|
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 | Jennifer
Eidson
Created | 02 April 2003
|
