Southwestern Sociological Association Constitution
and By-Laws
As Revised, March 25, 2005
ARTICLE
The name of this organization is "The Southwestern
Sociological Association." It is a continuation of the Sociology Section,
Southwestern Social Science Association.
ARTICLE II.
PURPOSES
The purpose of the Association shall be to stimulate and improve
scientific research in the study of society and to encourage communication and
cooperative relations among persons engaged in this pursuit. These activities
are to be conducted within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1954.
ARTICLE III.
AFFILIATION WITH THE SOUTHWESTERN SOCIAL SCIENCE
ASSOCIATION
The Association, although asserting its autonomy as a scientific
association, remains an affiliate of the Southwestern Social Science
Association and pledges itself to work with the larger group for the harmonious
development of the social sciences.
ARTICLE IV.
DEDICATION OF ASSETS
The funds of this Association shall be dedicated to exempt
purposes relating to scientific research and instruction in the study of
society. No part of the Association's funds shall inure to the benefit of, or
be distributed to its members or officers except as reasonable compensation for
services rendered in expenses incurred for the organization in furtherance of
the purposes stated in Article II of this document. Upon the dissolution of the
Association, the officers who constituted
the Executive Committee shall, after paying of liabilities, dispose of the
assets of the organization in such manner and/or to such organizations
organized exclusively for charitable, educational or scientific purposes within
the meaning of current appropriate Internal Revenue codes governing such
dissolutions.
ARTICLE V.
MEMBERSHIP
Any person interested in the purposes of the Association shall be
eligible for membership. The classes and conditions of membership are set forth
in Article I of the By-Laws of the Association.
ARTICLE VI.
OFFICERS
The officers of this Association shall be a President, a President
Elect, and a Vice President, each of whom shall serve for a term of one year,
and be selected as specified in the following paragraph, and a
Secretary-Treasurer, who shall be appointed by the President for a term of
three years, and a Parliamentarian, who shall be elected for a term of three
years. Additional persons may be elected as representatives to the Southwestern
Social Science Association in such numbers as determined by the Constitution of
that Association.
The highest
elective office of the Association ordinarily shall be that of Vice President, who
shall be elected annually in the regular mail election. Provided that the
person elected to this office continues able and willing to serve at the end of
the one-year term as Vice President shall automatically assume the office and
duties of the President Elect for the following year.
With the same provisions as to capacity and willingness to serve,
at the end of this person's one-year term as President Elect, this person shall
automatically assume the office and duties of the President of the Association.
In the event of the inability of the President to perform the duties of the
office, the President Elect shall act as President pro-tem for the completion
of that term, and in addition serve the term as President for the following
year. In the event that the President Elect is unable to perform the duties of
the office, the Vice President shall act in this person's stead pro-tem while
retaining the position as Vice President. In such a case, a President shall be
elected at the next annual election in addition to the normal slate of
officers. If it happens that the office of Vice President is vacated, then a President
Elect shall be elected at the next annual meeting to fill the position to which
the Vice President would have succeeded. If for some reason the Parliamentarian
cannot complete the normal term, then the President may appoint an interim
officer to fill the vacant position until the next regular election at which time
candidates to fill this position would appear on the ballot in addition to the
regular slate. If for some reason the Secretary-Treasurer cannot complete the
normal term, then the President shall appoint a new Secretary-Treasurer to a
term of three years.
There shall be an Executive Committee composed of the above-named
officers, and nine additional members as follows: The three immediate past
presidents of the Association shall each continue to serve ex officio for three
years following their retirement from the presidency, four executive committee
members elected to serve terms of two years (two new members are to elected
each year), editor of the SSA Newsletter (who is appointed by the President for
an indeterminate term), and a graduate student member elected to serve a term
of one year.
The election of officers and other elected Executive Committee
members shall be held each year by a mail ballot of all members in good
standing. A minimum of two nominees shall be on the ballot for each office or
position. The mailing shall be conducted by the Secretary-Treasurer and the
votes shall be canvassed by an Election Committee appointed by the President.
Provision shall be made for a write-in vote for each office on the ballot. In
case of a tie vote, the Executive Committee shall decide the election. All
officers shall be elected by a majority of votes cast in a regularly conducted
election, and shall hold office until their successors have been duly elected
and qualified.
