Council consists of the elected Officers of the Society (Article 5), the ex-officio member, a representative from the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, and one representative of each of the formally affiliated organizations as defined in Article 13.

Section 1. Standing Committees of the Society are advisory to the Council and include:

Conservation, chaired by the Vice President for Conservation.
Captive Care and Breeding, chaired by the Vice President for Captive Care and Breeding.
Education, chaired by the Vice President for Education
Research, chaired by the Vice President for Research
Election, chaired by the President or a member delegated by the Council.
Congress, chaired by an appointee of the Council.
Awards, chaired by the President
Training Program, chaired by an appointee of the Council
Other Committees as deemed necessary by the Council.

Section 2. Members of the Standing Committees are proposed by the Chairmen and approved by the Council.

Section 3. Ad Hoc Committees. The President may appoint ad hoc committees necessary to the proper functioning of the Society at any time to prepare special reports or perform Society functions not otherwise specified in the Constitution and Bylaws.

Elections shall be carried out on an offset cycle such that half of the Council is elected every 2 years. The offices of President, Vice President for Communications, Vice President for Education, and Vice President for Captive Care and Breeding on one cycle and Secretary General, Treasurer and Vice President for Membership, Vice President for Conservation, and Vice President for Research on the other. Election of Officers will be carried out by mail/e-mail ballot approximately six (6) months before the convening of the General Assembly at every meeting of the Society, i.e., every two (2) years. For each open position the Election Committee will provide the names of two (2) members of the Society willing to serve in the capacity for which they have been nominated. Election ballots will be collected, tallied, and archived by the Chair of the Elections Committee.

The Society shall hold its Congress every two (2) years. The Congresses shall consist of presentations of scientific papers, invited addresses, symposia, poster sessions and other appropriate scientific activities, and shall include the convening of a General Assembly for the purpose of conducting the business of the Society. As part of this Congress, the Society shall organize training programs in various areas of primatology. An appointee of the Council will chair the organizing committee of these training programs.

An invitation to host the Congress shall not be accepted from any country denying entry to Society members on grounds sex, race, ethnic origin, nationality, and religious or political belief.

The Society will collect annual dues from the membership, the amount to be determined by the Council. The Society may receive gifts and donations from individuals and organizations that may be designated either for special projects or for the general fund. The Treasurer and Vice President for Membership shall present the financial records to the Council during the Council Meetings of each Congress. Societal banking accounts shall be audited by an outside party at the close of the term of the Treasurer and Vice President for Membership.

Amendments to the Constitution or changes in the Bylaws may be proposed by the Council, by a majority vote at a meeting of the General Assembly or by a written/e-mail petition. A written petition must be signed by twenty (20) current Society members. E-mail petitions must be accompanied by twenty (20) e-mails in support of the petition from current members of the Society. Such a proposed amendment will then be submitted by the Secretary General to the membership of the Society for a mail or e-mail ballot. Ballots will be collected, tallied, and archived by the Secretary General. At least sixty (60) percent of returned ballots must vote affirmatively for the proposal in order for it to be adopted.

The Society may publish or arrange for publication of the IPS Bulletin, with the purpose of transmission of information to the membership. The Vice President for Communications has responsibility for producing and archiving the Bulletin. The Society will maintain a website, posting organizational, membership, and program information. The Vice President for Communication has responsibility for maintaining this website.

The Society may designate one or more scientific journals as the official organ(s) of the Society, but it may not engage in the business of publication which would make it liable for the expenses or debts of such a publication. At present the International Journal of Primatology is the official organ of the IPS.

The Society may publish programs, abstracts and proceedings related to the meetings of the Society. It is the duty of the Secretary General to submit one copy of each such document to the Societal archives.

Any national or regional organization of scientists may apply to the Society for affiliation. The criteria for affiliation are: that the stated goals of the proposed affiliate are consistent with and fully support the stated goals of the Society; that at least ten (10) percent or 50 members of the proposed affiliate are members in good standing of the Society; and that the proposed affiliate is a legally constituted, nonprofit, scientific society. Collection of the Society's dues by affiliates will be negotiated by the Treasurer and Vice President for Membership subject to approval by the Council.

Each affiliate shall designate a representative to the Society to receive communications about the activities of the Society and of its Council, and to comment on these matters in the name of the affiliate.

In addition, the representative of each affiliate society with more than ten (10) PAID members in the International Primatological Society shall be a voting member of Council. In this case the representative must be one of the affiliate's officers, preferably its chief officer.

At no time will the vote of affiliate representatives exceed fifty (50) percent of the total vote of the Council. Should the total or affiliate representatives eligible to vote on the Council exceed this percentage, the affiliate representatives shall cast fractional votes distributed evenly among them so as not to exceed the fifty (50) percent limit.

Affiliation may be suspended by the Council if the affiliate engages in actions contrary to the purposes and goals of the Society or engages in actions liable to inflict serious damage to its public image. Suspensions may be appealed to the General Assembly.

No part of the net earnings of the Society shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, trustees, Officers or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furthering of the purposes set forth in Article 3. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be lobbying or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. The corporation shall not 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 provisions of these articles, the corporation shall not do any other activities not permitted to be done (a) by a corporation exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c) (2) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or corresponding provisions of governmental revenue laws of the country of residence of the Secretary General of the Society.

Upon the dissolution of the corporation, the Council shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the corporation, dispose of all assets of the corporation exclusively for the purposes of the corporation in such a manner, or to such organization or organizations, organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under section (501) (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law), as the Council shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the country in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Member Login		Research \| Conservation \| Education \| Captive Care		03/11/2010