Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood
Bylaws

January 2016

Article I
Name and Purpose

The Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) is an international, multidisciplinary organization focused on theory, research, and policy issues related to emerging adulthood, ages
18 to 29. The primary purpose of the society is to enhance the development of emerging adults through promotion of research, education, physical and mental health programs, and public
policies specific to this age period. The SSEA promotes these goals through biennial meetings, its flagship journal Emerging Adulthood, and a website that includes a wide range of information pertaining to 18-29-year-olds. The Society is organized exclusively for scientific, educational, and charitable purposes, within the meaning of section 501 (c)(6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

Article II
Membership

1. The Membership of the Society shall consist of Full Members, Postdoctoral/Early Career Members, Graduate Student Members, Emeritus Members, Student Affiliate Members and General Affiliate Members. Membership is open to any individual actively engaged in research, teaching, or policy related to emerging adulthood, or who is otherwise interested in furthering the purposes of the SSEA.
2. Full members shall be persons who are engaged in research, teaching, or policy pertaining to emerging adults; they shall be 4 or moreyears beyond graduation from a graduate program of study. Persons currently enrolled in graduate study qualify for Graduate Student membership. Postdoctoral/Early Career membership is available to persons who are currently in a postdoctoral fellowship or have graduatedfrom a program of study within the past 4 years. An Emeritus Member shall have the rights and privileges of membership withoutpaying membership dues. Any Member of the Society, when reaching retirement (at least 65 years of age), may become an Emeritus Member of the Society, upon approval by the Governing Council, provided that the person has been a dues-paying member to the Society for at least the past 5 years. Student Affiliate Members shall be enrolled in an undergraduate program of study currently or within the past 2 years but not currently enrolled in a graduate program. General Affiliate members shall be persons in non-academic capacities who wish to follow and support the activities of the Society (e.g., journalists, policy makers). Student Affiliate and General Affiliate members shall have all privileges of other members except voting.
   
3. Dues are collected annually on the date one year from when the person previously paid their membership dues. Upon failure to pay annual dues by the time membership expires, the privileges of membership in the Society shall be suspended until membership dues are paid.
   
4. Dues of Members from developing countries (as defined by the United Nations) will be reduced, with exact amounts to be determined by the Governing Council.

Article III
Officers and Council

1. The elected officers of the Society shall form a Governing Council with nine persons in total, including a President, who shall serve a two-year term, a President-Elect, and a Past-President, plus six Governing Council members who shall serve 4-year terms: four Full Members, and two Emerging Scholar Representatives, one who is a Postgraduate/Early Career member and one who is a Graduate Student Member. The President-Elect shall serve for two years, and shall then serve as President for two more years. Past-Presidents shall serve for two additional years. Two Governing Council members shall be chosen before each Biennial Meeting so that the four members serve overlapping terms. One Emerging Scholar Representative shall be chosen before each Biennial Meeting so that the two serve overlapping terms. The Executive Director will be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Governing Council.
   
2. The Governing Council (hereafter “the Council”) shall be the governing body of the Society. Each membership category shall receive such benefits and privileges as the Council may designate. The Council shall determine the dues for each membership category. Changes in annual dues and assessments of any special dues or fees shall be decided by a majority vote of the Council.
   
3. The President of the Society shall chair the Council.
   
4. An Executive Director appointed by the Council shall be the chief administrative director of the Society and shall transact its business. The Executive Director shall have charge of the central Office of the Society and shall have jurisdiction over and attend to the business details of the Society. The Executive Director shall be assisted by the SSEA Coordinator, who carries out the administrative responsibilities of the Society. The office of the Executive Director shall act upon all membership applications, maintain records of membership, receive and have custody of the Society’s funds, discharge its obligations, and maintain its accounts. A Directors Liability Insurance policy shall cover the Executive Director and elected Officers of the Society. At the end of each fiscal year, as needed as determined by the Council, the accounts of the Society shall be audited by a certified public accountant (CPA) approved by the Council, and the report of the
   CPA shall be communicated to the Council. The Executive Director shall be responsible to the Council and, prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, shall submit to the Council a budget that, upon approval by a majority of the Council, shall guide the conduct of the business of the Society for that year. The Executive Director shall submit quarterly financial reports to the Governing Council, and, in collaboration with the President, prepare a biennial written report to the full membership of the Society reporting upon the affairs of the Society. The term of appointment of an Executive Director will normally be four years with the option of reappointment and the option of early termination by either party upon three months’ notice.
   
5. The Council shall be responsible for the formulation of policy and for general supervision of the affairs of the Society. It shall call regular and special meetings of the Society. The Council shall have the power to fill vacancies in its elective membership resulting from death, resignation, or other circumstances that lead to vacancies, with such appointees to hold office until the next biennial election. It shall be authorized to interpret the Bylaws. When the Council is not in session, issues may be submitted electronically to all members of the Council for their vote. The Council shall appoint and may remove by vote of at least 6 of its 9 voting members the Executive Director and the Editors of publications sponsored by the Society. Council
   members may be removed by unanimous vote of the Executive Council

Article IV
Publications

1. All publications of the Society shall be under the general oversight of the Communications Committee, which is in turn subject to the authority of the Council.
   
