Constitution and Bylaws

CONSTITUTION

Article I. NAME

The name of this Association shall be: THE SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND THE ARTS.

Article II. OBJECTIVES

1. The aim of the Association is to support and strengthen the study of comparative literature and the arts.
2. The Association shall strive to foster an interest in literature and the arts as forms of artistic expression beyond national and linguistic boundaries, to help acquaint the community at large with the study of the arts and comparative literature, and to help place young scholars in academic positions where they may be effective as teachers and scholar-critics. In order to achieve these goals the Association will:
(a) Hold meetings for the purpose of presenting and discussing comparative literature and the arts;
(b) Cooperate with other organizations interested in the attainment of these objectives.

Article III. MEMBERSHIP

Upon payment of annual dues, membership in the Association shall be open to anyone interested in furthering its aims.

Article IV. OFFICERS

1. The Officers of the Association shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Editor of The Comparatist, all of whom shall be members in good standing of the Association.
2. These Officers, together with the members of the Advisory Board, shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Association.

Article V. ELECTION OF OFFICERS

1. The Officers shall be elected by the membership of the Association. The President and Vice President shall serve for two years. The Secretary shall serve for an indefinitely renewable five-year term. Renewal of the Secretary’s term of office shall be approved by majority vote of the members at the appropriate occasion of the Association’s annual meeting. The Treasurer shall serve for an indefinitely renewable five-year term. Renewal of the Treasurer’s term of office shall be approved by majority vote of the members at the appropriate occasion of the Association’s annual meeting. The Editor of The Comparatist shall serve an indefinitely renewable three-year term. Renewal of the Editor’s term of office shall be approved by majority vote of the members at the appropriate occasion of the Association’s annual meeting.

Article VI. LOCATION

1. The Association shall have an electronic and a postal mailing address, which shall usually be the same as that of the Treasurer.
2. The membership may at any time decide by majority vote to transfer the location of the Association.

Article VII. AMENDMENTS

1. Amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association 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 Secretary at least thirty days before a regular meeting of the Association takes place, normally its annual conference. The Secretary shall be responsible for seeing that the membership receives the proposed amendment prior to the next regular meeting.

By-Laws

Article I. OFFICERS

President

1. It shall be the duty of the President to provide executive leadership in the activities of the Association.
2. The President shall preside at all regular meetings of the Association and the Executive Committee.
3. The President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall appoint the chairpersons of all Committees of the Association (except the Nominating Committee) and, in further consultation with the chairpersons of these Committees, shall appoint members to them.
4. The President may call meetings of the Officers and members of the Advisory Board in addition to regularly scheduled meetings at the Association’s conferences. These may be held during the conferences of the American Comparative Literature Association or the Modern Language Association, or they may be convened by telephone or electronically.

Vice President

5. The Vice President shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall have the powers and duties of the President, should the President be unable to perform his/her/their functions.
6.The Vice President shall chair the committee to award the Rutledge Prize for the best essay in comparative literature and the arts submitted by a graduate student and presented at the Association’s annual meeting.
7. The Vice President shall automatically be proposed as a candidate for the Presidency of the Association.

Treasurer

8. The Treasurer shall collect the dues of the Association and all other funds payable to it, and shall pay all bills incurred by the Association.
9. The Treasurer shall keep a record of all income and expenditures of the Association, and shall make a financial report at each regular meeting. The Treasurer shall have the responsibility for the management of the funds of the Association, including the presentation of an annual budget to be approved by the Executive Committee.

Secretary

10. The Secretary shall maintain the records of the activities of the Association.
11. The Secretary shall issue notices of all meetings and conduct the official correspondence of the Association, in consultation with the President.
12. The Secretary shall act as the corresponding secretary and maintain files of official correspondence.
13. The Secretary shall take and distribute minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting and the Annual Business Meeting.
14. The Secretary shall keep membership and subscription lists current.

