(As approved by Council on April 11, 2018 and adopted by the Board on April 12, 2018)
Preamble: Note that all provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society are hereby incorporated into these Policies and Procedures by reference. Note also that in the following text, "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society, "Council" and “Board” signifies the Council of Representatives and the Board of Directors of the Society, respectively; "CEO" signifies the Chief Executive Officer of the Society; “EIC” Editor in Chief of the Society; and “Member” signifies Member of the Society. “Units” signify the Divisions, Topical Groups, Forum, and Sections of the Society.
J1. Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws (C&BL): A proposed amendment to the C&BL may be introduced by recommendation to the President:
Once a proposed amendment is received by the President, the Governance Committee will review the amendment and transmit its recommendation to the Board for its review and recommendation to the Council for final adoption. A majority vote to recommend and adopt by the Board and Council, respectively, will be required. For these votes, a quorum of two-thirds of the voting members shall apply. Prior to the vote of Council, the recommended revisions shall be made available over a period of 30 days to all Members of the Society for comment.
If the Council does not adopt, the amendment is not enacted. If the amendment is adopted, the complete text of the Constitution and Bylaws including any amendments and the date of its adoption by the Board and Council shall be posted on the APS website within 30 days.
J2. Modifications to the Board, Council, and Joint Oversight Policies and Procedures (P&Ps): A proposed revision to the P&Ps may be introduced by recommendation to the President:
Once a proposed revision is received by the President, the Governance Committee will review the revision and transmit its recommendation to the Board for its review and adoption, subject to approval by the Council in the case of the Council or Joint Board and Council Policies & Procedures. A majority vote to adopt and approve by the Board and Council, respectively, will be required. For these votes, a quorum of two-thirds of the voting members shall apply.
In the case of the Board Policies & Procedures, if the Board does not adopt, the revisions are not enacted. In the case of the Council or Joint Board and Council Policies & Procedures, if the Council does not approve the revision or wishes to make substantive changes, the matter is sent for reconciliation to the Board of Directors Executive Committee and Council Steering Committee acting jointly. If the Board of Directors does not adopt or the Council does not approve the reconciled version, the revisions are not enacted. If the revisions are adopted, the complete text of the Constitution and Bylaws including any amendments and the date of its adoption by the Board and Council shall be posted on the APS website within 30 days.
J3. Joint Oversight Committees of the Board and Council:
J3.1 Committee on Scientific Publications: The Committee on Scientific Publications consists of eight members nominated by the Committee on Committees and appointed by the President-Elect to staggered four-year terms. The President-Elect appoints a Vice Chair among these eight members who are starting their first or second year. The Vice Chair becomes Chair and Past Chair in subsequent years. The President-Elect also appoints a member of the presidential line to serve a two-year term as a member of the Committee. In addition, the Committee includes two Librarians appointed by the Publisher to equally staggered four-year terms. The Committee has at least two in-person meetings each year, supplemented by regular teleconferences as needed. The Committee advises and assists the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher, and makes recommendations to the Board and Council regarding the operating philosophy and general editorial policy of the scientific publications of the Society.
J3.2 Panel on Public Affairs: The Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) consists of a Chair, Chair-Elect, Vice Chair, immediate Past Chair, the Vice President, the Chair of the Physics Policy Committee (PPC), the Congressional Fellow(s) in the second year following the year of service, thirteen (13) members elected by Council to staggered three (3) year terms, (1) industrial physicist APS-member elected by the Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics to a three (3) year term, and (1) member elected by the Forum on Physics and Society to a three (3) year term. The candidates for election as members of POPA are selected by the Nominating Committee. The Vice Chair is elected by Council and serves in that office for one (1) year, then as Chair-Elect for one (1) year, then as Chair for one (1) year, and then as Immediate Past Chair for one (1) year. The POPA Steering Committee consists of the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Vice Chair, the Vice President, the PPC Chair, and at least two (2) additional members selected from among and by the members of POPA. POPA is responsible for making recommendations to the President, the Board, and the Council on public affairs activities of the Society that have been designated by the Board or Council. POPA may initiate new public affairs activities for the Society and may recommend new programs to the Council. POPA shall keep minutes and distribute them to POPA members and to the Council and Board. All POPA reports and APS studies shall be approved by the Council before public release.
J3.3 Physics Policy Committee: The Physics Policy Committee (PPC) consists of the Immediate Past President, who will serve as Chair for a one (1) year term, twelve (12) members, nominated by the PPC, selected and confirmed by the Board Executive Committee (BEC), and appointed by the President-Elect to staggered three (3) year terms, the President-Elect, the Congressional Fellows(s) in the first year following the year of service, and the Chair of POPA. The Chair of the Education Policy Committee, an official subcommittee of the Committee on Education, and the Chair of the Industrial Physics advisory Board Policy Subcommittee shall serve as non-voting advisors to the PPC. The PPC addresses those science policy issues that affect the development of physics, the health of the institutions in which physics is practiced, the resources available to physics, and the balanced use of these resources for the nation's scientific and technological needs. PPC shall make recommendations to the President, the Board, and the Council on these science policy issues. Recommendations from the PPC on public statements shall be considered by the POPA Steering Committee and then transmitted to Council as appropriate.
