AHGA Constitution
George Mason University Student Involvement
Art History Graduate Association
Drafted on: October 28th, 2024
Article One NAME OF ORGANIZATION
• The name of this organization shall be the Art History Graduate Association, or AHGA
Article Two PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
• The purpose of AHGA is to enrich the educational student experience of Art History MA students. The AHGA will support the academic and practical experience of the students by offering extracurricular events such as museum visits, graduate talks, speakers and seminars. Events will be open to students, enthusiasts at George Mason University, and the surrounding community. Anything that will further the knowledge of the graduate students in the fields of art, art history, museums, archives, or history is considered relevant.
Article Three MEMBERSHIP
• Membership in this organization will not be restricted on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status or genetic information
• Membership in AHGA is open to graduate students in the field of Art History
• All active members of AHGA must be currently enrolled at GMU with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
• Active membership is available to all currently enrolled GMU students who are eligible. Associate membership is available to faculty, staff, or community members. Honorary membership can be granted to alumni wishing to remain active and involved
• Active members must maintain their grade point average, make an effort to attend meetings, and participate in administrative and extracurricular activities required by the group. Members must also pay dues if dues are currently being collected. Only active members will have the right to vote in any decisions, amendments, elections, etc. Associate and Honorary members retain the right to attend and participate in activities sponsored or held by AHGA. These members do not have the right to vote, nor are they required to pay dues
• Membership may be revoked if the member no longer maintains the minimum requirements necessary to be eligible as an active member
Article Four OFFICERS
• The President of AHGA is responsible for the policy-making and legislative concerns of the group. The President will run all meetings of AHGA and serve as a link between the University and the group
• The Vice President is responsible for the same duties listed above in the absence of the President
• The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the records of group membership, and minute taking
• The treasurer is responsible for aiding in the planning the association's budget for the year with association officers and advisors, maintaining all the banking records in support of the association's expenditures and income, and providing financial accountability to members and the university
• The Marketing & Communications officer is responsible for the group's online presence through websites and social media. The officer will also oversee all group design needs; including logos, promotional items, and flyers
• When necessary, the position and duties of the secretary and treasurer may be combined to form the position of secretary/treasurer
• All officers are responsible for programming and the implementation of those programs (museum visits, talks, seminars, etc)
• To be eligible to run for office, members must have been an active member for one semester and maintain the minimum qualifications necessary to be a member
• Terms shall last one academic calendar year (May-April). An officer can serve more than one term
• An officer shall be removed from their duties if they fail to comply with the expectations outlined in the AHGA constitution. An undisclosed ballot vote of 2/3 majority is necessary to remove them from office
• Special elections may be held during unofficial election times in case of an officers need to step down from their position. See article six
ADVISOR
• The primary advisor shall be a member of the faculty or staff at George Mason University.
• The Advisor of AHGA will be nominated by the officers of the organization and later elected by the entire membership of AHGA
• The Advisor may be removed from their duties by nomination and election by the officers and full membership. The Advisor will receive written notification of this decision. The Advisor will be removed if they do not provide satisfactory guidance to the group as decided by the AHGA officers and active members. The Advisor may also be removed from their duties at the Advisor's behest. Should the Advisor be unable to serve, possibly due to a leave of absence or sabbatical, the AHGA reserves the right to find a replacement, either temporarily or permanently after conferring with the Advisor
• The Advisor serves only to offer guidance and support but does not hold a vote in AHGA decisions
• An additional advisor may be added if so desired by the group.
• Additional advisors will have to go through the same nomination and election process as the original advisor
Article Five ELECTIONS
• Elections of officers for AHGA will take place in mid-March annually
• Nominations must be submitted three weeks (21-days) before the scheduled election date. Nominations will be disclosed to full membership two weeks (14-days) prior to the elections. An individual may nominate another individual, or they may nominate themselves
• Nominees will compile and present their statement, one to two paragraphs in length, to the officers and membership at either the next meeting, or via email
• Voting will take place by secret ballot and tallied by a coalition of active members and at least two officers from the outgoing group of officers. No individual standing for election may serve as a member of the group that tallies the votes. Since this is a group of graduate students, voting may occur through an online voting site or app in order to include the maximum number of members. In this instance, the results should be fully disclosed to the membership
• In the event of a tie, the two candidates will formulate another statement and submit it to voting membership. If a tie persists, officers will break the tie; a majority of two-thirds must be reached to decide the tie
• Officer elections will be held in March. The official turnover will occur at the end of the Spring Semester of that same year to allow the incoming officers to acquaint themselves with the duties in their charge. The outgoing officers should make themselves available to the incoming officers
Article Six IMPEACHMENT OR RESIGNATION
• Should an elected officer fail to perform the responsibilities or abuse the privileges of their elected position, the officer shall be subject to impeachment and removal from their office.
• A 2/3 majority agreement is required to initiate the impeachment process
• Any member may approach an officer to begin the impeachment process
• If an officer wishes to resign from their role they must alert the remainder of the officers as soon as possible. The officers shall then announce to the members that the officer is resigning
• Officers may discuss reassigning the duties of the resigning officer until an election can be held, and a new officer can be on-boarded
• An undisclosed ballot vote of 2/3 majority is necessary to remove them from office
• Special elections may be held during unofficial election times in case of an officers need to step down from their position
• A special election will have an escalated time frame from the moment of announcement to the members that a special election needs to be held
• Nominations must be submitted two weeks (14 days) before the election, which will be disclosed to members one week (7 days) before the election. An individual may nominate another individual, or they may nominate themselves
• Nominated individuals must submit a statement via email to all members in order to be placed on the ballot. These statements must be received no later than five days before the election
• Voting will take place by secret ballot and tallied by a coalition of active members and at least two officers from the outgoing group of officers. No individual standing for election may serve as a member of the group that tallies the votes. Since this is a group of graduate students, voting may occur through an online voting site or app in order to include the maximum number of members. In this instance, the results should be fully disclosed to the membership
• In the event of a tie, the officers will break the tie; a majority of two-thirds must be reached to decide the tie
Article Seven MEETINGS
• The AHGA will meet as needed either in person or by email. Email will be utilized to ensure the inclusion of all our members since so many of the graduate student members are commuters with other full-time employment
• The president and officers will preside over the meetings
• Officers may meet as necessary without members to discuss official business of the AHGA. Any and all decisions are to be communicated to the group after these meetings
• It is expected for all members to attend meetings, as attendance can affect member eligibility
• Quorum for the AHGA is a majority of active members plus one officer
• Officers can request special meetings with one-week advance notice
• Parliamentary procedure according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order will be observed by meetings of the Executive Board and Active members
Article Eight FINANCE
• AHGA does not currently require the payment of dues by its members
• Officers may decide to implement dues at the beginning of the spring or fall semester, and must alert all members as soon as the decision has been made. The decision will be made by majority vote
• The amount of dues and the method of collection will be decided by a majority vote of the executive officers at the beginning of each semester for annual dues
Article Nine AMENDMENTS
• Student Involvement must review all amendments in the same manner as a completely new constitution
• Any member or officer can request an amendment to the constitution; this must be done in writing, email is acceptable. Approval for the amendment must have a majority vote with quorum attained to pass
Article Ten RATIFICATION
• The constitution shall be ratified by majority vote of the membership.
• This constitution shall become effective upon approval by a ┬¥ vote of the membership, and a Student Involvement staff member
Constitution Ratified On: 12/02/2019