Charter

ASA Section on Statistical Consulting
Charter
(Revised: 1997, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2022)

Article I. NAME

The name of this organization is the Section on Statistical Consulting (hereafter called the Section) of the American Statistical Association (hereafter called the Association).

Article II. OBJECTIVES

The special interests of the Section are encouraging and facilitating best practices in statistical consulting and developing statistical collaborators involved in interdisciplinary research. The Section fosters the increased and improved use of statistical thinking through effective client/consultant relationships. The Section achieves these objectives by providing a forum for the interchange of ideas and information on statistical consulting and the education of statistical collaborators. The Section may engage in specific activities appropriate to pursue the above objectives, including but not limited to:

1. Foster the role of the statistical consultant.
2. Regularly communicate information on statistical consulting through the Section’s ASA microsite and/or appropriate publications.
3. Sponsor sessions at Association meetings and in other settings to encourage best practices in statistical consulting.
4. Coordinate efforts with other Sections of the Association and with other societies and organizations.
5. Encourage improved training of statistical collaborators and promote effective innovative training methods.
6. Study the organizational structure of the training of consultants and the placement of consultants within academic or non-academic organizations.
7. Promote the use of ethical standards in statistical consulting.
8. Promote the professional stature of consultants and statistical scientists, in general.

Article III. MEMBERSHIP

Any Association member may become a Section member by paying the Section dues appropriate for their type of Association membership. The membership year for each Section member shall coincide with that member's Association membership year. An individual may hold no more than one office within the Section at a given time.

Article IV. OFFICERS

All officers must be Section members in accordance with Article III above. The Section officers shall be the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Past Chair, the Secretary/Treasurer, the Program Chair, the Program Chair-Appointee, the Communications Officer, the Activity Coordinator, the Webmaster, the Publications Officer, three at-large members of the Executive Committee, the Representative(s) to the Association's Council of Sections, and up to two Student Liaisons. The number of Representatives shall be determined by the Charter of the Association’s Council of Sections. The Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, the Publications Officer, the three at-large members, and the Council of Sections Representative(s) are elected; the Chair-Elect succeeds the Chair who succeeds the Past Chair; all other officers are appointed. All members of the Executive Committee are voting members.

The Chair is the chief officer of the Section and is the preceding year’s Chair Elect. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee and coordinate the work of the Section officers and committees. The Chair shall prepare an annual report on Section activities. The Chair shall regularly review the financial reports provided by the Association's online system. The Chair appoints the Communications Officer, Webmaster, Activity Coordinator, and the student liaisons, when the positions are open. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may appoint additional individuals or committees to carry out Section functions.

The Chair-Elect shall preside over meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair. In consultation with the Chair and Secretary/Treasurer, the Chair-Elect shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-Elect is Chair. Early in the Chair-Elect’s tenure, the Chair-Elect shall appoint the Program Chair-Appointee, who will succeed the Program Chair the following year.

The Past Chair is the previous year’s Chair. The Past Chair shall advise and assist the Chair and the Executive Committee. The Past Chair is Chair of the Committee on Nominations.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the minutes of all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer shall also assist the Chair-Elect in preparing the annual budget and shall monitor the Section's dues collections and expenditures and prepare an annual report on the financial condition of the Section. In the middle of the year, the Secretary/Treasurer should notify the Executive Committee of expected committee vacancies.

The three at-large elected members of the Executive Committee serve as a channel for information between the membership and the Executive Committee and serve on committees of the Section. They shall also assist the Section through special assignments made by the Chair and/or Executive Committee.

The Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall report to the Executive Committee (and, as appropriate, to all Section members) about issues being discussed by the Council of Sections, shall communicate feedback from members to the Council of Sections, and shall represent the interests of the Section and its members to the Council of Sections.

The Publications Officer shall coordinate paper and electronic publications associated with the Section including, but not limited to, Section columns in Amstat News, proceedings of meetings, and other presentations. The Publications Officer serves as Chair of the Section’s Publications Committee. The Publications Officer shall serve as the Section's representative on Association committees concerned with Section publication matters. When requested by the Editors, the Publications Officer shall assist in soliciting, reading, and editing articles on statistical consulting for publication in the Association's journals.

The Program Chair shall be responsible for developing and coordinating the Section's sessions and other program events at national and regional meetings of the Association. The Program Chair serves as a member of the Association's Program Committee. The Program Chair is the preceding year’s Program Chair-Appointee. The Program Chair presents the proposed invited program to the Executive Committee for final approval.

