SEPA Constitution

Article I. Name and Purpose

  1. The name of this organization shall be the Southeastern Psychological Association.
  2. The purpose of this Association shall be to advance psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare.
  3. The Southeastern Psychological Association, Inc., is incorporated in South Carolina as a 501(c)(6) organization.

Article II. Membership

  1. Members of this Association shall be (a) Fellows, Members, Associates, or Dues-Exempt Members of the American Psychological Association, of the American Psychological Society, of another national psychological organization, or of a regional psychological organization, or (b) other persons who have received a Master’s degree in psychology or have completed at least two years of graduate study in psychology at an accredited college or university and who are continuing their graduate study in psychology or who are employed full time as psychologists, who apply for membership in writing to the Administrative Officer and who pay their annual dues and assessments for the current year. Applicants under (b) above must submit proof of their current status. All applicants must enclose dues for the current year with their application.
  2. Graduate students in psychology (who are not members of organizations identified in Section1) who have completed less than two years of graduate study in psychology and undergraduate students in psychology and related fields may become Student Affiliate Members by having their applications addressed to the Administrative Officer include proof of their current status and enclosing dues for the current year. Student Affiliate Members may participate in meetings and serve on ad hoc committees, but they may not vote or hold office.
  3. Life Membership is open to any member of SEPA who (a) is at least 65 years of age, (b) has been a member of SEPA for at least ten years, and (c) requests Life Membership.

Article III. Officers and Committees

  1. Officers
    a. The officers of the Association shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Past-President, and a Secretary-Treasurer.
    b. The President-Elect shall be elected for a term of three years. The President-Elect shall automatically succeed to the presidency at the end of the first year of
    the term and shall be the immediate Past-President during the third year of the term.
    c. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a three-year term.
  2. Committees.
    a. The standing committees of the Association shall be:                       .i.           the Executive Committee,
    ii.          the Election Committee,
    iii.        the Program Committee,
    iv.        the Committee on Equality of Professional Opportunity,
    v.          the Outstanding Professional Paper Award Committee,
    vi.         the SEPA Graduate Student Research Award Committee,
    vii.       the Early Career Research Award Committee,
    viii.      the Mentor Award Committee.

    b. The Executive Committee shall consist of both elected and ex officio members. The elected members shall be the President, the President- Elect, the immediate Past President, the Secretary-Treasurer, and three Members-At-Large. One Member-At-Large shall be elected each year for a three-year term. The ex officio members shall be the Administrative Officer, the Associate Administrative Officer, the Director of Raymond D. Fowler Continuing Education, the Chair of the Committee on Equality of Professional Opportunity, the Historian, and the Newsletter Editor, each of whom shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. Only elected members of the Executive Committee may vote on issues before the Committee. Between meetings of the Association, the Executive Committee, by meeting, by United States Postal Service (USPS) mail, or by electronic mail, shall conduct the business of the Association, including authorization for the disbursement of funds by the Administrative Officer. The Executive Committee shall take no action contrary to any previous action by the members. However, if it believes that some previous action is in urgent need of reconsideration, it may submit the issue to the members by USPS mail or electronic mail ballot.

    c. The immediate Past President shall chair the Election Committee. The President-Elect shall chair the Program Committee. The President shall serve as chair of the Mentor Award Committee, and a member-at-large shall serve as the chair of the other award committees.Except for the Executive Committee and the Mentor Award Committee, the members of each committee shall be appointed by the chair of the committee.

  1. Eligibility for election.
    a. Any member whose dues are not delinquent may be elected to office in the Association.b. No person shall hold more than one elected office at a time.

    c. The immediate Past President shall not be eligible for nomination to any office. The Secretary-Treasurer and Members-At-Large of the Executive Committee
    shall not be eligible for nomination as President-Elect during the first two years of the three-year term.

  2. Vacancies.
    a. Ordinarily, vacancies in elected positions shall be filled by presidential appointment, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. At their
    option, that Committee may fill the position by a special election.b. If an office-holder is temporarily unable to fulfill a responsibility, the President may appoint someone else to carry out those responsibilities.


