Champaign Area Psychological Society

CHAMPAIGN AREA PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

BY-LAWS

Adopted 5/88

Amended 1/17/90

Amended 9/19/90

Amended 3/23/00

Amended 4/22/08

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of this organization shall be the Champaign Area Psychological Society, herein referred to as the Society. The Society shall be a non-profit organization[j1].

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

The purposes of this society shall include providing its members opportunities for continued professional growth, the exchange of ideas, and collegiality. In addition, the Society seeks to advance the practice of psychology as a profession and thereby to advance the mental health of the people in the communities where our members practice. In the event of the Society’s dissolution, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes to the Illinois Psychological Association, within the meaning of section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. [j2]

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Full membership in the Society is open to doctoral level psychologists who are engaged in clinical practice at least part time in the Champaign-Urbana region. Each member must be licensed as a psychologist in the State of Illinois or or in a state with substantially similar licensure criteria[j3]. be in the process of transferring such licensure from another state. Each member will also pay full dues as set by the Executive Committee.

Those who have completed doctoral level training in psychology and are not yet licensed as psychologists in Illinois may become Affiliate Members for up to two (2) years while obtaining their professional license.licensure in Illinois. Such affiliate members must meet all other membership requirements. Affiliates are not voting members. An Aaffiliate Member who subsequently becomes licensed in Illinois will automatically become a Full Member without further review. Affiliate Members will be assessed a minimal membership fee to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Retired psychologists (age 55 or older) who are not current members of the Society may apply for status as Emeritus Members of the Society. Such emeritus members must have formerly engaged in clinical practice and must have been registered/licensed as psychologists in the state where they practiced. Emeritus Mmembers have the same voting rights and pay the same dues as Full Members. Emeritus Members may be assessed a minimal dues to maintain their membership as determined by the Executive Committee.[j4]

Candidates for membership must demonstrate that they meet the above educational, practice and licensure requirements. Members of the Society who retire from clinical practice automatically receive emeritus membership status upon their retirement as long as all other criteria for membership are maintained.

Doctoral students in professional psychology, who upon completion of their programs are eligible to apply for licensure as Clinical Psychologists, may apply for status as Student Affiliate Members of the Society. These individuals, upon confirmation of graduate student status by either their program director or a member in good standing of the Society would be granted student affiliate status in the society. Student affiliates will not have voting privileges and will be assessed a minimal membership fee to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Exceptions to the above membership criteria may be made in special circumstances. A petition for membership for a candidate who does not meet all the above criteria shall be made to the Executive Committee which shall determine whether to recommend admission into the society to the membership. If the executive committee recommends admission, there shall be a vote by the membership. Thirty days notice shall be given to the membership. A quorum shall be needed to hold the vote. The candidate shall be accepted into membership with a 2/3 vote.

All levels of membership will be contingent upon payment of dues by the deadline set forth in Article V.

Members of the Society shall not have the authority to act as representatives of the Society outside their regular functions as officers or committee members unless specifically authorized by a majority of the votes cast at a regularly scheduled meeting or a simple majority of the votes cast by mailemail, , electronic mail, or other online voting, provided that the the email gives the membership has two weeks in which to respond.

Membership may be revoked for failure to comply with the ethical standards of the American

Psychological Association, or for continued actions considered inconsistent with the purpose of the Society.

Concerned member(s) may initiate a request for intervention by the Executive Board. The Executive Committee shall determine how to proceed. In the case that the committee recommends membership revocation, a special meeting shall be called, giving thirty (30) days notice, to consider the membership revocation. At this meeting the member in question shall be allowed the opportunity to refute the charges in the petition. A final revocation vote must be passed by eighty per cent (80%) of the votes cast. A quorum, as defined in Article X must be present for voting to be held. See Article V for revocation of membership in the case of non-payment of dues.

A member may be placed on inactive status upon his/her written request to the Society. Such inactive status shall be limited to a period of two (2) fiscal years. Members on inactive status are not required to pay dues and do not have voting rights. They will continue to receive Society mailings. Inactive status can be terminated by payment of dues for the current fiscal year. After two (2) years on inactive status, the member will be notified by letter mail or electronic mail that if he/she does not activate his/her status within the thirty (30) days following the date of the letter he/she will be dropped from the membership roster of the Society.

