The Society for Fetal Urology, hereafter referred to as the
“Society,” has been established as an academic forum for
members with an interest in clinical and research aspects
of fetal and perinatal genitourinary diseases, emphasizing
hydronephrosis. The purpose of this Society is to enhance
the quality of physician training, research, and patient
care in these areas.
The Society and its bylaws shall conform to the guidelines
and bylaws of the AUA. Projects in the areas of internal
government, legislation or public relations shall be
undertaken only with the advice and consent of the AUA.
Article I – Name
The name of this organization shall be The Society for
Fetal Urology.
Article II – Objectives
1.To improve the care of patients with fetal or perinatal
urological problems, especially hydronephrosis by:
a.providing an opportunity for the exchange and
dissemination of information in these areas;
b.stimulating clinical and basic laboratory
research in these areas;
c.facilitating and improving residency and
post-graduate education in these areas.
2.To be available as consultants to the AUA, American
Board of Urology, AAP Section on Urology, Society of
University Urologists, and the Journal of Urology on
matters relating to fetal and perinatal urology, especially
hydronephrosis.
3.To bring into membership in the Society urologists
with a commitment to fetal and perinatal urology,
especially hydronephrosis.
4.To solicit and encourage participation in Society
activities by specialists in related disciplines with a
commitment to fetal and perinatal urology, especially
hydronephrosis.
Article III – Membership
There shall be two categories of membership in the
Society, full membership and associate membership. Full
membership will require individuals to meet the following
qualifications:
1.American Board of Urology certification or its foreign
equivalent, or those candidates applying less than
two years after having completed an approved
urological residency, provided they become Board
certified within the time specified by the Board to
remain Board eligible.
2.Applicant should have demonstrated interest
concerning any aspect of fetal and/or perinatal
urology, especially hydronephrosis. Have a practice
that is at least 80% pediatrics. Active participation
in the ongoing clinical studies with the requirements
being determined by a consensus of the majority of
the membership.
3.Any exception to the above requirements may be
considered by the Executive Committee after a
special request is made by the Membership
Committee.
4.Members are expected to attend at least 1 of the
two biannual meetings.
5.Continued membership in the Society will require
each member to participate in either registration of
new patient cases in ongoing multi-center studies,
clinical case presentations, or presentation of
ongoing laboratory research at biannual meetings.
Associate Membership will require individuals to meet the
following qualifications:
1.Specific research interest, training or clinical practice
that overlaps with pediatric urologic care of antenatal
genitourinary abnormalities;
2.Work at an institution where there is a board
certified urologist who is a member of the Society for
Fetal Urology or associated with an active member in
their area;
3.Recommendation by a full member to the Secretary.
The membership application, obtained from the
Secretary’s office shall be completed and returned
thereto. After it is recorded, it shall be reviewed by the
Secretary of the Society, then be presented to the
Executive Committee for approval. The approved
candidate shall be presented at the next biannual meeting
for final approval by a vote of the membership.
Membership in the Society may be terminated by
resignation, failure of payment of annual dues, or by the
unanimous action of the Executive Committee for the
Society for cause and with the right of appeal to the
Executive Committee of the Society. The Secretary shall
notify the member of the proposed action and shall notify
the member of the final decision.
Article IV – Officers
The officers shall be elected by active members at the
annual meeting. The officers of the Society shall consist
of a President, a Vice-President (President-elect) and a
Secretary-Treasurer.
Article V – Executive Committee of the Society
The Executive Committee shall consist of eight elected
members of the Society: the President, the Secretary-Treasurer,
the Past President, the Vice-President (President-elect), the
Program Chairman who shall be the Vice-President (President-elect),
and four Members-at-large, two of whom shall be chosen from
the foreign membership.
One member of the Society shall be elected to serve as
President for a period of one year. One member of the Society
shall be elected to serve as the Vice-President. The
Vice-President shall be the President-elect, who shall be
elected one year in advance to succeed the President in office.
One member of the Society shall be elected to serve as
Secretary-Treasurer for a period of three years. Four
members of the Society shall be elected to serve as
Members-at-large of the Executive Committee for a period
of three years (this should be staggered). One member shall
be chosen from the European membership and one from the Pacific.
One member of the Society shall be elected to serve as
President for a period of one year. One member of the
Society shall be elected to serve as the Vice-President.