J3.4 Ethics Committee: The Ethics Committee (EC) consists of the Past Chair of POPA and a representative from the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, the Committee on Scientific Publications, the Committee on Minorities, and the Committee on Education. These representatives are recommended by the respective committees and appointed by the President-Elect as voting members to staggered three (3) year terms. Six (6) additional voting members will be appointed by the President-Elect to three (3) year, staggered terms. These members will represent a wide variety of backgrounds across the APS membership and are recommended by the APS Committee on Committees. The President-Elect will appoint a Chair from among serving members of the Committee. The Ethics Committee will:
J3.5 Innovation Fund Committee: The voting members of the Innovation Fund Committee (IF) consist of the Past President and Innovation Fund Director as Co-chairs, the Vice President, the Speaker of the Council, the APS Chief External Affairs Officer, and two (2) members of the Council appointed by the President-Elect to staggered, two (2) year terms. The non-voting members of the IF Committee consist of the IF Program Officer and the Chief Financial Officer.
The Innovation Fund Committee meets at least two (2) times per year to conduct project proposal reviews and monitor awarded projects underway. The Past President, as Co-chair of the Innovation Fund Committee, will bring recommendations of the Committee to the Board for approval.
The Innovation Fund Committee will:
J4. General Guidelines for Letters, Press Releases, and other Communications issued with an APS affiliation: Any public communication by an individual or organization issued with an APS affiliation must be vetted for appropriateness and consistency with the APS mission, values, and other APS communications and statements. This section describes the spokesperson responsibilities among the APS leadership and establishes procedures for less formal APS communications. The following section (J5) describes procedures for APS Public Policy Statements issued either by the Society through POPA, by the Board, or by individual Units.
J4.1 The spokesperson responsibilities within APS are as follows:
APS President: Spokesperson when oral or written testimony is requested by Congress or other governmental body; high-level press statements; lead on media interviews e.g.: Nobel Prize(s); statements on Board matters as Board chair
APS Chief Executive Officer: Spokesperson for matters rising to major level of importance regarding operational activities. The points of contact for communications with congressional staff or federal agencies, for day-to-day media inquiries and for coordinating social media are designated by the CEO.
J4.2 Public statements by a member of APS referencing their APS affiliation must be reviewed and approved by APS leadership (President or CEO) before release.
J4.3 Letters issued by the APS President or Presidential Line are reviewed and approved by the Board Executive Committee before release.
J4.4 Press releases in the area of public affairs are reviewed and approved by the Physics Policy Committee and then reviewed and approved by the Board Executive Committee before release. Press releases from other parts of the APS organization are reviewed and approved by the Board Executive Committee before release.
J4.5 APS committees are advisory so any policy statements follow the procedures for Public Policy Statements as described in Section J5.
J4.6 Questions about review and approval procedures are addressed directly to the CEO.
J5. Public Policy Statements: The APS recognizes three approval procedures for public policy statements that result in statements designated as (1) Public Policy Statements of the American Physical Society (APS Statements, or APS Public Policy Statements), (2) American Physical Society Board Statements (APS Board Statements), and (3) American Physical Society Unit Statements (APS Unit Statements).
J5.1 Procedure for Issuing APS Public Policy Statements:
J5.2 Procedure for Issuing APS Board Statements: The Board, or the Executive Committee of the Board, may determine that time is of essence, and it is in the interest of the Society to issue a public policy statement in an expedited manner to be designated as an APS Board Statement.
J5.3 APS Criteria and Procedures for Issuing Unit Statements: The following criteria and procedure shall be used by Units issuing their own policy statements (Unit Statements). Units, with the assistance of the APS Office of Public Affairs, will take into consideration the impact of the statement on the Society and the physics community and evaluate whether or not it is within the area of expertise of the Unit’s members. Unit Statements must not conflict with statements of other Units or of the APS as a whole. Unit Statements will clearly denote that the statement does not necessarily represent the position of the APS as a whole.
J5.4 Conflict of Interest: Conflict of interest is defined as "any financial or other interest which conflicts with the service of the individual because it (1) could significantly impair the individual's objectivity or (2) could create an unfair competitive advantage for any person or organization." [Ref: National Academies of Science, Policy on Committee Composition and Balance and Conflict of Interest for Committees, used in the Development of Reports (May 12, 2003).] Anyone, particularly POPA, Board, and Council members, who have a conflict of interest, shall recuse themselves from all aspects of the Statement process, including drafting, commentary, and voting. The President of the APS shall be the final arbiter of potential conflicts of interest.