There are specific guidelines for the establishment of new Chapters of the Association outlined in the ASA Constitution and the Charter of the Council of Chapters.
Guidelines for Establishing a New Chapter
National Constitution
Amending a Chapter's Constitution
Guidelines for Establishing a New Chapter: From time to time, groups of ASA members and others interested in statistics believe it is desirable to form new Chapters of the American Statistical Association. These groups are typically located in geographic areas not served by an existing Chapter of the Association, but on other occasions members of a Chapter that serves a wide geographic area decide to form a new Chapter within that area. Through formal or informal communication with the ASA office, a group will let their intentions be known. In turn, the ASA office will provide advice and guidance to the prospective Chapter. This assistance will include providing a copy of this handbook, listings of present ASA members within the desired service area and information on all present ASA Chapters within the immediate areas, including current lists of Chapter officers.
The ASA office will also Communicate new chapter formation guidelines as per below.
The purposes of these guidelines are not only to outline the necessary steps to becoming a Chapter but also to stress that support will be provided by the ASA office, by the Council of Chapters Governing Board, and particularly by the Vice Chair of the District concerned.
Chapters will be considered “new” for the first two years after the granting of their charter. During this time, new Chapters will receive special attention and support from the ASA office and from their District Vice Chair.
ASA guidelines for a group of members or prospective members of ASA who desire to form a local Chapter of ASA are as follows:
- Call a meeting of all persons in the area who might be interested in supporting a Chapter of ASA. Carefully consider the motivation for creating the new chapter and objectively discuss whether or not potential changes in how existing chapters are managed might accommodate the needs expressed by your group.
- If sufficient interest exists, elect officers, including a President, Secretary, Treasure and Chapter Representative. Other officers (such as President-Elect, Vice President, and
- Treasurer) may also be elected at the discretion of the Chapter. Note that the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chapter Representative must be full members of ASA.
- Submit a petition signed by at least 15 ASA members, including new members, and by all elected officers of the Chapter to the ASA Chapters Liaison.
- The petition should include the names, mailing addresses, business affiliations, email addresses, and telephone numbers of all members. At this time, a proposed constitution should also be forwarded using the style illustrated in the sample constitution contained in this document. An ASA membership application and/or current dues payment for each new full ASA member must proceed or accompany the petition.
- Together with the petition discussed above, submit a statement (in a covering letter) detailing the members’ reasons for wishing to form a new Chapter along with an outline of plans for the Chapter's program during its first three years of existence. This letter should also include a statement of the benefits of forming a new Chapter and it should indicate how the nearest existing Chapters are unable to meet their needs.
- Also submit to the ASA Chapters Liaison, letters stating opinions on the advisability of founding the new Chapter. These letters should be obtained from the Presidents of the three nearest Chapters of the proposed Chapter. In case of disagreement concerning formation of the new chapter, the letter from the President of an existing Chapter should include specific comments on how that chapter feels the needs of the proposed new chapter constituency are being addressed by the status quo.
- On receipt of the petition and supporting materials, the Chapter and Section Relations
Coordinator will forward the materials to the District Vice Chair in whose District the proposed Chapter resides, as well as to the Committee on Chapter Status. The District Vice Chair will speak with the proposed Chapter President and discuss the duties and responsibilities of the Chapter and its officers. If disagreements exist among present Chapters as to the desirability of the Chapter being chartered, the District Vice Chair will attempt to resolve the disagreement with all disagreeing Chapters. The Vice Chair will explain the ASA policy of special aid the "new" Chapter and will encourage the new Chapter President to take full advantage of the benefits. The Vice Chair will then make a written recommendation to the Committee on Chapter Status, which will in turn pass this information on to the Governing Board, along with any additional comments this committee may wish to make. A majority vote of the Council of Chapters Governing Board will determine the decision on the petition.
Each new Chapter must have a constitution that is consistent with the ASA Constitution and Bylaws. Each Chapter’s constitution shall provide for:
- Regular and special meetings
- Officers’ duties and election
- Membership qualifications, duties, and dues
- Committees
- Procedures for amending the constitution
Sample chapter constitution
National Constitution: Any and all applicable provisions of the Constitution of the American Statistical Association shall be considered a part of a Chapter’s Constitution.
Amending a Chapter’s Constitution: A Chapter Constitution may be amended by an affirmative 2/3 (two-thirds) vote of the voting Chapter members at any meeting, provided notices of such a meeting and the proposed amendment shall have been sent to each regular and associate member at least two weeks prior to the date of such a meeting. In the event of a mail ballot, the votes of the members responding will be considered the same as the vote of a member voting at the meeting.