The Vice-President shall be the President-elect, who shall
be elected one year in advance to succeed the President
in office. One member of the Society shall be elected to
serve as Secretary-Treasurer for a period of three years.
Three members of the Society shall be elected to serve
as a Members-at-large of the Executive Committee for a
period of three years (this should be staggered). One
member shall be chosen from the foreign membership. The
past President, following his/her year of serving as past
President shall become the Chairman of the Nominating
Committee to serve one additional year. The Chairman of
the Nominating Committee will recommend two additional
members from the membership to serve.
In the event that an elected member of the Executive
Committee shall resign before the end of his/her term, or
otherwise be unable to complete it, the President, in
consultation with the remaining Executive Committee
members, shall have the power to select and appoint a
Society member to fill this vacancy for the balance of this
term. The especially elected member will be eligible for
reelection.
In the event that the President shall resign before the
end of his/her term or otherwise be unable to complete it,
the remaining Executive Committee members shall elect
one from among themselves to assume this position for
the balance of the term. The Executive Committee
member who fills such a vacancy shall be eligible for
election to one full term as Society President.
Section I – Meeting of the Executive Committee
There shall be two scheduled meetings of the Executive
Committee which take place just prior to the biannual
meetings. Additional meetings may be called at the
discretion of the Chairman of the Executive Committee.
a.Place: The date, time, and place shall be selected by
the Executive Committee.
b.Quorum: Simple majority shall be considered a
quorum.
c.Attendance: All officers and elected members of the
Executive Committee are expected to attend all
meetings of the Executive Committee. Chairmen of
committees may be invited when a committee report
is due.
Section II – Duties of the Executive Committee
a.To conduct the affairs of the Society during the
interim between the biannual meetings.
b.Review all applications for memberships submitted by
the Secretary and accept or reject said applications.
c.Review proposed amendments and policy changes for
presentation at the biannual meeting. Recommendation
for action shall be determined and presented to the entire
membership for a vote at the biannual meeting.
d.Review the format of the Scientific Session for the
biannual meeting.
e.Select the date, time and place for the biannual
meeting.
f.Fill by appointment any vacancy in office except the
President and President Elect.
g.Determine the amount of initiation fee and dues for
all types of membership.
h.Serve as the scientific review committee for data
collected, distributed and published for the Society
activities.
Article VI – Meetings
The Society shall meet biannually. The meetings shall be
held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the
American Urological Association and American Academy of
Pediatrics, Section on Urology. Additional meetings may
be held as determined by the Executive Committee. At
each meeting, approximately one half of the meeting will
be involved with research and clinical topics respectively.
Article VII – Committees
The President shall appoint, at his or her discretion, the
following committees annually and designate one member
to serve as Chairman:
1.Nominating Committee – the Nominating Committee shall
consist of the former Past President and two members to
be elected from the membership at the biannual meetings.
The Past President shall serve as Chairman of the
Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall
submit a slate of candidates for each vacated office at
the biannual meetings. Nomination may be made from the
floor. Election will be by majority vote at the biannual
meetings.
2.Program Committee – the President-elect shall function
as the Program Chairman for the biannual meetings. This
Committee is charged with the plans and preparations of
the biannual meetings.
3.Membership Committee – the
Secretary-Treasurer shall obtain all pertinent data and
make all investigations needed concerning an applicant to
ensure sufficient basis for approval of membership.
Members should be approved by the Executive Committee
prior to each biannual meeting. At each biannual meeting,
the Secretary-Treasurer will present new applicants for
vote.
Article VIII – Dues
The fiscal year will begin on January first. Annual dues, as
determined by the Executive Committee and approved by
the membership, shall be payable prior to the Spring
meeting of the Academy of Pediatrics. Dues will be
determined by the Executive Committee and are separate
from fees at the biannual meetings. The registration fee
at the biannual meetings will also be determined by the
Executive Committee.
Article IX – Amendments
Any member of the Society may originate a proposed
change in the By-laws of the Society or an amendment
thereto at the time of the annual fall meeting of the
Society. The proposal will be considered by the Executive
Committee. If it is not found at variance with the
objectives of the Society, the proposal shall be circulated
to the members of the Society at least one month before
the next meeting. It shall then be placed on the agenda
for consideration. All proposals require majority approval
by the Society membership for implementation.
Article X – Parliamentary Authority
“Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised” shall be the
parliamentary authority for all proceedings of the Society.
