American Association of University Professors, Arizona Conference
MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of the AAUP-AZ Conf. is the promotion of collegiality and academic
excellence
at the institutions of higher learning in the State of Arizona. In addition,
we
support academic freedom and tenure as well as meaningful faculty
participation in
the governance of such institutions. We work for the common
good of the institutions
and not to further the interests of individual faculty or
staff members. However,
we provide support for faculty and staff members
who have experienced harassment,
discrimination or violation of their academic
freedom.
The Constitution of the American
Association of University Professors,
Arizona Conference (AAUP, Az. Conf.)
ARTICLE
1. NAME
The name of this organization is the American Association of University
Professors,
Arizona Conference (AAUP, AZ Conf.)
ARTICLE 2. PURPOSES
The purposes of this
Conference are to
(a) Support the policies and goals of the national AAUP as
found in article
1 of its national constitution. Facilitate a more effective cooperation
of
teachers and research scholars in universities and colleges, and in
professional
schools of similar grade, for the promotion of the interests of
higher education
and research, and in general to increase the usefulness of
and to advance the standards,
ideals, and welfare of the profession;
(b) Defend academic freedom at all institutions
of higher education in the
State of Arizona, giving first priority to those institutions
with AAUP
Chapters;
(c) Encourage faculty participation in governance;
(d)
Protect and advance the professional status and interests of all faculty;
(e)
Facilitate the dissemination of information on higher education principles
and
practices;
(f) Inform the academic community about AAUP standards and policy
statements;
(g) Publish and distribute a newspaper on higher education issues;
and
(h) Develop necessary and proper Conference programs for accomplishing the
purposes
of (a) through (g).
In furtherance of the purposes described above, but not in
limitation thereof, the
Conference has the power to engage in lobbying activities;
to distribute
materials to the news media; to interact with representative faculty
bodies
on each campus; to conduct studies; to disseminate statistics and other
information;
to engage in various fund-raising activities; to conduct
promotional activities,
including advertising and publicity, in or by any
suitable manner of media; to
hold such property as is necessary to accomplish
its purposes; and to employ individuals
to represent the Conference in legal
matters, negotiations, and for other purposes.
The AAUP, AZ Conf. is organized
and operated for the above stated purposes and
for other nonprofit purposes,
and no part of any net earnings shall inure to the
benefit of any member.
ARTICLE 3. MEMBERS
The membership of the Conference
is limited to those persons who are national
members of the AAUP with the status
of Active Member, Joint Member, Part-time
Member, Public Member, Emeritus Member,
or Graduate Student Member living
within the State of Arizona.
Conference membership
is effective upon payment of Conference dues in an
amount determined by the Executive
Committee and as approved by a majority
of those voting, in accordance with the
procedures specified in article 5--Dues.
Notification of membership in the Conference
is the responsibility of the
Conference's Executive Committee.
ARTICLE 4. OFFICERS
AND ORGANIZATION
The officers of this organization are the statewide elected President,
Vice-President,
Treasurer and Secretary and the delegates, to the Conference, from
each of the
Chapters of the AAUP within the state. Each Chapter with 500 or more
members will
be allowed three delegates; each Chapter with between 100 and 499 members
will be
allowed two delegates; and each Chapter with between 7 and 99 members will
be allowed
one delegate.
These individuals will constitute the Executive Committee
of the Conference. Each
Chapter will decide, by its internal selection procedure,
how to choose its delegates to
the Conference. The newspaper editor or editors,
and a membership chair, appointed
by the Executive Committee, are ex-officio non-voting
members of the Executive Committee.
The term of office for the president, vice-president,
secretary and treasurer, is two years.
Persons so designated may be re-elected.
Upon adoption of this constitution, each chapter submits the name(s) of its
delegate(s),
together with their means of contact--e-mail address(es), phone
number(s), fax number(s),
and U.S. Postal address. As soon as practical
thereafter, the president convenes
a meeting; On even years an election is
held for President and for Treasurer.
On odd years and election is held for
Secretary and Vice-President. Elections
will be held by e-mail, plus land
mail ballots to those without e-mail. Previous
officers will continue until
election of new officers.
PRESIDENT: The duties of
the president include carrying out the policies of
the Conference, appointing all
committees of the Conference, exercising general
supervision over the activities
of the Conference, and presiding at meetings of the
Conference and Executive Committee.
In the absence of the president, the
vice-president serves in the president's
stead. The president is a member
exofficio of all committees, but the president
is not counted in determining a
quorum in these committees.
VICE-PRESIDENT: The
duties of the vice-president include those usually
appertaining to the office and
those delegated by the president.
SECRETARY: The duties of the secretary include
keeping a record of all
proceedings and correspondence of the Conference, certifying
Conference
delegates to the Annual Meeting, and maintaining contact with the National
Association,
its officers, and its staff. The secretary presides at meetings
unattended by the
president and vice-president.
TREASURER: The treasurer receives the dues of the
members and keeps an
accurate record of all money received and of all disbursements,
promotes the
establishment of dues deduction to facilitate the recruitment and retention
of
members, prepares an annual budget and report of finances, and submits for
approval
an annual Conference budget. The treasurer presides at meetings
and assumes
responsibility for the leadership of the Conference in the absence
or withdrawal
of the president, vice-president, and secretary, until new officers
can be elected.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR: The membership chair supervises the regular and
continuous recruitment
of new members. Executive Committee members
constitute the core of the Membership
Recruitment Committee.
NEWSPAPER EDITOR: The newspaper editor prepares the Conference's
newspaper and other Conference publications for distribution to the faculty,
other
members of the State's institutions of higher education, and other
appropriate individuals,
including legislators and members of the media.
