Western Association of Women Historians

Constitution-Bylaws of the Western Association of Women Historians (Approved 2006)

Constitution of the Western Association of Women Historians

Article I Name

The name of the organization shall be the Western Association of Women Historians (WAWH).

Article II Purpose

The purpose of the organization shall be to promote the interests of women historians both in the historical profession and the field of history.

Article III Membership

Section 1. Membership shall be open to anyone who supports the purpose of this organization and who pays annual membership dues.

Section 2. Dues shall be set by the Executive Board for approval by the general membership at the business meeting of the annual conference.

Section 3. Yearly membership shall apply to the interval between annual conferences.

Section 4. All members in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws, shall be eligible to vote at business meetings.

Article IV Officers and Executive Board

Section 1. Officers of the Association shall be: President, President-Elect, Executive Director, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each person elected shall be a member in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws.

Section 2. The officers, with the exception of the Executive Director, shall be elected by a majority at the annual meeting, and shall hold office for two-year terms. The Executive Director shall be elected by a majority at the annual meeting for four-year terms. Each term of office shall begin with the adjournment of the annual meeting. In case of an incomplete term of service, an election may be held during the year by a means approved of by the Executive Board. With the exception of the President, President-Elect, and Past President, each officer is eligible for reelection at the invitation of the President.

Section 3. The officers shall establish standing committees and other positions deemed necessary to achieve the goals of the organization.

Section 4. The management of the business of the Association shall be vested in an Executive Board composed of the officers, the Immediate Past President, the Networker Editor, Graduate Student Representatives, and award committee chairpersons, or other representatives as appointed by the President and approved of by the officers. Each person appointed shall be a member in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws.

Section 5. Members of the Executive Board who are not elected officers shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Board.

Section 6. No person shall be a member of the Executive Board if not a member in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws, of the organization, and no member shall hold more than one board position.

Section 7. The Executive Board shall perform the duties described in the constitution and the bylaws of the organization and, where not in conflict with these, by Robert's Rules of Order.

Section 8. The Executive Board shall maintain and preserve records of the organization. These records shall be submitted to the organization’s archives following established guidelines.

Section 9. The President shall make an interim appointment, approved by the Executive Board, to fill a vacancy for the duration of an incomplete term of service until the next annual meeting.

Article V Meetings

Section 1. The Association shall meet annually. The time and place to be chosen by the President, arranged by the Executive Director, and approved by the officers.

Section 2. The Association will hold one annual business meeting. The officers shall be empowered to call additional meetings of the membership.

Section 3. All official business of the Association shall be ratified at the annual business meeting by a majority of those members in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws, in attendance.

Article VI Amendments

Section 1. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by the Executive Board or by a motion made at the annual business meeting and approved by a majority of those members in good standing in attendance. Proposals must then go through the process of ratification as described in Section 2, 3, and 4 below.

Section 2. The text of proposed amendments to the constitution, as approved by the Executive Board, shall either be printed in the newsletter immediately preceding an annual conference or be distributed with the program and reservation forms sent to members in advance of the meeting. Copies shall also be made available at the time of registration.

Section 3. Amendments must be approved by a majority vote of those members in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws, present and voting at the business meeting.

Section 4. Amendments so approved shall be publicized in the next regular issue of the newsletter. If one-third plus one of the members in good standing object within three months, the amendment shall be submitted to the members in good standing, as stipulated in the By-Laws, by mail ballot. Two-thirds of those returning their ballots must approve the amendment.

Article VII Dedication

Section 1. Upon the dissolutionment of the WAWH, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or to the corresponding section of any federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government for a federal purpose. Any such assets not disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the association is located, exclusively for such purposes, or to such organizations, as the said Court shall determine which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Bylaws of the Western Association of Women Historians

Article I Membership

Section 1. Membership dues for membership categories of full-time employed, part-time employed, retired, graduate student, independent scholar, and lifetime membership will be determined by the Executive Board for approval by the general membership at the business meeting of the annual conference.

Section 2. Members of the Association who have paid dues for the current membership year will be considered as members in good standing and have voting privileges.

Section 3. All elected officers and appointed Executive Board members must be members in good standing of the organization.

Article II Duties of the Officers

Section 1. The President shall:

1. Be the chief executive officer of the WAWH.
2. Call at least one meeting of the Executive Board annually, one business meeting for the general membership, and additional meetings and consultations when necessary.
3. Set the agenda for and preside at the meeting of the Executive Board, the business meeting at the annual conference, and any other necessary meetings.
4. Formulate policies and projects for presentation to the Executive Board to fulfill the obligations and purposes of the Association.
5. Nominate (or appoint a committee to nominate) candidates for election as officers of the Association.
6. Appoint the chair and members of the award committees, Networker Editor, Graduate Student Representatives, and other standing and ad hoc committees for approval by the Executive Board.
7. Oversee selection of the time and place of the annual conference, local arrangements, and the conference program.
8. Be responsible for securing the keynote speaker.
9. Shall have the option to arrange at least one conference session at the annual conference.
10. Represent WAWH in its dealings with other organizations, institutions and groups.
11. Arrange for the representation of the WAWH on panels and luncheons during other professional conferences.
12. Perform other tasks as authorized by the Executive Board.
13. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 2. The President-Elect shall:

