2024-25 Executive Committee

President

Yaohua Shi
Associate Professor of East Asian Languages & Cultures
Wake Forest University

Past President

Gengsong Gao
Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies
University of Richmond

Secretary-Treasurer and Council of Conferences Representative

Kevin Fogg
Associate Director, Carolina Asia Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bylaws

BYLAWS OF THE SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE, ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN STUDIES INC.

ARTICLE I — NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Southeast Conference of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc., hereafter referred to as SEC/AAS.

ARTICLE II — OBJECTIVES

The objective of SEC/AAS shall be:

a) to form a nonpolitical, nonprofit professional association of persons interested in Asian studies;

b) to promote interest in and scholarly study of Asia;

c) to promote cooperative activities and exchange of information within or concerning the field of Asian studies in the southeastern United States.

ARTICLE III — POWERS

SEC/AAS shall have power to take all lawful action which is appropriate to the achievement of the stated objectives.

ARTICLE III — MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership shall be open to all persons interested in Asian Studies.

Section 2. SEC/AAS shall draw its membership primarily from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and from the District of Columbia. Anyone residing outside this area who is interested in participating shall also be welcomed to membership.

Section 3. An individual shall normally become and remain a member of SEC/AAS by (a) being a paid up member of the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. (national AAS) ; (b) being a resident of the area specified in Section 2 above; and (c) payment of full Conference dues. Individuals who do not belong to national AAS and/or who live outside the specified area may acquire membership for one year by payment of annual SEC/AAS dues. The year of membership shall last until the convening of the next annual regional meeting, at which membership may be renewed or dropped without prejudice to future renewal.

Section 4. Full time students may enroll as student members at one half the annual Conference dues.

ARTICLE V — ORGANIZATION

Section 1. Annual Meeting

a. Unless circumstances render it impossible an annual meeting shall be held and shall be open to all who are or who wish to become members of SEC/AAS. The meeting shall also be open to non-member local guests, when space permits and upon prior arrangement with the Local Arrangements Chairperson.

b. The annual meeting shall normally take place during the month of January at a place designated by the Executive Committee. Announcement of time and place of meeting shall be sent to members no less than sixty days prior to its convening, and the Program Chairperson shall insure that a printed program is prepared and circulated to all members as far in advance of the meeting as is possible.

c. The ultimate authority of SECAAS shall be invested in the membership and shall be expressed through the annual meeting, by vote of those members registered at the meeting and attending its business session. Such members, whatever their number, shall for voting purposes constitute a quorum. In cases any by manner prescribed in the bylaws voting may also be conducted by mail poll of the entire membership.

d. The annual meeting shall receive reports from officers and committees and may originate general policies and directives of SEC/AAS, provided that such general policies or directives remain inoperative unless and until approved by a majority of those members who return a mail ballot distributed to the entire membership. Major policy proposals may be submitted at any time to the President, provided that they appear over the signatures of at least thirty members and are understood to remain inoperative unless and until approved by majorities of both the next annual meeting (business session) and subsequent mail poll.

e. Presentation of a carefully planned set of scholarly papers and discussions shall be understood as both the primary function of the annual meeting and primary activity of SEC/AAS as an organization.

Section 2. Officers

a. The officers of SEC/AAS shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary Treasurer, the Editor of SERAS (Southeast Review of Asian Studies), a Representative to the Council of Conferences of national AAS, the Outreach Coordinator, and three At Large members. These nine officers and the Immediate Past President shall constitute the Executive Committee. All ten members of the Executive Committee must be members in good standing of AAS, Inc.

b. The President shall be the presiding officer of the organization and chairman of the Executive Committee, and he (she) shall exercise the duties and responsibilities commonly associated with the office.

c. The Vice President shall assist the President when called upon and shall assume the President’s duties in the event of the absence, death, resignation, or incapacity of the latter.

d. The Secretary Treasurer shall have charge of membership lists and records and of general correspondence, shall manage the accounts, and shall perform such other duties as may be specified by the bylaws or assigned by the Executive Committee. Normally these duties shall include preparation of an annual financial report to be presented at the annual business session and of meetings of the Executive Committee.

e. The Representative to the Council of Conferences shall act as general liaison between SEC/AAS and national AAS, through the agency of the Council of Conferences and with appropriate consultation with the President and Executive Committee of SEC/AAS. He (she) shall be responsible for the dissemination and explanation within SEC/AAS of policies, directives, and information from national AAS bearing on regional affairs and for representing the interests of the members of SEC/AAS within the national organization. His (her) position, however, shall no way preclude, prejudice, or replace necessary dealings with national AAS by the president, Secretary Treasurer, or any individual member of SEC/AAS.

f. The At Large Members shall perform duties as may be assigned by the Executive Committee.

g. The Editor of SERAS establishes guidelines for the publication of material in the journal (which is published annually) , directs the selection of articles, coordinates revisions (assigning papers to editors for revising, doing final revisions), and oversees the production process in conjunction with the business manager (conversion of papers into final format, coordinating photocopying, arranging for printing and binding). He or she also appoints members of the editorial committee and chairs editorial committee meetings.

