IMS Handbook

Officers

Conflict of Interest Statement for Officers and Council

• No officer, member of the Council, or member of any committee, shall derive any personal profit or gain, directly or indirectly, by reason of his or her participation with the IMS.
• Each individual shall disclose to the organization any personal interest which he or she may have in any matter pending before the organization and shall refrain from participation in any decision on such matter.
• Any officer, member of the Council, member of any committee who is an officer, board member, a committee member, or staff member of a client organization or vendor of the IMS shall identify his or her affiliation with such agency or agencies; further, in connection with any committee or board action specifically directed to that agency, s/he shall not participate in the decision affecting that agency and the decision must be made and/or ratified by the full board.
• Any officer, member of the Council, member of any committee, staff, and certain consultants shall refrain from obtaining any list of clients for personal or private solicitation purposes at any time during the term of their affiliation.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee consists of the President-Elect, President, Past President, Executive Secretary, Treasurer, and Program Secretary. The Executive Committee, Chaired by the President:

• Conducts all the affairs of the Institute between Council Meetings, following the general policies established by the Council
• Meets in person, as needed, and conducts business electronically throughout the year
• Attends all Council Meetings
• May create temporary committees with assigned tasks coming within the scope and purposes of the Institute

President

The President is the highest officer of IMS and, together with the President-Elect and Past President, sets the directions for the IMS during his or her term of office. The formal duties are as follows:

Chair:

• Presides as Chair of the Council, Executive Committee, Officers' Committees and the Business Meeting
• Submits an annual report to Council, as required by Section 1.10 Article 1 of the By-Laws.

Development:

• The President during his/her tenure shall set an agenda to develop the IMS. The President should seek input from the Council and Committees as appropriate on his/her agenda.

Committees:

• Makes appointments to fill all committee vacancies. In consultation with the Past President and President-Elect, appoints a Nominating Committee before the annual meeting and announces the committee members at the Business Meeting. All appointments should be reported to the Executive Secretary and Executive Director.
• May set up temporary committees to fulfill specialized roles for the IMS.
• Communicates with all committee chairs to ensure they are fulfilling their role as chairs and that committee work is completed in a timely manner.
• Receives reports from all committees and forwards the reports to Council, as appropriate. This may be done via electronic or in-person meetings with the assistance of the Executive Director.

Representing the IMS:

• Represents IMS to other bodies, such as COPSS and CBMS.
• The IMS President is an ex officio member of the corporation of the National Institute for Statistical Sciences (NISS). The President is also responsible for appointing another member of the corporation and a member of the NISS Board of Trustees.

Executive Secretary

The Executive Secretary is responsible for maintaining the records of the Institute. Under the IMS Constitution, the Executive Secretary is a member of the Council and a member of the Executive and Officers Committees. The Executive Secretary directly exercises the following responsibilities:

Recording:

• Records minutes at the Council and Executive Committee meetings.
• Supervises updates to the Handbook for IMS Officers, Editors, and Elected Council Members. Updates should be approved by the IMS Council.

Elections:

• Receives the report of the Nominating Committee on candidates for President-Elect and for membership on the IMS Council. Article III, Section 1.1 of the By-Laws requires that the Executive Secretary receives the report from the Nominating Committee at least four months before the next Business Meeting.
• Proofreads the ballots prepared by the IMS Business Office, and ensures that the candidates are listed in random order.
• Ensures that the IMS Business Office mails ballots and short biographies of each nominee to the IMS membership for the annual election.
• Certifies the election, and apprises the President of the outcome.
• Reports on the results of the election at the annual Business Meeting.

Representing the IMS:

• Serves as the IMS Representative to the ASA Committee on Meetings when the committee is discussing the JSM.
• Serves as the IMS representative on joint committees as appointed.

Web Editor

• The Executive Secretary serves as the Web Editor when the position is vacant.

The Executive Director performs the following duties specifically for the Executive Secretary. It is the role of the Executive Secretary to ensure each of these occurs:

Recording:

• Conducts electronic voting for all motions referred to the IMS Council. Tallies all votes and reports the outcomes to Council.
• Records outcomes of all electronic meetings in minutes.
• In consultation with the President and the Executive Committee, prepares agendas for meetings of the IMS Council, the Executive Committee and for IMS Business Meetings.
• Sends the agendas for the Annual Meetings to all Officers and Council members.
• Posts all minutes for in-person and electronic meetings online.
• Records attendance for all meetings (electronic and in person) and ensures that proxies are appropriately noted for in-person meetings.
• Posts the handbook online.
• Prepares material for submission to the Iowa State Library for inclusion in the IMS Archives maintained there since 1985.

Committees:

• Gives the President the numbers of appointments needed for each standing and ad hoc committee.
• Prepares and maintains lists of committee members.
• Requests each committee chair to prepare a report that summarizes the committee's activities. Also ensures that the annual reports from each Officer and Editor are sent to the President and to the IMS Business Office for distribution to Council members.

