Original publication in Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 22: 406-409, 1972
1st amendment in Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 25: 90-94, 1975
Complete Publication of newly amended Statutes in WFCC Newsletter July 1984, p. 6-9


WFCC REPORTS
WORLD FEDERATION FOR CULTURE COLLECTIONS

BYLAWS

A. Voting Rights. Each member who subscribes financially to the support of the WFCC has one vote on the administration of the Federation. Each ordinary member may vote in person or by proxy, or, in the case of the election of members of the Executive Board WFCC, by post. Each subscribing Affiliate member and each Sustaining member may cast its vote through one of its own staff, identified in writing to the Secretary WFCC, or by proxy. An Adherent member has no vote unless it also qualifies as a Sustaining member.

B. Proxy Authorization. Any member holding a voting right may assign the use of that right to another member for use at a specific meeting of the Federation. Notice of proxy assignment must be in writing to the Secretary, naming the proxy and stipulating the meeting at which proxy votes may be cast.

C. Postal Ballots. Except for ballots for the election of members of the Executive Board WFCC, which must be conducted according to Article XII of the Statutes, when postal ballots are called for and acted upon, valid ballot papers received by the Secretary within six months of their date of issue shall be counted and a decision based on a simple majority of the votes received.

D. Financial Subscription of Members.

Ordinary (Individual) 20 EURO
Affiliate 150 EURO
Sustaining 200 EURO

Subscription of an Affiliate may be waived by the Executive Board on the basis of written application to the Treasurer. However, the Federation urges both non-contributing and contributing Affiliates to seek Sustaining membership of their governing bodies.

E. Standards for Culture Collections admitted as Affiliates of the World Federation for Culture Collections. Two classes of affiliated membership are established:

  • Collaborating Affiliates conform to the following Standards 1-7;
  • Associated Affiliates conform to the following Standards 1a, 1b, 2, 3, and 7.
    • 1a. The collection and its future should be institution-dependent and not dependent merely upon the presence or interest of a single individual in the institution. The institution should be able to guarantee the collection its support for a period of not less than five years from the date of admission of the collection to the WFCC.
    • 1b. Collections are also eligible for membership if they are nominated and accepted for support by a financing or governing body even if the institution in which the collection is housed may be changed, provided that the supporting body is prepared to be able to guarantee the existence of the collection for at least five years.
    • 2. The collection should demonstrate that it can maintain its cultures in a viable and satisfactory condition with the necessary equipment for the maintenance of the cultures which it lists.
    • 3. The person immediately responsible for the maintenance of the collection should have the necessary qualifications for the post, and his position should be permanent in terms of (1) above. (Note: the person concerned normally would be expected to hold a degree in microbiology or some equivalent field and to have had not less than five years of experience in microbiological work).
    • 4. The collection must be willing to list its contents in the World Directory and List of Cultures and be prepared to issue the species it holds and those strains for which data are available.
    • 5. The collection must be willing, within reasonable limits, to engage in the exchange of cultures with other collections within the framework of the WFCC. (Note: whether or not a collection charges for the cultures it distributes is its own decision).
    • 6. The collection must be willing to engage, within the limits of its capacity to do so, in collaborative programs with other culture collections for the betterment of the organization of culture collections generally.
    • 7. Affiliate membership may be reviewed by the Executive Board of the Federation on each General Assembly.

F. Audit of Financial Records. Routine audit of the Treasurer's accounts for reports to the General Assembly and anually to the Executive Board shall be by two individuals chosen by the Treasurer. However, the General Assembly shall, on the advice of the Executive Board, appoint auditors to review the accounts of the Federation and to report their findings to the next following ordinary meeting of the General Assembly or to any extraordinary meeting of the Assembly or the Executive Board called to discuss financial matters.

G. Amendment of Statutes and Bylaws. Proposals for amendment of the Statutes and Bylaws may be made in writing by any two members of the Federation. Emendation is accomplished by a simple majority of votes cast by members on a mail ballot submitted by the Secretary at the direction of the Executive Board after its members have had opportunity to review and comment on the proposals. An amendment becomes effective upon publication or notice issued by the Secretary or not later upon anouncement at the next succeeding General Assembly.

 

PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF HONORARY MEMBERS

Honorary Members / General Procedures. Nominations for election to Honorary Membership may be forwarded to the Secretary up to 6 months prior to the next General Assembly. At this time the applications will be grouped and presented to the Honours Sub-Committee for assessment and review. Based upon the recommendations of the Honours Sub-Committee, nominees may be elected to Honorary Membership by the Executive Board prior to the next General Assembly. No more than 2 Honorary Members shall be elected at any General Assembly and if at any time the number of living Honorary Members exceeds 1% of the total membership of the Society, the number elected that year will not exceed 1.

Honours Sub-Committee. The Honours Sub-Committee to consider applications received shall be appointed by the Executive Board at its first meeting. The Sub-Committee shall consist of 3 members including the President, Vice-President and, if available, a former President of the Federation. If a former President is not available, the Executive Board may nominate one or two other distinguished Members to act with the President to form the Sub-Committee of 3.

Procedure for Nomination. A person shall only be considered for election as an Honorary Member when the Secretary has received from the Proposer:

  • A) a nomination for Honorary Membership signed by the Proposer, a seconder and 10 other signatories each of whom shall be a member of the Federation;
  • B) a complete Curriculum Vitae together with a condensed summary and photograph suitable for publication in the WFCC Newsletter;
  • C) a statement summarizing the nominee's major contribution to the discipline of microbiology and/or practice of microbial culture collection, to the Federation or to both, together with information attesting to the high personal and professional standards of conduct of the candidate; and
  • D) a bibliography of scientific publications and/or contributions to a relevant area of microbiology and microbial culture collections.

Upon receipt, this information shall be forwarded to the Honours Sub-Committee for assessment and review.

Assessment and Review. After the closing date for nominations, the Honours Sub-Committee will review the nominations received and place those considered acceptable and of sufficient merit in priority order.

A maximum of 2 nominations from the top of the listing will be recommended to the Executive Board for election to Honorary Membership. Executive Board members are to be provided with the condensed summaries of these nominees and if they gain approval of two-thirds of Executive Board members, they will be duly elected to Honorary status. Their names will be placed on the Honours List; their election will be announced at the next General Assembly and their summaries and photographs will be published in the WFCC Newsletter.

Persons nominated for Honorary Membership who were considered by the Honours Sub-Committee to be acceptable and of sufficient merit but who failed to gain endorsement of the Executive Board will be automatically included in the nominations for the next list. If election to Honorary Membership still does not occur, a fresh nomination will be required if consideration is to be continued.