The CONSTITUTION
of The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion
ARTICLE I. NAME
Section 1. This Association shall be known as The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
Section 1. The purpose of The Academy shall be to encourage and stimulate investigation and study which will increase the knowledge of cardiovascular perfusion, to correlate and disseminate such knowledge.
Section 2. To attain this purpose, The Academy shall hold at least one scientific meeting every year in which free discussion shall be featured; shall conduct a Journal for the publication of the papers presented at this meeting, and other acceptable articles; and shall undertake such other activities as the Council or The Academy as a whole may decide.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. There shall be five (5) classes of members: Honorary, Senior, Fellow, Member and Student. Admission to membership in The Academy shall be by election. Membership shall be limited, the limits on the respective classes to be determined by the By-laws. Only Fellow and Senior Members shall have the privilege of voting or holding office, except as provided by the By-laws.
Section 2. Election to Honorary, Senior, Fellow, or Member Membership shall be for life, subject to the provisions of Section 3 following.
Section 3. Membership may be voluntarily terminated at any time by members in good standing. The Council, acting as a Board of Censors, may recommend the expulsion of a member on the grounds of moral or professional delinquency, and submit his name, together with the grounds of complaint, to the Academy as a whole at any of the regularly convened meetings, after giving the member so accused ample opportunity to appear in his own behalf.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS AND GOVERNMENT
Section 1. The officers of The Academy shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and five (5) Councilors. These officers and councilors shall be the governing body of The Academy, shall be called the Council, and shall have full power to act on all matters, except as follows:
- They may not alter the initiation fees or annual dues, nor levy any general assessments against the membership, except that they may, in individual cases remit annual dues or assessments.
- They may in no way change the Constitution or By-laws.
- They may neither elect new members nor alter the status of existing members, other then to apply the provisions of Article III, Section 3.
Section 2. Officers and Councilors shall be elected at the annual meeting of The Academy, and shall take office upon conclusion of the meeting.
The President and the Vice-President shall be elected for a one-year term of office and neither may be re-elected to succeed himself in the same office.
The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected for a one-year term of office, and any or all may be re-elected indefinitely.
The outgoing President shall automatically become a Councilor for a one-year term of office.
The other four Councilors shall be elected one each year, for a four-year term of office, but no Councilor may be re-elected to succeed himself.
Section 3. Vacancies occurring among the Officers and Councilors during the year shall be temporarily filled by the action of the Council, subject to approval of The Academy at the next regularly convened meeting.
ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
Section 1. At the opening session of the annual meeting there shall be elected, after nomination from the floor of The Academy, a Nominating Committee of three. This Committee shall prepare a slate of nominees for officers and councilors and shall present their report at the Executive Session of The Academy.
Section 2. The Council is empowered to appoint a Membership Committee; an Auditing Committee, Program Committee and such other committees as may in its opinion be necessary. All such committees shall render their report at the Executive Session of The Academy.
ARTICLE VI. FINANCES
Section 1. The fiscal year of The Academy shall coincide with a calendar year. The books of The Academy shall be kept and audited on this basis.
Section 2. Members shall contribute to the financial maintenance of The Academy through the medium of initiation fees, annual dues, and special assessments. The amount of the annual dues and the initiation fees shall be determined by the By-laws. If, at the end of any fiscal year, there be a deficit in the current funds of The Academy, the Council may send out notices to that effect and invite Fellow members to contribute the necessary amount so that no deficit be carried over from one fiscal year to another. The Academy may, in any regularly convened meeting, vote a special assessment for any purpose consistent with the objects of The Academy (Article II) and such special assessment shall become an obligatory charge against the classes of members affected thereby.
ARTICLE VII. MEETINGS
Section 1. The time, place, duration, and procedure of the annual meeting of The Academy shall be determined by the Council, and the provisions of the By-laws.
Section 2. A special meeting of The Academy may be called on one month’s notice on the written request of fifteen members. The specific purposes of the meeting must be stated in the request and in the official call for the meeting.
Section 3. There shall be an annual meeting of the Council.
ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS
Section 1. This Constitution shall in no wise be changed except by three-fourths vote of the members present at an annual meeting, and further provided the proposed alteration or amendment shall have been moved and seconded at a previous annual meeting, and that printed copies of the suggested alteration or amendment shall have been circulated among the members, and that the members shall have been specifically advised that such alterations or amendment will be voted upon.
ADOPTED: January, 1980
REVISED: January, 1986
REVISED: January, 1996
REVISED: January, 2008
BY-LAWS
To The CONSTITUTION Of The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion
ARTICLE I.