The Program Chair-Appointee shall coordinate the Section’s roundtable sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings and assist the Program Chair.

The Communications Officer shall distribute relevant information and updates to Section members through the Section’s microsite and discussion board.

The Activity Coordinator shall work with the Communication Officer in developing Section activities throughout the year that include webinars and potentially other activities such as mentoring and student events.

The Webmaster maintains the Section’s website and coordinates its improvement and content with the advice of the Publications Committee and Executive Committee.

The Student Liaisons shall assist the Program Chair and Program Chair-Appointee with tasks related to the Section’s program at JSM, assist the Communications Officer and Publications Officer in communicating with student members, and assist the Activity Coordinator to implement programming for students, including developing consulting skills and growing into a career as a statistical collaborator.

Article V. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee of the Section shall consist of the officers of the Section. Between business meetings, the management of the affairs of the Section shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee.

Article VI. NOMINATION AND ELECTION

Each year the Section's Nominations Committee shall submit, to the Secretary of the Association and the Section Chair, at least two candidates for each position to be filled meeting the Association's general deadline for submission of nominations. As part of the Association's annual election, the Secretary of the Association will transmit a ballot to all Section members. Additional nominations may be made by submitting a timely petition, signed by at least 25 Section members, to the Section Chair and the Secretary of the Association. Such a petition must be submitted a minimum of two weeks before the Association's deadline for including candidates on the ballot. If the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Chair-Elect shall become the Chair, the term extending through the following year. Vacancies in other offices shall be filled by the Chair’s appointment with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Article VII. TERMS OF OFFICE

The Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, Program Chair, and Program Chair-Appointee shall each serve a one-year term. The Chair, Chair-Elect and Program Chair-Appointee shall automatically succeed the Past-Chair, Chair and Program Chair, respectively, at the annual change of officers, occurring on January 1.

The Secretary/Treasurer and the Publications Officer are each elected to a two-year term.

The at-large elected members of the Executive Committee shall serve three-year terms, staggered so that one member is elected each year.

The term of office for the Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall be as specified in the Charter of the Association’s Council of Sections. Staggered elections will be used when the Section has more than one Representative. Staggered elections will be used when the Section has more than one Representative.

The Communications Officer, the Activity Coordinator, and the Webmaster are appointed for two year terms. The terms of the Communication Officer and Activity Coordinator shall be offset from each other. No elected officer shall be eligible for immediate re-election to the same office except the Secretary/Treasurer. The Communications Officer, Activity Coordinator, and the Webmaster may be reappointed.

The Student Liaisons are appointed for a one-year term. Liaisons may be reappointed.

Article VIII. COMMITTEES

1. Types. The Committees of the Section shall consist of the Executive Committee, Standing Committees provided by this Charter, and such Standing or Current Committees as the Chair may establish. Current Committees may be established to serve a particular need or interest of the Section.

2. Membership. The term of membership on Standing and Current Committees, if not otherwise specified in this Charter, shall be three years. Initial terms shall be set by the Chair for one, two, or three years so that, as nearly as possible, one third of the members shall be appointed each year. Members of committees shall serve until their successors are appointed or elected. Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, each committee shall be governed by a chair appointed by the Section Chair. All members of Standing and Current Committees shall be members of the Association. The Chairs of all Standing and Current Committees shall be Section members.

3. Normal Time of Appointment. So new members of Standing and Current Committees may begin work promptly, the Chair-Elect shall normally designate these members. If possible, the designations shall be made at least two months prior to the time when the new committee members begin their terms.

4. Standing Committees. The Standing Committees provided by this Charter are as follows:

5. Current Committees. The life of a Current Committee may not exceed five years without a review of its need by the Executive Committee. Any committee that is to continue for more than one year must have a charge approved by the Executive Committee. Each committee must submit an annual report to the Executive Committee. Current Committees established in accordance with this article may be dissolved at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.


Article IX. PUBLICATIONS

Publication of non-journal periodicals, reports, proceedings, or other publications may be authorized by Executive Committee vote. Editors for Section publications shall be members of the Section and shall be appointed by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Article X. MEETINGS

The Executive Committee shall meet at the annual meeting of the Association. It may also hold additional meetings at times and places designated by the Chair with the Executive Committee’s consent. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair or by vote of two-thirds of the Executive Committee. Between meetings, the Executive Committee may conduct business by mail, telephone, or electronic means. The annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in connection with the annual meeting of the Association and shall be announced in program of the annual meeting. The officers may also conduct business with the Section members by mail, or electronic mail or other electronic means.

Article XI. AMENDMENTS