PSS Constitution
Article I
NAME
The name of
this organization shall be the Pennsylvania Sociological Society
(PSS).
Article II
PURPOSE
The major
objective of the PSS is to provide a forum for communication for
sociologists working in diverse settings: education, industry,
government, voluntary associations, or solo practitioners; and to
increase understanding of the interplay of sociological knowledge
and social research. An adjunct objective is to assist future
sociologists in developing their careers.
Article III
MEMBERSHIP
Membership
in the PSS is open to anyone who has expressed or demonstrated an
interest in the field of sociology. There are no restrictions on
race, sex, age, creed, or national origin. Active members are those
who paid dues for the current year.
Article IV
OFFICERS
The
officers shall be: immediate Past President, the President, the
President-Elect, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer,
and the chairperson of the Long Range Planning Committee. The
officers shall assume office at the conclusion of the annual
meeting.
Article V
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section
1: Past President
The
immediate Past President shall act in an advisory capacity to the
President in carrying out the duties of that office, turning overall
correspondence and records relevant to the office at the annual
meeting.
Section
2: President
The President shall preside at all business meetings; and coordinate
the substantive sessions of the annual meeting; delegate specific
duties; and appoint committees as needed. The President shall
initiate and maintain contact with the Executive Committee and the
membership. He/she shall act as a conduit for information on
members' to issues of common concern. In the event that
controversial issues are raised, the President shall invite opposing
views to be presented. The President shall appoint the Editor of the
newsletter. The President shall see that the newsletter is
distributed to the membership. The President shall represent the PSS
in contact with other groups such as Regional State Associations,
Regional Associations, the National council of State Sociological
Associations, the American Sociological Association, and
International Organizations.
The President is also
responsible for appointing chairs for certain committees:
Publications, Task Force on Employment/Applied and Clinical
Sociology, Committee on the Status of Women and Minorities, and
Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching (see articles 10, 11,
12, and 13).
Section
3: President-Elect
The President-Elect shall assist the President in obtaining
information needed to fulfill the duties of that office. The
President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in his/her
absence. The President-Elect will serve as Chair of the PSS
Nominations Committee. This should include at least three members,
one from each region of the state. The committee should be formed by
January 1st. The President-Elect will introduce the nominees at the
annual meeting and will be responsible for the dissemination,
collection, and tallying of the ballots. Additional duties of the
President-Elect regard the annual meeting are covered in the Bylaws,
Articles 3-4.
Section
4: Vice-President
The Vice President shall supervise the award functions of the
organization. He/she will serve as the chairperson of the PSS
Distinguished Sociologist Award Committee. In addition, he/she will
appoint the chair of the Undergraduate Student Paper Award
Committee. These committees will be formed by the Spring Executive
Committee meeting.
Section
5: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the expenditures of funds.
He/she shall handle all monies of the PSS and prepare a budget
statement for approval at the annual business meeting. The Treasurer
shall provide all officers with a list of paid-up members by
December 1st to facilitate the formation of committees.
Section
6: Secretary
The
Secretary shall be responsible for taking minutes at the Business
Meeting and Executive Committee meetings. These minutes should be
typed and circulated to all officers and the Editor of the
Newsletter for distribution to the membership.
All members should assist in recruitment of new members. The
Secretary shall serve as Chairperson of the Membership Committee
which will recruit new members and ensure that current members
maintain due payments.
Section
7: Chairperson of Long Range Planning Committee
The
chairperson will be elected for a period of three years by a
majority vote. The Long Range Planning Committee will consist of a
chairperson serving a three year term; three members, one from each
region of Pennsylvania, each serving a two year term, all
chairpersons with elected officials and each head of the committee
members.
Article VI
ELECTIONS, PROCEDURES, AND SUCCESSION
Section 1: Elections
The
election of officers shall be conducted at the annual meeting of the
Pennsylvania Sociological Society. A majority of those present and
voting is necessary for election.
Section
2: Procedures
The
nominations of officers may be made b active PSS members. Member
shall secure the agreement of candidates to run for President-Elect,
Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and chairperson of the long
range planning committee and submit the nomination to the
President-Elect by May 15th. The candidates' names and statements
shall appear in the newsletter preceding the annual meeting.
Additional nominations may be made from the floor, provided the
nominee is willing to serve.
Voting shall be by secret ballot. The Nominations Committee shall
conduct the electing. If a candidate is not present when elected,
the President shall inform the new officer within one week of the
annual meeting.
Section
3: Succession
The
change over of officers will occur at the annual meeting.
Immediately following the annual meeting, the President would become
the immediate Past President. The President-Elect, the
Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and chairperson of the
Long Range Planning Committee would start fulfilling their offices
the day following the annual meeting. All terms of office are for
one year except the chairperson of the Long Range Planning
Committee. This term is for three years. In the event an elected
officer cannot fulfill the duties, the Executive Committee may
exercise emergency power to appoint a replacement from among willing
candidates.
Article VII
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The
Executive Committee shall consist of the two immediate Past
Presidents, the current President, the President-Elect,
Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the chairperson of the
Long Range Planning Committee, and the editor of the newsletter, the
editor and managing editor of the journal, and three other
members-at-large, to be elected at the annual meeting (one for a
3-year term and two for 2-year terms. All meetings of the Executive
Committee are open to all active members. The Executive Committee is
vested with the power to carry out all necessary operations of the
PSS including the assessment of dues. It shall serve as the
representative body of the membership. Other committees may be
appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive
Committee on an ad hoc basis.
Article
VIII
MEETINGS
The PSS shall meet at least once each year. The annual meetings will
be held in the fall and a planning session in the spring. These
meetings will be rotated yearly among different areas eastern,
central and western Pennsylvania.
Article IX
STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD
In accordance with past practices, the PSS will give an award for
the best student research paper presented at the annual meeting. The
selection shall be made by the chairperson of the student research
session with the assistance of his/her committee. The chairperson
shall be appointed by the President. The chairperson shall appoint
the members of his/her committee. See By Laws Article I. This award
shall be made at the annual luncheon.
Article X
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
The President shall appoint the chairperson for the Publications
Committee. That person shall be responsible for work on PSS
publications relating to the annual meeting, such as Proceedings of
the annual meeting, and topical brochures of interest to
Pennsylvania sociologists.
Article XI
TASK FORCE ON EMPLOYMENT/APPLIED AND CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts
of a Committee on Employment/Applied and Clinical Sociology.
Article XII
COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF MINORITIES AND WOMEN
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts
of a Committee on Minorities and Women. The tasks of this committee
should include the development of strategies to increase he
participation of minorities and women at all levels of the Society.
Article
XIII
COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts
of a Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching. The role of such
a committee would include the handling of grievances of PSS members
regarding violations of the ASA Guidelines for Initial Appointments
and related documents concerning faculty rights in the areas of
research and teaching. The PSS COFRAT
Committee could offer its assistance to COFRAT Committees of other
professional organizations at the regional level in handling
Pennsylvania-based cases.
Article XIV
LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The tasks for the Long Range Planning Committee is to oversee the
constitution implemented for the constitutional planning for future
policy issues and other proposals that may be brought before the
committee for consideration. It would also involve a periodic
assessment for various community works and planning for budget
resources.