Education > Statutes

The Education Section operates under the auspices of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR).  It is governed according to IUPHAR regulations by a Section Executive Committee and additional members (councillors), who report to the IUPHAR Executive Committee.  Its existence follows approval by an IUPHAR General Assembly.

The aim of these Section ByLaws is to raise awareness, guide and advise pharmacology educators of best-practice and innovation for governance of the Section.  Furthermore, this Section ByLaws is overseen by the IUPHAR Statutes, would there be any inadequacies; or overruled by stipulations in the IUPHAR Statutes, would there be any conflict between this Section ByLaws and the Statutes of IUPHAR.

1            DEFINITIONS

1.1         In the Section’s ByLaws and in the Regulations, the following terms and expressions shall, unless the context otherwise directs, have the following meanings:

–   “the Section” – The Education Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR);

–   “regulation” – any regulation made in terms of these ByLaws and as amended from time to time;

1.2         The singular shall include the plural and the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender and vice versa.

2            NAME

2.1         The Section shall be known as “The Education Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology”, acronym IUPHAR-Edu.

3            ADDRESS

3.1         Unless and until otherwise notified by the Secretary of the Section, the address of the Section shall be that of the Secretary.

4            OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Section shall be to:

4.1         foster, promote, encourage, develop and support innovative teaching, learning and assessment of basic, clinical and translational pharmacology to higher education pharmacology students and wider audiences,

4.2         promote global communication and cooperation between educators/ teachers and other interest groups representing pharmacology and related disciplines,

4.3         create forums to present and exchange ideas related to pharmacology education,

4.4         cooperate or associate, at the discretion of the Section, with relevant international, national and other authorities and bodies,

4.5         be proactive in the development of early-careers educators in pharmacology,

4.6         contribute to the development of sound drug policies globally via means of promoting appropriate education and training in pharmacology,

4.7         contribute to global public awareness and engagement on pharmacological issues promotion of appropriate education and training in pharmacology,

4.8         collaborate with IUPHAR and other IUPHAR sections and committees to develop programs to address the goals listed above.

5            MEMBERSHIP

5.1         Informal membership of individual educators is by free association, and is inclusive rather than exclusive.  The Section does not have any formal membership.

5.2         Any individual person who is, or has been engaged in the teaching of pharmacology, or related sciences shall be eligible for ordinary membership.

5.3         Membership to a national learned Society that is a member of IUPHAR is explicitly NOT a requirement for ordinary membership to the Education Section.

5.4         Any individual person who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of teaching in pharmacology or allied sciences shall be eligible for election as an honorary member.

5.5         Industries, companies, institutions or similar bodies with an interest in pharmacology and who support and may contribute to the objectives of the Section, may be eligible for corporate membership.  The Section may decide on different levels of corporate membership.

6            DISSOLUTION OF THE SECTION

6.1         A Resolution passed at a General Meeting of IUPHAR shall be necessary for the dissolution of the Section.

6.2         The Section shall be deemed to have ceased to exist when no Meetings of the Section Executive Committee (EXCO) have been held for at least four (4) years.

6.3         In the event of the Section ceasing to exist, any assets of the Section shall be transferred to IUPHAR.

7            LANGUAGE

7.1         Although the ByLaws may be translated into other official languages, the English version of these ByLaws shall be used for the purpose of interpretation, in the case of dispute.

8            ALTERATIONS OF THE BYLAWS

8.1         The ByLaws may be altered by a two-thirds majority of members present at a General Assembly (GA) of the Section:Notice of proposed amendments to the ByLaws should be announced and accessible (viewable) to members at least 4 weeks prior to the GA.

8.2         Members not present at a General Assembly (GA) may vote by postal ballot, electronically or by proxy, provided that “membership” has been clearly defined.

Date of Amendment:  2010-07-18

ByLaws and Regulations of the Education Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, as discussed and approved at the Section General Assembly meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, 18 July 2010.

 Prof. C.B. Brink (secretary 2006-2010)

1            MANAGEMENT

According to the Regulations of IUPHAR, the Section must have at least a Section Executive Committee.

1.1         The business of the Section shall be conducted by the Officers of the Section, and additional members of the Section Executive Committee, filling at minimum the following portfolios:

1.1.1    Officers:

1.1.1.1         a Chair;

1.1.1.2         a Vice-Chair;

1.1.1.3         a Secretary;

1.1.1.4         a Treasurer;

1.1.1.5         the (immediate) past-Chair (ex officio);

1.1.2    at least four elected additional members (i.e. councillors; more members from different regions or countries may be elected as necessary).

1.2         Whenever the activities and/or funding requirements of any specialized task group of the Section is of magnitude/nature to justify the formation of a formal entity, this may become a committee of the Section.  The chair of such a committee will also serve as a councillor.

1.3         The newly elected Executive Committee should strive (but are not bound thereby) to:

1.3.1    have a fair representation of both genders;

1.3.2    have a fair global geographical and national distribution;

1.3.3    include members competent to promote all aspects addressed by the objectives of the Section;

1.3.4    include members from the early-career educator group, for the purpose of mentoring in leadership;

1.3.5    ensure a balance between continuity (previous members) and new members.

1.4         Election Process

1.4.1    Nominations from members shall be called prior to the Section General Assembly.  Such nominations must be in writing, signed by proposer, a seconder and the nominee, and be sent/handed to the Secretary prior to the commencement of the Meeting.

1.4.2    A voting slate will be prepared, including (1) the immediate past-president, automatically elected ex officio, (2) members identified by the current Executive Committee as eligible for election as officers (based on prior involvement in Section activities) or councillors, and (3) nominated members (see §1.4.1above) eligible for election as councillors.