Elections:

• Collects all information from candidates for ballots.
• Prepares electronic ballots and mailings for all elections.
• Ensures the membership is notified about elections.

Treasurer

Article I, Section 1.3 of the IMS By-Laws states that:
The Treasurer shall receive and disburse all funds of the IMS, shall keep proper accounts of all financial transactions, shall make investments as authorized by the Council, and shall make an annual financial report to the Council. This
financial report shall be audited by a Certified Public Accountant and presented to the Council within nine months of the
close of the fiscal year being reported upon.

The Treasurer shall be the agent for the Council in fiscal contracts on behalf of the Institute. The Treasurer in collaboration with the Managing Editor(s) shall negotiate the costs of publication of the official journals of the Institute.

Article VI, Section 3 requires that:
Each year approximately 90 days before the beginning of the Annual Meeting for the year, but in no case earlier than the first day of March or later than the first day of July, it shall be the duty of the Treasurer to notify by mail anyone whose
dues are in arrears.

The duties of the Treasurer include:
Supervisory:
• Serves as the direct supervisor to the Executive Director.
• Writes annual reviews and recommends compensation adjustments, for the Executive Director, to the Executive Committee.

Direct Financial:
• Signs and approves all payments and contracts.
• Ensures the budget approved by Council is adhered to.
• Provides an annual financial and audit report to the Council and membership.
• Attends audits as needed and attends audit reporting meetings.
• Periodically evaluates contracts with the Executive Director.

Advisory Financial:
• Reviews and provides input to the Executive Committee and Council on all financial decisions.
• Works with the Executive Director to construct an annual budget to be presented to the Executive Committee and Council.
• Recommends, in collaboration with the Executive Director, all dues and subscription rates to the Executive Committee and Council.
• Serves ex officio on the Committee on Finance.

Program Secretary

The Program Secretary directly fulfills the following responsibilities:

IMS Sponsored Meetings:
• Informs the Council of the current status of all IMS Sponsored meetings. IMS Sponsored meetings must be approved by action of the Council. All Sponsored meetings should at a minimum break even financially.
• With the assistance of the Executive Director, obtains detailed information regarding the costs and arrangements of meetings before asking for Council approval. It is Council policy that the IMS should not accept joint sponsorship of any meeting in which it had not played a principal role in the planning and organization from the outset.
• Appoints program and local chairs for IMS Sponsored meetings. Communicates regarding their role and responsibilities to each chair.
• Ensures all program chairs are notified of the Medallion and Named Lecturers that will be presenting at their meeting.
• Tracks numbers of all IMS sponsored meetings.

Meetings, General (see also Meetings):
• Solicits applications for meeting co-sponsorship.
• Serves as an information center for the IMS and to prevent conflict of meetings.
• Prepares an annual report for Council meetings.

The Executive Director performs the following duties for the Program Secretary. It is the role of the Program Secretary to ensure each of these occurs:

Meetings, General:
• Ensures the subcommittee of the Council reviews all co-sponsorship applications.
• Communicates with all co-sponsorship applicants.
• Ensures all meetings are posted online and in the IMS Bulletin.

Editors

The Editors of the IMS include the editors of IMS journals (Annals of Applied Probability, Annals of Probability, Annals of Applied Statistics, Annals of Statistics, Statistical Science), The IMS Bulletin, the IMS Lecture Notes–Monograph Series/ IMS Collections, the IMS Web Page and the Managing Editor(s).

By Article IV Section 3 of the Constitution, the editors of the IMS publications are officers of IMS.

By Article I, Section 1.5-1.9 of the Bylaws:
• The Editor of each scientific journal shall exercise general supervision over all editorial affairs of the journal. The Editor may appoint a sufficient number and variety of Associate Editors, and with their collaboration, shall appoint referees. All appointments as Associate Editor terminate with the appointment of a new
  Editor.
• The Editor of The IMS Bulletin shall exercise general supervision of the editorial affairs of that journal.
• The Editor of the IMS Lecture Notes–Monograph Series/IMS Collections shall supervise publication of appropriate manuscripts under guidelines established by the Council, and in consultation with the Publications Committee and the Treasurer.
• The IMS Web Editor shall be responsible for developing and maintaining a formal IMS web site in consultation with the Publications Committee and the Treasurer.

Each Editor must prepare an annual report for Council.

Managing Editor(s)

By Article I, Section 1.9 of the Bylaws, the Managing Editor(s) shall exercise responsibility over the production of those journals assigned to him or her. He or she shall collaborate with the Treasurer in negotiating the costs of publication.

The Managing Editor supervises the work of the Production Editor, who handles production details for all the journals. The Managing Editor, working with the Production Editor, examines and corrects page proofs. As part of this process the Managing Editor and the Production Editor often deal directly with authors regarding last-minute changes, references, and other such matters.