Reconstituted and Renamed at the University of Washington in 1989
Prepared for the Gilbert Ichthyological Society
by Theodore W. Pietsch, September 1998
Updated by Katherine Maslenikov October 2018
CHARTER OF THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL SOCIETY
TO ALL TO WHOM these Presents shall come Greeting: WHEREAS, several of our Fish-loving Subjects resident in the Pacific Northwest are desirous of forming a Society for the Cultivation of the Science of Ichthyology in all its Branches, and having subscribed considerable efforts for that purpose, have humbly besought us to grant unto them, and such other persons as shall be approved and elected as hereinafter is mentioned, Our Charter of Incorporation for the purposes aforesaid; KNOW YE that We, being desirous to promote every Kind of Improvement in the Science of Ichthyology, do hereby give and grant Ourselves, as are here present in this room today, and such others as shall from time to time be nominated and elected in the manner hereinafter directed, by virtue of these presents, one Body politic and Corporate by the Name of "THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL SOCIETY." And We do hereby declare and grant that there shall be an indefinite Number of Fellows of the said Society; And We do hereby give and grant that our Right Trusty and Right Wellbeloved Carl Eldon Bond, Karl Glen Brookins, Morgan Scott Busby, Peggy Jean Busby, Kenneth Paul Currens, Jean Richard Dunn, Frederick Allen Goetz, Phillip Michael Harris, John Thomas Konecki, Liu Zhiming, James John Long, Douglas Frank Markle, Roberto Hernan Melendez Cortes, Helena Molina-Urena, Stephen Francis Norton, James Wilder Orr, Wayne Alexis Palsson, Jeffrey Charles Parkhurst, Todd Newman Pearsons, Theodore Wells Pietsch, Thomas Peter Quinn, John Harris Stadler, and Christopher Lee Toole, if they be here in this room this day, the Seventh of October, One thousand nine hundred and eighty nine, shall be the first Fellows of the said Society; and that they, the said Fellows, all having been first duly summoned to attend the Meetings of the said Society, shall and may appoint other persons to be Fellows, Distinguished Members, Foreign Members, and Associates of the said Society as they may think fit. And We do further declare and grant that for the better direction, management, and execution of the Business and Concerns thereof, there shall be henceforth and forever a Council, a President, and a Secretary of the said Society to be elected in manner hereinafter mentioned; and that such Council shall consist of six members to be elected by the method hereinafter directed, whereof any four shall be a quorum: And We do hereby nominate and appoint the said Carl Eldon Bond, Jean Richard Dunn, Phillip Michael Harris, Douglas Frank Markle, James Wilder Orr, and Theodore Wells Pietsch to be the first Council; the said Jean Richard Dunn to be the first President; and the said Phillip Michael Harris to be the first Secretary; And We do hereby declare that all and each holder of the aforesaid offices, the personages who shall be duly nominated and elected on this Seventh day of October, One thousand nine hundred and eighty nine, shall continue in such their respective posts for a limited period of time: the Secretary and members of the Council to serve for a period of Three years; the President to serve for a period of One Year. And We do hereby direct and give power to the Office of the President of the said Society to appoint a Vice-President from among those Members whose Resident State is other than that of the President, who shall serve for a period of One Year, and to make additional appointments as he or she shall see fit to make. And also, it being our Will and Pleasure, We the said Fellows, in like manner shall and may, in case of the death or resignation of any Member of the Council or of the President, Vice President, or Secretary, elect other discreet Persons being Fellows of the said Society to take their place. And We do further declare and grant that the Fellows of the said Society shall and may have power from time to time, at the regular meeting of the said Society, to be held annually and alternating between Washington and Oregon, to elect such Persons to be Fellows, Distinguished Members, Foreign Members, and Associates of the said Society, and to remove any Fellow, Distinguished Member, Foreign Member, and Associate of the said Society for cause as they shall think fit. And We do further hereby declare that the Council of the said Society hereby appointed, of which all Members thereof having been duly summoned to attend the annual meetings thereof, shall and may have the power according to the best of their judgement and discretion to make and establish such Bye-Laws as they shall deem useful and necessary for the regulation of the said Society and of the Business thereof; and for fixing and determining the times of meetings of the said Society and also the times and manner of