To be eligible for nomination to office in the Association, a
member shall have been a member of the Association for the two preceding years,
and be a member of the Southwestern Social Science Association.
ARTICLE VII.
MEETINGS
The Association shall hold one regular meeting each year, at the
time and place determined by the Executive Committee of the Southwestern Social
Science Association. At each annual meeting there shall be at least one general
business session.
At the annual meeting there shall be sessions devoted to the
presentation of scholarly scientific papers and such other matters as are in
accord with the purposes of the Association as stated in Article II.
For the purpose of conducting any business of the Association, a
quorum shall consist of those members who are present at an annual or special
business meeting of the Association, provided that notice of such meeting has
been given in writing at least three weeks prior to its opening date.
A quorum of the Executive Committee shall consist of a minimum of
one-half of its qualified, active members.
ARTICLE
VIII. ARCHIVES
All important records of the Association shall be maintained in an
officially designated Archive to provide for the preservation of a continuous
history of the development and progress of the discipline and this Association.
The archive shall include (without being limited to) the minutes of all
meetings of the Association and of its Executive Committee, the reports of the Secretary-Treasurer
and of all committees, an annual roster of members, a copy of the program of each
annual meeting, and whatever other records are available.
The location
of the official Archive will be designated by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IX.
AMENDMENTS
Amendments to this constitution may be proposed at any general
meeting of the Association by the Executive Committee, or by a petition signed
by ten members of the Association, but no amendment shall become effective
unless ratified by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a regularly
announced meeting of the Association held not less than three hours after the
meeting in which the proposal was first presented to the membership of the
Association.
The constitution and by-laws were revised as approved by the
executive council and at the general business meeting this spring (1996).
These revisions were based upon penciled entries on the 1985
constitution and 1988 by-laws revisions and discussions at both the 1995 and
1996 meetings. Most changes reflect changes that have been instituted since the
1985 and 1988 revisions. Approved additions are in bold.
Adopted
Amended
Amended
Amended
Revised
Revised March 1996
Revised
BY-LAWS
of the
SOUTHWESTERN
SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE
The
following categories of membership in the Association are hereby established:
(a) Sustaining Membership: Any person or organization who is
interested in furthering the purpose of the Association and providing financial
support for its endeavors may be admitted to sustaining membership.
(b) Regular Membership: Any person who is interested in furthering
the purpose of the Association is eligible for regular membership.
(c) Student Membership: Undergraduate and graduate students
enrolled in an institution of higher education who are interested in furthering
the purpose of the Association are eligible for student membership upon
recommendation of a regular member. Student membership may be held for a period
of four years only.
(d) Emeritus Membership: Any honorably retired sociologist in the
region may become an emeritus member upon request.
Each member shall have the right to participate in the activities
of the Association and its annual meeting, and each shall have the right to one
vote in the business meetings.
Members may resign at any time upon written notice to the
Secretary-Treasurer, and membership will be terminated whenever a member's dues
are delinquent for more than three months.
ARTICLE II. DUES
The annual dues structure for membership in the Association shall
be determined by the Executive Committee and shall be published on membership
forms coordinated with the Southwestern Social Science Association. All members
of this organization must also be members of the Southwestern Social Science
Association.
ARTICLE III. DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The President shall preside at all general business meetings of
the Association, and shall be the chair of the Executive Committee.
The President shall appoint the chair and members of all
committees other than the Executive Committee or persons who shall serve ex
officio.
The President Elect shall serve as program chair for the annual
meeting which is held at the end of this person's year of service. The President
Elect shall provide notices to professional journals/newsletters of the place
and date of the annual meetings.
Also this person shall in consultation with members of the
executive committee select the plenary speaker and be responsible for
introduction of the speaker at the session. At the conclusion of the term of
office as President Elect, this person shall ex officio become President of the
Association for the following year. In the event of the inability of the
President to perform the duties at any time, the President Elect shall act as
president pro-tem without relinquishing the position as President Elect.
