Institute of Mathematical Statistics New Researchers Group Bylaws

The name of the group: The Institute of Mathematical Statistics New Researchers Group (herein the “Group” or “NRG”)

1. 1. Aims
      • To promote and provide a forum for early career Statistics and Probability researchers
      • To encourage membership for early career researchers in the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS)
      • To organize conferences, workshops, and sessions in other meetings.
      • To provide social networking tools for early career Statistics and Probability researchers in order to discuss research, exchange ideas with each other, and connect with the community at large.
   2. Offices, duties and terms of offices
      • The offices are President, President-elect, past-President, program chair, sessions chair, web admin, and treasurer and treasurer-elect.
      • Elections: The president is elected every year (first to president-elect), the sessions chair and web admin are elected every two years and the treasurer is elected every three years (first to treasurer-elect). The leadership will consist of the past president, president, and president-elect. The program chair is an unelected position to be held by one or two individuals at the institution(s) hosting the New Researchers Conference. The transition to this format from the current more informal format for term lengths will be complete by 2024.
      • The officers constitute the Group Executive Committee (NRG EC), which shall follow the general policies established by the IMS Executive Committee and shall conduct the affairs of the group between meetings of the general Executive Committee. The NRG EC shall report to the IMS Executive Committee (IMS EC) at each IMS meeting. The report may be in writing.
      • The Group President convenes and chairs meetings of the NRG EC and the Group membership. Additionally the President is responsible for writing the section reports that are submitted to the President of IMS each year and reporting activities in the IMS Bulletin. The Treasurer is responsible for submitting as PI a three year renewal grant that funds the New Researchers Conferences (NRC) and affiliated smaller conferences to the NSF as well as administering any private funds given to the Group and held by the IMS. The Sessions chair is responsible for coordinating the distribution/competition for sessions for new researchers that have been allocated by the IMS at conferences and workshops beyond the NRC (also sits on the program committee for competitive sessions at Annual Meeting). The web admin maintains the website and a list of members. The program chairs are responsible for organizing the NRC at the host institution.
      • (President or president-elect sits ex-officio on IMS council)
      • The right to enter into legal contracts for IMS or NRG is vested solely in the IMS EC.
   3. Membership
      • Membership in the NRG has three requirements: First, one must be an IMS member. Second, one must be a student or within 10 years of receiving their PhD. Third, one must pay the group membership fee. The group membership fee is set by the NRG EC and approved by the IMS EC by resolution. Should an officer become ineligible under the second requirement, he/she will be allowed to retain group membership by paying the annual group dues and finish serving his/her term. (The current dues are set to zero dollars, to be re-evaluated in two years.)
      • Solicitation. Any participants in the NRC will be invited to join the section. The IMS shall give the option to anyone meeting the requirements in 3 a to join the section at the time when they join/renew their IMS membership.
   4. How elections of group officers are to be conducted:
      • This subsection describes the procedure that will be put in place once the Group has members. The Group members vote to elect nominated members for the position of President-Elect, Sessions Chair, Web-Admin, and Treasurer-Elect concurrently with the IMS elections. The President-Elect will become President at the end of the current President’s term. Each year, a five-member NRG Nominating Committee will nominate candidates for Group offices that will be vacated at the end of the year. Three members of the Committee will be elected by the NRG EC based on suggestions from the Group membership. To facilitate this process, for every election year, the Group President will request suggestions from the section members. The NRG EC will elect three members from the suggested names and appoint one of the three members as Chair of the Nominating Committee. The remaining two positions in the committee will be filled by two of the current officers who will be replaced in the upcoming election. If only one officer is standing down, then the past president will fill the fifth position. The NRG Nominating Committee selects and gets consent to stand for election from at least two members for each office. These nominations will be submitted to the NRG Executive Secretary.
      • This subsection describes the interim process that will be in place until the Group has members. Officers will be selected by the NRG EC in conjunction with IMS President and IMS President-elect. The first round of elections will happen as early as possible, subject to first enrolling a sufficient number of members of the NRG. This may not be achieved until the next in-person NRC occurs, which will be determined mainly by the progress of the coronavirus pandemic.
   5. Finances and revenue:
      • The Group will aim to ensure revenue neutrality with regard to its workshops and conferences. The Group holds a large NSF grant for funding the NRC (and affiliated workshops) as well as has a small fund held at the IMS. The duties of applying for and maintaining the grant fall upon the Treasurer. The duties of soliciting additional contributions to the fund held by the IMS (which cover miscellaneous costs that the grant cannot cover) will be held by the Treasurer and President. Any surpluses generated will be retained by the Group to use in support of future workshops and conferences.
   6. The method of amendment of the bylaws:
      • These Bylaws may be amended by majority vote in two successive NRG EC meetings, with at least a two-week interval between the meetings. The Group will be considered inactive and dissolved by the IMS EC by resolution if no report is submitted for 2 consecutive years, or no elections take place within 4 years. Provisions in the IMS Bylaws and Constitution will apply in connection with any issues that are not specifically addressed in the Group Bylaws.