Organizational Charter

The Association of Students and Postdocs, referred to henceforth as the ASAP, is the organized representative body of students and postdoctoral research associates at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and is organizationally sponsored by the BNL Quality of Life Steering Committee.

Article I

Name - The name of the organization shall be the Association of Students and Postdocs of Brookhaven National Laboratory, henceforth referred to simply as the ASAP.

Article II

Purpose - The ASAP seeks to identify the technical and social interests of postdoctoral research affiliates and students of all levels who are actively involved in research at BNL and to promote those interests to the various departments and administration of the laboratory.  The organization shall seek to foster camaraderie by promoting social and professional interaction among the students and postdoctoral research affiliates.  The ASAP will also strive to provide professional development among this community of young scientists by organizing and encouraging participation in a wide array of scientific and research activities on the BNL site as well as in the vicinity of Long Island.  The organization is social in nature and will not deal with issues concerning wages, hours or other conditions of employment. 

Article III

Membership - Membership in the ASAP shall be restricted to only those students and postdoctoral affiliates who are employed by, or hold active appointments with, Brookhaven.  Anyone qualifying for membership in the ASAP is eligible to vote equally in all elections and referenda, to run for a leadership position in the Executive Council, or to serve on an ASAP committee. A small group of permanent BNL staff, nominated annually by the President of the ASAP and approved by the Laboratory Director, and the chair of the BNL Quality of Life Committee shall serve as Advisory Affiliates to the Association.  For the purposes of elections and voting, however, these Advisory Affiliates are not considered members of the Association.

Article IV

Officers - The offices of the ASAP shall be those of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  These four officers along with the Advisory Affiliates shall compose the Executive Council.  The Advisory Affiliates will be non-voting members of the Executive Council.  The Council shall assemble in full at least quarterly in a meeting made open to the public and advertised as such at least two weeks prior to the event. 

Section A: President

The President shall:

1. act as a spokesperson for the ASAP in the presentation of its positions and enunciation of its policies;
2. supervise the execution of all programs and activities;
3. call into being ad hoc committees of ASAP members as needed;
4. appoint and remove members of ASAP standing and ad hoc committees, subject to confirmation by a majority vote of the Executive Council
5. nominate a suitable number of Advisory Affiliates to the Executive Council
6. represent the ASAP at Quality of Life Committee meetings, or arrange for another Executive Council member to do so in his or her stead.
7. chair meetings of the Executive Council;
8. interpret this Charter at ASAP General or Executive Council meetings. In the President's absence, this power devolves upon the Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer, in that order.
9. call additional Executive Council meetings (other than the required quarterly meetings) as needed.

Section B: Vice President

The Vice President shall:

1. assist the President in the execution of his or her duties;
2. fulfill the responsibilities and duties delegated to him or her by the President;
3. chair the Elections Standing Committee (vide infra);

Section C: Secretary

The Secretary shall:

1. record, publish, and report the minutes of Executive Council and General meetings.  The minutes of all meetings should be made available to the public via the ASAP website;
2. assist the President with the dissemination of ASAP matters to the public and membership;
3. maintain and distribute a membership list or statistics;
4. receive and document the minutes from meetings of standing and ad hoc committees;
5. chair the Activities Standing Committee (vide infra);
6. maintain the Constitution as well as supervise the revision and update of the ASAP website;

Section D: Treasurer

The Treasurer shall:

1. chair the Budget Standing Committee (vide infra);
2. be responsible for the management of all ASAP revenues and expenditures;
3. in conjunction with the Budget Standing Committee, the Executive Council and future officers, prepare the organization's budget and budget request for the following academic year;
4. provide an oral and written update on the state of ASAP finances at least once every semester to the Executive Council;

Section E: Election, Removal and Succession of Officers

Candidates for office must be members of the ASAP. Elections will be held for the offices of President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  The Vice President position will be filled by the runner-up in the Presidential election.  The officers of the ASAP shall be chosen in a membership-wide, secret ballot contest held in the month of November.  Each candidate shall provide a brief written statement of interest and biography that will be made available on the ASAP web site to the membership prior to the election.    Candidates are elected by a plurality of all votes cast for the office. Should the membership-wide election result in a tie vote, the members of the Executive Council who are not contestants in the contested office shall vote to decide which of the candidates shall become the newly elected representative . Newly elected officers shall take office on January 1 and shall serve through December 31 of that same year. No member shall hold more than one office at a time. The offices of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall have two-term limits.  All other particulars and requirements for candidacy and the elections will be decided by the Elections Standing Committee.

1. An officer of the ASAP may be removed from office for misconduct or neglect of duty, flagrant violation of the ASAP Constitution or any actions contrary to the integrity of the ASAP community. The Advisory members of the ASAP shall function in an impartial capacity to investigate any allegations brought against an officer. The officer in question shall have the right to know the allegations brought against him or her. The Advisory members and the accused officer shall have the right to present their evidence before the remaining members of the Executive Council for a final decision. The Executive Council shall have the power to remove the officer by a unanimous vote. The findings and recommendations of the Executive Council must be made in writing and made public to the ASAP membership.  Acts of ASAP officers that are criminal or violate any laboratory, Federal, or State policy or law must be taken up with the appropriate authority.
2. If the office of the Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer is vacant, the President shall nominate a candidate for that office. The nomination shall be confirmed by a majority vote of the Executive Council. Should the nominee fail to be confirmed, the President may nominate another candidate. If the office of President is vacant, the Vice President shall assume the office and nominate a new Vice President. Should the offices of President and Vice President be vacant simultaneously, the Secretary, or failing that, the Treasurer shall assume the Presidency and nominate new officers accordingly.

Article V

Committees

Section A: Standing Committees

1. Elections Standing Committee:  An Elections Standing Committee shall be formed annually to organize, conduct, and declare a winner for the elected positions of the Executive Council.   This committee shall be chaired by the Vice President, and its members shall be appointed by the President as prescribed above and upon the recommendations of the Vice President.
2. Activities Standing Committee:  An Activities Standing Committee shall be formed annually to organize and conduct on-site and off-site activities for the ASAP membership.  The Activities committee will also promote the involvement of the membership in any activities organized by other laboratory groups.  The Activities Committee will prepare a budget request for the scheduled events and that request will be submitted to the Budget Standing Committee for the proper appropriation of funds.
3. Budget Standing Committee:  A Budget Standing Committee will be formed annually to handle the appropriation of funds in the ASAP treasury to events as specified above or called for on an ad hoc basis.  The Budget Committee will also prepare a budget request and petition Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) for the funds so requested in a timely manner that is in line with the BSA budget guidelines.

Section B:  Ad Hoc Committees

1.   Various ad hoc committees may be formed as needed by the President to deal with topical issues of limited scope.  The chair of the committee and all committee members shall be appointed by the President.

Article VI

Amendments and Referenda

Section A: Amendments to the ASAP Charter

1.      Amendments to the ASAP Charter may be proposed by any ASAP member.  Any amendment so resulting must be advertised well in advance of the General Meeting in which the amendment will be considered.  Proposed amendments require approval by at least two thirds of the membership voting in any referendum in order to be accepted.  Any amendment that is not accepted may be reconsidered.

2.      A proposed amendment approved by petition shall be put to vote during the membership-wide election for ASAP officers, unless the Executive Council convenes a special membership-wide election. Ratification of a proposed amendment requires a two-thirds vote of the membership participating in the election.

Article VII

Parliamentary Authority - The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rule of Order (Newly Revised) shall govern the ASAP in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this Charter or any special rules of order which the ASAP may adopt.

Last Modified: December 3, 2007

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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