 SCCR |
Constitution and By-Laws |
CONSTITUTION
Article I - Name
The name of this organization is the Society for Cross-Cultural Research, hereafter referred to as the Society.
Article II - Purpose
The purpose of the Society is to support and encourage interdisciplinary, comparative research that has as its objective the establishment of scientifically described generalizations about human behavior. The services of the Society shall be provided to its membership on a nonprofit basis. No earnings of the society shall accrue to the benefit of any individual person. The Society is organized and will be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Article III - Powers
The Society shall have the power to receive, administer, and disburse dues, assessments, and other grants to further its ends; to acquire, hold absolutely or in trust for the purpose of the Society, and convey property, real or personal; to publish reports, bulletins, journals, and monographs; to affiliate with other organizations in the pursuit of common aims and appoint delegates or representatives to such organizations; establish branches, sections or divisions, on a regional or functional basis; and to engage in such other activities as are necessary to the advancement of the purpose as specified in Article II and to the furtherance of professional interests.
Article IV - Membership
Membership in the Society is open to anyone who subscribes to the purpose of the Society as set forth in Article II and who applies in writing for membership. Two categories of members shall be recognized, Voting Members and Corresponding Members; students and foreign scholars who pay the appropriate annual dues described in the By-Laws shall be eligible for the status of Corresponding Member. All persons who subscribe to the purpose of the Society as set forth in Article II and who pay the appropriate annual dues described in the By-Laws shall be designated as Voting Members. Only Voting members in good standing shall be eligible to nominate persons for office, vote on any issue before the Society, or serve on the Executive Council (as described in Article V).
Article V - Organization
Section 1. Officers
The officers of the Society shall be the President, The President-Elect, the Past-President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, except that the last two offices may be combined in one person known as the Secretary-Treasurer. Other officers include the Representative for the Anthropological Sciences, including but not restricted to the conventionally identified subdisciplinary specialties within social/cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology; representative for the Psychological Sciences, including but not restricted to the conventionally identified subdisciplinary specialties in psychology and psychiatry; and the Representative for the Social Sciences, including but not restricted to the conventionally identifies subdisciplinary specialties in sociology, political science, economics, history and other professional disciplines related to the social and behavioral sciences not listed herein. Together these seven officers shall be designated as the Executive Council. Only Voting Members in good standing who have demonstrated professional competence in research consistent with the purpose of the Society as set forth in Article II may be officers.
Section 2. Terms of Office
The President shall serve his first year in office as President-Elect; shall serve his second year in office as President; and his third year in office as Past President of the Society. Other members of the Executive Council shall ordinarily serve terms of three years; no member may serve more than two consecutive terms. All officers of the Society shall serve until their successors are installed in office.
Section 3. Powers of the Executive Council
The Executive Council shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the Society all powers and functions as defined in Article III and in the By-Laws. The Executive Council shall establish and make known its rules and procedures.
The Executive Council may appoint from among the membership of the Society other agents and committees, and delegate to them such authority as required, supervise their activities, and receive and act upon budgets, requests and plans submitted to them. It shall also appoint persons to fill vacancies in the Executive Council until the next election.
Article VI - Amendments
This constitution may be amended by the Society by mail ballot, provided that one-fourth (25%) of the Voting Members in good standing cast a vote on a proposed amendment with approval by three-fifths (60%) of the vote cast. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Council or by twenty Voting members in good standing. the Executive Council shall have the proposed amendment circulating to the Voting members, and it shall go into effect immediately upon approval as specified above.
The amendments and provisions of the Constitution, as approved, shall be effective immediately upon adoption and shall supersede and nullify previous constitutional amendments and provisions not mentioned herein.
BY-LAWS
I. Dues
The Executive Council shall be empowered to set the annual dues of Corresponding Members and Voting members and to establish rates for special categories of Corresponding Members and Voting Members.
II. Finances and Property
Section 1
The fiscal year of the Society shall begin July 1.
Section 2
The President and President-Elect shall sign all written contracts and obligations authorized by the Executive Council, or in the absence of either of these officers, the Past-President shall sign.
