Bylaws of The Women’s Classical Caucus (official)

Revised December 1992, Amended January 2005, Revised and Amended June 2014 by Tara Welch and Sarah Levin-Richardson

DESCRIPTION:

1. The Women’s Classical Caucus, Inc. (hereinafter called the “WCC”) is a not-for-profit membership corporation formed exclusively for cultural, literary, scientific, educational and charitable purposes and affiliated with the Society for Classical Studies (formerly known as the American Philological Association).

GENERAL:

2. The purposes of the WCC are:

a) to promulgate a fuller understanding of the contributions of women to classical culture and to promote the study of women in antiquity and feminist scholarship in all areas of Classics;

b) to promote professional conditions that encourage women scholars to enter and to remain in the field of Classics;

c) to advance the goals of equality and diversity within the profession of Classics;

d) to foster supportive professional relationships among classicists concerned with questions of gender and to forge links with feminist scholars in other disciplines;

e) in support of the foregoing purposes, to engage in the activities of organizing, supporting and participating in public lectures, seminars, conferences and panels, including panels at the annual meetings of the Society for Classical Studies (formerly known as the American Philological Association), at meetings of regional classical conferences and at other similar scholarly conferences; to disseminate information through the publication of newsletters or journals containing articles, book reviews and current information relating to the above topics and acting as a clearinghouse for such information; to distribute prizes and awards for outstanding feminist scholarship relating to classical antiquity; to distribute Equity Fund grants to promote just and equitable treatment within the profession of Classics.

OFFICES:

3. The registered offices shall be at the residence of the Secretary-Treasurer of the WCC.

MEMBERSHIP:

4. Any person interested in the purposes stated in Article Second hereof may become a member of the WCC upon payment of the proper fees. All membership dues are payable at the beginning of each calendar year (January 1) in accordance with the schedule of dues determined by the WCC Steering Committee and ratified by a majority of members voting.

5. Membership in good standing is determined by timely payment of dues. Any member who has not paid dues for two consecutive years shall be dropped from the membership roster.

MEETINGS OF MEMBERS:

6. The annual Business Meeting of members shall be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies (formerly known as the American Philological Association), at a time and place to be determined by that association. Notification of the meeting and items to be voted upon shall be sent to WCC members at least ten days in advance.

7. Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote in person or by written proxy at the annual Business Meeting. Except for amending the bylaws (see #18 below), passage of motions requires a simple majority of members voting in person or by written proxy.

ELECTIONS:

8. The election of Directors of the WCC shall be by majority of voting members each fall, with voting announced to the membership and remaining open for at least twenty days.

a) Candidates shall be nominated by members via e-mail and elected by electronic ballot of the membership as per #8 above for four-year terms, with eligibility for re-election after four years out of office;

b) Members of the Steering Committee serve for four years with two new members elected each year. Normally the member who received the greatest number of votes in the election will serve as new Co-Chair in the third year of office.

DIRECTORS:

9. The WCC Steering Committee shall serve as Directors of the Corporation and shall manage the affairs of the WCC. The Steering Committee shall be composed of ten members, as follows:

a) the eight officers elected according to 8,

b) the Secretary-Treasurer, who shall be nominated by the Steering Committee and elected by a majority of members by electronic ballot of the membership and who shall serve for a five-year renewable term;

c) the editor of the WCC Newsletter, who shall be nominated by the Steering Committee and elected by a majority of members present and voting at the annual Business Meeting and who shall serve for a three-year renewable term.

10. If a Director leaves office during her or his term, a replacement will be appointed for the remainder of the term by majority vote of the Directors, after solicitation of nominations from the membership.

11. Each member of the Steering Committee shall have one vote.

OFFICERS:

12. Two Co-Chairs shall share the authority and responsibility of directing the Steering Committee. Co-Chairs serve for two years. The new Co-Chair will serve as second Co-Chair with the previous year’s second Co-Chair, who, now in the fourth year of office, will become first Co-Chair. The terms “first” and “second” refer only to length of term in office as Co-Chair; the authority of the Co-Chairs is to be equal.

13. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be the custodian of and shall receive all monies of the WCC and shall maintain an address list of all WCC members in good standing.

