Bylaws of the International Society of Motor Control
Article 1: Name
The name of this society shall be the International Society of Motor Control (hereafter the
“ISMC”).
Article 2: Purpose
Section 1 Specific Objectives
The purpose of the ISMC is to stimulate and foster education and open debate among
scientists from all nations on basic and applied research in the area of control of
movements of biological systems.
Section 2 Non profit purposes
The ISMC is a non-profit organization to perform charitable scientific and educational
services, founded on the twenty-fifth day of March 2002 and incorporated in the State of
Delaware on April 29, 2002. The Society’s Employer Identification Number is EIN 01-
06912288.
Article 3: Membership
Section 1. The categories of membership in the ISMC shall be defined as follows:
a. Regular Members shall be individuals with an established interest in any of the subareas
of motor control.
b. Student Members shall be those College and University students with a demonstrated
interest in motor control.
Section 2. The membership period is defined as two years.
Section 3. Membership is automatic to those who attend the bi-annual Progress in Motor
Control meeting, in which a portion of the registration fees are designated as membership
fees. For interested individuals who did not attend the meeting, application for
membership in ISMC can be submitted via the ISMC website and approved by the
Secretary/Treasurer.
Section 4. Membership dues shall be paid biennially by all Regular and Student Members of ISMC in the amount determined by the Executive Board (see Article 4).
Section 5. Membership in ISMC will be automatically lapsed for nonpayment of dues after the end of the current membership period. Expulsion from the ISMC shall be only a result of a two-third majority affirmative vote of the voting members of the ISMC’s Executive Board. The Executive Board shall terminate said participation for conduct deemed inconsistent with the purpose and objectives of the ISMC.
Section 6. Members in Good Standing
A person shall become a Member in good standing upon approval of the application for membership and payment of all financial obligations then due for such membership. A Member shall remain in good standing until the conditions for termination established by Section 4 are met.
Section 7. Only members in good standing shall be allowed to vote.
Section 8. Any member desiring to resign from ISMC shall submit his/her resignation in
writing to the Executive Committee for action.
Article 4: Executive Board
Section 1. Management of the ISMC
The ISMC shall be managed by the Executive Board (hereafter referred to also as “the
Board”), consisting of the Officers defined in Article 5 below and ten (10) elected Board
members. These ten members will be elected by a majority vote among all the members
in good standing from at least sixteen candidates, self-nominated or nominated by other
members of the ISMC.
The purpose of the Board is to set the policies of the ISMC and delegate to the Officers
the day-to-day operations of the Society. Reference herein to the Board shall mean the
ten elected members and the Officers comprising the Board. Reference herein to the
Board Members shall mean the ten individuals elected to be members of the Board.
Section 2. Election of the Board Members. The Board Members shall be elected by a vote
of the members in good standing of the ISMC, and shall serve until the expiration of their
term of office, and a successor has been elected and qualified. Five (5) Board Members
will be elected biennially. Voting may be by electronic means, such as e-mail or other
Internet options, pursuant to procedures approved by the Board. Each Board Member is
expected to assume his/her duties immediately upon election.
Section 3. Term of Office. The term of a Board Member shall be for a period of four
years. There shall be a limit of two (2) successive terms an individual Executive Member
may serve. After a former Board Member has had a minimum of two (2) years after the
anniversary of the expiration of two (2) consecutive terms, a member may be
reconsidered for election as a Board Member.
Section 4. Any vacancy on the Board shall be filled, for the balance of the unexpired
term, by appointment of the President and approval of the Board.
Section 5. Half of the members of the Board, including the elected member and the
Society Officers shall constitute a quorum.
Section 6. Action of the Executive Board. The vote of a majority of the Board present at
the time of the vote, presuming there is a quorum present at the meeting, shall be the act
of the Board. Each Board Member and Officer present shall have one (1) vote. However,
the Board, at its sole discretion, may authorize a proxy vote on issues for those members
who are unable to attend a specific meeting, whether special or regular, on which it
anticipates the need to make a decision in the near future. A proxy shall mean that a
Board Member or Officer may vote in writing in advance of the meeting, or authorize, in writing, that another member of the Board may vote on his/her behalf.
Section 7. Budget. The Board shall cause to have the preparation and approval of the
budget on an annual basis at least 30 days before the end of the calendar year.
