CHARTER OF THE SECTION ON
TEACHING OF STATISTICS IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES
(Revised 2009)

Article I. NAME
The name of this organization is the Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences of the American Statistical Association (hereafter called the Association).

Article II. SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS
The purpose of the Section is to facilitate communication and joint activities among professionals interested in teaching statistical methods and concepts to persons in the health sciences. Specific Section functions include:

1. Improving exchanges of information on methods useful in teaching statistics in the health sciences.
   
2. Increasing awareness and encouraging exchanges of resources helpful in such teaching, including exercises, articles, texts, computer software, audio-visual materials, and examination prototypes.
   
3. Encouraging exchange of ideas about philosophies, principles, and methods of teaching, as these apply to the academic, administrative, and professional contexts of health science education.
   
4. Helping members keep informed on recent developments in statistical methodology with health science applications.
   
5. Facilitating clinician-statistician interactions directed toward the improvement of biostatistics teaching.

To fulfill these functions, the Section will hold sessions at meetings of the Association, as well as conferences and seminars in cooperation with other organizations, as appropriate. The Section will maintain liaison with other Sections of the Association, and with other organizations in the health sciences. Communication among members will be further encouraged by means of the Section newsletter, the Section web page, and/or the Association's publications.

Article III. MEMBERSHIP
Any full member of the Association may become a member of the Section by paying dues to the Section.

The membership year for each member of the Section shall coincide with that member's membership year in the Association.

Article IV. OFFICERS
The officers of the Section shall be the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Secretary/Treasurer, the Program Chair, the Program Chair-Elect, the Publications Officer, and the Representative(s) to the Association's Council of Sections.The number of Representatives shall be determined by the Charter of the Council of Sections.

The Chair is the chief officer of the Section and a voting member of its Executive Committee. The Office of Chair passes annually by succession to the Chair-Elect of the previous year. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may designate committees or individuals to carry out functions of the Section. The Chair shall coordinate the work of the officers and committees of the Section and shall prepare reports on the activities of the Section for publication in the Newsletter of the Section on Teaching Statistics in the Health Sciences and include any annual reports prepared for the Association in the Section Newsletter as well. The Chair shall review the regular financial reports provided by the Association's central office.

The Chair-Elect, chosen annually by vote of the membership, shall serve as a voting member of the Executive Committee and preside over meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair. In consultation with the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-Elect is Chair.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed by the Chair, after consultation with the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the minutes of all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer shall also assist the Chair-Elect in preparing the annual budget and shall monitor the Section's dues collections and expenditures and prepare an annual report on the financial condition of the Section. The Secretary/Treasurer serves as a voting member of the Executive Committee.

The Program Chair shall be responsible for developing and coordinating the Section's sessions and other program events at national and regional meetings of the Association. The Program Chair-Elect-Elect shall be appointed by the Chair-Elect, after consultation with the Executive Committee. The Program Chair-Elect-Elect shall succeed to Program Chair-Elect at the beginning of the following year, and to Program Chair at the beginning of the year following that year. The Program Chair serves as a voting member of the Executive Committee and also as a member of the Association's Program Committee. The Program Chair's duties include advertising the Section's program events in AmStat News and the Section newsletter and webpage, and being in charge of any awards given by the Section for best presentation at the Joint Statistical Meetings.

During the year prior to the year in which they serve as Program Chair, the Program Chair-Elect shall solicit by letter, e-mail, or other means, the participation of Section members in the Joint Statistical Meetings of the following year. The Program Chair-Elect serves as a voting member of the Executive Committee.

The Publications Officer shall be appointed by the Chair, after consultation with the Executive Committee, and shall coordinate activities within the Section related to publications sponsored by the Section. The Publications Officer shall solicit the views of the Section's members concerning the content and operation of the Association's journals and shall bring those views to the attention of the Editor(s) of the relevant journal(s). When requested by the Editor(s) of the relevant journal(s), and after consultation with the Executive Committee, the Publications Officer shall assist in soliciting, reading, and editing articles on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences, for publication in the Association's journals. The Publications Officer shall also be responsible for overseeing the Section website. Specific responsibilities for maintaining the Section website and keeping the Section website up-to-date may be delegated to others, after consultation with the Executive Committee. The Publications Officer shall also serve as a voting member of the Executive Committee and also as the Section's representative on Association committees concerned with Section publication matters.

The Editor of the Newsletter of the Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences shall be appointed by the Chair, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee of the Section. The Publications Officer may serve as the Editor of the Newsletter of the Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences, but is not required to do so.

The Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall be elected by the membership, shall serve as voting members of the Executive Committee, and shall represent the interests of the Section and its members on matters that come before the Council of Sections.

Article V. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee of the Section shall consist of the officers of the Section and immediate past Chair of the Section. Between business meetings the management of the affairs of the Section shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee, subject to such standing rules as the business meeting may from time to time provide.

