By-laws of the Society 

Article 1: Name and Purpose 

SECTION 1:  The name of this organization shall be Foundation 50 Academic Society. 

SECTION 2:  The purpose of the Society shall be to help its members achieve productive academic careers through publications in indexed and peer-reviewed journals. The founding Council adopted a target of 50 publications. It will also advance excellence in scholarship and academic publishing, in particular. The Society will provide organizational support to enhance academic productivity of its members. Academic productivity is defined as publication of academic research and project work in peer-reviewed journals. The Society aims to help all its members achieve publications in national, regional and international peer-reviewed journals. 

Article II: Membership 

SECTION 1:  Categories and classes: There are two categories of membership in the Society: Full and Special. There shall be four classes of full membership: Founding, Regular, Senior, and Honorary; and two classes of special membership: Associate and Student. 

SECTION 2:  The Council, with the approval of the membership at the Annual Business Meeting, shall have the power to establish other classes of membership, change the rights, and privileges of each class, and set the amount of the dues. 

SECTION 3:  Full Membership. Full members have the right to vote, hold office, serve on committees, and receive all members’ privileges. 

Subsection A:  Founding Members. Founding Members shall be the eligible members who volunteer to establish the Society and make financial contribution of K1,000,000.00 in the founding year of 2005. Founding members will be eligible for regular membership for life and shall be granted all the privileges of Regular Members in good standing. 

Subsection B:  Regular Members. Regular membership in the Society shall be open to all individuals employed in the University of Zambia as lecturer or researcher. 

Subsection C:  Senior Members. Senior membership shall be open to those who have been Regular members for at least five years and have reached 20 publications since joining. 

Subsection D:  Honorary Members. One individual per year shall be selected by the Council and honoured at the Annual Scientific Meeting. The individual so honoured will be one who has made outstanding contributions to scholarship and academic publishing. Honoured members shall also receive Honorary Membership in the Society. Recipients of this lifetime award are not required to pay dues and shall be granted all the privileges of Regular Members in good standing. 

 SECTION 4:  Special Memberships 

Subsection A:  Associate Membership shall be open to individuals who share the Society’s values and objectives but are not employed as academic staff in the University, or those who are not employed by the University of Zambia. 

Subsection B:  Student Membership shall be open to students of the University of Zambia and academic staff development fellows. 

SECTION 5:  Expulsion. In extraordinary circumstances, a majority of the Council may vote to send an expulsion notice to a member whose conduct appears to be contrary to the best interests of the Society. The member shall be given written notice of the pending expulsion vote and offered the opportunity to present in writing or in person his or her case at the next meeting of the Council at which meeting will be required to expel the member. 

SECTION 6:  Dues Notices. The Membership Committee Chair shall in November of each year send a call for Membership dues to the memberships. Members whose dues are not paid by the end of the first quarter of the following year will lose the privileges of membership. 

Article III:  Election of Member 

SECTION 1:  Application Documents. Membership of the Society requires that candidates to complete an Application for Foundation 50 Academic Society Membership form and transmit a current copy of their Curriculum Vitae or Resume to the Chair of the Membership Committee. 

Subsection A:  The Membership Committee will verify all documents, and with the approval of Council, shall have the power to request additional documentation, add or amend specific qualification criteria, and revise the membership application form. 

SECTION 2:  Review and Approval Process: A list of applicants provisionally approved by the Membership Committee will be submitted to the Executive for activation. 

SECTION 3:  Notification and Activation. The Society Secretary will notify each individual that he or she has been approved for membership by the Society. Membership shall become effective upon receipt of dues. 

Article IV  Governance 

SECTION 1:  The Society is governed by the members through an elected Council. The Council’s Executive Committee shall make decisions and take actions on behalf of the Council between Council meetings. 
SECTION 2:  The Fiscal year of the Society shall be on a calendar year basis (January 1 to December 31). 

 Article V- Executive Committee 

The Executive Committee of the Society shall be the President, Vice-President, Society Secretary, Chairperson Membership Committee, Treasurer, and Programme Secretary. There are no specific qualifications or professional credentials required for nomination to any office beyond Full Member. Members of the Executive Committee will serve a term of two years and are eligible for re-election. A limit of two consecutive terms shall apply to all Executive Committee offices.  

A. President. The President is the highest-ranking elected officer of the Society and is directly, accountable to the members. The President chairs the Council, Executive Committee and Annual Business Meeting. The President will be the official spokesman of the Society and will receive copies of external correspondence to the Society. 

B. Vice President. The Vice-President functions as a direct aid to the President carrying out tasks that complement the work of the Society. The Vice-President shall assume the role of President in the absence of the President.  

C. Society Secretary. The Society Secretary maintains all the official non-financial records, oversees the recording of proceedings of meetings of the Society and the Council, and is responsible for the Society’s correspondence to its members. The Society Secretary, in consultation with the President, can function as the spokesperson for the Society. 