Reinstatement following being dropped shall require a new application for membership following all of the procedures outlined in Article III.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS-ELECTIONS

The officers of the Society shall be President, President-Elect, Past President, and Treasurer, and one At-Large memberr. These five officers represent the Executive Committee.

The President shall preside at all meetings and perform all such other duties as are incidental to the office of President.

The President-Elect shall act as Secretary and assume the duties of President in the absence of the President. A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the President-Elect. A vacancy in the office of President-Elect shall be filled by elections.

The Past President shall serve on the Executive Committee and perform such duties as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee.

The Treasurer shall oversee all financial business of the Society and shall keep up-to-date records of Society finances.

The At-Large member shall be assigned duties as determined by the Executive Committee.

Elections shall be conducted by Nominating Committee and held by mail, electronic mail, online voting, or any other voting means judged substantially equivalent in terms of confidentiality..[j5]Officers shall be elected by a simple majority of written ballots returned by the election deadline set by the Nominating Committee, which shall be no less than thirty (30) days from the time ballots are maileddistributed. All terms of office shall expire at the end of each fiscal year.

ARTICLE V

FINANCES

The fiscal year of the Society shall begin on June 1. Report of receipts and expenditures by the Treasurer shall be made at each meeting, if requested, with a yearly summary of financial activity due to the Executive Committee at the end of fiscal year (May 31).

Dues changes shall be proposed by the Executive Committee. Membership shall be given thirty (30) days advance notice prior to the vote. Changes shall be approved by a majority of votes cast at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Dues shall be paid by October 1. DUnless a member has been granted Inactive Status as outlined in Article III, dues not paid by November 1 shall be considered delinquent, and a delinquent fee as determined by the Executive Committee of $5.00 shall be assessed.[j6] The Treasurer will notify the member by letter or email electronic mail that if dues are not paid within thirty (30) days the member will be dropped from the Society. Reinstatement following being dropped shall require a new application for membership following all of the procedures outlined in Article III.

Request for financial sponsorship of an event shall be put before the voting membership. Only events congruent with the mission of the Society shall be considered. The proposal shall be presented to the membership at least two (2) weeks before voting. Sponsorship shall be approved by majority of votes cast at a regularly scheduled meeting[j7], including proxy votes.

ARTICLE VI

MEETINGS

The Society shall hold at least four (4) meetings during each fiscal year. The time and place of each meeting shall be announced to each member at least thirty (30) days in advance of such meetings.

Guests of members are welcome to attend any regular educational or social meeting of the Society. Non-members will be required to pay a fee for attending educational Society meetings. The Executive Committee may also determine an additional fee charged to anyone attending a meeting who wishes to obtain Continuing Education (CE) credits.[j8]

Special meetings to consider changes in By-laws, ethics violations, or membership revocation and the business portion of regular meetings shall be open only to members in good standing.

A speaker fee, determined by the Executive Committee, will be assessed for non-members who attend the CEU portion of the meeting.

ARTICLE VII

COMMITTEES

The committees of the Society shall consist of the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Student Awards Committee, and such special committees as may be established by a majority of votes cast. Committee members shall be appointed by the President from among members who volunteer.

The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Past President, Treasurer, and one member elected at large. Between meetings of the Society, the Executive Committee shall have authority to act as is necessary to conduct the Society's affairs in accordance with these By-laws and the policies of the Society. The Executive Committee may assign specialized tasks to non Executive Committee members who volunteer (such as maintaining the web pages and other electronic communication). These specialized positions are not part of the Executive Committee and the person(s) appointed serve only at the pleasure of the Executive Committee.

The Nominating Committee shall consist of two members appointed by the current President from among members in good standing who volunteer. The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations for the offices of President-Elect and member-at-large and Treasurer for the upcoming year from the membership of the Society and conduct the election of officers as put forth under Article IV. Whenever possible, the Nominating Committee shall hold the election prior to the last business meeting of the fiscal year.