LOBBYIST(s): The Executive Committee
appoints lobbyist(s).
ADVISORs: The Executive Committee may appoint advisors to
assist it in
deliberations, as needed.
Vacancies:
When an officer resigns or is
disqualified, the office will be filled by the
same mechanism by which the officer
was first elected. The person so elected
holds office for the remainder of the unexpired
term.
ARTICLE 5. DUES
(a) Dues may be set or increased only by a secret-ballot
vote conducted
among members in the AAUP, AZ Conf. The vote may be conducted by
e-mail or
mail ballot or a combination as practical or, after reasonable notice,
at a regular or
special membership meeting.
(b) Conference dues are levied upon
members in the amount to be determined
annually. Payment of current national AAUP
dues and Conference dues is a
prerequisite for Conference membership.
ARTICLE 6.
COMMITTEES
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: The Executive Committee consists of the President,
Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and delegates selected by their chapters,
the
non-voting membership chair, and non-voting newspaper editor(s). It acts
as governing
body of the Conference. At least three members of the Executive
Committee, meeting
in person, constitutes a quorum for the conduct of the
business of the committee;
or the Executive Committee may conduct its business
after consultation with each
of its members by E-mail or fax, and votes, identified
by name of voter and sent
to each of the members of the committee by e-mail or
fax, are returned from a majority
of the members of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee is responsible
for the Conference's continuing
effective presence in the state and keeps all positions
on the Executive
Committee filled as vacancies occur. Among its duties are the
following:
(a) Meet regularly, in person and/or by e-mail, to enable response
to any
problems in higher education in the state;
(b) Conduct the business of
the AAUP AZ Conference between statewide
all-member Conference meetings;
(c)
Regularly recruit members, and encourage established members to
maintain their membership;
(d) Arrange for a necessary election to complete an unexpired term of an
officer;
(e) Set the agenda for all-member statewide Conference meetings;
(f) Appoint
one or more spokespersons, from within or from without the
Executive Committee, to
consult with the administrations of the campuses of
the institutions of higher education
in the state on matters of mutual interest;
(g) Respond to inquiries from the
press;
(h) Supervise the preparation and distribution of the Conference newspaper
to
inform members, other faculty, and other members of the community of
recent activities
and matters of interest of local and national importance.
The newspaper will be
committed to publishing articles, letters, and opinions
representing the full diversity
of views within the AAUP AZ Conference; it
will facilitate debate and discussion
among members and chapters; and
(i) Promote the establishment of a dues-deduction
plan to encourage
membership recruitment and membership maintenance.
Standing
Committees: The Executive Committee may create ad hoc committees from
time to time
as they are deemed necessary to promote the welfare of the
Conference's program.
The chair and members of these committees are appointed
by the president with the
approval of the Executive Committee. The following are
examples of possible ad-hoc
committees:
(a) Academic freedom and tenure (to advise Chapters and individual
faculty
members of productive and beneficial methods of defending academic freedom
and
tenure on their campus or for individual members)
(b) Teaching standards and
effectiveness
(c) Institutional Performance and Financial Accountability
(d)
Status of women and minorities
(e) Professional ethics
(f) Accreditation of
colleges and universities
(g) Membership, election, dues, and Conference organization
(h) Publications and library
(i) Relationships with local, state, and federal
governments
(j) Faculty participation in school governance
(k) Economic status
(l) Community Colleges
(m) Part-Time instructors
ARTICLE 7. MEETINGS
The
Conference may hold general membership meetings, announced to all
members in the
state. Executive Committee meetings, held either at the same
time as general membership
meetings or at other times, and announced to
Executive Committee members and to
chapter presidents, are open to attendance
by all members.
Special meetings of
the Conference may be called by the president or by a
majority of the Executive Committee.
The secretary provides written notices of such
meetings at least five days in advance
of the date selected. The president calls special
meetings within seven days when
directed by a majority of the Executive Committee
or by a petition signed by at
least ten percent of the members of the Conference.
The quorum required for the
transaction of business at all meetings of the Conference
is ten percent of the
members of the Conference.
ARTICLE 8. AMENDMENTS
This constitution may be adopted
or amended by a three-fourths (3/4) affirmative
vote of a quorum of the Conference
at a regular or special meeting, provided
that a notice setting forth the proposed
adoption or amendment(s) with reasons
thereof and setting forth any known objections
thereto be sent at least thirty (30)
days prior to the meeting.
Amendments may
be initiated by the Executive Committee or by a petition of
five (5) percent of the
Conference membership. The approval of two-thirds (2/3) of
the membership responding
to a written ballot under the preparatory conditions
cited above also completes an
adoption of this constitution or of an amendment.
ARTICLE 9. ORDER
Robert's
Rules of Order Revised is the authority for this Conference in
matters of procedure
not specified above.
National AAUP Membership
The AAUP is the only national
organization exclusively representing
the interests of all colleges and university
faculty members. Founded in 1915, the
AAUP establishes and maintains standards for
academic due process and faculty
participation in academic decision making.
Who
Can Belong?
AAUP membership is open to teaching faculty, research scholars, professional
librarians,
counselors with faculty status, part-time faculty, graduate students
and members
of the public.
Chapters on Campus
Institutions with seven or more national
members may form local Chapters.
AAUP has members at more than 2,000 institutions,
with local Chapters at about 960
campuses.
State Conferences
Chapters
within states join together to form state-wide conferences to work on
issues of concern
within their states. There are currently about 34 state
conferences.