Article IV. Nominations and Elections

  1. As soon as is practicable after the close of each annual meeting, and in no case later than 120 days prior to the next annual meeting, the Secretary- Treasurer shall issue a call by USPS mail or by electronic mail to all members of the Association for nominations for the offices to be filled for the following year. Each member may nominate no more than three people for each office. The nominations shall be sent by USPS mail or by electronic mail directly to the Chair of the Elections Committee.
  2. On the date specified in the call for nominations (the date specified shall in no case be less than thirty days after distributing the ballots), the Election Committee shall close the nomination polls and certify to the Administrative Officer the names of the nominees for each office on the nomination ballots based on the frequency of nominations.
  3. At least 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting, the Administrative Officer shall send by USPS mail or electronic mail, to all members an election ballot containing the names of the nominees for each office. The Chair of the Election Committee must obtain a statement of willingness to serve from each nominee before his/her name is placed on the election ballot. Voting shall be by a preferential system. Each member shall rank as many of the nominees for each office as s/he wishes and shall return the ballot directly to the Chair of the Elections Committee. Ballots shall be counted by assigning to each nominee those ballots on which the nominee is ranked first. If no nominee is assigned a majority of the ballots, the nominee assigned the fewest ballots is declared to have lost, and his/her ballots are assigned to the nominee ranked second on those ballots. This procedure is continued until one nominee has been assigned the majority of the ballots and is declared the winner.
  4. To be counted, election ballots must be received no later than the date specified in the election materials. (The date specified shall in no case be less than thirty days after the distribution of the election ballots.) Election to each office shall be by individual count. Ties shall be resolved by drawing lots. A person may be nominated for more than one office, and if elected to the higher office, the person shall not be considered in counting votes for the lower office. For this purpose, the order of priority (from high to low) of offices is President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and Member-At-Large of the Executive Committee.
  5. Within 10 days of the closing of the polls, announcements of the elections shall be made by the Chair of the Election Committee to the President who will notify all candidates of the election outcome. The Chair of the Election Committee also will announce the outcome at the annual meeting.


Article V. Meetings; Quorums; Official Year

  1. There shall be an annual meeting of this Association at a time and place to be determined by a majority vote of the elected members of the Executive Committee with sites normally selected two or three years in advance of the meeting. The Executive Committee may be asked to consider specific sites upon written petition of at least ten percent of the membership or by a majority vote at the annual business meeting.
  2. Special meetings may be called upon written petition of at least ten percent of the members or by a unanimous vote of the elected members of the Executive Committee. All members and affiliate members shall receive written notice of such meetings at least thirty days in advance.
  3. A quorum for the annual business meeting shall consist of those members who attend the meeting, after a call has gone out to all members. The Executive Committee may transact business at a meeting only if two-thirds or more of its elected members are present.
  4. The terms of office of officers shall commence at the close of the business of the annual meeting.
  5. The fiscal year of the Association and the annual date for closing the books shall be determined by the Executive Committee and announced annually at the business meeting.


Article VI. Dues and Assessments

  1. Annual dues for the fiscal year shall be set by unanimous vote of the elected members of the Executive Committee to be effective with the beginning of the fiscal year following the vote. If the recommended dues are supported by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the Executive Committee, but not by a unanimous vote, a special ballot will be sent to the full membership, with the dues being adopted only on a majority vote of those voting within sixty days of the mailing of the ballot. If a petition of at least ten percent of the membership so requests, dues changes shall be put to a vote of the full membership and adopted only on a favorable vote of a majority of those voting within the date set for elections (specified in Article IV, Paragraph 4).
  2. Dues for each fiscal year are payable upon receipt of notice from the Administrative Officer and become delinquent thirty days before the next annual meeting.
  3. Assessments may be recommended by majority vote of the members at any meeting or by the Executive Committee but may be authorized only by affirmative vote of the majority of those responding within thirty days to a mail ballot. Assessments when authorized become payable upon receipt of notice from the Administrative Officer and will be delinquent thirty days before the next annual meeting or before the following annual meeting if the assessment notice is not mailed earlier than sixty days before the next annual meeting. Assessments shall not apply to affiliate members or to new members admitted too late to have the opportunity to vote on its authorization.
  4. On September 15th of each year, the Administrative Officer shall notify members, student affiliate members, and affiliate members delinquent in paying dues and/or assessments that they will be removed from the active rolls of the Association if dues and/or assessments are not paid by the next annual meeting. Anyone so removed may be reinstated by paying the dues and/or assessments delinquent at the time of removal plus dues for the current year.


Article VII. Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by majority vote of the members at any meeting, by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the Executive Committee, or by petitions signed by at least ten percent of the members. Amendments so proposed shall be submitted to all members by mail ballot or by electronic ballot and shall be adopted upon favorable vote of a majority of those responding within thirty days.