MEETINGS OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE:

14. The Steering Committee shall meet convene in person or electronically in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies (formerly known as the American Philological Association).. The Steering Committee may also meet at such other times and places as the Co-Chairs shall designate, with notice of any such meeting sent to Steering Committee members ten days in advance of the meeting. Should advance notice not be possible, the Steering Committee may convene with less notice if a 2/3 majority of Directors agrees to the meeting.

15. Motions of the Steering Committee shall be approved by consensus or by a majority vote of the Steering Committee. Five voting members present in person, by written proxy, or virtually shall be requisite at every meeting of the Steering Committee to constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. The Steering Committee may conduct business electronically unless any director objects in writing.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

16. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Secretary-Treasurer and the two current Co-Chairs of the Steering Committee; the Executive Committee is authorized to act on behalf of the Steering Committee in matters requiring immediate attention and disposition before action by the full Steering Committee would be possible.

STEERING COMMITTEE ASSOCIATES:

17. The Steering Committee shall appoint Associates (e.g., Election Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, Liaison with the SCS (formerly the APA) Committee on the Status of Women and Minorities, Liaison with the AIA, etc.) to help manage the affairs of the WCC. All Associates may participate in Steering Committee meetings.

AMENDMENT OF BY-LAWS:

18. Any member in good standing may propose an amendment or amendments to these By-laws. Action on the By-laws requires a 10% quorum of members to vote in person or by written proxy; All amendments must be approved by a two-thirds majority of those voting members.

Duties of the Steering Committee

The Steering Committee of the Women’s Classical Caucus consists of 10 voting members: the secretary-treasurer, the editor of Cloelia, and 8 elected officers. Two new officers are elected annually to serve 4-year terms; the person who receives the most votes of the two serves as junior co-chair in the 3rd year and senior co-chair in the 4th year. The following list of responsibilities is intended as a general guide for Steering Committee members and is subject to change as the organization evolves.  It is important to note that the most crucial responsibility of a Steering Committee member is to participate in providing the vision and leadership that will keep the WCC growing, vital, and activist.

General

Members of the Steering Committee must have membership in good standing at the time of nomination and during service on the committee.

• Identify and implement initiatives that the WCC should pursue; represent and advocate for the WCC and its goals whenever and wherever possible.

• Attend SCS annual meetings and participate in WCC functions there (e.g., Steering Committee meeting, receptions, business meeting, panel).

• Serve as a member of the directing body of the organization for four years: first two years are spent learning and assisting the current co-chairs; third and fourth years are spent either as a co-chair or assisting the co-chairs.

• Serve on various sub-committees (e.g. reading and evaluating papers or articles for WCC awards; merchandising; archives; etc.).

• Provide timely feedback to Co-chairs, Cloelia Editor, Diotima Editor, Web Editors and Awards Officer as requested through e-mail discussions and sub-committees.

Nominations & Elections

To be eligible to run in the election, one is required to have been a member of the WCC for at least one year and must currently be a member in good standing.  If you are not sure of your membership status, you may contact the elections officer directly. 

The nominating period will be closed once four candidates have been nominated and have agreed to run. This will allow time for all candidates to respond in a timely manner. In this way, candidate profiles and election statements can be posted on the WCC website before elections open. The Elections Officer will contact nominees for permission to place their candidacy on the ticket. The Elections Officer will require a short curriculum vitae and an election statement from each nominee. An announcement will be sent out in the fall with information about the candidates and voting instructions for WCC members.

Self-nominations are warmly welcomed. The WCC is run by a Steering Committee of eight members, two of whom retire each year, to be replaced by two newly elected members. Each member of the Steering Committee serves for four years, with the member who received the most votes in a given election year rotating into the position of co-chair in their final two years on the committee. The co-chairs are assisted by the other elected members and various unelected members who are selected by the Steering Committee for various tasks and committees as required. The detailed responsibilities of Steering Committee members are listed below.

In addition to the more bureaucratic duties, however, it is important to note that the most crucial responsibility of a Steering Committee member is to provide vision and leadership that will keep the WCC growing, vital and activist.