Bylaws

1. Fiscal Year
   1. The fiscal year of ARRO will commence on May 1st coordinating with ASTRO’s fiscal year.
2. Election of Executive Committee Members
   1. The Executive Committee shall send a letter to all eligible residents and resident representatives by September 1, notifying them that their program may nominate a candidate, if their program is eligible to nominate a candidate that year.  No institution is required to nominate a candidate, but only one resident per institution may be nominated.  Institutions that currently have a resident serving on ARRO as either a junior or senior board member cannot nominate a candidate that year; it must wait until the following year.
      
      In order to be nominated as a candidate, the resident must also obtain a written letter of support from his or her program director.  This letter should indicate that the residency program supports and approves administrative leave time to attend two meetings per year and possibly supplemental funding for travel.
   2. A curriculum vitae of not more than two (2) pages single-sided of each candidate with or without a one (1) page single-side personal statement is to be sent to the address indicated by the Executive Committee, by November 1.
   3. Voting will be conducted only online via the ASTRO website; however, in the event of technical difficulties, paper ballots will be made available.
   4. A directory of residents compiled by ARRO within that academic year may be used as a presumptive list of those eligible to vote.
   5. Ballots will be sequentially numbered for tracking purposes.
   6. The deadline for voting will be November 30th. If electronic voting is not available, all paper ballots must be returned to the address designated and postmarked or faxed by November 30th, and counted by the close of business five business days later.
   7. Using the online voting system, each eligible resident may vote only once by using their designated tracking number. The webpage for the election will require a secure password that will be made available to all eligible residents.  An alphabetical list of candidates with links to the curriculum vitae and personal statement of each candidate will be posted online.  Each resident may vote for up to three candidates.  Similarly, if paper ballots are used, each eligible resident will receive an alphabetical listing of candidates with their curriculum vitae and personal statement by mail. Each eligible resident may vote only once by using their designated tracking number located on their ballot and may vote for up to three candidates.
   8. Proxy voting is not permitted.
   9. To enhance the diversity and representation of all radiation oncology residents, one of the three junior member slots will be reserved for a resident from a program of six or fewer residents.  The candidates from programs of six or fewer residents will be reviewed separately, and the candidate from within this subgroup who receives the highest number of votes will automatically be elected to the Executive Committee.  The other two seats will go to the two candidates from the entire group with the highest number of votes.  (If there are no candidates from a program of six or fewer residents during a particular year, then the three candidates with the highest number of votes will be elected.)  Ties will be resolved by simple majority vote of the Executive Committee.  By December 15th, the Executive Committee, or its designate, will notify all candidates and resident members of the election outcome.
   10. The dates above may be modified in any given election year if deemed warranted by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will review the conduct of the election, resolve any controversies brought to their attention and certify the election results at their next regular meeting following the election, or at a special meeting called for that purpose.
3. Operation of the Executive Committee
   1. Meetings:  The Executive Committee will have two meetings planned per year: the ASTRO Annual Meeting during the fall, and the ASTRO Advocacy Day meeting in the spring.  If ASTRO does not conduct an Advocacy Day meeting during a particular year, then the Executive Committee will meet during the ASTRO Spring Meeting instead.
   2. Conference Calls and Email:  Conference telephone calls and emails are specifically authorized as a valid method of conducting business, provided that all voting members of the Executive Committee are given the opportunity to participate.
   3. Voting
      1. Quorum: Unless otherwise required by the Constitution or these By-Laws, a quorum of four of the six voting members of the Executive Committee shall be required before any business may be conducted.
      2. Passage of business: Unless otherwise required by the Constitution or these By-Laws, a simple majority of voting members present shall be sufficient to conduct business.  Written proxy votes for specific issues will be recognized.
   4. Conduct of meetings:  Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be conducted in a manner deemed appropriate by the Agenda Officer. In the event that any Executive Committee member takes exception to the method of proceeding, Roberts Rules of Order shall apply.
   5. Committees:  The Executive Committee may form subcommittees authorized as the agents of the Executive Committee to conduct business on its behalf, except that no action to amend the By-Laws, the Constitution, or to dissolve the organization may be made without the participation of the entire Executive Committee.
   6. Vacancies on the Executive Committee:  An Executive Committee member may resign at any time upon written notice to the chairman.  A change of institution will not affect a resident's eligibility to serve on the Executive Committee, even if it would thereby result in two members from a single institution serving on the Executive Committee.  An Executive Committee member shall be removed if they are no longer a trainee in radiation oncology, or upon unanimous vote of all other members of the Executive Committee for cause shown.
4. Financial Operations of ARRO
   1. As of 2006, ASTRO is the direct and sole financial sponsor of ARRO.  This use of these funds shall include, but are not limited to, the ARRO program events during the ASTRO Annual Meeting, and travel supplementation for Executive Committee members to the Annual Meeting and the Advocacy Day meeting (or the Spring Refresher meeting).

     

Revised September 2009