CONSTITUTION OF THE
TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS OF ART
Article I: NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION
The name of this organization shall be the Texas Association of Schools of Art (TASA).
Article II: PURPOSE
Section 1: The purpose of the Texas Association of Schools of Art shall be to promote among colleagues the exchange of ideas and encourage creative and scholarly activity in the visual arts, to facilitate the professional purposes of instructors of the visual arts, and otherwise to advance the visual arts in institutions of higher education by whatever means appropriate.
Section 2: The purpose of the association is exclusively educational, literary, and scientific within the meaning of section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Section 3: The purpose of the association shall be served by:
a. The holding of regular meetings of the membership at which activities of significance to visual art education and scholarship are presented.
b. The publishing of a newsletter as well as such additional publications as may serve the purpose of the association.
c. The sponsoring of projects addressing particular needs in the visual arts.
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Membership is open to anyone interested in the purposes of this association. Faculty, institutions, students and supporters shall become members upon receipt of dues except in the case of honorary and emeritus members.
There are four different categories of dues-paying membership including: faculty, participating institutional, student and supporting.
a. Individual faculty who teach art in accredited Texas institutions of education are eligible for faculty membership in the association.
b. Texas institutions of higher education accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools which offer art programs shall be eligible for Institutional membership.
1. Institutional membership entitles the institution to a conference registration fee and individual membership for one representative and one vote on matters of business at the annual membership meeting.
2. Institutional membership also includes receipt of TASA information, full access to the TASA website, and all issues of the TASA online newsletter.
c. Student memberships shall be available to any full-time duly enrolled student in an accredited institution of higher education in Texas. Such memberships shall be non-voting and at a reduced membership fee.
d. Supporting memberships consisting of the categories of benefactor, sponsor, donor, friend and patron shall be available to individuals, organizations or corporations who are interested in the purposes of the Association. Such memberships shall be non-voting and will be listed in all issues of the TASA newsletter.
e. Non-dues-paying: There are two different categories of non-dues-paying memberships including: honorary and emeritus. Such memberships shall be determined by a majority vote of the board of directors and shall remain in effect until determined otherwise. Members so designated shall not have voting privileges.
1. Honorary memberships may be granted to individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts.
2. Emeritus memberships may be awarded to individuals retired from institutions of higher education in Texas who have made significant contributions to the arts and the association.
Section 2: The annual dues for all categories of membership except honorary and emeritus shall be fixed and changed by a majority vote of the board of directors.
Article IV: MEETINGS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Section 1: Meetings of the membership shall be held each year at such time and place as determined by the board of directors. The location of such meetings shall be announced at each preceding annual meeting. Only members, including faculty, institutional representatives, student, supporting, honorary or emeritus, and invited guests, shall be allowed to attend the annual meetings of the association.
Section 2: Regular meetings of the membership shall include an appropriate program, a business meeting, and such other events as the board of directors may deem fitting and consonant with the purposes of this association.
Section 3: For meetings of the membership the board of directors shall designate a conference chair who will make appropriate accommodations, program and fee arrangements with prior approval of the board of directors.
Section 4: Business meetings of the membership shall include reports of the activities of the board of directors by the president, and reports by the recorder, treasurer, and any standing or special committees. Items to be considered as new business by the association as a whole for recommendations to the board shall be presented in writing to the president fifteen days prior to the opening of the annual meeting of the membership. Items received past the deadline will be considered at the discretion of the board of directors in their next meeting or held until the next annual meeting of the membership.
Section 5: Board meetings shall be held at least two times during each year at such time and place as determined by the board of directors. Any member of the association may submit in writing, to the president, items for the board of directors’ consideration.
Section 6: Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the president with the approval of the board of directors to facilitate the work and purposes of the association.
Article V: GOVERNANCE
Section 1: The governing board of the Texas Association of Schools of Art shall be the board of directors which shall be composed of: 1) the elected officials of the association which include the president, president-elect or immediate past-president, recorder, and newsletter editor six or seven board of directors elected at-large; and 3) two paid staff positions: Executive Assistant to the President/Registrar (budget and membership database), and Website Editor.
Section 2: Terms of Office
a. Officers: The term of office of the president shall be for two years. The term of office of the president-elect shall be for one year, synchronized with the second year of the president’s term. The terms of the newsletter editor shall be for three years. The terms of office of the recorder shall be for three years.
b. Board of Directors: The immediate past-president shall serve on the board of directors for one year, synchronized with the first year of the president’s term. Members of the board of directors elected at-large shall serve for three years.
Section 3: Institutional Representation
a. The offices of the president and president-elect shall be representative of and shall alternate between representatives of two- and four-year institutions.
b. The remainder of the board of directors including the newsletter editor, recorder, past-president and board of directors at-large shall be representative of two- and four-year institutions, as equally balanced as possible.
