Constitution of the Canadian Association of Slavists / CAS
Constitution de l'Association Canadienne des Slavistes / ACS
Aims
- 1] The Canadian Association of Slavists is an organization of teachers and scholars in the field of Slavic and related studies
in Canada for the purpose of improving and advancing such studies:
- a) The activities of the Association shall be carried out without purpose of gain for its members and any profits or other accretions
to the organization shall be used in promoting its objectives.
- 2] The CAS will use various methods to achieve this, among
which may be:
- a) General meetings of CAS at which ideas will be exchanged, experience pooled, textbooks and other teaching aids considered,
teaching methods expounded and papers on learned subjects read, etc.
- b) The issuing of a publication or publications which will include articles on learned subjects pertaining to Slavic and related studies contributed primarily by members of CAS, but by decision of the Editors, also by other writers. Surveys, reports,
book reviews, etc., on matters of interest may also be published.
- c) Radio broadcasting, public speaking, representation at meetings of other societies, etc.
- d) The establishment of a file, held by the Secretary-Treasurer
of CAS, of the names, addresses, and qualifications of
prospective candidates for teaching positions in Slavic and related
studies in Canada.
- e) Concerted effort in making application to government agencies,
foundations, private individuals, etc., for promoting the aim
of the Association.
- 3] English and French are the official languages of CAS.
Membership
- 4] Active membership shall be open to any bona fide teacher on
a regular institutional appointment of Slavic and related studies
in a recognized educational institution in Canada, of university,
college or secondary school standing, to recognized scholars,
and persons professionally engaged in research in Central and East European
Affairs, as well as to professional librarians in Slavic or related
fields. Voting power will be confined to active members.
- 5] a) Associate membership shall be open to all persons interested
in the aims and activities of CAS, but such members will
not have the power to vote at CAS meetings nor be elected
to any office.
- b) The Executive, usually on the advice of an ad-hoc advisory
committee chosen for this purpose, may appoint Honorary Members
for life, from amongst members of the Association of long standing,
or from amongst others active in the field of Slavic studies in
Canada. Suggestions of appropriate candidates for honorary membership
should be made in writing to the President and have the support
of at least three members. Honorary members shall receive the
CAS publication gratis.
- 6) Membership in CAS exists in the following categories:
- a) Regular membership
- b) Student, retired, unemployed membership
- c) Joint membership - available to any two members who wish to
receive only one copy of Canadian Slavonic Papers and the
CAS Newsletter, while retaining the right of each
to vote, hold office, present papers and be eligible for grant
assistance
- d) Life membership
- e) Joint Life membership - under the conditions described in c)
- f) Associate membership
- g) Affiliated organizational membership
- h) Sustaining membership
- i) Honorary membership
- 7] Any member may resign, if s/he so desired, by writing
to the Secretary-Treasurer.
- 8] The Executive may suspend the privileges of any member for
cause until the next general meeting of CAS, at which time
a two-thirds majority vote will decide whether the membership
should be canceled.
- 9] Membership shall be canceled for two or more years' arrears
in dues without reasonable cause after two written appeals, with
automatic readmission upon paying back membership fees.
- 10] The Secretary-Treasurer shall, on demand on any member, furnish
the list of the membership of CAS.
Executive
- 11] The Executive of CAS/ACS shall consists of one member
ex officio and eleven members elected by a majority vote at the general
meeting, as follows.
- a) President - elected every two years
- b) Immediate Past President - ex-officio, with office tenure
of two years
- ) Two Vice Presidents - elected annually
- d) Secretary-Treasurer - elected for three years
- e) Chair of the Programme Committee - elected annually
- f) Editor of Canadian Slavonic Papers - elected
for five years
- g) Four Members at Large - elected annually and eligible for
re-election. As far as is possible, these should be nominated
with due consideration for the balance of different disciplines
and geographical areas on the Executive as a whole.
- h) Graduate student represenatative - elected annually.
The student representative shall be lelected for a one year term by and from
the student membership of CAS/ACS by mail ballot prior to the AGM from
among nominations received by the CAS nominating committee.
All bona fide students shall be eligible for nomination and in the event that the student
representative graduates during the term of his/her mandate, s/he complete his/her term of office.