1.4.3    The Executive Committee shall be elected, from the voting slate, at a Section General Assembly.

1.4.4    A member who is not nominated should chair the meeting during the election process.

1.4.5    From the individuals eligible for election as officers, the four (4) receiving the highest votes become the officers.  The immediate-past chair plus the elected four officers will appoint by voting, from these four individuals, their office bearing positions as soon as possible after the Section General Assembly (via a meeting held in person or by conference call, or by voting via electronic communication).

1.4.6    With the approval of members present at the meeting, the process may be adapted depending on the circumstances.

1.5         In addition, the Executive Committee may appoint additional Section members as and when deemed necessary to undertake specific tasks.

1.6         Term of office:

1.6.1    The term of office of each member of the Executive Committee ends after four years (i.e. the duration between the IUPHAR World Congresses of Pharmacology); they may be re-elected for another term of four years.

1.6.2    No member of the Executive Committee may serve in the same position for more than eight consecutive years (i.e. two terms), although he/she may serve in another position if elected.

1.6.3    At the end of a four year term at least 30% of the Executive Committee must be replaced by new incoming members and at least one of the four officers must be replaced by a new incoming officer.

1.6.4    A vacancy on the Executive Committee due to the resignation of an elected member can be filled by another member on an interim basis by the Executive Committee, until the next Section General Assembly, when a replacing member must be formally elected.

1.6.5    All positions are subject to a vote every four years (i.e. during the IUPHAR World Congress of Pharmacology), even if members only served a part of their terms.

1.7         Any member of the Executive Committee who fails to attend four consecutive Meetings of the Executive Committee (held in person, by conference call or by electronic communication) without assigning a valid reason therefore shall cease to be a member of the Executive Committee.

1.8         Functioning of the Officers:

1.8.1    The Chair shall call Section General Assembly meetings and Meetings of the Executive Committee and shall act as chairman at such meetings.

1.8.2    The Vice-Chair shall fulfil the tasks of the Chair whenever the latter is not available.

1.8.3    The Secretary (or delegated assistant) shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the Section’s General Assembly meetings and Meetings of the Executive Committee, and shall submit the Chair’s Annual Report to the Section at a Section General Assembly meeting, as well as report to IUPHAR as required.

1.8.4    The Treasurer will keep accurate records of the financial affairs of the Section and shall submit a financial statement to the Section at the Section General Assembly meeting for its approval, as well as report to IUPHAR as required.

1.9         Meetings of the Executive Committee:

1.9.1    Any number in excess of 50% of the Officers shall form a quorum at a meeting of the Executive Committee.

1.9.2    Whenever there is a hung vote, the Chair at Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to cast a vote in addition to his/her deliberate vote.

2            MEMBERSHIP

2.1         Ordinary membership:

2.1.1    Membership is in accordance with stipulations 5.1, 5.2and 5.3above.

2.2         Honorary membership:

2.2.1    Honorary membership is in accordance with stipulation 5.4above.

2.2.2    Candidates for honorary membership may be nominated in writing, including an updated curriculum vitae and full motivation, and submitted to the Executive Committee at least 8 weeks prior to the Section General Assembly, for approval at the Section General Assembly.

2.3         Corporate membership:

2.3.1    Corporate membership is in accordance with stipulation 5.5above.

2.4         Termination of membership:

2.4.1    Membership shall be terminated by the death or resignation of a member.

3            SUBSCRIPTIONS

3.1         There are no subscription fees for ordinary or honorary membership to the Section.

3.2         Any support, contributions or fees in relation to corporate membership may be determined by the executive committee in accordance with stipulation 5.5above.

4            MEETINGS

4.1         The Section shall hold at least one General Assembly meeting every four years during the IUPHAR World Congress of Pharmacology, or during the Education Section’s World Congress Satellite meeting.

4.2         The Section General Assembly shall be held at/near the respective meeting venue.

4.3         At least six months notice shall be given of the place and date of all Section General Assembly meetings.  In this regard, the announcement of the IUPHAR World Congress of Pharmacology shall be deemed as the announcement of the Section General Assembly meeting.

4.4         Business requiring urgent attention between Section General Assembly meetings can be brought to the attention of the Executive Committee, whose duty it is to respond to such matters.

4.5         The business to be transacted at the Section General Assembly meeting shall be:

4.5.1    To confirm the minutes of the previous Section General Assembly meeting and any subsequent Section General Assembly meetings.

4.5.2    To consider and approve reports of office bearers.

4.5.3    To elect members to fill the vacancies in the Executive Committee.

4.5.4    To appoint auditors for the ensuing year.

4.5.5    To consider any other matters which have been brought to the attention of the Officers or are raised by Section members at the Section General Assembly meeting.

4.6        Quorum:

4.6.1    The quorum for Section General Assembly meetings at which business is to be discussed shall be the members present.

4.6.2    At least 60% of the Executive Committee must be present to approve any changes to the ByLaws.

5            FINANCIAL MATTERS

5.1         Any two of three members appointed by the Executive Committee may sign on behalf of the Section.

5.2         An income and expenditure account balance sheet shall be presented at the Section General Assembly meeting and forwarded to the IUPHAR Treasurer.

5.3         The income of the Section may be augmented by donations, bequests, grants or other forms acceptable to the Executive Committee.

5.4         The Executive Committee is empowered to open and operate accounts with a bank or banks, to invest in such securities as it considers advisable in respect of such funds as are not immediately required for the administration of the work of the Section.

5.5         The financial year of the Section shall commence on 01 September and terminate on 31 August of the following year.

Date of Amendment:  2010-07-18

ByLaws and Regulations of the Education Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, as discussed and approved at the Section General Assembly meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, 18 July 2010.
 Prof. C.B. Brink (secretary 2006-2010)