Section 1. These by-laws shall merely interpret the Constitution and specifically apply its principles. They shall set forth no principles not included in the Constitution.
ARTICLE II.
Section 1. All papers read before The Academy become the property of The Academy. Authors shall leave original copies of their manuscripts with the Editor or Reporter, at the time of presentation, for publication in the official journal.
Section 2. When the number of papers makes it desirable, the Council may require authors to present their papers in abstract, and may set a time limit on discussions.
Section 3. Members are urged to cooperate with all Scientific Committees of The Academy.
Section 4. Attendance at the Annual Meetings and participation in the scientific programs shall be optional for all Honorary and Senior Members, but it shall be expected from all Fellows and Members.
Section 5. While the scientific session of the annual meeting is held primarily for the benefit of the members of The Academy, it may be thrown open to non-members who are able to submit satisfactory credentials, who register in a specific manner, who pay such registration fee as may be determined and published by the Council from year to year.
ARTICLE III.
Section 1. Candidates for Fellow membership in this Academy must be formally nominated and seconded, in an approved manner, by not less than three Fellow or Senior members or as provided by Section 6, ARTICLE II. Such nomination must have been in the hands of the Membership Committee for not less than two (2) months, and the name of the candidate must be distributed to The Academy Fellow membership as a whole before final action may be taken on any new candidate for election to Fellow Membership.
Provided the foregoing requirements have been met and the candidates have been approved by the Membership Committee and by the Council, their names shall be presented to The Academy at a regularly convened annual meeting for final action. A three-fourths vote of those present and voting shall be required to elect. Any candidate for membership in this Academy who has failed of election for three successive years shall automatically cease to be a candidate and may not be re-nominated until a lapse of three years.
Section 2. Fellow Membership shall be limited to two hundred (200). The candidate to be eligible must a citizen of the United States of America or Canada, unless in unusual cases this citizenship requirement shall have been waived by the Council. The candidate shall have achieved distinction in the field or shall have made a meritorious contribution to knowledge pertaining to cardiopulmonary perfusion.
Section 3. The number of Senior members shall be unlimited. Fellow members automatically advance to Senior membership at the age of sixty years. In addition, a younger Fellow member may be eligible for Senior membership if incapacitated by disability or by retirement from the field of perfusion, but for no other reason.
Section 4. Honorary Membership shall be reserved for such distinguished persons as may be deemed worthy of this honor by the Council with concurrence of The Academy.
Section 5. Candidates for Member Membership in this Academy must be formally nominated and seconded by the Membership Committee. Provided the foregoing requirements have been met, and the candidates have been approved by the Membership Committee, their names shall be presented to The Academy at a regularly convened annual meeting for final action. A three-fourths vote of those present and voting shall be required to elect. Any candidate for membership in this Academy who has failed election for three successive years shall automatically cease to be a candidate and may not be re-nominated until a lapse of three years. The number of Members shall be unlimited.
Section 6. A Member may apply for Fellow Membership after having been a Member for three years. It is not necessary to have three Fellow Members nominate and second this membership application, but this application must proceed through the Membership Committee, Council, and The Academy in the same manner as prescribed for direct Fellow Membership application.
Section 7. Candidates for Student Membership in this Academy must be enrolled in an accredited perfusion school. The Student Membership Application must be accompanied by a letter from the perfusion school program director verifying the student’s status and stating the expected date of graduation of the student. Provided the foregoing requirements have been met, and the candidates have been approved by the Membership Committee, their names shall be presented to The Academy at a regularly convened annual meeting for final action. A three-fourths vote of those present and voting shall be required to elect. Upon graduation from perfusion school or lack of enrollment in school, the Student Member shall lose his/her Student Membership. The number of Student Members shall be unlimited.
Section 8. The report of the Membership Committee shall be rendered at the annual Executive Session of The Academy. Candidates shall be presented in groups in the following order: Candidates for Honorary Membership; retirement of Fellow members to Senior membership; Candidates for Fellow Membership; Candidates for Member Membership; Candidates for Student Membership; members dropped from the rolls of The Academy.
Section 9. The Council shall recommend that any Fellow or Member whose dues are in arrears for one year, or who has been absent without sufficient excuse from three consecutive meeting, have his membership terminated.
Section 10. Notwithstanding Section 6, any member of The Academy over 60 years of age is excused from the attendance requirement and upon his specific request may likewise be excused from payment of dues.
Section 11. No “on the job” (OJT) trained perfusionist, trained after December 31, 1981, shall be elected to membership in the Academy.
ARTICLE IV.
Section 1. The President of The Academy shall perform all duties customarily pertaining to the office of President. He shall not only preside at all meetings of The Academy, but also at all meetings of the Council. The President shall be elected from the Fellow or Senior Members of The Academy.