- i) The Editor shall normally be elected one year in
advance of the time when s/he begins his/her term of office, to allow
for necessary advance planning. The Executive, upon the suggestion
of the Editor, shall be empowered to appoint such associate
and assistant editors and other editorial staff as it deems necessary
from time to time.
- 12] The general meeting is empowered to appoint an Honorary President/Presidents
each year.
- 13] In case of death or resignation of a member of the Executive
the President will fill the vacancy ad interim until a proper
election by mail can be held. In case of death or resignation
of the president the Vice President assumes his/her duties until the
next annual meeting. The President is further empowered, as the
need arises, to appoint representatives for the Association on
outside bodies, or to substitute for himself; with the proviso
that s/he shall report on such appointments to the general meeting.
- 14] Retiring presidents of CAS shall form an Advisory Board,
with an individual tenure of three years, in addition to two year
tenure on the Executive in the capacity of the immediate Past
President. The Advisory Board, of which the senior member will
be chair, will act as a body for the Executive,to consult when
the latter deems necessary. The Board, as a group, may introduce
recommendations at general meetings of CAS. The Advisory
Board shall normally receive the agenda and minutes of all Executive
Meetings, which they may, if they so desire, attend, without the
right to vote.
- 15] In all matters not specifically covered by constitutional
clauses, the President and the Secretary-Treasurer may take provisional
action until the next meeting of CAS.
Meetings
- 16] Executive meetings of CAS may be called at any time
by the President. If, owing to distance, it is impractical to
hold such meetings, the business of CAS may be conducted
by correspondence; the President and the Secretary-Treasurer shall
be empowered to take action on all routine matters.
-
17] General meetings of CAS are called by the President
as the need arises, except that one general meeting must take
place every calendar year. Notice of such meeting must be mailed
to all members at least one month prior to the meeting. Annual
general meetings of CAS will normally take place in the
same locality and time period as the meetings of the
Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences,
organized by the Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
A two-thirds majority vote of active members present at the annual
general meeting is required to amend the Constitution.
-
18] In special cases papers and reports may be presented in languages
other than the official ones.
The Standing Committees of the Association
19] Nominating Committee:
The Nominating Committee shall consist of the outgoing President
and two other members elected annually for the coming year. The
committee shall call for written nominations and, where practicable,
publish its slate of candidates in advance of the annual meeting.
(Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the business
meeting.) The Nominating Committee should also encourage members
who may be interested in serving on committees of the Association
to make their names known to its Chair.
20] Programme and Arrangements Committee:
The Programme and Arrangements Committee shall consist of three
members of the Association, elected annually. Its chair should
preferably be a member of the university at which the next annual
meeting will be held.
21] Grants Committee:
The Grants Committee shall consist of the Secretary-Treasurer
and one or two other members appointed by the Executive. The purpose
of this committee shall be to offer the Association's support
to members who are requesting aid:
- a) from the federal granting agencies for travel to international
conferences,
- b) from the Association in order to attend the Annual Meeting,
- c) from federal granting agencies and other foundations for grants
in aid of research and publication.
22] International Relations Committee
Purpose
- a) To act as the national body representing Canadian Slavists
on international organizations with which affiliation has been
established by the Canadian Association of Slavists.
- b) When so requested by the CAS executive the IRC will
examine the status of CAS relations with international
organizations and will make recommendations to CAS through
the CAS executive on adherence to new organizations and
any changes in relations with other organizations.
Membership
The Committee will consist of a Chair, a Secretary, and as
many members as there are eligible Canadian representatives to
the constituent ruling bodies of international organizations with
which CAS is affiliated.
- A. Officers
- 1]
- a) The Chair will serve for a period of five years (renewable
once). When a vacancy is expected, the Nominating Committee of
CAS will submit at least one nomination to the next AGM
of CAS.
-
b) The Chair will not be a representative of Canadian Slavists
to an international organization except as a temporary replacement
for one of the members of the IRC.
-
2] a) The Secretary-Treasurer of CAS will normally be
the Secretary of the IRC.
-
b) The Secretary will not be a representative of Canadian Slavists
to an international organization except as a temporary replacement
for one of the members of the IRC.