Section 8. Purchases. Purchases for ISMC initiatives are directed by the Board per the
approved annual budget. Purchases shall be made by the Officers pursuant to the annual
budget, except that decisions as to specific purchases shall be made by the Officers,
except that the Board must approve any purchases over $10,000.00, by a majority vote of
the Board with a majority of then sitting members of the Board required for a quorum.
The Officers are to account to the Board for all purchases and liabilities.
Section 9. Participation. Officers and Board Members are expected to attend society
meetings and participate in all official proceedings, including those that occur during the
biennial meetings as well as during the year (e.g. consultative and voting actions
necessary for the ISMC functions), as designated by the Officers of the ISMC. Officers
and Board Members who are absent from a substantial number of meetings in a term, or
do not participate in official duties noted above, may be removed from consideration for
re-election and/or replaced, given a two-third (2/3) majority vote by the Board.
Section 10. Resignation. Any Board Member may resign effective upon giving written notice to
the President. Unless other specified in the notice, the resignation shall take effect upon receipt
thereof the President or other officer, and the acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary
to make it effective.
Article 5: Officers
Section 1. The officers of the ISMC shall be President, Vice-President, and
Secretary/Treasurer.
These officers shall perform the duties described by these bylaws and by the
parliamentary authority adopted by the ISMC. The Executive Board may have other
officers as it may determine, each of whom shall have such duties, powers and functions
as hereinafter provided. No one person may hold more than one office at any one time.
This does not preclude the ability of the President or his/her successor, in an emergency
to fill a vacancy on an emergency basis and to appoint a current Officer to temporarily act
for another Officer.
Section 2. To be eligible for election as an Officer, a candidate must either be a current
Officer seeking a second term, a current Board Member for at least two (2) years, or a
previous Board Member for one (1) full term. Any ISMC member who meets these
criteria may serve as an Officer of the ISMC.
Section 3. All Officers shall be elected to hold office by the Board. Each Officer shall
participate to the meetings and deliberations of the Board, with a vote on the Board. Each
Officer shall hold office for the term of two (2) years for which he or she is elected and
until his or her successor has been elected and qualified. Each member is eligible to be
re-elected to a second term for the office by a majority vote of the Board, with the
exception of the Secretary/Treasurer, who may hold the office for no more than three (3)
consecutive terms. After a former Officer has had a minimum of two (2) years after the
anniversary of the expiration of two (2) consecutive terms, a member may be considered
for election or re-election for that office.
Section 4. The election for an Officer who will vacate his or her office because of the two
(2) term limit, or for any other reason which is anticipated, shall be held one (1) year in
advance of the expiration of the then current Officer’s term.
Section 5. The terms of office shall begin at the close of the business session at the
biennial meeting.
Section 6. The specific duties of the officers shall be as follows:
a. The President shall be the chief officer of the ISMC. He/she shall preside over the
Executive Board. The President shall be an ex officio member of all committees, and
shall perform any other duties usually pertaining to the office.
b. The Vice-President shall perform the President’s duties in case the President is unable
to perform them. The Vice-President will also oversee the Nominating Committee to
nominate new Officers of the Society.
c. The Secretary/Treasurer shall keep minutes of meetings of the ISMC and of the
Executive Board.
In his/her absence, a Secretary/Treasurer pro-tempore shall be designated by the
President. The Secretary/Treasurer shall supervise all administrative matters including
collection of dues, maintenance of membership records, publicity, and the sending of
official meeting notices to members. He/she shall give a report at the biennial meeting of
the financial status of the ISMC. The annual financial report of the Secretary/Treasurer
shall be audited by two members of the ISMC appointed for that purpose by the
Executive Board.
Article 6: Meetings
Section 1. A biennial meeting “Progress in Motor Control” shall be held for the
dissemination and exchange of information and ideas among the members of the ISMC
and the scientific community at large; for the receipt of reports from Officers and
Committees; and for any other business that may lawfully come before the meeting.
Section 2. The official printed program of each biennial meeting shall contain an
announcement of the time and place of the next biennial meeting, if available. This
information shall also be included in the next general e-mailing.
