Charter

Charter of the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association
(As approved March 24, 2006, and amended on February 19, 2010)
Article I: Name.

This section shall be known as the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ESS/ISA).
Article II: Purposes.

The aim of ESS/ISA is to seek a better understanding of the international linkages between natural and human systems within global, regional, and national contexts. ESS will attempt to promote an increased awareness among social and natural scientists and policy- makers of the implications of environmental/ecological perspectives and global environmental trends.
To accomplish these purposes, ESS shall:
1) link scholars of various disciplines to keep them abreast of current developments in the field.;
2) develop and encourage research, including interdisciplinary and collaborative research, on international environmental studies and on adaptive strategies for the international system and its subsystems;
3) seek to disseminate information on environmental developments and research by sponsoring or participating in workshops, symposia, and professional and other appropriate meetings, and
4) seek ways to further the teaching of international environmental studies.
Article III: Relationships.

ESS will encourage cooperative relations with other organizations within or outside ISA which share its interests.
Article IV: Membership.
1. Any ISA member sharing the purposes of this section may become a member upon payment of whatever dues shall be established. Any non-member of ISA must, within a reasonable period of time, join ISA, in order to be a member of this section.
2. Members are entitled to attend annual meetings, nominate, vote, sponsor amendments to this charter, and receive copies of publications.
Article V: Executive Committee
1. The officers of ESS shall be called the Executive Committee.
2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the chairperson and vice-chairperson, plus six other members, each elected for a two- year term. One half of the general members are to be elected at the annual meeting each year. The chairperson and the vice-chairperson can be elected in the same year.
3. The Executive Committee shall meet at the ISA annual meeting, and at such other reasonable times and places as the chairperson, or at least three (3) of the officers shall designate.
4. The Executive Committee shall appoint from within itself the office of secretary, and appoint committees, the section newsletter editor and webmaster, enact budgets and dues, set rules and tentative agenda for the annual meeting of members, and conduct the business of the section at times between the annual meetings of members.
Article VI: Chairperson and Vice-chairperson
1. The chairperson shall be the official spokesperson of ESS/ISA unless the Executive Committee determines otherwise. The chairperson shall act as treasurer for the ESS. The chairperson shall call meetings (except as provided for in Article V, Section 3) and shall preside at them. The Chairperson shall be elected at the annual meeting for one two- year term, and may be re-elected once.
2. The Vice-chairperson shall be primarily responsible for organizing the ESS-sponsored panels at the annual ISA conference, under the general guidance of the Chairperson. The Vice-chairperson shall be elected for one two-year term, and may be re-elected once.
Article VII: Annual Meeting of Members.

The annual meeting of members shall be held at the Annual ISA Meeting and shall conduct the business of the section, as
well as carrying any other activity consistent with the purposes of the section. The Chairperson shall preside and the members of the Executive Committee participate. The annual meeting shall:
1) receive a report of the activities of the section;
2) select a nominating committee of four (4) three (3) members; and
3) vote to elect officers based on the report of the nominating committee plus nominations from the membership as provided for in Article VIII.
Article VIII: Nominations and elections.
1. A nominating committee of four (4) members, including at least one (1) member from outside the Executive Committee, shall be elected at the annual meeting. The Chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of the Nominating Committee.
2. The Nominating Committee shall seek to ensure a slate representative of the diversity within the section, including various disciplines, intellectual and methodological stances, ages and sexes, institutions, and geographic locations.
3. The Harold and Margaret Sprout Award Committee shall consist of five (5) members, three of whom will be elected in a given year and two of whom will be elected in the alternate year. The Committee shall select its own chair.
4. The section shall elect a section representative to the Editorial Board of Global Environmental Politics to a 3-year term.
5. The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations from the section membership by e- mail and present to the membership by e-mail for a vote the names of one or more nominees for each vacant position at least two weeks prior to the annual meeting. Those who have not voted by e- mail may vote in person at the annual meeting.
6. Additional nominations sponsored by at least five (5) members may be made at the annual meeting and shall be eligible for election.
7. Officers for the next year shall be elected at the annual meeting, based on the vote by e-mail and at the annual meeting, and shall take office at the close of the meeting.
Article IX: Finances.
1. The section may solicit and receive outside funding, but may use the name of ISA only with the agreement of its officers.
2. The section may establish dues, subject to ISA limitations, and shall consider the financial limitations of members in establishing these.
Article X: Amendments.
1. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Committee, or by petition of at least ten (10) members.
2. Amendments shall be considered at the annual meeting, and shall be adopted if approved by 2/3 of the members present and voting.
3. Amendments shall be submitted to ISA officers.