- B. Members
- 1]
- a) The members will be the individual Canadian representatives
to international organizations with which CAS has established
relations,
- b) They will be responsible on the IRC for relations with those
organizations to which they are representatives and they will
report through the IRC to CAS on those organizations,
- c) Membership will normally be for a period of five years or
for a period to include one appropriate congress of the international
organization to which members are representative, whichever period
is less. Membership will normally terminate after such an international
congress. Members will not normally have their membership renewed
beyond a second term.
- d)
- i) Members of the IRC will be chosen by a nominating committee
consisting of the Chair of the IRC, the President of CAS,
and the Chair of the CAS Nominating Committee. All selections
to membership of the IRC will be presented to the next AGM of
CAS for ratification.
-
ii) Where subsidiary Canadian organizations of a parent international
organization exist, the nominee to the IRC will normally be the
chief officer(s) of that Canadian organization.
-
iii) Where is deemed appropriate, a slate of Canadian candidates
can be presented to the international organization for a final
selection.
- 2] Members of CAS who hold office to international bodies
as individuals rather than as delegates of CAS can be asked
to sit on the IRC as non-voting members at the discretion of the
IRC.
Meetings and Reports
- 1] The members are required to report at least once a year in
writing to the Chair of the IRC. The Chair will prepare
an annual written report (which will be published in the CAS
Newsletter). The Chair, or his/her designate, will also present
a verbal report to the AGM of CAS.
- 2] The Committee will normally meet once a year, in conjunction
with the Learned Societies.
23] Advisory Board
Membership
The Advisory Board to consist of the retiring 'Immediate Past
President' for a term of three years, (i.e. there will be three
such members) and five elected members, each elected for a period
of five years, renewable once. These five members should be long-standing
members of the Association, represent the disciplinary and geographical
diversity of the membership and have extensive experience of and
service to CAS.
Function
- 1] The members of the CAS Advisory Board are NOT members
of the CAS Executive. They will, however,
- a) be sent all material distributed to the CAS Executive,
- b) be invited to comment in advance on all issues scheduled
to be discussed by the CAS Executive, and
- c) be invited to attend all CAS Executive meetings as
non-voting participants.
- 2] The Advisory Board will periodically (normally once every
three years) prepare a 'State of the Association' brief for discussion
by the Executive of CAS. This brief should outline the
board's perception of the current status of the Association and
the perspectives for future development. For the purposes of preparing
and collating such a report the Board may elect an ad-hoe coordinator.
- 3] The Advisory Board will act, as and when appropriate, individually
or collectively, as a lobbying group for the Association in its
relations with Canadian governments, various Canadian government
and professional agencies as well as individual universities,
in accordance with guidelines to be developed by the Advisory
Board and approved by the Executive of CAS.
24] Committee on Exchanges
- 1] The mandate of the Committee on Exchanges is to monitor existing
exchanges between Canada and the USSR/Eastern Europe and to promote
exchanges in this field;
- 2] The Committee on Exchanges will consist of three members of
CAS, each serving a three-year term; one member of the
Committee will be elected each year.
25] Fund Raising Committee
The Fund Raising Committee shall consist of the President, the
Immediate Past President (chair), one Vice President, one member
selected from the Members at Large, and one from the Advisory
Board. The Committee's duty is to organize fund raising campaigns
among members of CAS, various foundations and charities,
financial institutions and businesses, and to seek other possible
donors and sponsors.
26] Fund Management Committee
Purpose
The Fund Management committee shall oversee the use of the CAS
Fund so as to further the interests and objectives of our Association
as a whole.
Membership
The Committee shall consist of the Immediate Past President
(chair), the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Editor, Canadian
Slavonic Papers.
Responsibilities
Members of the Committee shall:
- a) serve as signatories for the CAS Fund account and be responsible for all financial transactions,
- b) invest the monies in the CAS Fund for maximum yields,
- c) recommend to the Executive disbursements of Income from investment in accordance with Revenue Canada guidelines for registered charities,
- d) complete and file annual tax reports with Revenue Canada.
This text reflects minor changes made to the constitution at the CAS AGM in Winnipeg on June 1, 2004.