Constitution and Bylaws

Constitution of the International Society for Geomorphometry (adopted 2021-09-15)

Article I. NAME

The name of this association is: International Society for Geomorphometry (ISG).

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

ISG is an international association of researchers, developers, students and other experts dedicated to the free exchange of data, tools, knowledge and opinions about all aspects of digital terrain modeling and analysis, from data collection to applications.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERS

The membership of the ISG is divided into three (3) categories: members emeriti, regular members, and student members. All members, regardless of status, have full and equal voting rights.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS & COUNCIL

The elected officers of the ISG shall be the president, the vice-president and a secretary/webmaster. The elected officers may appoint additional officers as stipulated in the bylaws.

The ISG Council shall be composed of the elected officers, and at least two (2) additional members (i.e., the councilors) elected by the Membership. All membership types should be represented. Officers and councilors will be elected at the regular meetings of the ISG and serve until the next regular meeting.

The regular business meeting will occur at each international conference organized by the society. A protocol signed by the meeting chairperson and the councilors should report on the decisions.

During the voting for the ISG council the oldest member has the rights and obligations of a chairperson during the election procedure. If the oldest runs for a position, the second oldest member will serve as the chairperson.

ARTICLE V. TAX-EXEMPT STATUS

The affairs of the ISG shall always be managed in such a way as to preserve and safeguard its tax-exempt status or its ability to achieve tax-exempt status in the future.

ARTICLE VI. BYLAWS

Bylaws not inconsistent with this Constitution shall be adopted at the time of the adoption of this Constitution and may be amended as therein provided.

ARTICLE VII. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this Constitution shall be proposed and posted on the ISG website no less than sixty (60) days before a regular meeting of the ISG. These need to be accepted by a majority vote of the members present in person or by proxy at that meeting.

   

Bylaws of the International Society for Geomorphometry

Article I. PURPOSE

The Society is organized, and shall at all times be operated exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific for the purpose of the promotion of the science of geomorphometry by the issuance of scholarly publications, the holding of meetings, the provision of assistance to research, and other appropriate means.

Article II. MEMBERS

The membership of the ISG is divided into three (3) categories: member emeriti, regular members, and student members. All members, regardless of status, have full and equal voting rights.

The council, as constituted in the constitution, may award member emeritus status to selected members.

Student members must be enrolled in full time study at a college or university. Post-docs are considered regular members.

Article III. PROFESSIONAL and ETHICAL CONDUCT

All members pledge to uphold professional and ethical standards of conduct. Failure to live up to ethical standards can result in the ISG Council terminating membership, resulting in the loss of voting and participating rights at the ISG meetings and conferences. These codes of conduct will be established and voted at the next regular meeting after approval of the bylaws.

Article IV. OFFICERS

  1. President

The President shall preside all the meetings of the ISG and the Council. She or he shall represent the ISG at all appropriate occasions.

  • Vice-President

The Vice-President shall have and assume the powers and duties of the President in the event of the absence or disability of the President. The Vice-President shall perform such other duties as may be delegated to her/him from time to time by the Council.

  • Secretary/webmaster

The secretary/webmaster shall maintain the membership of the society, the webpage, and keep records of meetings of the council and the ISG.

  • Councilors

The other elected councilors shall assist the other officers in running the ISG.

  • Others

As required, the Council can appoint other officers to help run the ISG’s business.

Article V. AD HOC COMMITTEES

Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the Council for special tasks as circumstances warrant. An ad hoc committee shall limit its activities to the accomplishment of the task for which it was appointed, and shall have no power to act except as specifically conferred by action of the Council. Upon completion of the task for which appointed, such ad hoc committee shall stand discharged. Groups in charge of organizing and running a future meeting, working group or conference could be considered ad hoc committees (cf. Article VIII). The creation of ad hoc committees shall be announced on the ISG website and on the ISG mailing list. Ad hoc committees shall produce an annual report on their activities, which shall be published on the ISG website.

Article VI. COMMITTEE PARTICIPATION

Any member of the council or a committee may participate in a meeting by means of telephone, videoconference, or similar communications allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time, and to participate in all matters before the committee, including, without limitation, the ability to propose, object to, and vote upon a specific action to be taken by the committee.

Article VII. Quorum

Quorum is required to conduct any business. Quorum will be reached if at least 25% or the membership, or 30 people attending the business meeting in person/ by delegation/ remote participation at a particular international conference organized by the ISG are present, whichever is less.

Article VIII. International Conferences

The ISG council will designate an ad hoc committee to host each international conference.

Article IX. Awards

The Council will establish criteria and selection procedures for the ISG’s awards, which include I) a Lifetime Achievement Award, II) an award for exceptional paper in the field of geomorphometry, III) a best presentation award and IV) a best student presentation award. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be attributed irregularly, and the other awards will be given at each international conference. Voting for the first two should be based on an online proposal and voting systems including all members of the ISG. Voting for the latter two should be based on members attending the conference at which they are awarded.

Article X. AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS

Amendments to the Bylaws may be made by a majority vote of the Councilors and communicated to members of the ISG immediately unless they have large impacts. In such cases an online voting needs to be organized. Every such amendment may be repealed by a majority of the voting membership at the next regular business meeting of the ISG.