III. Duties of Officers
Section 1
The Executive Council may, subject to provisions of Article V of the Constitution:
Appoint necessary committees, define their duties, and receive their reports;
Appoint all representatives of the Society to other societies, agencies and councils, or select such representatives from slates submitted by other societies, agencies or councils;
Employ and compensate necessary secretarial, clerical, and office personnel;
Expend Society funds within the budget and solicit, accept, and expend special funds for special purposes, and shall notify the membership of any such action with reference to special funds by report in the appropriate publication of the Society;
Serve as a clearinghouse of information concerning all matters of professional and scientific interest to the Society;
Hold referenda on matters deemed urgent;
Establish liaison with other professional or scientific organizations and institutions.
Section 2
Each year two meetings will be held in the following sequence: the Business Meeting of the Executive Council with membership, and the Organizational Meeting of the Newly constituted Executive Committees. Unless notice is given to the membership at least 90 days prior to the normally scheduled meetings, these two meetings will be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society. the Executive Council may in addition hold other meetings throughout the year.
Section 3
The Executive Council shall report its activities to the membership of the Society during the annual Business Meeting.
IV. Elections
Section 1. Occurrence
The Executive Council shall insure that elections are held annually for the positions of President-Elect and for one disciplinary Representative.
Section 2. Nominations
The Past-President shall serve as chairman of the Nomination Committee; the President shall appoint two persons to serve with the Past-President as a Nominations Committee. At least one of these appointees must represent a different disciplinary concentration ( as described in Section 1, Article V) from that of the Past-President, and neither of these appointees shall currently be members of the Executive Council. The Nominations Committee shall nominate one or more candidates for each vacant office; it shall notify the membership of the Society of its activities, and it shall solicit nominees from the Voting Members; at least sixty days prior to the scheduled date of the election, it shall make public its list of nominees. Any five Voting members in good standing may nominate an additional candidate, providing that their nomination is submitted to the Chairman of the Nominations Committee at least thirty days prior to the scheduled date of the elections.
Nominees for President-Elect shall represent a disciplinary concentration different from the current President-Elect, and every effort shall be made to insure that the representation of both sexes among the officers shall be proportional to their representation among the Voting Members of the Society.
No member shall accept a nomination to any office unless he states in writing to the Executive Council his willingness and ability to devote e such time to the affairs of the Society as is necessary to the effectiveness and execution of his office, including attending the annual Business Meeting and Organizational Meeting of the newly constituted Executive Council. The Executive Council shall have the right by vote of five-sevenths of its members to request the resignation of a member of the Executive Council if it deems the amount of time spent by him is not sufficient in carrying out the duties of the office.
Section 3. Elections Committee
The Secretary of the Society shall act as Chairman of an Elections Committee, and the President shall appoint at least one Voting Member to assist the Secretary in performance of his task.
Section 4. Elections
Each voting member shall be entitled to a ballot. Ballots shall be secret and signed, and the Elections Committee may examine the eligibility of any voter. Ballots must be mailed with the schedule determined by the Elections Committee.
Newly elected members of the Executive Council shall take office at the close of the annual Business Meeting.
Section 5. Vacancies
In case of vacancy to any office or elective positions within the society, the President shall request the Nominations and Elections Committees to take appropriate provisions during the nominations and elections procedures. The Executive Council shall make interim appointments to fill a vacancy among the officers or elected representatives until positions are held.
V. Referendum
A referendum vote may be held by mail ballot at any time upon the initiative of the Executive Council. the Executive Council shall conduct a referendum upon receipt of a petition signed by at least ten percent of the Voting members in good standing, or by twenty Voting Members in good standing, whichever number is larger. At its own discretion, the Executive Council may conduct the referendum in conjunction with the annual election.
VI. Amendment
These By-Laws may be amended by the Society by mail ballot, provided that one-fourth (25%) of the Voting Members in good standing cast a vote on the proposed amendment with approval by a simple majority of the votes cast. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Council or by twenty Voting members in good standing. The Executive Council shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Voting members in good standing, and it shall allow thirty days for the return of the ballots. An amendment shall go into effect immediately upon approval as specified above.