Editor of The Comparatist

15. The Editor of The Comparatist shall be responsible for receiving and soliciting submissions for publication in the journal.
16. The Editor of The Comparatist shall oversee the refereeing of articles submitted for publication in the journal.
17. The Editor of The Comparatist shall supervise all aspects of the production of The Comparatist, and consult with the Treasurer with respect to costs.
18. The Editor of The Comparatist shall make arrangements for the distribution of the journal.

Article II. THE ADVISORY BOARD

1. The Advisory Board shall advise the President and other Officers on matters of both immediate and long-term interest.
2. The Advisory Board shall consist of six persons, all of whom shall be members in good standing of the Association, elected by the membership at large. The number of persons elected to the Advisory Board shall always be an even number in order to preserve the President’s power to break a tied vote on the Executive Committee.
3. The term of office of members of the Advisory Board shall be two years. Elections to the Advisory Board shall be staggered so that, in any given year, three members depart the Board and are replaced by three more, and so that three members remain for a further year before also departing the Board and being replaced.

Article III. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Editor of The Comparatist and six members of the Advisory Board.
2. The Executive Committee shall assume the responsibility for advancing and developing the aims and purposes of the Association.
3. The Executive Committee shall meet at every regular meeting of the Association, prior to the annual meeting of the full membership. It shall present reports for consideration by the membership at the annual meeting.
4. The Executive Committee is authorized to take all such actions as will carry out the Association’s purposes and promote its interests. The Executive Committee may authorize the award of grants and prizes, honorary fellowships or memberships, and the establishment of contractual relationships with other organizations in order to support and carry out the policies and objectives of the Association.
5. If an elected member of the Executive Committee is unable to attend a meeting, he/she/they shall notify the President in writing of his/her/their designated substitute, who shall be a member of the Association in good standing.
6. The Executive Committee shall approve the Association’s budget.
7. A quorum of seven members of the Executive Committee is required for the transaction of business.

Article IV. COMMITTEES

1. The President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, may appoint committees to deal with publicity, membership, gifts and grants, finances, research activities, and any other matters related to the interests of the Association.
2. Committees are authorized to spend funds from the Association only after their requests for funds have been approved by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may authorize out-of-pocket expenditures for each committee to cover routine operating expenses.
3. The duration of all committees (except the Nominating Committee) and committee appointments shall be at the discretion of the President.

Article V. ANNUAL MEETINGS

1. Regular meetings of the Association shall be held at least once every year. The Association shall give whatever support it can to special meetings or conferences supported by its membership.
2. The time and place of regular meetings shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
3. Upon due notice in writing, and with the approval of the Executive Committee, the President may call special meetings of the Association.

Article VI. NOMINATION AND ELECTIONS

1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three members elected by the membership at large at the annual meeting. The Executive Committee shall designate one member of the Nominating Committee to be Chairperson. Members of the Nominating Committee shall serve for two years and be ineligible for consecutive reelection.
2. A slate of at least one candidate and no more than two each for the Officers and for the members of the Advisory Board shall be drawn up by the Nominating Committee. Additional nominations may be made from the floor. Voting will be held at the regular business meeting of the Association. Those receiving the most votes in the election shall be declared winners.
3. In the event of a vacancy in office occurring between regular meetings of the Association, the President, in consultation with the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee, shall make an interim appointment.

Article VII. DUES

1. The annual dues shall be set by the Treasurer and approved by the Executive Committee. Students and emeritus members shall pay reduced dues.
2. The right to vote or to hold office in the Association shall be contingent upon payment of dues; and no one shall be considered a member of the Association whose dues are more than twelve months in arrears.
3. Honorary fellows of the Association shall enjoy life membership without payment of dues.

Article VIII. AUDIT

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

Article IX. RULES OF ORDER

Traditional rules of parliamentary procedure shall be observed at all meetings of the Association. If necessary, the President shall appoint a Parliamentarian to serve at any given meeting.

Article X. DISSOLUTION

The Association may be dissolved only at a special meeting called for the purpose by vote of three-fourths of the members present. Upon any such dissolution of the Association, 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 or educational purposes, as the Executive Committee may select.