Article 7: Committees
Section 1. The Committees of the ISMC shall be the Nomination and Elections
Committee, the Steering Committee of Biennial Meetings, the Dissemination Committee,
the Awards Committee, and such other committees as shall be appointed by the President
and approved by the Board.
Section 2. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall be composed of the Vice-
President as Chairperson and two members of the Executive Board appointed by the
President. In each biennial election cycle, nominations will be received for at least eight
candidates for election to five Board Member positions. The Committee shall ensure that
each candidate is a member of the ISMC and is qualified, able, and willing to serve on
the Executive Board.
The nomination and voting procedure should not extend beyond a period of 30 days.
Nominations can be made by any member in good standing of the ISMC, including selfnominations.
Nominees will provide their consent to the nomination and short biography
and statement of interest. Once the full slate of nominees is decided, the Nominations and
Elections Committee shall prepare a ballot and call for the election.
The election can either be implemented as ballots made on a secured page on the Society
website or e-mailed to all members in good standing. Ballots shall be submitted no more
than 30 days after the initial call for the election. Election of a Board Member or Officer
shall be made by a majority vote. Election results shall be announced in the next general
e-mailing and on the Society’s web page.
Section 3. The Steering Committee of Biennial Meetings shall be composed of the
President, acting as the Chair, by the Co-Chair (i.e., the organizer of the previous
meeting) and any other members of the ISMC, as well as non-members, appointed by the
Chair. The Committee shall oversee the arrangements for the next biennial meeting. On
approval of the Steering Committee, the local Organizing Committee shall determine the
scientific program and arrange for the invitation of speakers, solicitation, review,
selection, and programming of papers and posters to be presented at the meeting. The
Organizing Committee is invited to consult the guidelines for the biennial meeting
available as a separate document.
Section 4. The Dissemination Committee shall he composed of the Dissemination
Chairperson and two other members of the ISMC, appointed by the Board. The
Dissemination Committee shall be responsible for maintaining and updating the Internet
site and forming relations with other Societies, Companies, Organizations, etc.
Section 5, The Awards Committee shall be composed of the Awards
Chairperson and two other members of the ISMC, nominated by the Executive
Committee or self-nominated and approved by the Executive Committee. The Committee
shall be responsible for advertising the awards, receiving the nominees and setting up the
voting procedure for the awards.
Section 6. Bernstein Prize. The Bernstein Prize will be presented at each biannual
meeting of the Society. Nominations for the Bernstein Prize may be made by any
member in good standing of the ISMC by November of the year preceding the ISMC
biannual meeting. A Bernstein Prize nomination consists of a detailed letter of
nomination (max 1 page), a short CV of the candidate and a written acceptance of the
nomination by the nominee. The closing date for receipt of nominations shall be January
15th of the year preceding the biannual meeting. Nomination packages will be circulated
to the members of the Executive Board who will vote through closed vote to a person
designated by the Board (usually the ISMC webmaster). The closing date of the vote
shall be the first week in February in order to have enough time to prepare the Bernstein
Plaque and to make arrangements for the candidate to attend the biennial meeting. The
results of the vote will be communicated to the Awards Committee Chair who will then
inform the President. The cost of the Bernstein Plaque shall be borne by the Society.
Article 8: Official Journal
The official Journal of the ISMC will be “Motor Control”. The President and the
Executive Committee will negotiate the relations between the ISMC and the Publisher of
“Motor Control”, Human Kinetics Publishers.
Article 9: Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall
govern the ISMC in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not
inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the ISMC may adopt.
Article 10: Amendment of the By-Laws
The Executive Board of the ISMC, or any six members in good standing, may propose by
written petition to the Secretary/Treasurer, an amendment to the By-Laws. A copy of
such proposals shall then be mailed to all voting members in good standing within thirty
days of receipt. Balloting on the proposal shall close not less than thirty days nor more
than forty-five days after the proposal is mailed to members. An amendment shall be
approved and adopted by a two-thirds affirmative vote of all voting members.
The results of such balloting shall be announced to the membership at the next general
meeting.
Article 11. ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
The foregoing Bylaws being ratified and adopted by electronic vote of the Board held on
the twenty-eighth day of November, 2017, the same being so ratified and adopted by the
unanimous consent of the Board
_____________________________ November 28, 2017
Michael A. Riley
Secretary/Treasurer
