North Carolina Sociological Association (NCSA)
Constitution
ARTICLE I. NAME
The Association shall be known as the North Carolina Sociological Association. The Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of North Carolina (effective 2012).
ARTICLE II. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the association shall be to stimulate and improve research, instruction and discussion, to encourage cooperative relations among persons engaged in the scientific study of society, and to encourage cooperative relations between academic sociology and other agencies with related interests.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP AND DUES
Section 1. Regular membership is open to any person engaged in teaching and/or research in sociology, or in a field of applied sociology, or other related discipline.
Section 2. Student membership is open to any actively enrolled student whose major interest is sociology or a related discipline. Student members may be appointed to committees.
Section 3. Annual dues in the amount decided by the membership will be payable at or before February 15 of each calendar year.
Section 4. Regular members whose dues are paid by February 15 of that calendar year shall be eligible to vote and stand for election as a council member officer.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, AND ELECTIONS
Section 1. The officers of the association shall be the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, and Historian. Executive Council officers must be sociologists (i.e., academic, applied, public).
Section 2. There shall be an Executive Council consisting of the aforementioned officers, at least three non-officer members, the editor(s) of Sociation, and the chair of the student committee. The three non-officer members must be sociologists (i.e., academic, applied, public).
Section 2a. The non-officers each serve for three years. When possible, election for Council members will be staggered. Unless otherwise voted upon by the Executive Council, officers will serve for three years.
Section 2b. The Executive Council acts for the association, subject to the will of the membership and other Executive Council members. The President acts as Chair of the Council.
Section 3. The term of office of the President shall be one year. The President will be the senior executive officer of the Association.
Section 4. The Vice-Presidential duties shall be performed by the President-Elect, who will succeed the President. The President-Elect shall be chosen by the Executive Council, and the term limit of the President-Elect will be one year.
Section 5. The Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, and Historian shall be chosen by the Executive Council and will serve a term limit of three years.
Section 7. Candidates for President-Elect shall submit a curriculum vitae and a letter of reference (from a current member of the Executive Council) to be reviewed by the Executive Council.
Section 8. The Executive Council shall prepare a list containing one or more applicants for President-Elect and for each vacancy on the Executive Council.
Section 9. The election, conducted annually by the Secretary under the direction of the Executive Council, will be by online process. Ballots will be distributed to the Executive Council at least one month prior to the annual meeting. The results will be announced at the end of the annual meeting. Election will be by majority of votes cast.
Section 10. Newly elected officers of the Association will assume their responsibilities at the close of the business session at the Annual Meeting.
Section 11. Any vacancy of an officer or Executive Council member because of death, resignation, or other crises will be filled at any regular or special meeting of the Executive Council by a vote of the majority (at least six) of the Executive Council and will be for the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 12. If a majority (at least six) of the Executive Council deem it necessary to replace an officer or Executive Council member because of nonperformance due to incapacitation or dereliction, the replacement will be determined at any regular or special meeting of the Executive Council by a vote of the majority (at least six) of the Executive Council and will be for the unexpired portion of the term.
Section 13. If officers of the Executive Council would like their terms to be extended, the Executive Council may vote to do so.
ARTICLE V. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER DUTIES
Section 1. Officer Duties
Section 1a. President Duties The duties of the President shall consist of the following:
scheduling, attending, and managing board meetings about topics not related to the annual conference
Establishing meeting agendas
Serving as the main point of contact for the organization
Signing documents
Calling for votes and announcing results
Appointing committees
Section 1b. President-Elect/Program Chair Duties: The duties of the President-Elect shall consist of the following:
Planning, organizing, and hosting the annual conference
scheduling, attending, and managing board meeting related to the annual conference
Section 1c. Secretary Duties: The Secretary’s duties shall consist of the following:
Recording and distributing meeting minutes
Create ballots
Purchasing awards and certificates for awardees during the annual conference
Section 1d.Treasurer Duties: The duties of the Treasurer shall consist of the following:
Managing the budget
Performing accounts receivable and financial reporting activities
Collecting funds for the annual conference
Depositing funds into the bank account
Managing organization’s credit card
Initiating audit procedures during leadership transition
Section 1. Historian duties- work with ____ committee on spotlight of sociologists
Keep records of all documentation related to the Annual Conference.
Photos from the conference
Award winning papers
Conference programs
Record names of winners for Lifetime Achievement awards and Himes Student Paper awards and post them on the association’s website.
Section 2. Member Duties: The duties of the executive council member consist of participating in the executive committee, attending Council meetings regularly, and serving on at least one subcommittee listed below.
ARTICLE VI. COMMITTEES
Section 1. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the association. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act on behalf of the association as directed by the Executive Council. The President shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Logistics Committee: The Logistics Committee shall be appointed by the President and shall consist of the President-Elect as Chairperson and such other members as deemed advisable. The Program Committee shall be responsible for planning programs consistent with the objectives of the association.
Section 3. Awards Committee: The Awards Committee shall consist of Council members as deemed advisable. The Awards Committee shall be responsible for selecting awardees for the Himes Paper Award and Lifetime Achievement Award.
Section 4. Advisory Committee: This is an auxiliary committee will consist of past members of the Executive Council who wish to stay involved in the council. In order to remain on this committee, members must attend 50% of the Executive Council meetings and council’s activities. Advisory committee members will be expected to have cycle off of the council for at least 1 year before rotating back on the council as regular members. These are non-voting members that act in a supportive role for the council. There is no limit to the number of members on the Advisory Committee.
Section 5: Student Issues Subcommittee: This committee will be chaired by a member of the Executive Council who is a student. They will meet when needed. This subcommittee is responsible for getting undergraduates and graduates to join and be involved in the NCSA.
Section 6: Marketing Committee: The committee will advertise the association and its events via email and social media. The committee will create and disseminate marketing materials to NCSA members and NCSA social media sites.
Section 7. Other committees shall be appointed by the President as deemed necessary.
Section 8. The President shall be considered an ex-officio member of all standing committees.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
Section 1. There shall be an annual meeting each year at a time and place to be decided by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. Other meetings may be scheduled by the President and/or the Executive Committee.
Section 3. The business of the association shall be conducted at the scheduled meetings.
Section 4. Each meeting shall consist of a planned program and a business session.
ARTICLE VII. RULES OF PROCEDURE
Section 1. One-fourth of the regular membership, present and acting at any scheduled meeting, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Unless challenged, those members attending the business session of a scheduled meeting shall constitute a quorum. The quorum guidelines should follow expectations as outlined by Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 2. Business of the association shall be conducted according to provisions of Roberts' Rules of Order, latest edition.
Section 3. This constitution may be amended at any regularly scheduled meeting of the association by a two-thirds vote of the members present, provided the proposed amendments have first been circulated by the Executive Council at least two weeks prior to the meeting where the vote is taken.
ARTICLE VIII. DISSOLUTION
Section 1. A recommendation of the dissolution of NCSA would be proposed by the Executive Council and submitted as an online ballot to the membership.
Section 2. Upon dissolution of the North Carolina Sociological Association, all assets will be given to the general scholarship fund of the American Sociological Association in accordance with U.S. Treasury regulation Section 1.50(c)-1(b)(4) and in accordance with those federal and North Carolina provisions of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation status which was conferred to the association in 2012.
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Adopted: April 6, 1974
Amended: February 24, 1979; February 28, 1986; March 20, 1992; February 21, 1997; February 21, 2003; February 18, 2005; February 15, 2017; August 19, 2018