BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of the organization is the Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, Inc., hereafter referred to as SWCAS.
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 the first day of the conference in the year the member paid his or her dues and runs until the first day of the subsequent year's conference. 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, excepting 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 begin on the day following the last day of the conference at which an officer is elected. Terms of office for the President and Vice-President shall conclude after the last day of the subsequent annual conference, at which time the newly elected President and Vice-President will take office. 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 and location of the Secretariat
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. The Secretariat shall be housed at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, until a majority of the Board of Directors votes to house the Secretariat at another institution. The Secretariat will remain the official depository of all SWCAS archives, documents, financial records, and computer files. The Secretariat shall host the SWCAS website, and the Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for updating the SWCAS website at least twice per year. The SWCAS President will be responsible for providing the Secretary-Treasurer with electronic versions of the annual conference call for papers; updated membership lists; conference summaries; final, approved revisions of the SWCAS by-laws; and publication information for the SWCAS journal. In a format decided upon by the Secretary-Treasurer, any member may submit electronic versions of Asian studies new items, conference announcements, and other items relevant to the membership for inclusion on the website.
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 consist of all of the current Officers and Directors of the Association and 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 and Responsibilities of Program and Local Arrangements Chairs
1. Soon after the current year's annual meeting is concluded, the local arrangements chair will choose a date for the next conference. The chair will make sure the time does not conflict with other major events locally (such as homecoming celebration when hotels may be difficult to book), or regionally (such as other Asian studies conferences).
2. As soon as possible in the new year, the local arrangements chair will decide on the conference venue, will make arrangements with the host institution, including financial assistance, will arrange for meeting room space, meals, receptions, registration, exhibits, hotel accommodations, and staffing.
3. The program chair will 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. In the call for papers, the program and local arrangements chairs will provide email and postal addresses, office telephone numbers, and FAX numbers where they can be reached.
4. When paper and panel proposals are received in late spring and early summer, the program chair will acknowledge receipt in a timely manner.
5. The program chair will evaluate proposals, decide which are acceptable, then inform applicants. The letter of acceptance will be contingent on panelist's statement of audio-visual and other needs (such as time preferences). If there are no AV requirements, the panelist should so state before proposal is accepted.
6. The program chair will organize accepted proposals into appropriate panels and give them descriptive names, making sure that concurrent panels do not share the same country, area, or time period. The local arrangements chair will provide to the program chair, at least six weeks prior to the meeting, information relevant to the printed program such as meeting rooms, time and place for receptions, banquets and other cultural events, and administrative meetings. The program chair will arrange such information appropriately in the program.
7. The program chair will prepare two forms--one to solicit pre-registration fees from all panelists (including optional fees for banquets, etc.), and one to solicit membership fees. The local arrangements chair will prepare lodging and travel information. Together with the tentative program, this will comprise the conference information packet, which will be provided to the secretary-treasurer in time to allow it to be sent to members at least one month in advance of the annual meeting. At this time the program chair will also provide the webmaster with a copy of the tentative program on diskette in MS Word format.
8. The program chair will produce a final, printed form of the program.
9. The local arrangements chair will receive preregistration forms and fees, for which adequate records will be kept. At the time of the meeting, a registration table will be set up to distribute name tags and conference materials to pre-registered attendees, as well as to accommodate late registration and the payment of membership dues.
10. The local arrangements chair will provide a final report on the meeting to the secretary-treasurer, including attendance statistics and a financial summary, by the end of the year.
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. Nominations may be made via e-mail thirty days prior to the first day of the meeting at which the election is held and 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. JOURNAL
The organization will produce a journal in print and electronic formats a minimum of once every two years. The journal editor must be nominated from among the Board members or the general membership by a minimum of two board members. The editor will be selected by a majority vote of the Board members, will serve for two years, and may be re-elected to consecutive terms.
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.
ARTICLE X. COMMITTEES
The Board shall establish an Outreach Committee; Publication Committee; and a Finance Committee. Each committee shall include at least two Board members. The Outreach Committee may coordinate recruitment of new members and engage in other outreach activities as needed. The Publication Committee assists the journal editor with the publication and dissemination of the SWCAS journal; and the Finance Committee is responsible for developing an annual budget in consultation with the SWCAS President and the Secretary-Treasurer and is also responsible for coordinating fundraising for student scholarships to attend the SWCAS annual meeting.
(revised 10/18/2012, SLF)