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By-Laws of the ALSC

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Amended October 19, 2002

Article I: Name

This Association shall be known as the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics. It is a non-profit Corporation under the laws of California.

Article II: Purpose

The purpose of the Association is to promote excellence in literary criticism and scholarship.

Article III: Membership

The Council may establish different categories of members for the purpose of dues payments, but all members shall have the same voting rights and privileges.

Article IV: Council
  1. The Council is the governing body of the Association.
  2. The Council consists of nine members serving staggered three-year terms, the Officers of the Association, and the immediate past President.
Article V: Officers
  1. The President and Vice-President serve for a term of one year. The Secretary and the Treasurer serve at the pleasure of the Council and may be removed by a majority vote of the Council with or without cause. The Council may appoint the same person to more than one office, except that the President may not hold another office.
  2. The President serves as the chair of the Council, appoints its subcommittees, calls meetings of the Council and sets the agenda for the meeting, presides over the annual conference, and sets the agenda for the general members' meeting.
  3. The Vice-President serves as the vice-chair of the Council and automatically becomes the President at the end of his or her term of office as Vice-President.
  4. The Secretary gives notice of meetings and drafts minutes, conducts and certifies the results of ballots and elections, certifies the By-Laws, maintains the Association's records and supervises its office staff.
  5. The Treasurer keeps the Association's accounts, deposits and disburses its funds, and makes financial reports as requested by the Council or as required by law.
  6. The Council may at its discretion appoint an Executive Director to assist the Secretary and the Treasurer, or to replace them.
Article VI: Committees
  1. There are standing committees on Curriculum, Nominations, and Publications.
  2. Special Committees may be created by the Council for any purpose.
  3. The Chairpersons and members of all Standing and Special Committees except the Nominations Committee are appointed by the Nominations Committee. The Curriculum and Publications Committees shall consist of four members serving staggered two-year terms.
  4. The Nominations Committee shall consist of the three Council members who are in the third year of their term.
  5. Each year, the President and the Nominations Committee shall appoint a Conference Committee. The Conference Committee shall consist of four to six members serving for one year.
Article VII: Elections
  1. Each spring, the Vice-President and three members of the Council are elected by the general membership of the Association. The Nominations Committee shall solicit suggestions from the membership and from among them shall nominate candidates for each position. Nominations may also be made through a petition signed by any fifteen members in good standing of the Association.
  2. If no candidate for Vice-President receives at least fifty percent of the votes cast, a run-off shall be held between the two candidates receiving the most votes.
  3. Vacancies on the Council occurring through failure to complete a regular term of office shall be filled by the Council.
  4. All terms of office shall begin on the second day of the annual convention or, when the annual convention is not held in September or October, on September 1.
Article VIII: Meetings
  1. A general meeting of the membership shall be held at the annual conference of the Association.
  2. Meetings of the Council shall be called by the Secretary when requested to do so by a majority of the members of the Council.
  3. The Secretary shall ensure that seven days notice is given for all meetings, and that an agenda for the meeting is included with the call.
  4. A quorum for a general meeting shall be fifty members. A quorum for a Council meeting shall be two-thirds of the Council.
  5. The Council may transact business by mail, including electronic mail, provided that any member may require that action on any decision be postponed for one week to allow further discussion.
Article IX: Amendments to the By-Laws

These By-Laws may be amended either by a two-thirds vote at a general meeting of the membership or by a mail ballot.

Article X: Mail Balloting

Any action taken at a general members' meeting or by the Council may be put to a mail ballot on receipt by the Secretary of a petition signed by thirty members in good standing.

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The Association of Literary Scholars and Critics
650 Beacon Street, Suite 510
Boston, Massachusetts 02215
Phone: (617) 358-1990 | Fax: (617) 358-1995
E-mail: alsc@bu.edu

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