Charter

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Article I. NAME 
Article II. OBJECTIVES 
Article III. FUNCTIONS 
Article IV. MEMBERSHIP 
Article V. OFFICERS
Article VI. COMMITTEES 
Article VII. MEETINGS
Article VIII. AMENDMENTS 

Article I. NAME

The name of this organization is the Section on Risk Analysis (hereafter called the “Section”) of the American Statistical Association (hereafter called the “Association”).

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Article II. OBJECTIVES

The principal objectives of the Section are to study and develop the methodology of risk analysis and risk assessment and to develop its applications to various subject matter areas.

In pursuing these objectives, the Section will work closely and coordinate with other sections of the Association whenever appropriate.  The Section recognizes that there are many shared interests with other sections including, but not limited to:

 

  1. Statistics in Defense and National Security
  2. Government Statistics
  3. Physical and Engineering Sciences
  4. Statistics and the Environment
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Article III. FUNCTIONS

In support of the Section’s objectives, the Section will perform the following functions:

  1. Organize sessions at meetings of the Association
  2. Conduct workshops and/or conferences
  3. Sponsor joint meetings with other professional societies

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Article IV. MEMBERSHIP

Members of the Association may join the Section by paying Section dues.  Section dues are set by the officers of the Section and may be altered annually in consultation with the Treasurer of the Association.  The membership year for each member of the Section shall coincide with that member’s membership year within the Association.

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Article V. OFFICERS

Section officers must be members of the Section.  The officers of the Section include the Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, Publications Officer and Representative(s) to the Council of Sections. The number of Representative(s) to the Council of Sections is determined by the Association’s Council of Sections Governing Board.  These are all voting members of the Section; these individuals may vote on financial matters and official business of the Section.

The Chair-Elect, Program-Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer and the Representative(s) to the Council of Sections must be elected.  The term of the Chair-Elect and Program-Chair-Elect shall be one year and shall automatically succeed the Chair on January 1 of each year.  The term of the elected Secretary/Treasurer is two years and will begin on January 1 following the election. The terms of Representative(s) to the Council of Sections are prescribed in the Charter of the Council of Sections.  All officers have voting rights for the Section.

The Chair is the chief officer of the Section and is a member of its Executive Committee. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may designate committees or individuals to carry out functions of the Section. The Chair shall coordinate the work of the officers and committees of the Section. The Chair shall review the regular financial reports provided by the Association's central office.

 

The Chair-elect shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and preside over meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair. In consultation with the Chair, the Chair-elect shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-elect is Chair.  In the year in which the Chair-elect is elected, s/he shall coordinate the execution of the student awards for the following year’s annual Association meeting.

 

The Secretary/Treasurer shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee. 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.

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 Executive Committee and also as a member of the Association's Program Committee. 

The Program Chair-elect shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and assist the Program Chair and is responsible for organizing the Section’s round tables at the following year’s annual Association meeting.

The Publications Officer shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and also as the Section's representative on Association committees concerned with section publication matters. The Publications Officer shall coordinate activities within the Section related to publications sponsored by the Section including the Section’s website. The Publications Officer shall solicit the views of the Section's members concerning the content and operation of the Association's journals and shall bring those views to the attention of the Editors. When requested by the Editors, the Publications Officer shall assist in soliciting, reading, and editing articles on risk analysis and risk assessment for publication in the Association's journals.  An additional responsibility of the Publications Officer is to organize Section-sponsored Webinars.  The Publications Officer is expected to collect input from other members of the Executive Committee regarding Webinar topics and speakers.

The Representatives to the Council of Sections shall serve as members of the Executive Committee and shall represent the interests of the Section and its members on matters that come before the Council of Sections.

An individual may hold no more than one office within the Section at a given time.  If the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Past Chair shall become the Chair, with the term extending through the following year.  Vacancies in other offices shall be filled by appointment by the Chair.

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Article VI.  COMMITTEES

1.Types of Committees


The Committees of the Section shall consist of Standing Committees as provided by this Charter, and Standing and Current Committees as established by the officers of the Section. Current Committees may be established in order to satisfy a particular need or interest of the Section.

A quorum of 50% of voting members must be present at official meetings for all committees, and an opportunity for discussion of matters requiring vote must be allowed. Formal motions and financial disbursements must occur during official meetings of committees.

 
2. Membership

The term of membership on Standing and Current Committees, if not otherwise specified in this Charter, shall be established by the Chair. Each committee shall be governed by a chair appointed by the Chair of the Section, unless otherwise specified in this Charter. All members of Standing Committees and the chairs of Current Committees shall be members of the Section.

Current Committees established in accordance with this article may be dissolved at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

3. Standing Committees

a. Executive Committee 

The Executive Committee of the Section shall consist of the officers of the Section and the immediate past Chair of the Section. Between business meetings, the management of the affairs of the Section shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee, subject to such standing rules as the business meeting may from time to time provide.

b. Nominations Committee

The Section's immediate past Chair shall serve as Chair of the Nominations Committee. The current Chair and the Chair-elect shall also serve on this committee. Each year the Nominations Committee shall submit to the Secretary of the Association and the Section Chair at least two nominations for each position to be filled. The Association's general deadline for submission of nominations shall apply. In addition, any Section member nominated by petition of at least 5% of the membership of the Section shall also appear on the annual ballot, provided that the petition is presented to the Section Chair and to the Secretary of the Association within the Association’s balloting timelines. Balloting shall be carried out as part of the Association's annual election for Association and Section officers.

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Article VII. MEETINGS

The annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in connection with the annual meeting of the Association and shall be announced in advance, preferably in the printed program for that meeting. A year in review of activities, plans for future activities, and a Treasurer’s Report will be presented at this meeting. A quorum of 50% of voting Section officers must be present at the official annual business meeting.

Section business may also be conducted with the Section membership by mail or electronic communication.

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Article VIII. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this charter may be proposed by the officers of the Section, or via a petition signed by at least five percent of the membership of the Section and submitted to the Section Chair. The proposed amendment shall be submitted to the members of the Section for a vote at the time of the Association’s annual election.

If approved by a majority of members voting, the amendment shall take effect immediately, or at such other time as specified in the amendment. Copies of approved amendments shall be filed with the Secretary of the Council of Sections and with the Secretary of the Association.

 


Revised December 2018 by the Executive Committee of the Section on Risk Analysis.  Approved May 2019 by section members.