Skip to Main Content

Vice President

Term

Three years. The election is contested and immediate re-election is barred. (Comment: In more than forty years, no one has served a second term as Vice President.)

Duties

All Council members are charged to legislate for the Society on matters concerned with “the furtherance of the interests of mathematical scholarship and research.” Insofar as legislation involves the expenditure of funds, it takes the form of recommendations to the Trustees. The duties are accomplished through two meetings per year, with occasional extraordinary meetings and Business by Mail. There are additional factors peculiar to the office of Vice President. One is the dependence of the President by convention on the Vice Presidents for special tasks such as presiding over panels. Another is to substitute for the President when requested. Finally, there is the rule of succession in Article VII, Section 6, of the bylaws.

The 12 January 1993 Council established new policy committees, namely the Science Policy Committee, Committee on Education, the Committee on Meetings and Conferences, the Committee on the Profession and the Committee on Publications. The membership of these committees shall include three Council members appointed by the President from among the Vice Presidents and Members at Large of the Council. It is likely that a Vice President would be asked to serve on one or more of the above policy committees during his/her term of office.

The 14 August 1993 Council adopted the following:

  1. Under the bylaws, a Vice President may become president in the event that the president dies or resigns when no President Elect is in office. In that case, the Council, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, shall designate one Vice President to serve the remainder of the term of the president.
  2. At the discretion of the President, a Vice President (as well as a President Elect, an Immediate Past President or other officer) can represent the Society when the President cannot attend.
  3. Vice Presidents should not be elected with a portfolio.
  4. When nominating Vice Presidents, the Nominating Committee should take into account that former Vice Presidents are considered in the pool of candidates to be nominated as President.
  5. The Nominating Committee should be instructed about the above roles of the Vice Presidents.
  6. The President should be encouraged to use the Vice Presidents in active roles within the Society.

DRAFT: 12/13/79; UPDATED: Revised: 1/10/80; 3/5/80, 12/6/90; 12/9/91; 12/7/93; 12/1/99

A list of Vice Presidents since 1989 is available at:
http://www.ams.org/about-us/governance/committees/vicepres-past.html