The Vice
President shall represent the Association in Southwestern Social Science Association
business meetings as its first delegate, and shall serve ex officio as chair of
the membership committee. In addition, the Vice President shall perform other
duties of importance to the Association as determined by the President. These
include but are not limited to an auction supporting a scholarship fund and
program paper sales. At the conclusion of the term of office as Vice President,
this person shall ex officio become President Elect for the following year. In
the event of the inability of the President Elect to perform the duties at any
time, the Vice President shall act in this person's stead pro-tem while
retaining the position as Vice President.
The Secretary-Treasurer shall record and preserve the minutes of
all meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee and use
membership lists for the correspondence of the Association. The
Secretary-Treasurer shall pay by check all properly authorized Association expenses,
keep an accurate and complete record of all financial transactions, and submit
the financial records for audit each time there is a change in position. The
records shall be submitted to an Audit and Finance Committee appointed by the
President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve as an ex officio member of the
Membership Committee.
The Parliamentarian shall attend all general business meetings and
all meetings of the Executive Committee. The Parliamentarian shall be prepared
to decide procedural questions of order in meetings of the Association should
these arise. The Parliamentarian shall keep copies of the current constitution
and by-laws and be prepared to interpret articles of both in terms of the
various proceedings of the Association.
The Executive Committee shall be composed of the three immediate
past presidents, the current president, the President Elect, the Vice President,
the secretary-treasurer, the parliamentarian, four committee members (two of
whom shall be elected each year to serve a term of two years), editor of the
SSA Newsletter, and a graduate student member elected to serve a term of one
year. In addition, the President and/or the Executive Committee may ask others
to join the committee in an advisory capacity.
The Executive Committee shall conduct the administrative affairs
of the Association, and shall act for the Association during the period between
duly called meetings. The Executive Committee shall be charged with preparation
of an agenda for the business meetings of the Association, shall have power to
fill such vacancies among the officers as are not otherwise provided for, and
may call such regular or special meetings of the Association as it deems
necessary. The Executive Committee shall annually review the reports of the
several standing committees in order to assess the need for any changes in the
constitution and by-laws of the Association or in the conduct of its affairs.
The Executive Committee may arrange to have an "Employment Exchange"
operated in conjunction with the annual meeting, whether in cooperation with
the Southwestern Social Science Association or independently.
ARTICLE IV. FISCAL YEAR
It shall be assumed that for purposes of determining the length of
terms of office, the "year" mentioned in the constitution and by-laws
of the Association begins at the close of the final business session of one
annual meeting and extends through the business sessions of the following annual
meeting.
Dues are payable for the calendar year, becoming due on January 1
and being delinquent if not paid by the close of the annual meeting. Dues will
be requested in conjunction with the Southwestern Social Science Association
preceding each annual meeting.
ARTICLE V. COMMITTEES
The standing committees of the Association shall be as follows:
(a) Audit and Finance
(b) Elections
(c) Membership
(d) Minority Status and Studies
(e) Nominations
(f) The Profession
(g) Program
(h) Student Awards
(i) Elections
(j) Distinguished Program Paper
(k) Departmental Teaching Award
The Audit and Finance Committee shall be responsible for reviewing
and making recommendations regarding the financial affairs of the Association,
and for proposing a budget to be considered by the membership.
The Membership Committee shall be charged with promoting
membership in the Association among professional sociologists and students in
the southwestern region. The Vice President shall serve as its chair and the
Secretary-Treasurer shall be an ex officio member. Other members should be
appointed for regional representation of several southwestern states.
The Nominations Committee shall prepare a slate of two nominees
for each office to be filled. These nominations with supporting qualifications
shall be given to the Secretary-Treasurer for the mail ballot in ample time for
the conduct of the mail election. This committee shall be chaired by the immediate
past President.
The Executive Committee shall prescribe the duties of the
remaining committees, and may direct the President to appoint ad hoc committees
for other specified purposes. The immediate past President shall chair the
Distinguished Program Paper Committee.
ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the by-laws may be proposed by the Executive
Committee and enacted by an absolute majority affirmative vote of the Executive
Committee.
Amendments to the by-laws may also be proposed by individual
members of the Association in its general business sessions. Such amendments
may be enacted by a majority vote of the members in attendance at any duly
authorized meeting of the Association.
Adopted
Revised
Amended
Amended
Revised