electing, appointing, and removing all Fellows, Distinguished Members, Foreign Members, and Associates of the said Society and all such subordinate Officers, Attendants, and Servants as shall be deemed necessary or useful for the said Society; and also for filling up from time to time any vacancies which may happen by death, removal, or otherwise in any of the offices or appointments constituted or established for the execution of the Business and Concerns of the said Society; and for regulating and ascertaining the qualifications of persons to become Fellows, Distinguished Members, Foreign Members, and Associates of the said Society; and such Bye-Laws from time to time to vary, alter, or revoke and make such new and other Bye-Laws as they shall think most useful and expedient so that the same be not repugnant to these Presents or to the Laws of the Land: Provided that no Bye-Law hereafter to be made or alteration or repeal of any Bye-Law which shall hereafter have been established by the said Council hereby appointed shall be considered to have passed and be binding on the said Society until such Bye-Law or such alteration or repeal of any Bye-Law shall have been read by the President at a Meeting of the said Society and until the same shall have been confirmed by Ballot by the Fellows at large of the said Society; and provided that no Bye-Law or alteration or repeal of any Bye-Law shall be deemed or taken to pass in the affirmative unless it shall appear upon such Ballot that two-thirds of the Fellows present at such meeting shall have voted for the same. AND KNOW YE that the said Society shall not Tolerate, nor shall any Person be Subject to, Discrimination on the Basis of Age, Creed, Color, Handicap, National Origin, Race, Religion, Sex, or Marital Status.
IN WITNESS whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent in the Name of CHARLES HENRY GILBERT at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, the Seventh Day of October in the Year of our Lord One thousand nine hundred and eighty nine.
BY WARRANT UNDER THE NAME OF THE SAID SOCIETY,
THEODORE WELLS PIETSCH
BYE-LAWS OF THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL SOCIETY
AS CONFIRMED AT THE FIRST MEETING OF THE RECONSTITUTED AND RENAMED SOCIETY
HELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ON THE SEVENTH
DAY OF OCTOBER 1989
CHAPTER 1
Of the Election and Admission of Fellows
Sect. 1. The Method of Election shall be by Open Vote unless two or
more Members demand a written Ballot.
Sect. 2. The number of persons to be elected shall be indefinite and
unlimited until such time that limitation becomes necessary or desired,
the latter conditions to be determined from time to time by Council.
Sect. 3. Every Candidate for Admission as a Fellow shall be
proposed and recommended by at least one Fellow who shall sign and cause
to be delivered to the Secretary a paper giving the full name, rank,
profession, qualifications, and the address of the candidate; and the
Recommendation shall be based upon personal acquaintance with the
candidate or knowledge of his or her character or writings.
Sect. 4. No person shall be declared to be elected a Fellow who
has not received the votes of two-thirds of the number of Fellows voting.
Sect. 5. Ballots for the Election of Fellows shall be held at one or
more Annual Meetings of the Society. The date of such Ballots shall be
fixed by the Council and at least one calendar month's notice shall be
given to every Fellow.
Sect. 6. Every person chosen a Fellow shall receive from the
Secretary immediate Notice of his or her Election, and shall appear
personally for his or her Admission at the next Annual Meetings of the
Society or within such time as shall be granted by the Council.
Sect. 7. Every person elected a Fellow of the Society shall,
before his or her admission, subscribe an Obligation in the following words:
If any person refuses to subscribe the said Obligation, the election of that
person shall be void.
Sect. 8. The admission of every Fellow shall occur at an Annual
Meeting of the Society in the manner and form following: The President,
taking the candidate by the hand, shall say, "[candidate's name in full]
By the Authority vested in me and in the Name of THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL
SOCIETY, I admit you a Fellow thereof."
Sect. 9. No person elected a Fellow of the Society shall be
entitled to exercise any privilege as such, nor shall he or she be
admitted nor his or her name entered in the List of the Members of the
Society until he or she shall have paid his or her Admission Fee or
Contribution for the current year, if any such Fee or Contribution ever
be constituted by addition to these Bye-Laws in the future; and no such
person shall have liberty to vote at any Election or Meeting of the
Society before he or she shall have been admitted as directed in the
preceding Sections.
CHAPTER 2
Of the Distinguished Members
Sect. 1. The number of Distinguished Members shall not exceed six.