The Student Awards Committee shall consist of at least two members of the Society appointed by the President from among those who volunteer. The committee will solicit nominations from students and in clinical and counseling psychology at the University of Illinois and pre-doctoral interns completing their internships at local internship sites.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

Amendments to the By-laws shall be approved by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast, providing notice has been given to each member of the Society at least thirty (30) days in advance. A quorum, as defined in Article X, must be present for the vote to be held.

ARTICLE IX

ETHICS

The Ethical Standards of Psychologists of the American Psychological Association are the official standards of the Society. Violations of these standards shall be considered due cause for revocation of membership. Membership revocation for ethics violations shall follow those procedures outlined in Article

III.

Membership in the Society should not be considered evidence of professional competence or used

in a manner which implies this.

ARTICLE X

CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

Meetings of the Society shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order when not inconsistent with the By-laws.

Meetings to be open only to voting members in good standing include business meetings involving changes in bylaws, discussion of ethical violations, membership revocation, any other issues that are internal to the Society or and special meetings as called by the Executive Committee.

A quorum shall be deemed present if more than fifty per cent (50%) of the membership is represented in the voting either by their presence or by proxy. A quorum is required for voting related to membership, revocation of membership, amendments to the by-laws. All votes not covered elsewhere in the by-laws shall be by majority of votes cast. Whenever possible, membership will be notified in advance of upcoming votes. The exception to this rule would be when unusual circumstances emerge. For instance in the case of emergency situations that require action by the Society prior to the next scheduled business meeting, or if a vote needs to be taken on an emergency basis without giving advance notice. A vote by email only shall be taken under these circumstances.

Voting by proxy is acceptable in all Society business except revocation of membership in response to member petition(s) as outlined in Article III. In this instance, all votes must be cast in person at the meeting called by the Executive Committee. A proxy is defined as a voting member of the Society who is given written permission by a voting member not attending the meeting to place a vote in her/his interest.

POLICIES

ARNIE MILLER ACHIEVEMENTSPECIAL AWARDS

When finances allow, twoA graduate student scholarships will be awarded annually. One in memory of Dr. Arnie Miller and Dr. Barb Bremer , and will be called the Arnie Miller/Barb BremerAchievement AwardMemorial Scholarship. The other in recognition of Dr. Robert J. Lentz will be called the Robert J. Lentz Founder’s Award.

The purpose of the Arnie Miller/Barb Bremer award is to honor a graduate student in professional psychology whose work has promoted the psychological well-being of the Champaign-Urbana community. The purpose of the Robert J. Lentz award is to honor a graduate student in professional psychology demonstrating a commitment to the field through leadership activities, service involvement, and clinical experiences.

The student recipients of the is scholarships will be selected by thea Student Awards Committee., composed of at least 2 members of the Society appointed by the President from among those who volunteer. The committee will solicit nominations from students in clinical and counseling psychology at the University of Illinois and pre-doctoral interns completing their internships at local internship sites.[j9]

. The purpose of the award is to recognize students in professional psychology who are making contributions to the community and to the field. The nomination process will require a one-page summary submitted by any student interested in the award. The committee will select one student for each award to be recognized at a Spring CAPS meeting, and eachthat student will be awarded a $250.00 scholarship[j10].

1

[j1]This is consistent with CAPS efforts to become a non-profit entity in the State of Illinois.

[j2]This language is required for non-profit status, though we don’t have to choose IPA as our recipient.

[j3]This would allow licensed psychologists at the VA to join CAPS. VA psychologists may be licensed in any state.

[j4]Some organizations (like APA) do not assess dues to retired members, while others (like IPA) do assess dues.

[j5]Updates the by-laws to include additional ways of voting besides snail mail.

[j6]Keeping specific fee amounts out of the by-laws allows for more flexibility as inflation alters the value of currency.

[j7]We may want to delete this phrase so that we could vote by email or other online means

[j8]This would allow the Executive Committee latitude to set fees without having to consult the membership each time. Keeping the fee amount out of the by-laws allows for flexibility should some programs cost more money.

[j9]Pre-doctoral interns are another group of graduate students who we may want to consider for these awards.

[j10]Should we leave the amount of the scholarship up to the Executive Committee and not specify $250? I think we could drop the amount and let the Executive Committee decide what CAPS could afford.