World History Association

WHA CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I
The name of this society shall be the World History Association.

ARTICLE II
The object of the association shall be the promotion of studies of world history through the encouragement of research, teaching, and publication. The association shall promote activities which will increase historical awareness, understanding among and between peoples, and global consciousness. The association will provide help to the teachers of world history and venues for the discussion of both theories of history and methods of study and teaching.

ARTICLE III
Membership in the association shall be open to any person interested in history upon the payment of one year's dues. Any member whose dues are in arrears shall be dropped from the roll. Members who have been so dropped may be reinstated at any time by the payment in advance of one year's dues. Only members in good standing shall have the right to vote or to hold office in the association. Honorary members of the association maybe elected by the Council, and such honorary members shall be exempt from payment of dues.

ARTICLE IV
SECTION 1: The elected officers shall be the President, the Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer.

SECTION 2: The President shall serve for a two-year term and shall be succeeded by the Vice-president who is the President-elect. It shall be his or her duty to preside at meetings of the Council and at the business meeting and to formulate policies and projects for presentation to the Council to fulfill the chartered obligations and purposes of the association.

SECTION 3: The Vice-president shall be elected for a two-year term, and shall be President-elect. He or she shall be a member of the Council. If the office of President shall, through any cause, become vacant, the President-elect shall thereupon become President.

SECTION 4: The President shall be the chief administrative officer of the association. It shall be his or her duty, under the direction of the Council, to oversee the affairs of the association, to have responsibility for the continuing operations of the association, to supervise the work of its committees, to assist in the formulation of policies and projects for submission to the Council, to execute instructions of the Council, and to perform such other duties as the Council may direct. The President will be responsible for all assets of the association and will sign all contracts approved by the Council.

SECTION 5: The Secretary shall be elected for two years. He or she shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Council and all general meetings. He or she shall be responsible for all publications of the association and the association archive. The Secretary shall be a member of the Council.

SECTION 6: The Treasurer shall be elected for two years. He or she shall be responsible for the collection of dues, disbursement of funds at the direction of the Council, and the rendering of accounts at the annual meeting. He or she shall be a member of the Council.

ARTICLE V
SECTION 1: There shall be a Council, constituted as follows:
(a) The President, the Vice-president, the Secretary, and the Treasurer

(b) Elected members, nine in number, chosen by ballot in the manner provided in Article VII. These members shall be elected for a term of three years, three to be elected each year, except in the case of elections to complete unexpired terms. For the first election Council memberships shall be divided into three categories of three positions each. The first category shall serve one year. The second shall serve two years, the third three. At the end of one and two years positions in categories one and two will be for three years.

(d) The Executive Director shall serve ex-officio and without vote.

SECTION 2: At least two members of the Council shall be secondary school teachers.

SECTION 3: The Council shall conduct the business, manage the property, and care for the general interests of the association. The Council shall fix the amount of dues and the date upon which any change of dues becomes effective. It may appoint such committees as it deems necessary. The Council shall call an annual meeting of the association at a place and time it deems appropriate. It shall, if it chooses, constitute meeting for the dissemination and discussion of academic matters other than at the time of and in addition to the annual meeting. It shall report to the membership on its deliberations and actions through the publications of the association and at the business meeting.

SECTION 4: To transact necessary business in the interim between meetings of the Council, there shall be an Executive Committee composed of the President, the vice- President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Executive Director shall serve ex-officio and without vote. The Executive Committee in the conduct of its business shall be subject always to the general direction of the Council. The Executive Council shall have the administrative responsibility for staffing as provided in Article X.

SECTION 5: For the general management of the financial affair of the association, there shall be a Finance Committee composed of the President, Treasurer, and Executive Director ex-officio and without vote, and not more than three other voting members of the Council elected annually by the Council.

ARTICLE VI
SECTION 1: The Council shall call a business meeting, open to all members of the association in good standing, to convene at the time of the annual meeting.