Sect. 2. When a vacancy shall occur in the number of Distinguished
Members, the Fellows shall at the then next or any succeeding Meeting of
the Society as they see fit, elect by Open Vote, unless two or more
Members demand a written Ballot, a distinguished Personage to fill such
vacancy; provided that no such Personage shall be considered as elected
unless two-thirds of the number of Fellows present shall have voted in
the affirmative.
Sect. 3. As soon as may be after the election of any Distinguished
Member, the President of the Society shall announce such election to him
or her by letter and at the same time transmit to him or her a Diploma
under the Common Seal of the Society, as well as a printed copy of the
Charter and Bye-Laws, and a List of members of the Society.
CHAPTER 3
Of the Foreign Members
Sect. 1. A candidate for Foreign Membership may be any Distinguished
Personage whose permanent professional address lies outside of the states
of Washington and Oregon.
Sect. 2. The number of Foreign Members shall not exceed twelve; the
Election of Foreign Members shall be by Open Vote, unless two or more
Members demand a written Ballot, and the date of such Ballot shall be
fixed by the Council.
Sect. 3. Any Fellow of the Society may propose a person for
election as Foreign Member by a certificate signed by himself or herself
and two or more additional Fellows. Such certificate shall state the
name and residence of the person proposed and indicate clearly the
grounds on which his or her selection is urged. The certificate shall be
sent to the Secretary of the Society.
Sect. 4. The certificates proposing Foreign Members shall be filed,
and in the event of a vacancy or vacancies in the List of Foreign Members,
the Council shall select from the persons so proposed at such time or times
as they may think fit the numbers necessary to fill the vacancy or
vacancies; and the names of the candidates so selected shall be read at
an Annual Meeting of the Society and a Ballot shall take place at such time.
Sect. 5. No person shall be declared to be elected a Foreign
Member who has not received the votes of two-thirds of the Fellows Balloting.
Sect. 6. There shall be transmitted to each Foreign Member, as
soon as may be after his or her election, a Diploma under the Common Seal
of the Society.
Sect. 7. No person usually residing in any part of the states of
Washington or Oregon, unless he or she be an Ambassador from a Foreign
State, shall be elected a Foreign Member of the Society.
Sect. 8. Every Foreign Member shall enjoy the rights and
privileges of full membership in the Society but are ineligible to hold
office.
CHAPTER 4
Of the Associates
Sect. 1. There shall be two groups of Associates: Undergraduate
Students and Significant Others.
Sect. 2. Every candidate for Election as an Undergraduate Associate
must be registered as a student, full or part-time, at a University or other
institution of higher education; each candidate for election shall be
proposed and recommended by at least one Fellow, who shall sign and cause
to be delivered to the Secretary a form giving the full name, qualifications,
and the usual place of residence of the candidate; the recommendation shall
be based upon personal acquaintance with the candidate.
Sect. 3. The Ballot for the election of Undergraduate Associates
shall take place at the Annual Meeting of the Society.
Sect. 4. No person shall be declared to be elected an Undergraduate
Associate who has not received the votes of two-thirds of the Fellows
balloting.
Sect. 5. The Secretary shall immediately after the election of any
person as an Undergraduate Associate notify him or her by letter and
shall transmit to him or her a printed copy of the Charter, Bye-Laws, and
List of members of the Society.
Sect. 6. An Undergraduate Associate may retain his or her
Associateship until he or she completes all requirements for the Degree
of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science from a University or other
institution of higher education, at which time he or she will be eligible
for Election to full Fellowship.
Sect. 7. Significant Others of duly Elected Fellows, Distinguished
Members, Foreign Members, and Undergraduate Associates are automatically
considered Associates of the Society and need not be proposed,
recommended, or elected.
Sect. 8. Every Associate of the Society shall have access to all
Meetings of the Society but are ineligible to vote or to hold office.
CHAPTER 5
Of the Death or Withdrawal of Members
Sect. 1. Upon the death or the voluntary withdrawal of any Fellow,
Distinguished Member, Foreign Member, or Associate, such death or
withdrawal shall be noted and entered upon the Minutes of the Society
at the next Annual Meeting.
CHAPTER 6
Of the Causes and Form of Ejection
Sect. 1. If any member of the Society should contemptuously
disobey the Statutes or Orders of the Society or Council; or should, by
speaking, writing, or printing, publicly defame the Society; or advisedly,
maliciously, or dishonestly do any thing to the damage, detriment,
or dishonor thereof, he or she shall be liable to Ejection from the Society.
