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Bylaws for Structure and Responsibilities
Purpose:
The Oral History Section of the Society of American Archivists is composed
of members of the Society and others who are interested in or are actively
engaged in conducting oral history interviews and/or teach oral history
methodology. The Oral History Section provides a forum for news, for discussion
of issues and developments, and for establishing and maintaining communication
and cooperation with other professional organizations.
Steering Committee:
The Steering Committee is composed of seven members, which includes the officers
(chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair) and four
members (two elected per year for two-year terms). The newsletter editor
serves as an ex officio member (unless the newsletter editor also holds
elected office).
The Steering Committee
directs and coordinates activities of the section and approves appointments
made by the chair if vacancies occur. Committee members approve the section's
annual program, sponsor SAA sessions, appoint a newsletter editor as necessary,
contribute to the newsletter, establish and maintain liaisons with other
professional organizations, and act as advocates for the section within SAA.
Steering Committee members are expected to attend the annual meeting.
The chair, vice-chair/chair-elect,
and members of the Steering Committee not serving as members of the Nominating
Committee serve on the Program Committee. The immediate past chair and two
elected members of the Steering Committee in their second year of service
compose the Nominating Committee.
Officers:
The chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and the immediate past chair serve as officers
of the section. Only members of SAA and the Oral History Section may hold
these positions.
The chair directs and
reports the activities of the section, conducts the annual meeting of the
section and the Steering Committee, acts as liaison for the section to other
bodies, appoints section committees as needed, and handles administrative
matters.
The vice-chair/chair-elect
serves as acting chair in the absence of the chair, organizes the annual
meeting of the section, sets the agenda of the Steering Committee, and participates
as a member of the Steering Committee in all its activities.
The immediate past chair
serves as a member of the Steering Committee and as chair of the Nominating
Committee.
The officers make a commitment
for three years to serve one year each as vice-chair/chair-elect, chair,
and immediate past chair. Each is expected to attend the annual meeting.
Newsletter Editor:
The newsletter editor shall be appointed by the Steering Committee for a negotiated
term. Terms should be no less than two years and no more than three years.
The newsletter editor serves as an ex officio member of the Steering Committee,
unless the editor also holds elected membership. In the latter case, the
editor shall have all decision privileges of committee members. The editor
shall not serve concurrently as chair of the section.
The newsletter editor
shall be responsible for editing, publishing, and distributing in a timely
manner (approximately every six months) two newsletters per year and any
other special issues or mailings as determined by the Steering Committee.
The editor maintains the section mailing list and negotiates all newsletter
matters with the SAA office as appropriate. The editor serves as secretary
at the annual section meeting and takes minutes that are subsequently published
in the newsletter. The newsletter editor is expected to attend the annual
meeting.
Program Committee:
The Program Committee is composed of the chair, vice-chair/chair-elect, and
Steering Committee members who are not members of the Nominating Committee.
The chair shall appoint Program Committee members to coordinate, write,
and submit Steering Committee-approved session proposals on behalf of the
section to the SAA Program Committee.
The Program Committee
develops proposals for both the section program and SAA sessions for the
following year's annual meeting. The Steering Committee reviews and selects
proposals.
Nominating Committee
and Election:
The Nominating Committee is composed of the immediate past chair, who serves
as chair of the committee, and the two elected Steering Committee members in
their second year of service. If any of these cannot serve, the section chair
shall appoint members from the Steering Committee as needed.
The Nominating Committee
solicits candidates for the next year's leadership, using a notice in the
newsletter and receiving the names of volunteers of persons recommended,
and prepares an appropriate slate for the elected section positions from
those nominees agreeing to place their names in nomination. The committee
ensures that there is at least one nominee and no more than two nominees
for vice-chair/chair-elect, and that the number of nominees for Steering
Committee is not less than the number of positions to be filled. All candidates
for election must be members of SAA and the section.
The committee publicizes
the slate in the newsletter issued preceding the annual meeting. The committee
prepares a ballot and conducts an election at the annual section meeting.
Only members of the section may vote. Any member of the section unable to
attend the annual meeting may request an absentee ballot from the committee
chair; absentee ballots must be returned to the committee chair prior to
the annual meeting. Voting at the annual meeting shall be by secret ballot
if there are more candidates than can be elected for any position. Candidates
with the highest number of votes are elected. New leadership assumes office
at the close of the annual meeting of the section.
If for any reason the
vice-chair is unable to succeed to the office of chair, a new chair shall
be elected following the same procedures as election for a vice-chair. The
Steering Committee shall appoint any other vacancies to fulfill unexpired
terms of elected positions, after which a normal election shall occur.
Enactment:
These bylaws shall be distributed to the membership of the section with a mail
ballot for their approval or rejection. They shall become effective immediately
if approved by a majority of the votes cast by the deadline set for the
return of the ballots. The ballot shall include a method for indicating
interest in elective or appointive positions for the section.
Society of American Archivists
Oral History Section
Web Liaison | Joel Minor
Created | 02 April 2003
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