Revised 2024
ASA BYLAWS
ARTICLE I. NAME: The Section shall be known as the Association of Senior Anthropologists, a section of the American Anthropological Association.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSES: The purposes of the Section shall be (A) to create a sense of community of senior anthropologists; (B) to enhance the conditions that enable them to continue to participate in the profession, even after they have retired from formal employment; (C) to promote senior scholarly and civic engagement through collaboration and mentoring with colleagues at all career stages; (D) to provide a source of historical knowledge for the anthropological community; and (E) through the foregoing meaningful activities, to encourage senior anthropologists to remain active members of the American Anthropological Association.
ARTICLE III. POWERS: The Section shall be autonomous in all matters within its field that are not reserved by the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association, inimical to the American Anthropological Association’s interests, or prohibited by law.
The Section is empowered to determine membership dues.
The Section shall determine voting requirements on all Section matters.
The Section may engage in publishing and other program activities, arrange for committees, editors, and board members with special roles such as webmaster and social media manager, and set policies appropriate to these purposes.
The Section shall adopt and maintain Bylaws consistent with American Anthropological Association Bylaws. The Section shall file with the American Anthropological Association Secretary a copy of its current Bylaws and Table of Organization.
ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP: Membership in the Section shall be open to any member in good standing of the American Anthropological Association who supports the above purposes, subject to the payment of dues stipulated by the Executive Board of the Section. A Member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in Section activities, and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Section.
For just cause, a Member may be deprived of membership by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Board, subject to appeal to the Members at the ASA Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE V. DUES: The Executive Board shall set the annual dues of Members and may establish rates for special categories. Any Member in arrears in the payment of dues shall lose all membership privileges.
ARTICLE VI. OFFICERS: The officers shall be a President, President Elect, Immediate Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, Student Representative, and two (2) At-Large Representatives. The terms of office of all officers shall be two years, beginning at the time of the AAA Annual Meeting.
The President shall be the presiding officer of the Section and serve as the Section’s representative on the Section Assembly. The President shall oversee all activities of the Section and take the lead in setting priorities and agendas.
The President Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, death, resignation or incapacity of the President, and shall succeed to the office of President at the expiration of the two-year term. The President Elect shall serve as Chair of the Section’s Annual Meeting Program Committee, advise the President, and help coordinate activities and projects not designated for other officers.
The Immediate Past President shall serve a two-year term as a voting member of the Executive Board, shall assume those duties assigned by either the President or the Executive Board, and shall serve on the Nominations Committee.
The Secretary shall have charge of the records of the Section, including agendas and minutes, and shall serve as editor of the Section’s column in the Anthropology News.
The Treasurer shall maintain financial records of the Section and keep members of the Executive Board informed on Section financial matters. In consultation with the Executive Board, the Treasurer shall develop a proposed Section budget for the following year with calendar and format set by AAA and shall present a report at the ASA Annual Business Meeting, summarizing the financial status of the Section.
The Student Representative, with support from the Program Committee, shall serve as a liaison between senior and early career anthropologists, facilitating activities such as scholarly collaborations and mentoring, and shall be co-organizer of the Conversations Across Generations roundtable at the AAA Annual Meeting.
The two At-Large Representatives shall be elected in alternate years. The one not elected in the same year as the President Elect shall serve as Annual Meeting Program Committee Co-Chair. The other At-Large Representative shall be responsible for coordinating activities and initiatives not assigned to or assumed by other officers, which may include but are not limited to communications media, membership enhancement, and mentoring programs.
ARTICLE VII. EXECUTIVE BOARD: There shall be an Executive Board consisting of the current officers elected from the membership of the Section, including the Immediate Past President, and, as non-voting members, other past elected officers who wish to serve and any appointees of the Executive Board.
Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the Members of the Section, the Executive Board shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the Section all powers and functions defined in these Bylaws.
The Executive Board shall meet at least once annually, at the time of, or no more than 30 days prior to, the AAA Annual Meeting and may meet additionally on the call of the President or a majority vote of the Executive Board. Such meetings may be held through telecommunications.
The Executive Board shall make all non-elective appointments and may make interim appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office, retaining the voting role, until the next regularly scheduled election.
ARTICLE VIII. ANNUAL REPORT: At the time of each ASA Annual Meeting, the Executive Board shall provide a report of Section activities over the past year to the Members. The report shall be compiled by the President and include accounts of activities overseen by the Secretary, Treasurer, editors of publications, committees, and other agents representing the Section. At a time and in a format set by AAA, the report shall be submitted for review by the Section Assembly Executive Committee (SAEC) and the AAA Executive Board.
ARTICLE IX. MEETINGS: The Section shall hold an Annual Business Meeting at the time of, or no more than thirty (30) days prior to, the AAA Annual Meeting. The place and date of the ASA Annual Meeting shall be disclosed to the Members not less than thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting.
Activities at the AAA Annual Meeting shall be arranged by a Program Committee, with the President Elect as Chair and one of the At-Large Representatives as Co-Chair, assisted by the other elected officers serving as ex officio members. Additional members may be appointed by the Chair.
At the time of the AAA Annual Meeting, a ceremonial event shall be held at which newly elected board members take office and awards may be presented.
Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board or upon written request of five (5) percent of the Members.
ARTICLE X. QUORUM: Ten (10) percent of the Members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at the ASA Annual Business Meeting.
A majority of the members of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.
The business of the Section shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws.
ARTICLE XI. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS: Candidates for any elective office may be nominated by the Executive Board, by the Nominations Committee, or by Members. All candidates shall be Members in good standing of the Section.
The Nominations Committee shall consist of the President, President Elect and Immediate Past President.
The Nominations Committee shall nominate at least one (1) but no more than two (2) persons to be candidates for each vacant office.
Any three members in good standing may nominate an additional candidate for any office, provided the nomination is received in writing by the Secretary in sufficient time for inclusion in the annual ballot of the AAA and provided the candidate expresses in writing a willingness to serve
ARTICLE XII. BALLOTING: A Member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or referendum. Ballots shall be submitted and tallied in accordance with the AAA balloting process. The candidate receiving the most votes for a contested office shall be elected; the Executive Board shall hold a run-off election in accordance with AAA balloting procedures to resolve all ties.
ARTICLE XIII. REFERENDA: A referendum may be conducted using AAA balloting procedures at any time upon initiation of the Executive Board, or upon receipt by the Secretary of a petition signed by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. A majority of votes received shall constitute a favorable vote.
ARTICLE XIV. FINANCES
The fiscal year of the Section shall be that of the American Anthropological Association. The Section shall submit an annual operating budget to the AAA Board of Directors, which, when approved, shall govern Section activities.
The income from annual dues and from investments and other sources shall constitute a working fund, available for operating, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Section.
No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Board or by any officer on behalf of the Section except that for the purpose of this section, estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may be considered as available funds.
The Section may establish special funds to be administered by the American Anthropological Association for purposes the Section may designate.
ARTICLE XV. AMENDMENT: These Bylaws may be amended by the Members by balloting in accordance with AAA procedures, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.
Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Board or by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. The Executive Board shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow for the return of ballots in accordance with AAA balloting procedures.
The amendments and provisions of these Bylaws shall be effective immediately upon adoption and shall supersede and nullify all previous amendments and provisions.