Sect. 2. Whensoever there shall be cause for the ejection of any
member from the Society, the President shall at some Meeting thereof propose
the ejection of such member; and the question shall be put to Ballot, and
if two-thirds of the Members present vote for it, the President shall
cancel the name of such person in the Register, and at the same time
pronounce him or her ejected in these words: "By the Authority vested
in me and in the name of THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL SOCIETY, I hereby
declare [name in full] to be now ejected and no longer a Fellow [or
otherwise, as the case may be] thereof." And the ejection of every such
person shall then be recorded in the Minute Book of the Society.
Sect. 3. All Persons ejected from the Society shall be thereby
rendered incapable of belonging to it in future.
CHAPTER 7
Of the Annual Meeting and Election of the Council and Officers
Sect. 1. The Official Meetings of the Society are directed by
Charter to take place annually, preferably during the month of October, this
being the Official Anniversary of the first gathering of the Reconstituted
and Renamed Fellowship; the Official designated place for the annual
gathering of Fellows shall alternate year to year between the States of
Washington and Oregon as Agreed upon by Council.
Sect. 2. Every Fellow of the Society, whose residence may be
known to the Secretary, shall be summoned to the Annual Meeting of the
Society by a letter signed by the Secretary; and such summons shall be
sent by post to the last known address of every such Fellow a month at
the least before the Meeting.
Sect. 3. The Fellows, Distinguished Members, Foreign Members, and
Associates shall have free communication with the Society at the Annual
Meeting, but discussion of the Society's affairs and the Power of Voting
shall be restricted to the Fellows, Distinguished Members, and Foreign
Members.
Sect. 4. Each Fellow, Distinguished Member, Foreign Member, and
Associate may introduce guests at every Annual Meeting of the Society;
and the name of every guest so introduced shall be entered in the Minute
Book, together with the name of the member who shall introduce him or her
and who is to be accountable for his or her conduct during his or her
presence at the Meeting.
Sect. 5. No member or guest shall, at a Meeting of the Society, in
any way interfere with the convenience of another member or guest.
Sect. 6. In case of the Absence of the President, the
Vice-President shall preside at the Annual Meeting; and if neither the
President nor the Vice-President be present, then the Chair shall be
taken by some other Member of Council who may be present.
Sect. 7. When the Chair shall have been taken, the Minutes of the
preceding Meeting shall be immediately read, and, if approved by the Fellows
present, be signed by the Chairperson of the Meeting.
Sect. 8. The chief business of the Society at their Annual Meeting
shall be to hear reports, papers, and research plans on subjects of an
ichthyological nature, to be delivered by any and all participants.
Sect. 9. At the time of Election of new Officers, the President,
or in his or her absence, the Vice-President, shall call for nominations;
this shall be done annually in the case of the President, and every third
year in the case of the Secretary and Members of the Council; incumbency
shall not disqualify any Member from nomination for or election to any Office.
Sect. 10. The President and Secretary shall be nominated and elected
from among those Members of the Society whose resident state is other than
that of the respective incumbent.
Sect. 11. The nomination of Members to the Council shall proceed in
such a way that one-half of those elected are residents of the State of
Washington and one-half are residents of the State of Oregon.
Sect. 12. No person shall be declared to be elected to any Office of
the Society who has not received the votes of two-thirds of the Fellows
balloting.
Sect. 13. When any question shall be raised at an Annual Meeting of
the Society it shall be determined by Open Vote, unless two or more Members
demand a written Ballot.
CHAPTER 8
Of the President
Sect. 1. The business of the President shall be to preside at the
Annual Meeting and regulate all the debates of the Society and Council;
to state and put questions which shall have been moved and seconded, both
in the affirmative and negative, according to the sense and intention of
the Meetings; to call for reports and accounts from any Committees and
from others; to check irregularities and to keep all persons in the Meeting
to order; to cause any and all Extraordinary Meetings of the Council or of
the Fellowship as a whole to be summoned when necessary; to present the
Presidential Address at the Annual Meeting; and generally to execute or
see to the execution of the Statutes and Bye-Laws of the Society.
