Presiding Officer and Appointments

[Guest Roberta E.]

Can the President appoint a member to a singular position, such as the Archivist, without approval of the membership?  This is not an officer position.  The bylaws grant the President power to appoint special committees, and chairs of both standing and special, without approval.  I cannot find it referred to in RONR.  Thank you.

[Richard Brown]

On 2/7/2023 at 3:15 AM, Guest Roberta E. said:

Can the President appoint a member to a singular position, such as the Archivist, without approval of the membership? 

Not unless authorized in your bylaws. In addition, even the membership cannot create a new officer position unless authorized in the bylaws. It would normally require a bylaw amendment. 

[Josh Martin]

On 2/7/2023 at 3:15 AM, Guest Roberta E. said:

Can the President appoint a member to a singular position, such as the Archivist, without approval of the membership?  This is not an officer position.  The bylaws grant the President power to appoint special committees, and chairs of both standing and special, without approval.  I cannot find it referred to in RONR.  Thank you.

Is this position defined anywhere in your organization's rules and, if so, does it say anything about it?

It's possible the position could be viewed as a "committee of one," in which event it appears the President could appoint it, but I hesitate to reach that conclusion without knowing what the organization's rules say about the position.

Edited February 8, 2023 at 12:57 AM by Josh Martin

[Dan Honemann]

On 2/7/2023 at 7:56 PM, Josh Martin said:

It's possible the position could be viewed as a "committee of one," in which event it appears the President could appoint it, but I hesitate to reach that conclusion without knowing what the organization's rules say about the position.

We are told that "The bylaws grant the President power to appoint special committees, and chairs of both standing and special, without approval."  A closer look at these bylaws would be advisable because:

"Whenever it is stated in the bylaws (with or without the proper exceptions just noted) that the president 'shall appoint all committees,' this means that the president shall select the persons to serve on such committees as the bylaws prescribe to be established or the assembly may direct to be appointed; it does not mean that the president can himself decide to appoint and assign a task to a group and thereby give it the status of a committee of the society."  RONR (12th ed.) 5013(d)