Constitution and By-Laws

Constitution

Article 1. NAME

The name of this organization shall be the International Conference on Romanticism

Article 2. OBJECTIVES

  1. The purpose of the Conference is the encouragement and advancement of studies in Romanticism. The Conference is a general not-for-profit corporation as described in the appropriate section(s) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America and shall meet the requirements set forth under said code.
  2. The Conference shall strive to foster an interest in Romanticism as an artistic, historical, philosophical, and general cultural phenomenon. The Conference shall carry out its stated purpose by promoting the exchange of information and ideas among scholars engaged in the study of Romanticism as well as other interested parties. The Conference shall:
  3. hold meetings for the purpose of presenting and discussing studies on Romanticism;
  4. aid individual members in their studies of Romanticism;
  5. cooperate with other organizations interested in the attainment of these objectives;
  6. publish a scholarly bulletin at least once a year;
  7. publish a membership list once a year;
  8. offer prizes and other forms of recognition for superior achievement in pursuit of objectives of the Conference.

Article 3. MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Conference shall be open to any person or institution of any geographical, scholarly, or linguistic area who is interested in furthering its aims upon payment of annual dues.

Article 4. OFFICERS

  1. The officers of the Conference shall be a President and Executive Director, both of whom shall be members in good standing of the Conference.
  2. These officers, together with the members of the Advisory Board, shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Conference.

Article 5. ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The President and Advisory Board members shall be elected by the membership of the Conference. The President shall serve two years. The members of the Advisory Board shall be elected to terms of four years, each half of the Board to be elected every two years. The President, following a full two-year term, and the Advisory Board members, following their full four-year terms may not be re-elected. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the President and Advisory Board and shall serve for six years. The Executive Director may be appointed for consecutive six-year terms.

Article 6. LOCATION

  1. The Conference shall have a mailing address and office, which usually shall be located at the institution with which the Executive Director is affiliated.
  2. The membership may at any time decide by majority vote to transfer the location of the Conference.

Article 7. AMENDMENTS

  1. Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Conference shall be made only at a regular meeting, by a majority vote of the members present.
  2. Proposed amendments shall be presented in writing to the membership at least four weeks before a regular meeting of the Conference.
  3. Dissolution of the Conference may occur only at a regular meeting, by two-thirds vote of the members present, providing that the motion to dissolve the Conference is presented in the writing to the membership at least eight weeks before a regular meeting of the Conference. Dissolution may occur only in the manner prescribed by the laws of the state of Utah. Subject to compliance with the applicable provisions of such laws, upon any such dissolution of the Conference all its property remaining after satisfaction of all its obligations shall be distributed to such one or more learned societies organized and operated exclusively for literary, historical, philosophical, or educational purposes, as the Executive Committee may select.


 
 

By-Laws

Article 1. OFFICERS

President

  1. It shall be the duty of the President to provide leadership in the activities of the Conference.
  2. The President shall preside at all regular meetings of the Conference and the Executive Committee. In the event of a tie in voting, the President shall cast the deciding vote.
  3. The President, in consultation with and subject to the approval of, the Executive Committee, shall appoint the chairs of all committees and, in further consultation with the chairs of these committees, shall appoint members to them. (Only the Nominating Committee is an exception: see article 4).
  4. The President shall chair a regularly constituted Program Committee (see Article 4).
  5. The President, in consultation with the other officers, shall perform all duties related to the corporate status of the Conference, including the appointment of a member to be resident agent in the state of Utah.


    Executive Director

  6. The executive Director shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall have the powers and duties of the President, should the President be incapacitated.
  7. The Executive Director shall supervise fair representation in nominations, elections, and committee assignments.
  8. The Executive Director shall maintain the records of the Conference.
  9. The Executive Director shall issue notices of all meetings and conduct the official correspondence of the Conference, in consultation with the President.
  10. The Executive Director shall mange the funds of the Conference, including collecting membership dues and all other funds payable to the Conference, paying all bills incurred by the Conference, and making a financial report at each regular meeting of the Conference.
  11. The Executive Director shall serve as editor of the Bulletin and the Yearbook.