SECTION 2: The business meeting, by a majority vote, may consider resolutions and deal with proposals concerning the affairs of the association, receive reports of officers and committees, instruct officers and the Council, and exercise any powers not reserved to the Council, Nominating Committee, and elected or appointed officers of the association.

SECTION 3: All measures adopted by the business meeting shall come before the Council for acceptance, nonconcurrence, or veto. If accepted by the Council, they shall be binding on the association.

SECTION 4: The Council may veto, by an absolute majority of its membership, any measure adopted by the business meeting that it believes to be in violation of the association's constitution or which, upon advice of counsel, it judges to be in violation of law. The Council shall publish an explanation for each such veto.

SECTION 5: The Council may vote not to concur in any measure adopted by the business meeting. Within ninety days of the Council meeting following the business meeting, the Council shall publish its opinion of each measure with which it does not concur and submit the measure to a mail ballot of the entire membership. If approved by a majority of the members in the mail ballot, the measure shall be binding on the association.

SECTION 6: The Council may postpone implementation of any measure adopted by the business meeting or approved by mail ballot that in its judgment is financially or administratively unfeasible. The Council shall publish an explanation of each such decision and justify it at the subsequent business meeting.

ARTICLE VII
SECTION 1: The Nominating Committee shall consist of six members, each of whom shall serve a term of three years. Two shall be elected each year by the Council on nomination by the President. The President shall fill by ad interim appointment any vacancy that may occur between annual meetings.

SECTION 2: The Nominating Committee shall nominate every other year, by ballot, candidates for the offices of President, Vice-president, the office of Secretary, the office of Treasurer, and by annual ballot for each position on the Council where a prospective vacancy shall exist. But the Council may, in its bylaws or by resolution, provide for additional nominations to be made by the Nominating Committee for any position where there is a vacancy through death or by resignation of a candidate.

SECTION 3: Nominations may also be made by petitions carrying in each case the signatures of five percent of the membership in good standing or one hundred of the association in good standing, whichever may be less, and indicating in each case the particular vacancy for which the nomination is intended. Nominations by petition must be in the hands of the chairman of the Nominating Committee at least three months before the annual meeting. In distributing the annual ballot by mail to the members of the association, the Nominating Committee shall present and identify such candidates nominated by petition along with its own candidates, having first ascertained that all candidates have consented to stand for election.

SECTION 4: The annual ballot shall be mailed to the full membership of the association at least six weeks before the annual meeting. No vote received after the due date specified on the ballot shall be valid. Election shall be by plurality of the votes cast for each vacancy. The votes shall be counted and checked in such manner as the Nominating Committee shall prescribe and shall then be sealed in a box and deposited in the headquarters of the association, where they shall be kept for at least one year. The results of the election shall be announced at the business meeting and in the publications of the association. In the case of a tie vote, the choice among the tied candidates shall be made by the business meeting.

ARTICLE VIII
Amendments to this constitution may be proposed (1) by the Council, (2) by petition to the Council of five percent of the members in good standing or one hundred members in good standing, which ever is less, or (3) by resolution at an annual meeting on a majority affirmative vote of 25 members in good standing.

An amendment so proposed shall be reported to the membership by mail at least six weeks in advance of the subsequent earliest annual business meeting for which such notice is possible, and shall be placed on the agenda of that meeting for discussion and advisory vote. Thereafter, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the membership of the association, accompanied by summary statements of the pro and con arguments thereon, for approval or rejection by mail ballot.

ARTICLE IX
The Council may adopt bylaws consistent with the provisions of the constitution, upon any matter of concern to the association.

ARTICLE X
The Council shall appoint for a stipulated time an Executive Director and such staff as the finances and the work of the organization require. Further staffing of the executive offices may be undertaken by the Council at its discretion and with the concurrence of the Executive Committee. Terms and duties of the Executive Director and permanent staff shall be determined by the Council in by-laws.