Section 2. The Vice-President of The Academy shall perform all duties customarily pertaining to the office of Vice-President, not only as to The Academy, but as to the Council. The Vice-President shall be elected from the Fellow or Senior members of The Academy.
Section 3. The Secretary of The Academy shall perform all duties customarily pertaining to the office of Secretary. They shall serve not only as Secretary of The Academy, but also Secretary of the Council. The Secretary shall be elected from the Fellow or Senior members of The Academy. When deemed appropriate, a Fellow or Senior member may be elected to serve as an understudy to the Secretary in anticipation of the latter’s retirement from office.
Section 4. The Treasurer of The Academy shall perform all duties pertaining to the office of Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be elected from the Fellow or Senior Members of the Academy.
Section 5. The Councilors of the Academy shall hold office as specified in the Constitution. They shall be elected from the Fellow or Senior members of The Academy.
Section 6. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of President, the Council shall advance the Vice-President to the Presidency and appoint a new Vice-President under the provisions of ARTICLE IV, Section 3, of the Constitution.
ARTICLE V.
Section 1. The nominating committee shall consist of three (3) Fellow or Senior members who are, by preference, also past Presidents of The Academy and in attendance at the meeting. They shall be elected in accordance with the Provisions of ARTICLE V. Section 1, of the Constitution. The Council shall instruct the Committee as to the vacancies which are to be filled by election.
Section 2. The Membership Committee shall consist of five (5) Fellow or Senior members appointed in accordance with the Provisions of ARTICLE V, Section 2, of the Constitution. The Council may appoint not more than one of its own members to serve on this Committee. The duties of the Membership Committee are to investigate all candidates for membership in The Academy and to report their findings as expeditiously as possible to the Council through the Secretary of The Academy. This Committee is also charged with searching the literature of this and other countries to the end that proper candidates may be presented to The Academy for consideration. Appointment to this Committee shall be for a period of one year, and not more than three of the members may be re-appointed to succeed themselves. This Committee is also charged with maintaining a record of membership attendance and participation in the scientific programs and reporting to the affected members and to the Council any deviation from the requirement of ARTICLE II, Section 4, of these by-laws.
Section 3. The Auditing Committee shall consist of three Fellow or Senior members appointed in accordance with the Provisions of ARTICLE V, Section 2, of the Constitution. None of these may be selected from the Officers or Councilors of The Academy. Their duty shall be to audit the accounts of The Academy each year and render their report to the Executive Session of The Academy. Appointment of this Committee shall be made for a one-year term. Not more than two members may be re-appointed to succeed themselves.
Section 4. The Program Committee shall consist of five members. The President of The Academy, the Secretary of The Academy, and three members-at-large; one of whom shall be a resident at or near the place of annual meeting. The duties of this Committee shall be to arrange in conformity with the instructions from the Council, the scientific program for the annual meeting.
ARTICLE VI.
Section 1. Honorary Members of the Academy are exempt from all initiation fees, dues, and assessments.
Section 2. The annual dues and any initiation fees for Fellow, Member, Senior and Student Members shall be established by four fifth’s (4/5) majority vote of the members present at the Annual Business Meeting.
ARTICLE VII.
Section 1. When The Academy convenes for its annual meeting, it shall immediately go into executive session, but the business at this session shall be limited to:
- Election of Nominating Committee.
- Appointment of necessary committees.
- Miscellaneous business of an urgent nature.
Section 2. The annual executive session of The Academy shall be held on the closing day of the annual meeting. The order of business shall be:
- Reading of the minutes of the preceding meetings of The Academy and Council.
- Report of the Treasurer for the last fiscal year.
- Report of the Auditing Committee.
- Report of the Treasurer for the current year to date.
- Report of the Program Committee.
- Action on amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws.
- Action of recommendations emanating from the Council.
- Unfinished Business.
- New Business.
- Report of the Membership Committee.
- Election of new members.
- Report of the Nominating Committee.
- Election of officers.
Section 3. There shall be an annual meeting of the Council.
ARTICLE VIII.
Section 1. These by-laws shall in no ways be changed except by a two-thirds vote of the members present at the annual meeting of The Academy, and further provided that the proposed action or amendment shall have been moved and seconded by not less than three-fourths of the members in the properly convened annual or special meeting of The Academy.
Section 2. These by-laws may be suspended in whole or in part for a period of not more than twelve hours by a unanimous vote of those present at any regularly convened meeting of The Academy.
ADOPTED: January, 1980
REVISED: January, 1986
REVISED: January, 1995
REVISED: January, 1998
REVISED: January, 2008