Article VI. NOMINATION AND ELECTION
Each year the Section's Committee on Nominations shall submit, to the Secretary of the Association and the Section Chair, at least two candidates for each elective position to be filled. The Association's general deadline for submission of nominations shall apply. As part of the Association's annual election, the Secretary of the Association will mail a ballot to all members of the Section. Additional nominations may be made by submitting a petition, signed by at least 25 members of the Section, to the Section Chair and the Secretary of the Association. Such a petition must be submitted within 45 days after the mailing date of the publication announcing the names of the candidates submitted by the Committee on Nominations.

If the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Chair-Elect shall become the Chair, with term extending through the following year. Vacancies in other offices shall be filled by appointment by the Chair, subject to majority approval of the Executive Committee.

Article VII. TERMS OF OFFICE
The Chair, Chair-Elect, Program Chair, and Program Chair-Elect shall each serve a one-year term. The Chair-Elect shall automatically succeed the Chair and the Program Chair-Elect shall automatically succeed the Program Chair at the annual change of officers, which shall occur on January 1. The Secretary-Treasurer and the Publications Officer shall each serve a two-year term. The term of office for the Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall be as specified in the Charter of the Council of Sections. The Chair and the Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall not be eligible for immediate re-election to their respective positions.

Article VIII. COMMITTEES

1. Types. The Committees of the Section shall consist of the Executive Committee, Standing Committees provided by this Charter, and such Standing or Current Committees as the Chair may establish. Current Committees may be established to serve a particular need or interest of the Section. Each Standing or Current Committee must submit an annual report to the Executive Committee.
   
2. Membership. All members of Standing Committees, as well as the chairs of Current Committees, shall be full members of the Association. The term of membership on Standing and Current Committees, if not otherwise specified in this Charter, shall be three years. Initial terms shall be set by the Chair for one, two, or three years so that, as nearly as possible, one-third of the members shall be appointed each year. Except for ex officio members, no member may serve on a committee for more than six consecutive years without specific approval by the Executive Committee. Members of committees shall serve until their successors are appointed or elected. Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, each committee shall be governed by a chair appointed by that year's Section Chair.
   
3. Normal Time of Appointment. In order that new members of Standing and Current Committees may begin work promptly, the Chair-Elect shall, if possible, announce intended appointments of committee members for the following year at least two months prior to the beginning of their terms.
   
4. Standing Committees. The Standing Committees provided by this Charter are as follows:
   
   1. Committee on Nominations. The Chair shall appoint two Section members to serve, with the Section's most recent past Chair, as the Committee on Nominations. This Committee shall be chaired by the past Section Chair, and shall be responsible for submitting nominations for officers as provided in Article VI of this Charter. The term of the Committee on Nominations shall extend into the subsequent calendar year, if necessary, to complete this task. Members of the Committee are not eligible for nomination by the Committee.
      
   2. Committee to Nominate Fellows. The Committee to Nominate Fellows shall consist of three members. Each year the Committee shall identify members of the Section who would be suitable nominees for the honor of Fellow of the American Statistical Association (as described in the By-Laws of the Association) and shall coordinate preparation and submission of the nominations.
      
   3. Charter Committee. Not more than three years after adoption of this Charter, the Chair shall appoint a Charter Committee for the purpose of reviewing the Charter of the Section. If necessary, the Charter Committee shall prepare a revision to be submitted to the Section not more than five years after the adoption of this Charter, in accordance with Article XI of this Charter. In the event that the Committee undertakes a major revision of the Charter, the Executive Committee may extend the life of the current Charter one year at a time.
      
   4. Budget Committee. The Budget Committee shall consist of three members: the Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Section. This Committee shall be chaired by the Chair-Elect and shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-Elect is Chair.
      
5. Current Committees. The life of a Current Committee may not exceed five years without a review of its need by the Executive Committee. Any committee that is to continue for more than one year must have a written charge approved by the Executive Committee. Current Committees established in accordance with this article may be dissolved at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Article IX. PUBLICATIONS
Publication of non-journal periodicals, reports, proceedings, or other publications may be authorized by vote of the Executive Committee. Editors for Section publications shall be members of the Section and shall be appointed by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Article X. MEETINGS
The annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in connection with the annual meeting of the Association and shall be announced in the printed program of the annual meeting. The officers may also conduct business with members of the Section by mail or e-mail. The Executive Committee shall meet at the annual meeting of the Association. It may also hold additional meetings, in person or by conference call, at times and places designated by the Chair with the consent of the Executive Committee. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair or by vote of two-thirds of the Executive Committee. Between meetings the Executive Committee may conduct business by e-mail, mail, telephone, or other electronic means.

Article XI. AMENDMENTS

1. Proposal. Amendments to this Charter may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by at least 25 members of the Section. An amendment originating by petition shall be referred to the Executive Committee, which shall vote on its recommendation regarding ratification. A major revision of this Charter, such as that provided for in Article VIII, shall be referred to the Executive Committee, which may recommend ratification as a whole or in parts. The Executive Committee may also decide upon the final wording of a proposed amendment, as long as such wording is consistent with the original intent of the petition.
   
2. Ratification. All proposed amendments shall be submitted to the members of the Section for mail, e-mail, or webpage vote at the time of the next annual election of officers. If approved by a majority of members voting, the amendment shall take effect immediately, or at such other time as specified in the amendment. A copy of the amendment shall be filed with the Secretary of the Association.