ARTICLE XI
SECTION 1: In the formal establishment of the World History Association: The Steering Committee elected at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association in December 1982, shall constitute the Council until the next meeting of the American Historical Association in December 1983.

SECTION 2: The Steering Committee shall elect a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary for the interim. These officers shall act as the Executive Committee. The Steering Committee shall constitute the Nominating Committee until the annual meeting of the American Historical Association (AHA) in December 1983.

SECTION 3: The interim Executive Committee shall arrange for an annual meeting to be held during the meeting of the American Historical Association in December 1983.

SECTION 4: The Executive Committee shall present this constitution by mail for ratification and shall hold election for officers and Council prior to the December 1983 meeting of the American Historical Association.

SECTION 5: All persons running for office shall agree to run in writing and have all dues paid in full.

ARTICLE XII
Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170 (c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).

Upon the dissolution of the association, the Council shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities exclusively for the purposes of the association in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes as shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) as the Board of Trustees shall determine.

AFFILIATE AMENDMENT August 20, 2000
Interested associations may request affiliate status with the World History Association in conformity with such Bylaws and policies as the World History Association may establish. Such affiliate status becomes effective when approved by two-thirds vote of the Executive Council. The World History Association assumes no financial or legal responsibility for the affiliates. Either the World History Association or the affiliate may terminate the affiliation at any time.

END OF WHA CONSTITUTION

The World History Association welcomes the formation of regional or topically defined world history associations and encourages their affiliation with the World History Association on the following terms:

A letter requesting affiliation must be presented to the Executive Council of the World History Association and accepted by a two-thirds vote.

All affiliates must have constitutions. The purpose of each affiliate and its role in promoting world history, as defined in its constitution, must conform to Article II of the Constitution of the World History Association. The membership and leadership structure of each affiliate must include secondary school teachers as well as teachers and scholars from institutions of higher learning, as does the World History Association (Constitution, Article V, section 2).

All affiliates must have clearly defined geographical or topical boundaries and must not be geographically competitive with each other. In the request for affiliation, each affiliate must explain and defend its boundaries as appropriate and different from the boundaries of other affiliates. Associations requesting affiliation must submit statements of support from neighboring affiliates with their requests for affiliation, or at least must demonstrate that they made timely requests for such statements of support.

Affiliates formed in the USA are responsible for establishing and maintaining their tax-exempt status at federal and state levels.

An affiliate must have an established membership and it must have its own elected officers, consisting at a minimum of a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer in order to request affiliation.

While affiliates are autonomous and self-governing, affiliation carries the obligation to maintain cooperative and positive relations with the World History Association. To facilitate doing so, each affiliate will have a representative on a council of affiliates, which will have the power to make recommendation to the Executive Council of the World History Association.

The president of the World History Association has the power, from time to time as needed, to review the status of the affiliates collectively or individually and to revise procedures for affiliation. Decisions on these matters will be subject to approval by majority vote in the Executive Council.

END OF AFFILIATE BYLAWS

PREAMBLE
These regulations are subordinate to the WHA Constitution, which contains provisions on financial matters as follows:

* The President (Art. IV, sect. 4) oversees the affairs of the association and has responsibility for its continuing operations; the President will be responsible for all assets of the association and will sign all contracts approved by the Council.

* The Treasurer (Art. IV, sect. 6) is responsible for the collection of dues, the disbursement of funds at the direction of the Executive Council, and the rendering of accounts at the annual meeting.

* The Executive Council (Art. V, sect. 3) conducts the business, manages the property, and cares for the general interests of the association; the council fixes the amount of the dues and the date on which any change of dues becomes effective.

* The Executive Council (Art. VI, sect. 6) also has the authority to postpone implementation of any measure adopted by the business meeting or approved by mail ballot that in its judgment is financially or administratively unfeasible; the Council must publish an explanation of any such action at its next meeting.