2. The Council shall appoint an Editor for each of the official publications of the Society with conditions of compensation to be determined by the Council and the Publisher. The nominees for Editor shall be proposed by the Communications Committee in consultation with the President. The term of the Editor of Emerging Adulthood, the flagship journal of the organization, shall be five years, with possible renewal for an additional five-year term at the discretion of the Council. The Editor shall be authorized to appoint such Associate Editors and editorial board members as may be required. The Editor may be replaced prior to the end of the five-year term by vote of at least 6 of 9 members of the Council.

Article V
Meetings

1. The Society shall call at least one general meeting of the Society each biennium at a time and place to be determined by the Council.
   
2. The President shall call a meeting of the Council at each biennial Society meeting and at least quarterly between biennial Society meetings. These meetings may be held electronically.
   
3. The Society shall sponsor a biennial regional and/or thematic meeting (in alternate years from the Society meeting) at the discretion of the Council.

Article VI
Committees

1. There shall be Committees to carry out and sustain the long term strategic objectives of the Society. All committees should seek to have international membership and include a Graduate Student or Postdoctoral/Early Career member as a Co-Chair. Committees may be added or
   abolished by a vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the Council.
   
2. The President shall appoint Chairs of all Committees, with the advice and consent of the Council, from among members of the Society. A member of the Council shall sit on each committee. The Chairs of Committees may appoint other members of their committees in
   collaboration with the President. The terms of committee Chairs and committee members shallbe for two years, renewable once for an additional two years, at the discretion of the President and renewable twice with the approval of the Council. Committee chairs may be removed by 2/3 vote of the Council. The Chair of each committee is responsible for providing an annual report of the committee’s
   activities to the office of the Society for inclusion in the Council Briefing Book.
   
3. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Past President, and Executive Director. The Executive Committee shall meet as necessary to carry out the business of the Society between the meetings of the full Council.
   
4. The Communications Committee
   The Communications Committee has responsibility for all print and electronic communications of the Society. It shall also develop and oversee websites and other mechanisms for interacting with the membership and the public at large. The Communications Committee shall oversee operations of the journal(s) associated with the Society and, on occasions when a vacancy occurs in the editorship of the journal or journals associated with the Society, recommend a new Editor to the Governing Council. Each Editor of an SSEA publication shall be an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the Communications Committee.
   
5. The Program Committee
   The purposes of the Program Committee shall be (a) to organize the Biennial Meeting and, in consultation with the President and the Council, appoint those who will be responsible for various segments of the program; and (b) be responsible for preparing a tentative program for distribution to the membership at least three month prior to the Meeting and a final program for distribution at the Meeting. The most recent Program Committee Chair and Co-chair shall serve consulting roles on the Program Committee following their term of service. The President and President-Elect shall sit on the Program Committee.
   
6. The Nominations Committee
   The purpose of the Nominations Committee shall be to (a) nominate persons to fill elected offices in the organization, and (b) assist the President in identifying people to chair committees. The Nominations Committee shall solicit suggestions for nominations to offices electronically from the membership. No less than five months before the next Annual Meeting of the Society, the Nominations Committee shall (a) select two nominees for each office to be filled, (b) verify the eligibility of the nominees with the office of the Executive Director, (c) confirm the potential nominees’ willingness to serve in the office, (d) prepare a uniform and concise information sheet on each nominee, (e) prepare a ballot which shall provide for a write in vote for each office, and (f) transmit the ballot form and the information sheets to the office of the Society which will send voting materials to the membership of the Society. To be eligible for nomination for an elective office, a person must be a voting member whose dues have been paid for the current year.
   
7. The Fund Development Committee
   This committee shall provide guidance and support in raising funds to advance the work and achieve the long term strategic objectives of the Society. The Chair of the Fund Development committee will be financially compensated based on terms decided by the Council. The Executive Director, the President, and the President-Elect shall be ex-officio members of the Fund Development Committee.
   
8. The Membership Committee
   The purpose of the Membership Committee is to promote and expand membership in the SSEA. This includes developing strategies to retain current members as well as to increase membership. The Membership Committee should assess SSEA member satisfaction on a regular basis (at least once every other year) and report to the Executive Council about ways that the organization can
   be improved, on the basis of this assessment. The President, President-Elect, Past President, and Executive Director shall be ex-officio members of the Membership Committee.

Article VII
Topic/Regional Networks

1. There shall be Topic/Regional Networks to help SSEA members to connect on the basis of shared interests in a specific area in emerging adulthood related to research, practice, and/or policy or related to a particular region. Topic/Regional Networks may be added or abolished by majority vote of the Governing Council. All members of the Topic/Regional Networks must be members of the Society.
   
2. The President shall appoint Chairs of all Topic/Regional Networks, with the advice of the Council, from among members of the Society. The Chairs may appoint Co-Chairs for their Topic/Regional Networks in collaboration with the President. The terms of Topic/Regional Networks Chairs and Co-Chairs shall be for two years, renewable once for an additional two years, at the discretion of the President. Topic/Regional Network chairs may be removed by 2/3 vote of the Council. The Chair of each Topic/Regional Network is responsible for providing an annual report of the Network’s activities to the office of the Society for inclusion in the Council Briefing Book. Chairs will maintain rosters of Topic/Regional Networks members and provide this information as part of the annual report.

Article VIII
Amendments

1. The Bylaws may be amended by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of members of the Society casting ballots submitted by electronic mail.
   
2. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Director, the President, vote of at least 6 of the 9 members of the Governing Council, or by petition of at least five percent of the membership of the Society.
   
3. Any proposed amendments of the Bylaws shall be transmitted to the membership electronically at least 30 days prior to the deadline for voting on the amendment.

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