D. Programme Secretary.  The Programme Secretary is responsible for all aspects of the Annual Scientific Meeting, workshops, retreats, seminars and social events. He or she shall receive abstracts, drafts, poster presentations, assign and categorize papers for presentation, arrange for and supervise the printing of the events programme, appoint chairpersons to preside over Society’s events related to scholarship and academic publication.  

D. Treasurer. The Treasurer chairs the Financial Affairs Committee and oversees the financial records of the Society, according to the standard accounting practices. The Treasurer shall receive reports from all individuals and committees that manage funds and /or keep Society accounts. He or she presents periodic reports on the financial status of the Society to the Council and a full report to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting.  

E. Membership Committee Chairperson. The Chairperson of the Membership Committee shall chair the Membership Committee. The Membership Committee reviews all application for membership and makes recommendations in writing to the Council. The Membership Committee has the responsibility of recruiting membership to the Society.  

  Article VI Council 

A. The Council shall be the principal governing body of the Society. The Council shall consist of the Executive Committee Members and six Councillors. The Trustees are ex officio non-voting members of the Council. 

B. Quorum. A quorum shall consist of one more than half the current number of voting Council Members and must include at least two Executive Committee members. Neither the presence nor absence of a non–voting ex officio member of the Council is counted when calculating a quorum. 

C. The term of office for each Councillor shall be two years. Councillors are eligible for re-election. A limit of two consecutive terms shall apply to Councillors.  

D. There shall be six Councillors to ensure representation of the Society’s diverse membership: three Councillors from the sciences and three from the arts (arts, humanities and social sciences). 

E. Trustees. Two full professors proposed by the Executive and approved by the Council will be nominated Trustees for the Society. Trustees will serve as advisors to the Council and advocates of the Society. 

F. Vacancies. The President is empowered to appoint individuals to fill all vacant Councillor positions. 

G. Publications of the Society. The Council shall be responsible for the publications of the Society. The Society will publish a website, a digest of member publications, and other publications approved by the Council. 

  Article VII – Nominations and Elections 

SECTION 1:  All nominations will be submitted on an approved form, to the agent(s) appointed by the Trustees at a date announced by the Executive. All successful nominations will be announced at least two weeks prior to the election. 

SECTION 2:  At an Annual Business Meeting, elections will be announced. All ballots will be secret. In case of a tie the election shall be decided by a majority vote of the current number of Council Members. 

SECTION 3:  The Trustees of the Society shall supervise the election process, the counting of ballots and, with the Council’s approval, implement a voting procedure. 

SECTION 4:  Newly elected Officers and Councillors will assume their office at the close of the Annual Business Meeting following the election. Outgoing Executive Committee members shall handover Society documents and property within one calendar month. 

Article VIII- Meetings 

SECTION 1:  Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society shall be held in the month of December at such time and place as may be selected by the majority vote of Council and stated in the Notice of Meeting posted to the membership after the close of the Annual Business Meeting.  

SECTION 2:  Annual Business Meeting of the Society shall be held at such time and place as may be selected by the Council and stated in the Notice of Meeting posted to the membership. The Annual Business Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Association’s Annual Scientific Meeting and shall provide for activities required in the Bylaws and the transaction of such business as may properly be brought before the membership. 

SECTION 3:  Special Business Meeting of the Society shall be held at such time and place as may be selected by the Executive Committee, or the Council, or two thirds of the membership and stated in the Notice of Meeting posted to the membership.  

SECTION 4:  Installation of the New Council. The installation ceremony for newly elected Officers and Councillors and the presentations of the Honorary Members award shall be held at such time and place as may be selected by the Executive Committee, after the Annual Scientific and/or Business Meeting. 

SECTION 5:  Notice of Meeting. The Society Secretary shall give notice of all Society meetings stating the place, day, and hour of the meeting and, in case of a special meeting, the purpose for which the meeting is called. Such notice shall be not less than fourteen days before the date of the meeting. 

SECTION 6:  Quorum. A quorum for transaction of business shall be not less than 10% of the total full membership. 

SECTION 7:  Voting and Representation. Each full member present shall be entitled to one vote at all Society meetings. 

SECTION 8:  Society Activities. The activities and events of the Society will ensure to promote capacity of its members in scholarships and academic publications. These may include workshops, seminars, retreats, reading session, peer review sessions, journal clubs, poster sessions and lecturers. The activities will focus on improving academic writing, grant writing, proposal writing, and the journal review process. 

Article IX – Amendments 

SECTION 1:  Amendments of the Bylaws may be proposed by the Executive with approval of the Council or by petition, sent to the Society Secretary, bearing the signatures of at least 5% of the total full members. 

SECTION 2:  Notice of proposed amendments together with such supportive materials deemed appropriate by the Council, shall be circulated to the membership before a vote is taken. 

SECTION 3:  All amendments of the Bylaws require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members who submit valid ballots.

Article XI- Other Provisions 

SECTION 1:  Dissolution of the Society. In the event of the dissolution of the Society, the Council shall give all its assets to the office of the Registrar of the University of Zambia. 

 Document approved by the Founding Members Council in the year of 2005. 

 Date of first registration with the Registrar of Societies in the Republic of Zambia:

12^th day of April 2005.