by-laws

(approved 11/3/07; amended 10/3/08, 10/30/09, and 11/18/16)

ARTICLE I:  The Mission

  1. Founded in 1974, the New England Medieval Consortium (NEMC) aims to sponsor an interdisciplinary conference in medieval studies at varying New England institutions each year. By doing so it fosters a sense of professional collegiality among medievalists in the region.
  2. NEMC is governed by a Steering Committee of a minimum total of fifteen members of which five are officers—the President, the Vice-President, the Webmaster, the Secretary and the immediate Past President. A quorum is defined as nine members.
  3. NEMC is a member of the Committee on Centers and Regional Associations of the Medieval Academy (CARA).
  4. The NEMC conference will feature senior scholars in plenary sessions.

 

ARTICLE II:  The Officers

  1. The terms of the Officers begin after the fall conference.
  2. The Secretary
    1. The Secretary’s term is for three years, thereby ensuring continuity between at least two conferences.
    2. At any given time, NEMC should not only have a secretary, but also a commitment from another individual to succeed the present secretary.
    3. The Secretary’s duties include:
      1. Working with the President
      2. Administering the nomination process
        1. In a timely fashion the Secretary will contact the Officers and Steering Committee members for nominations.
        2. The Secretary will then ascertain that the individuals nominated would indeed serve.
        3. After the nominations have been considered by the Steering Committee, the Secretary will inform all nominees of the results.
      3. Keeping and distributing minutes to the Officers and Steering Committee
      4. Updating the e-mail distribution list
      5. Communicating with the NEMC Site Webmaster when necessary
      6. Issuing a notice per semester to likely venues (e.g. The Medieval Academy website, the New England Historical Association, and the Northeast Modern Language Association)
        1. In spring, help the conference organizer, advertise the place, date and program of the upcoming NEMC conference.
        2. In fall, reiterate the above point. Additionally issue a call for interested conveners for future conferences.
      7. Maintaining the handbook of the NEMC and updating and revising it in accordance with decisions agreed upon by the steering committee
      8. Forwarding the CARA dues statement to the Vice President for payment
  3. The Vice-President
    1. The Vice-President’s term is for one year, the year before the conference that she or he convenes is held.
    2. The Vice-President should ideally be chosen two years before she or he convenes the NEMC conference.
    3. The Vice-President’s duties include:
      1. Establishing and chairing a local organizing committee as early as possible in order to convene the conference
      2. Securing sufficient funds to run the conference
      3. Determining with the local organizing committee what theme will be pursued
      4. Working with the local organizing committee to ensure that:
        1. Appropriate speakers are contacted and engaged
        2. Speakers from various disciplines are represented
        3. If desired, a Call for Papers is issued
        4. Coordinating the Program
        5. Coordinating Public Relations
        6. Securing housing possibilities for both speakers and attendants
        7. Attending to all other details necessary to run a conference
      5. Paying the CARA dues
  4. The President
    1. The President’s term is for one year, the year after the conference that she or he convenes was held.
    2. The President’s duties include:
      1. Working with the Secretary to ensure that nominees for subsequent offices are designated
      2. Presiding at the annual meeting of the Officers and Steering Committee held in conjunction with the annual meeting
      3. Convening any other meetings deemed important
  5.  Webmaster
    1. The Webmaster’s term is for three years, renewable upon mutual agreement of the Webmaster and the Steering Committee.
    2. The Webmaster’s duties include:
      1. Arranging for hosting of the website
      2. Posting and updating information on the website in accordance with the instructions of the Steering Committee (see ARTICLE V)
  6. The Immediate Past-President
    1. The immediate past-President remains on the Steering Committee for the year following her or his term as president.

 

ARTICLE III: The Steering Committee

  1. The terms of the Steering Committee begin after the fall conference.
  2. The fifteen members of the Steering Committee will have terms of three years, staggered so that at any given time, the terms of at least five members expire in any given year.
  3. The Steering Committee’s duties include:
    1. Attending the annual meeting
    2. Providing suggestions regarding the nomination of future Steering Committee members, likely NEMC conference conveners, and themes for conferences
    3. Providing information on other conferences, so that the NEMC conference can be scheduled effectively
    4. Working to enhance NEMC’s visibility
    5. Serving in general as a resource for NEMC

 

ARTICLE IV: Election of Officers and Steering Committee

  1. Nominations for future Officers and Steering Committee members will be made at the annual meeting.
  2. A simple majority will ensure a candidate’s election as Officer or Steering Committee member.

 

ARTICLE V: The Website

  1. The Steering Committee is responsible for the content of the website.
  2. In addition to the information currently available on the website, the following will be added:
    1. The By-Laws
    2. The contents of the blue notebook, which contains advisory guidelines for conference organization
    3. The name and affiliation of both current and subsequent Secretaries
    4. A list of publications stemming from past conferences

 

ARTICLE VI: Amendments

  1. Should any Officer or Steering Committee member wish to modify any of the By-Laws, such amendments should ideally be circulated in writing before the annual meeting.
  2. Such amendment will be considered ratified by means of a simple majority vote of a quorum of members of the Steering Committee present at the annual meeting.
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