SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE

ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN STUDIES

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I - NAME

  The name of the organization is the Southwest Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc., hereafter referred to as SWC/AAS.

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVES

  The objectives of SWC/AAS shall be: a) to form a nonpolitical, nonprofit professional association of persons interested in Asian Studies; b) to promote interest in and scholarly study of Asia; c) to promote cooperative activities and exchange of information in the field of Asian Studies within the southwestern United States.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

  All who pay the annual membership dues shall be considered members of the Conference. The Board of Directors may establish various classes of membership, such as student or institutional. Dues will be set or changed with the approval of the Board of Directors and a majority vote of the membership. Memberships run from January 1 to December 31. The ultimate authority of the Conference shall be vested in the membership and expressed through the annual membership meeting or through mail polls of the membership.

ARTICLE IV - ORGANIZATION

 Section 1 - Officers

The officers shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, six Directors, and the Representative(s) to the Council of Conferences of the Association of Asian Studies (AAS). Officers must be members of the Conference.

Section 2 - Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers and the immediate past President of the Conference. In the case of the death or resignation of a member of the Board, expecting the President who is automatically succeeded by the Vice-President, the vacancy will not be filled by the remaining Board members until the next annual election, unless the remaining Board deems it advisable to appoint an acting member for the interim.

Section 3 - Terms of Office

All terms of office, unless otherwise specified, shall begin on January 1 following the election of officers at the annual membership meeting. Terms of office for the President and Vice-President shall be for one year, the Vice-President automatically succeeding to the Presidency at the end of his or her term. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve a three year term and may be re-elected. The six Directors shall serve terms of three years; these terms shall be staggered so that two new Directors are elected each year. The Representative(s) to the Council of Conferences of the AAS shall serve in accordance with the rules of the AAS.

Section 4 - Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee shall normally conduct all its business at the annual membership meeting and shall consist of the immediate past President and the two outgoing Directors. If one of the above individuals is unable to serve, the President shall appoint another person to serve in his or her place.

Section 5 - Program Committee

The Program Committee shall normally consist of two persons, the Program Chair and the Local Arrangements Chair. The Program Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors. The Program Committee shall serve until the completion of the annual meeting for which it is responsible.

Section 6 - Recall of Officers

Any and all officers of the SWC/AAS shall be subject to recall by a two-thirds vote of the voting members, either at the annual business meeting, or through a mail poll.

ARTICLE V - DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 Section 1 - Duties of the President

The President shall be the presiding officer of the Conference and Chair of the Board of Directors, and shall exercise other responsibilities as specified in the by-laws.

Section 2 - Duties of the Vice-President

The Vice-President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of the absence, death, resignation, or incapacity of the President. The Vice-President shall also prepare and edit the Conference Newsletter, working in cooperation with the Secretary-Treasurer.

Section 3 - Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer

The Secretary-Treasurer shall have charge of the records and general correspondence of the Conference, shall keep the membership lists, shall collect dues and manage the accounts, shall present at the annual membership meeting a report covering the activities of the Conference since the previous meeting together with a financial report of the Conference, shall keep minutes at the annual business meeting, and assist the Vice-President in the production and distribution of the Conference Newsletter, in addition to such other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Directors.

Section 4 - Duties of the Board of Directors

The affairs of the Conference shall be administered by the Board of Directors. Subject to the general directives and specific limitations which may be imposed by the general membership, the Board shall have authority to execute on behalf of the Conference all powers and functions of the Conference. The Board shall approve an annual budget, appoint the Program Committee and other committees or agents as are necessary and delegate to them such authority as is required, supervise their activities, and receive and act upon budgets, requests, and plans submitted by them. In addition, it shall select the time and place of the annual membership meeting and set the registration fee. The Board shall meet at the time of the annual meeting and shall hold such other meetings as are necessary, and it may also conduct its affairs by mail. A quorum of the Board shall consist of one-half of the membership of the Board. The Board may adopt rules governing its own procedures not at variance with the by-laws.