Article 2. THE ADVISORY BOARD

  1. The Advisory Board shall consist of not more than six persons, all of whom shall be members in good standing of the Conference, elected by the membership at large.
  2. During intervals between regular meetings of the Conference, the Advisory Board shall assign the officers in conducting the business of the Conference.

Article 3. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. The Executive Committee shall assume responsibility for advancing and developing the aims and purposes of the Conference.
  2. The Executive Committee shall meet at every regular meeting of the Conference, prior to the business meeting of the full membership. It shall present reports for consideration by the membership at the business meeting.
  3. The Executive Committee is authorized to take all such action as will carry out the purposes of the Conference, including authorizing awards of grants, prizes, honorary fellowships and memberships, and establishing contractual relationships with other organizations in order to support and carry out the policies and objectives of the Conference.
  4. If an elected member of the Executive Committee is unable to attend a meeting, said member shall notify the presiding officer in writing of a designated substitute, who shall be a member of the Conference in good standing.
  5. The Executive Committee shall approve the Conference budget.
  6. A quorum of five members of the Executive Committee is required for the transaction of business.
  7. Former Presidents of the Conference in good standing shall be non-voting participants in Executive Committee meetings.

Article 4. COMMITTEES

  1. The President, in consultation with, and subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, shall appoint both standing and ad hoc committees. Standing committees, to be appointed for a renewable term of two years, shall deal with matters such as membership, publicity, grants, prizes, student affairs, and meeting programs. Ad hoc committees, to be appointed for the duration of their assigned tasks, shall attend to matter related to Conference interests, such as professional standards.
  2. Committees are authorized to spend Conference funds only after their requests for funds have been approved by the Executive Committee.
  3. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members elected by the membership at large from a slate of eight candidates representing the membership as a whole. The list shall be presented by the outgoing Nominating Committee with the assistance of the Executive Director.

Article 5. MEETINGS

  1. Regular meetings of the Conference shall be held every year. The Conference shall give whatever support it can to special meetings supported by its members.
  2. The time of the regular meeting shall be in the winter of each year. The place shall be determined by the Executive Committee. A standing Program Committee (see Article 4, section 1), chaired by the President, shall assist local arrangements committees, supervise calls for papers, and respond to and transmit suggestions by the membership.
  3. Upon due notice in writing, the President may call special meetings of the Conference.
  4. Upon petition of at least twenty percent of the members in good standing, the President shall be required to call a special meeting with written notification of the meeting given four weeks in advance, time and place to be determined by the Executive Committee.

Article 6. ELECTIONS

  1. The Nominating Committee (see Article 4, section 3) shall prepare a slate of at least two candidates each for the positions of President and members of the Advisory Board. Additional nominations may be made by written petition of at least twenty members in good standing. All nominations shall be included in the official ballot, mailed to the membership at large.
  2. For the office of Executive Director, and only for it, the Executive Committee shall nominate and appoint.
  3. In the event of a vacancy in office occurring between regular meetings of the Conference, the President, in consultation with the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee, shall make an interim appointment.
  4. Elections for the Nominating Committee, President, and Advisory Board shall be conducted by mail ballot. Ballots shall be collected and counted by the chair of the Nominating Committee in the presence of at least one other member in good standing at the Conference.
  5. Elections for President, Advisory Board, and Nominating Committee occur every two years.

Article 7. DUES

  1. The annual dues shall be payable at the beginning of the calendar year. All members shall receive the Conference publications and may subscribe to selected journals at reduced rates negotiated for members of the Conference.
  2. The right to vote or stand in office in the Conference shall be contingent upon payment of dues. No one shall be considered a member of the Conference whose dues are more than twelve months in arrears.
  3. Honorary fellows or members of the Conference shall enjoy life membership without payment of dues.
  4. The annual dues shall be determined by a majority vote of the members present at a regular business meeting of the Conference.
  5. During intervals between regular meetings, the annual dues may be changed by a majority vote of the Executive Committee, but the change must be ratified by majority vote at the next business meeting of the Conference.

Article 8. AUDIT

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for inspecting the accounts of the Executive Director and may, at its discretion, designate a commercial auditing firm to audit these accounts.

Article 9. RULES OF ORDER

Traditional rules of parliamentary procedure shall be observed at all meetings of the Conference.

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