1. Assist the President and prepare to assume the presidency at the end of their respective terms.
2. Become President at the end of their term. If the office of President shall, through any cause, become vacant, the President-Elect shall thereupon become President.
3. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 3. The Executive Director shall:

1. Be the chief operational officer of the WAWH.
2. Be elected to a four-year term.
3. Under the direction of the President, oversee the affairs of the Association including responsibility for the continuing operations of the Association, correspondence of the organization, assisting in the formulation of policies and projects for submission to the Executive Board, and performance of other duties as directed by the Executive Board.
4. Be responsible for the management of the membership database and membership records.
5. Be responsible for financial reporting and fiduciary oversight including filing with the authorities the reports required by federal and state law.
6. Be responsible for selecting, in cooperation with the president, and securing conference sites, drafting and circulating the call for papers, coordinating with the local arrangements chair, and the program chair.
7. Supervise the printing and mailing of program material.
8. Be responsible for overseeing conference registration.
9. Oversee the design, maintenance, and updates of the organizational web page.
10. Be responsible for collecting and archiving reports presented by the Executive Board members and maintaining internal information and records essential for the management of the organization.
11. Receive an annual fellowship that will be determined by the Executive Board and awarded each year at the annual conference for the previous year.
12. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 4. The Secretary shall:

1. Take minutes and notes of Executive Board meetings and business meetings. If the Secretary is unable to attend an Executive Board meeting and/or a business meeting, the Secretary shall designate an appropriate substitute to take minutes. If the Secretary is unable to act, the President shall appoint an appropriate substitute to take minutes.
2. Submit the Executive Board meeting minutes within thirty days of an Executive Board meetingfor approval by the Executive Board.
3. Submit a draft of the minutes of the business meeting to the membership for reviewin the edition of the newsletter that follows the conference. Present the minutes of the business meeting of the previous conference for approval at the next business meeting.
4. Handle the correspondence of the WAWH as directed by the Executive Director.
5. Be responsible for membership recruitment and follow-up.
6. Assist in publicity for the organization as directed by the Executive Director.
7. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 5. The Treasurer shall:

1. Maintain the financial records.
2. Deposit all receipts in appropriate accounts; pay all expenses with funds drawn on the proper accounts.
3. Provide the Executive Director with financial data necessary to complete reports required by federal and state law.
4. Present a financial report to the Executive Board meeting and the business meeting at the annual conference.
5. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 6. The Networker Editor of the newsletter shall:

1. Be responsible for publishing, printing and distributing a minimum of three issues a year, with input from other members of the Executive Board and from the membership.
2. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 7. The Graduate Student Representative(s) shall:

1. Be responsible for representing the particular interests of the graduate students in the organization.
2. Maintain a liaison with other graduate student groups.
3. Be prepared to assist with tasks related to the annual conference as directed by the Executive Director.
4. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 8. Award Committee Members shall:

1. Be appointed by the President for a three-year term.
2. Have terms that are staggered in a three-year cycle. Each year a new committee member will be appointed. In case of an incomplete term of service, an appointment will be made to complete the term of service.

Section 9. Award Committee Chair shall:

1. Ideally have at least one year experience on the particular committee prior to taking over the position of Chair.
2. Be responsible in overseeing the work of the committee, including receipt and distribution of applications to committee members, timely determination of award recipient(s), and notification of the decision to those applicants selected and not selected as well as the Executive Director.
3. Present, or appoint someone to present, the award to the winner at the annual conference
4. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 10. The Program Chair shall:

1. Approve the draft of the call for papers for the annual conference.
2. Form a committee to assist in the creation of the program of the annual meeting.
3. Arrange the program content in cooperation with other Executive Board members.
4. Oversee program committee’s review of proposals and the selection of papers, panels, and other submissions.
5. Create the final draft of the conference program.
6. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 11. The Local Arrangements Chair shall:

1. Supervise the physical arrangements for the annual conference.
2. Be responsible for managing the registration desk at the annual conference under the supervision of the Executive Director.
3. Make summary report of income and expenditures for each annual conference to the Executive Board.
4. Make a summary report to the Executive Board at the annual meeting.

Section 12. The Past-President shall:

1. Be a resource of organizational knowledge and procedure for the Executive Board.
2. Advise the President (or the appointed nominating committee) about promising candidates for office.

Article III Amendments

The Executive Board is authorized and directed to initiate amendments to the Bylaws as may be desirable to regularize the administrative practices of the Western Association of Women Historians. An up-to-date copy of these Bylaws shall be made available upon request. Any part of the Bylaws shall be subject to review and amendment at the annual meeting by a majority vote of those members in good standing in attendance.

Constitution-Bylaws of the Western Association of Women Historians (approved 2006)
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updated May 21, 2007

 

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The Western Association of Women Historians was founded in 1969 to promote the interests of women historians both in academic settings and in the field of history generally.

Drawing scholars from the Western states, the WAWH is the largest of the regional women's historical associations in the U.S.

The WAWH encourages the participation of academic historians and independent scholars, and welcomes literary scholars and art, theater, and film specialists.