Article XI – Duties of Officers
1. Duties of the Executive Committee of the Society:
a.members shall attend the biannual meetings of the
Society and other meetings of the Executive
Committee that may be held;
b.it shall act as consultant to the AUA, the AAP
Section on Urology, the American Board of Urology
and the Journal of Urology in matters relating to fetal
and perinatal urology;
c.it shall determine the program for the biannual
meetings of the Society;
d.it shall serve as the scientific review committee.
2. Duties of the President of the Society:
a.he/she shall preside at the biannual meetings of the
Society and meeting of the Executive Committee of
the Society. In his/her absence, he/she shall assign
this responsibility to another member of the
Executive Committee;
b.he/she shall appoint chairman and members to the
standing committees of the Society. He/she may
designate additional special committees as necessary
and appoint their members;
c.he/she shall receive the reports of all the standing
and special committees;
d.he/she shall be responsible for liaison with other
scientific and professional Societies;
e.he/she shall prepare an annual report to the
Executive Committee;
f.he/she shall be a member ex-officio of all standing
and special committees of the Society and shall
receive the reports of the special and action
committees;
g.he/she shall make an annual report, in writing, and
whenever possible in person, of the activities of the
Society to the American Urologic Association/AAP
Section on Urology.
3. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer of the
Society:
a.he/she shall prepare an agenda for the biannual
meetings of the Society and for meetings of the
Executive Committee;
b.he/she shall take the minutes of the annual meeting
of the Society and meetings of the Executive
Committee;
c.he/she shall record requests for membership in the
Society and completed applications received by the
Executive Committee. He/she shall instruct
applicants to process applications in accordance with
instructions with the Society. He/she shall chair the
Membership Committee. He/she shall be responsible
for forwarding completed applications to the
Executive Committee and notifying applicants of
Committee action;
d.he/she shall distribute an annual roster of the
members of the Society, a copy of the minutes of
the biannual meetings of the Society, a list of
activities or information of interest to members of
the Society, and the agenda for upcoming meetings;
e.he/she shall contract for and arrange the various
luncheons and dinner meetings of the Society and
the meetings of the Society and the meetings of the
Executive Committee of the Society;
f.he/she shall notify members regarding their
appointment to copies of such notification to the
Executive Committee;
g.he/she shall give due notice of all meetings of the
Society and of the Executive Committee;
h.he/she shall carry out such other duties as are
assigned by the President of the Society;
i.he/she shall be responsible for the collection of dues
and shall make a financial report at each annual
meeting.
Article XII – Quorum
1.A quorum for the biannual meetings of the Society
shall consist of one fourth of the current Society
enrollment.
2.A quorum for the meetings of the Executive
Committee shall consist of three members.
Clauses
1.Notwithstanding any other provisions of these
articles, the organization is organized exclusively for
one or more of the purposes as specified in Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and
shall not carry on any activities not permitted to be
carried on by an organization exempt from Federal
income tax under IRC 501(c)(3) or corresponding
provisions of any subsequent tax laws.
2.No part of the net earnings of the organization shall
inure to the benefit of any member, trustee, director,
officer of the organization, or any private individual
(except that reasonable compensation may be paid
for services rendered to or for the organization), and
no member, trustee, officer of the organization or
any private individual shall be entitled to share in the
distribution of any of the organization’s assets on
dissolution of the organization.
3.No substantial part of the activities of the
organization shall be carrying on propaganda, or
otherwise attempting to influence legislation (except
as otherwise provided by IRC 501(h)) or participating
in, or intervening in (including the publication or
distribution of statements), any political campaign on
behalf of or in opposition to any candidates for public
office.
4.In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining
assets and property of the organization shall after
payment of necessary expenses thereof be
distributed to such organizations as shall qualify
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, or corresponding provisions of any
subsequent Federal tax laws, or to the Federal
government or State or local government for a public
purpose, subject to the approval of a Justice of the
Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut.
5.In any taxable year in which the organization is a
private foundation as described in IRC 509(a), the
organization shall distribute its income for said period
at such time and manner as not to subject it to tax
under IRC 4942, and the organization shall not a)
engage in any act of self-dealing as defined in IRC
4941(d), b) retain any excess business holdings as
defined in IRC 4943(c), c) make any investments in
such a manner as to subject the organization to tax
under IRC 4944, or d) make any taxable expenditures
as defined in IRC 4945(d) or corresponding provisions
of any subsequent Federal tax laws.