Section 5 - Duties of the Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee shall nominate members to stand for election as Vice-President, as Secretary-Treasurer, for the Board of Directors, and as candidates for Representative or Representatives on the Council of Conferences of the ASS. The Nominating Committee shall present the entire slate of nominees at the annual business meeting.

Section 6 - Duties of the Program Committee

a. The Program Committee shall: 1) send to the Secretary-Treasurer by March 1 a call for papers, to be distributed by the Secretary-Treasurer to all members by March 15; 2) send in a timely manner acknowledgement of receipt of each submitted paper or panel proposal, including an indication of whether the proposal has been accepted or not; 3) prepare the program of panels and cultural events for the annual meeting; 4) prepare a preliminary printed program, containing minimally the schedule of papers, panels, receptions, banquet, and administrative meetings, to be sent to the Secretary-Treasurer in time to be distributed to members at least one month in advance of the annual meeting; 5) prepare a final printed program for distribution at the meeting, including a list of officers; institutional members and other donors, if any; information on applying for membership; meeting locations for the panels and other events; other announcements of interest to members; and, on the approval of the Board, advertisements.

The Program Chair may combine 4) and 5) if the final printed program can be completed in time to send out to members one month in advance of the annual meeting. In preparing the preliminary and especially the final printed program, the Program Chair will need to work closely with the Local Arrangements Chair.

b. The Local Arrangements Chair shall: 1) make arrangements with the host institution, including financial assistance, for the annual meeting; arrange for meeting room space, meals, receptions, registration, exhibits, hotel accommodations, staffing, and local media coverage, subject to approval of the Board of Directors; 2) make arrangements for the meeting pre-registration; 3) manage the finances of the meeting; 4) arrange for the sale of advertising in the printed program and for book exhibits at the meeting; 5) provide to the Program Chair, at least six weeks prior to the meeting, information relevant to the printed program, such as time and place of receptions, meeting rooms, and any advertisements; 6) provide to the Program Chair, at least six weeks prior to the meeting, information relevant to the printed program such as time and place to receptions, meeting rooms, and any advertisements; 7) provide a final report on the meeting to the Secretary-Treasurer, including attendance statistics and a financial summary, by December 31.

ARTICLE VI - MEMBERSHIP MEETING

 Section 1 - The Annual Meeting

Unless circumstances make it impossible, the Conference shall hold an annual membership meeting during the months of October or November, the exact time and place to be determined by the Board of Directors. This meeting shall consist of a planned program of papers, discussions, and cultural events to be prepared by the Program Committee, and a business session.

Section 2 - The Business Session

At the business session of the annual meeting members shall elect the officers of the Conference, unless otherwise specified in the by-laws, and the nominees of Representative(s) to the Council of Conferences of the AAS. The membership shall also receive reports from the Board of Directors and other officers, committees or agents of the Conference, and may originate general policies and give general directives to the Board of Directors. Those members attending the business session of the annual meeting shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VII - ELECTIONS

  Election of the Vice-President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the two new Directors, and the Conference's nominees of Representative(s) to the Council of Conferences of the AAS shall be conducted at the business session of the annual meetings. In addition to the nominations presented by the Nominating Committee, nominations may also be made from the floor. Election of the Vice-President and the Secretary-Treasurer shall be by simple majority of the votes cast by members present. The two new Directors and the nominees for Representative(s) to the Council of Conference of the AAS shall be by simple plurality. Voting shall be done by paper ballot.

ARTICLE VIII - NEWSLETTER

  The Conference shall publish and distribute to members two or more times annually a newsletter containing news of members and institutions and organizations; of visits by Asians to the Southwest; of speakers, programs, and exhibits; Conference announcements and minutes of meetings; and such other matters as may be relevant to the interests of the membership.

ARTICLE IX - AMENDMENTS

  Amendments to the by-laws may be proposed either by the Board of Directors or by petition signed by ten members of the Conference. The by-laws may be amended or repealed by a simple majority of the voting members at any annual meeting, provided that the membership is informed of the proposed revisions at least six weeks prior to the vote.