CHAPTER 9
Of the Secretary
Sect. 1. The Secretary, subject to the direction of the Council,
shall be responsible for the general management of the business of the
Society; he or she shall be responsible for the taking of accurate minutes
at all Meetings; and to be accountable for the maintenance and protection
of the Books and Papers of the Society.
CHAPTER 10
Of the Council
Sect. 1. The Council shall communicate as a body at such times as
shall be appointed by the President; under usual circumstances this
communication shall be made by post, but under Extraordinary circumstances
a Council Meeting may be called by the President; due and sufficient notice
of each Meeting must be sent to every Member of the Council.
Sect. 2. The President or the Vice-President, or in case of their
absence a Presidential Designate, shall preside at every Meeting of the Council.
Sect. 3. When the chair shall have been taken, the Minutes of the
preceding Meeting of the Council shall be read, and, if approved by the
Members present, shall be signed in the Minute Book by the President or
other Chairperson.
Sect. 4. When any Question shall be raised at a Meeting of the
Council it shall be determined by Open Vote, unless two or more Members
demand a Ballot; and the Resolution of all such Questions shall rest on
the votes of two-thirds of the Council Members balloting.
Sect. 5. When the Council shall have determined upon a question
which, agreeably to the Charter, requires the assent of the Fellows at
large, the Resolution of the Council upon such question, signed by the
President, Vice-President, or Chairperson who may have presided at the
time, and by the Secretary, shall be read from the Chair at the next
Annual Meeting of the Society and voted upon, and the terms of any such
Resolution shall also be forthwith communicated by circular to each Fellow.
Sect. 6. The Council, with the advice and consent of the President,
may at its discretion appoint other Committees which are considered
desirable in the interests of the Society.
CHAPTER 11
Of the Books and Papers of the Society
Sect. 1. There shall be kept a Book, called the Roll and Charter
Book, which shall contain a copy of the Charter and the Obligation to be
subscribed by the Fellows of the Society in their own handwriting.
Sect. 2. There shall be kept a Book, called the Register Book, which
shall contain the Register of the Fellows of the Society, with the dates of
their election, death, or withdrawal, or ejection if fate be so cruel.
Sect. 3. There shall be kept a Book, called the Minute Book, in
which shall be entered all the Minutes, Orders, and Business of the Society
and Council at their respective Meetings.
Sect. 4. Any Fellow of the Society may at proper times have the
liberty of inspecting the Roll and Charter Book, the Register Book, the
Minute Book, or other official books of the Society.
Sect. 5. The maintenance and protection of the Roll and Charter
Book, the Register Book, the Minute Book, and any other official books
of the Society are the responsibility of the Secretary for which he or
she shall be held accountable.
CHAPTER 12
Amendments to the Charter
FIRST AMENDMENT to the Charter of the Gilbert Ichthyological Society Made
by Majority Agreement of the Voting Body, Gathered at the Ninth Annual of the
Society, the Twenty-seventh Day of June, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety
Seven.
Of the Parliamentarian
The membership of the Society, in realizing the need for parliamentarian
guidance from administration to administration over the long term,
assistance regarded as necessary to provide clarity regarding the
maintenance of the Bye-Laws of the Society, hereby decrees that there
shall be henceforth and forever a Parliamentarian and that the person
elected to that post shall hold said office for life.
SECOND AMENDMENT to the Charter of the Gilbert Ichthyological Society Made by Majority Agreement of the Voting Body, Gathered at the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Society, the Fifth Day of October, Two Thousand and Eighteen.
Of the Vice President
The duties of the Vice President are to present the history of Charles Henry Gilbert to the membership at the annual business meeting of the Society, to preside over the annual meeting of the Society and any Council meetings if the President is unable, and to assist the President as needed. We revoke the residency requirement of the Office of the Vice President
"I who have hereunto subscribed, do hereby promise that I will endeavor
to promote the Good of THE GILBERT ICHTHYOLOGICAL SOCIETY, and to pursue
the Ends for which the same was instituted: That I will be present at the
meetings of the Society, as often as I possibly can, especially upon
extraordinary Occasions; and that I will observe the Statutes, Bye-Laws,
and Orders of the said Society so help me CHARLES HENRY GILBERT. All
this provided that, should I desire to withdraw from the Society, I may
signify as such in writing to the President, and I shall be free from this
Obligation for the future."