Section 3. Terms and Methods of Selection

a. The offices of President, Vice President, Representative to the Council of Conferences, and the At Large Members shall be elective. The President and Vice President shall serve for one year, and the Vice President shall automatically succeed to the Presidency one year after his (her) election. The Representative to the Council of Conferences shall be elected for such a term and in such a manner as is specified by national AAS and by Article VII of these bylaws. The At Large members shall serve for three years each.

b. The Secretary Treasurer shall be appointed by and shall serve at the discretion of the Executive Committee. This appointment shall be understood as permanent in nature, to remain in effect until the Secretary Treasurer either resigns or is replaced for cause.

c. The Editor of SERAS and the Outreach Coordinator shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for three year terms.

Section 4. Functions and Powers of the Executive Committee

a. The ongoing affairs of the SEC/AAS shall be administered by the Executive Committee. Subject to such directives and limitations as may be imposed by the general membership, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to execute on behalf of SEC/AAS all functions and powers of the organization. In addition to other functions specified in the bylaws the Executive Committee shall appoint a Program Chairperson and a Local Arrangements Chairperson for each annual meeting as far in advance of that meeting as possible, and in no case less than six months prior to its convening. The Executive Committee shall also appoint such other committees or agents as are necessary and shall delegate to all its appointees such authority as they require, supervise their activities, and act upon plans, proposals, requests, and budgets submitted by them.

b. The Executive Committee shall meet at the time of the annual regional meeting and shall hold such other meetings as may be necessary, provided that every member of the Executive Committee be given adequate notice. It may also conduct its affairs by mail and by telephone. A quorum of the committee shall consist of a majority of its membership; for purposes of telephone polling the members voting shall be counted as present. The Executive Committee shall transact its business by majority vote of those present, and in case of ties the vote shall be taken as negative. It may adopt rules governing its own procedures, provided that those rules are not at variance with these bylaws.

c. Unless clear and specific understandings exist to the contrary all chairmen, committees, or agents appointed by the Executive Committee shall serve for one year only.

ARTICLE VI —ANNUAL REPORTS

Section 1. The President shall present at the annual meeting a report on the activities of SEC/AAS during the year since the last previous meeting. The Secretary Treasurer’s annual financial report shall be audited at the meeting by three members of SEC/AAS; the auditors shall be appointed by the President and must be members in good standing of national AAS but may not be members of the Executive Committee of SECAAS. Copies of all reports shall be kept on file by the Secretary Treasurer, shall be provided to members on request, and shall be forwarded when appropriate to national AAS.

Section 2. The President shall be responsible for preparation and submission of any additional reports required by national AAS, on forms and in the manner designated by AAS, Inc., with such advice, assistance, and timely notification as may be necessary from other members of the Executive Committee or of the general membership.

ARTICLE VII — ELECTIONS

Section 1. Election of the new Vice President shall be conducted at the business session of each annual meeting. Nominations shall normally be made from the floor but may also be made by mail, to the current President, at any time prior to thirty days before the meeting. A majority of the votes cast by those members registered at the meeting and attending the business session shall constitute election. Should no nominee attain a majority on the first ballot a runoff shall be held between the top two candidates.

Section 2. Nominees for the offices of new Representative to the Council of Conferences and the At Large Members shall also be elected at the business session of the annual meetings, but only in such years as may be designated by national AAS or as appropriate for such elections. The current Representative shall be responsible for advising the membership of the need for such elections, of the number of nominees needed, and of particulars concerning the later vote on these nominees by the entire national membership of AAS, Inc. Only those members of SEC/AAS who are members in good standing of national AAS may serve as nominees or participate in their election.

Section 3. Should no annual meeting take place, or should some special election be required by unusual circumstance, balloting may be done by mail. For this purpose the Executive Committee shall constitute an ad hoc Nominating Committee and shall ensure a slate of at least two candidates for each position to be filled. In such cases the candidate(s) receiving the highest number(s) of votes shall be declared elected on the first ballot, the votes counted being those returned of a ballot distributed to the entire membership.

Section 4. Each year at an appropriate time the President shall appoint a three person committee of tellers. This committee shall collect and count ballots and certify the election of officers. In the case of mail ballots, the Secretary Treasurer shall deliver to the committee of tellers all mail ballots for counting and certification.

ARTICLE VIII — AMENDMENTS

Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed either by the Executive Committee or by petition signed by ten members of SEC/AAS. All proposed amendments shall be discussed at the business session of the first annual meeting following the proposal, after which they shall be submitted by the Executive Committee to the entire membership by mail poll. Allowing sixty days for returns, such amendments shall be considered adopted if approved by a majority of those members returning ballots. Amendments shall be effective immediately upon adoption unless the amendments themselves provide otherwise.

ARTICLE IX — FINANCES

Section 1. The fiscal year of SEC/AAS shall end December 31st.

Section 2. In the event of the dissolution of the SEC/AAS all assets of the Conference shall be dedicated to an appropriate tax-exempt organization as determined by the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE X — PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Except where otherwise provided for in these bylaws, Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised shall apply.