* The Finance Committee (Art. V, sect. 5) consists of the President, treasurer, and Executive Director (ex officio without vote), and no more than three other members of the Executive Council, elected annually by the Council. The Constitution does not elaborate the functions of the Finance Committee.

Interpreting these provisions all together:

* The President deals with financial matters as part of the overall business of the WHA, leads in defining financial policy, delegates financial detail work to the Treasurer, works with the Finance Committee on financial policy when the Executive Council is not in session, and brings matters of financial policy before the Executive Council for discussion and vote as needed.

* The Treasurer collects the dues, keeps the accounts, and does the detail work on WHA finance, including reports and tax returns.

* The Executive Council has general oversight of WHA finances and votes to approve financial reports and policies.

* The Finance Committee works with the President and treasurer on financial policy matters when the Executive Council is not in session.

PROCEDURES
1. Every year by 1 December, the Treasurer will prepare the budget for the coming year, based on the experience of the preceding year and projections for the coming year. In preparing the budget, the Treasurer will consult with the President and seek input in advance from other officers, members of the Executive Council, and committee chairs about budgetary needs and priorities.

2. The Treasurer will produce and make available monthly statements and an annual budget. Both the accounts and the budget will distinguish the different categories of WHA funds (dues, WHA Fund, grants) and show the balance of receipts and disbursements separately by funding category.

3. The Treasurer will make sure that all reports and forms required by federal and state authorities are scheduled, produced, and submitted on a timely basis.

4. The Treasurer will work together with project officers in charge of grant-funded projects to ensure that accounts are rendered to granting agencies by the dates they require. The Treasurer will work together with the accountant and bookkeeper to make sure that reports required by granting agencies or by federal and state authorities are scheduled, produced, and submitted on a timely basis.

5. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the different categories of funds--dues income, WHA Fund, individual funded projects--in such a way that payments are made only out of funds of the appropriate category. Funds of a given category are to be used only for their appointed purposes and not transferred for purposes of cash management or short-term expediency, even temporarily, among sub-accounts or projects. The Treasurer may approve a payment or transfer from one category of funds to another, subject to the additional approval requirements in item 7 below, to meet a specific, legitimate obligation. The Treasurer must receive supporting documentation for any such transaction, and it must be shown on the accounts with matching debits and credits. Requests for any such transfer must originate from the person responsible for the fund or project.

6. Directors of grant-funded projects are responsible for securing grant funds for project expenses before those expenses have to be paid and for timely submission of reports required by granting agencies. In the event that funds are not received in time, exceptions may be granted by the President in consultation with the Treasurer.

7. All expenditures of WHA funds above $500 require the Treasurer and the Executive Director's signature and the approval of the President.

8. Specific, serially numbered forms will be used to generate payments. The form must include a clear indication of the sub-account or project against which the payment is to be debited as well as all other information needed to complete the payment. Requests for payment must be submitted and paid in a timely manner. Payment requests must be accompanied by the original receipt or invoice (not a photocopy); the Treasurer will permit no exceptions on this point without clear demonstration that duplicate payment is not being claimed elsewhere.

9. Specific flows will be set up to expedite the financial administration of grant-funded projects, to maximize efficiency and cut down on the number of people involved.

10. WHA officers whose responsibilities include purchasing of goods or services on behalf of WHA or projects undertaken under its auspices will take steps, before placing orders, to set up accounts and arrange for the treasurer to be billed directly.

11. The President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Executive Director are authorized to hold WHA credit cards for the duration of their service in those offices and to use them exclusively for official WHA business, and only when other modes of payment are not possible.

12. The Treasurer will receive and process dues payments.

13. The Finance Committee will establish procedures to solicit proposals for projects to fund out of the WHA annual account and to select the projects to be funded.

14. The Treasurer is the custodian of the WHA Financial records, past and present, and will keep them updated.

END OF FINANCIAL PROCEDURES