Article VI: ELECTIONS
Section 1: Candidates for office and members at-large of the board of directors must be faculty members and/or institutional representatives who have held active membership in the association for at least one year.
Section 2: The election of officers and board of directors at-large shall be held at the annual business meeting of the membership. The board of directors shall be empowered by simple majority vote to fill any vacancies occurring in unexpired terms of office.
Section 3: The president shall appoint a nominating committee of five members prior to each election. The committee shall prepare and present at the business meeting a slate of one nominee for each vacancy. Nominations will be accepted from the floor.
Section 4: Officers and members at-large of the board of directors shall be elected by ballot with a simple majority of the current members of the organization or a member institutional representative in attendance which will constitute a quorum for election. Elections shall take place at the business session of each annual meeting of the membership. Each faculty member or institutional representative shall be eligible for one vote respectively. The president-elect or a board member not up for re-election and the chair of the nominating committee shall tabulate and report the results of the election prior to the conclusion of the business session.
Article VII: DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
Section 1: Board of Directors.
The president shall serve as the chair of the board of directors. In the absence of the president, the president-elect shall serve as acting chair of the board of directors. In the absence of the president-elect, the past-president shall serve as acting chair of the board of directors.
Section 2: Officers
a. President: It shall be the duty of the president to preside at the annual business meeting of the membership and at all meetings of the board of directors. The president shall execute any duties assigned to the president by the constitution or by the board of directors. The president shall appoint, with the consent of the board, all members of standing or ad hoc committees and shall be responsible for informing the membership of the activities of the board of directors. The president shall maintain all membership and financial records of the association. An allocation shall be available to the president in an amount determined by the board of directors for contracting clerical assistance as needed to meet the duties of the office.
b. President-Elect: The president-elect shall preside over the association in the absence of the president and at such meetings as the president-elect may be assigned to preside over by the president. The president-elect shall succeed the president.
c. Recorder: The recorder shall be responsible for keeping minutes of board meetings and all proceedings of the association, filed in an orderly fashion, and upon approval by the membership involved, forwarded to the president for distribution to the board of directors.
d. Newsletter Editor: The newsletter editor shall direct the publication procedures of the TASA newsletter, contracting services of design, printing and distribution as needed with the approval of the Board of Directors.
Section 3: Staff (appointed)
a. Website Editor: The website editor shall direct the electronic publishing procedures of the TASA website, contracting services of server host, design, editing, security, and accessibility as needed with the approval of the Board of Directors.
b. Executive Assistant, Registrar: The Executive Assistant, Registrar shall handle TASA banking, specifically setting up and maintaining a checking account for accounts receivable and accounts payable, and savings account(s) for the organization, as well as maintaining records for annual membership and conference registration. He/she will prepare financial reports for all meetings of the board of directors and membership meetings. This position is also responsible for filing all required reports to the IRS and Texas Secretary of State to maintain TASA’s 501 (c) 3 non-profit status.
Article VIII: COMMITTEES
Section 1: Committees of the association shall be comprised of standing and special committees.
a. Standing Committees: The standing committees of the association shall be:
1) Publications Committee and2) Academic Affairs Committee.
b. Special Committees: Special committees of the association shall be determined by the board of directors.
Section 2: Membership of Committees
The membership of all committees shall be appointed by the president with the approval of the board of directors.
a. Standing Committees: All standing committees shall be comprised of six members equally distributed between two- and four-year members. Membership of such committees shall serve for two years on a rotating basis.
b. Special Committees: The duties of the special committees shall be charged by the president with the approval of the board of directors.
Article IX: FISCAL YEAR
The fiscal year shall be from June 1 to May 31 (amended by majority vote at the annual membership meeting, October 2016).
Article X: INCOME
No part of the net earnings of the association shall accrue to the benefit of any member, sponsor, donor, creator, trustee, officer, employee or without limitation, to any other private individual or to the benefit of any private individual or substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation; provided this shall not prevent payment of reasonable compensation for service actually rendered to or from the association in effecting its purposes.
Article XI: RULES OF ORDER
Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the authority on all questions of procedure not otherwise covered by the constitution.
Article XII: CONSTITUTION REVISION AND AMENDMENTS
All proposals for constitution revision and amendments shall be presented in writing to the president fifteen days prior to the board of directors meeting immediately preceding the annual meeting of the membership. Constitution revision and amendments to the constitution shall be voted on by the faculty and institutional representative members of the association. Two-thirds of the votes cast by the membership present at the annual business meeting are required for the passage of an amendment. Action on constitution revision and amendments shall take place at the annual business meeting of the membership.
Article XIII: IN CASE OF DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION
Upon the dissolution of this organization, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.
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Amended October 2016