Constitution | New England Political Science Association

CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW ENGLAND POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION

as previously amended, May 2016

changes discussed and approved by NEPSA Executive Council April/May, 2024

changes to be presented and voted upon at NEPSA Business Meeting, April 26, 2025

ARTICLE I: NAME

The name of this Association shall be the New England Political Science Association, hereinafter referred to as “the Association.”

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE

The purpose of the Association shall be to advance, within the New England region, the objective of the Association, which shall be to convene annually each spring for a conference, hereinafter referred to as “the Conference,” in order that we may:

facilitate the exchange of knowledge among persons interested in political science;
encourage research on political matters;
improve the teaching of political science; and
advance generally the practice and art of politics and governance.

ARTICLE III: REGISTRANTS

§1. Because the New England Political Science Association exists solely to convene an annual conference, there are not formal members of the Association. Individuals who attend the conference, either as panelists or audience, are hereinafter referred to as “Registrants.”

§2. Registering for the Conference entitles a Registrant to vote for all Officers and Council Members and participate in all Conference activities. Conference participation and voting for Officers and Council Members is not restricted to New England; Conference participants typically come from across the country and abroad as well. The Association reserves the prerogative to refuse to extend an invitation to attend the conference at its discretion.

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS AND GOVERNING BODY

§1. Officers of the Association shall be a President, two President-designates, a Secretary-Treasurer, and an Executive Director. The President shall serve as presiding officer of the Council. The immediate President-designate shall preside in the absence of the President.

§2. The governing body of the Association shall be the Executive Council, hereinafter referred to as “the Council,” which shall consist of the President, the two President-designates, the three most recent Past Presidents, and eight at-large Council members. In addition, any member of the governing bodies of the American Political Science Association, Northeastern Political Science Association, Northeast International Studies Association, and other appropriate associations may sit on the Council without the right to vote and without affecting the quorum. The Council shall supervise and control the affairs of the Association.

§3. Officers and Council members shall serve until their successors are selected. The President, with approval of the Council, shall make interim appointments to fill any vacancy on the Council. The immediate President-designate shall succeed the President in the event of a vacancy in the office of President. Any vacancy in the office of President-designate shall be filled by the Council.

§4. An Executive Director shall be appointed for a term of three years and subject to renewal at the discretion of the Council. The Executive Director position shall be eligible for financial compensation, with the amount to be set by the Council. The Executive Director shall attend Council Meetings, may participate in Council discussions, but shall not vote. The duties of the Executive Director shall include the following:

§4a. Overseeing conference planning, including but not limited to: assisting the President-Designate in selection of the venue, pursuant to Article IV, §5 of this Constitution; preparing and distributing the Call For Proposals; assembling the Conference program; supervising the determination of Best Paper awards; and supervising conference registrations.

§4b. Organizing and scheduling an Amendment Consideration Meeting, pursuant to

Article IX, §2 of this Constitution.

§4c. Announcing to the NEPSA contact list an upcoming vote on proposed amendments to this Constitution, pursuant to Article IX, §3 of this Constitution.

§4d. Maintaining the Association’s contact lists.

§4e. Maintaining the Association’s website.

§4e(1). The Council shall be authorized to create a dedicated position for maintenance of the Association’s website in lieu of having this be the responsibility of the Executive Director.

§5. The President-designate is authorized to select the location and venue of the Conference over which they shall preside, and shall be the Officer who signs the contract with the venue.

§6. A Secretary-Treasurer shall be appointed for a term of three years, and subject to renewal at the discretion of the Council. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be generally responsible for assisting the officers of the Association subject to policies established by the Council and for maintaining the finances of the Association, including tax filings. The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend Council Meetings, may participate in Council discussions, but shall not vote.

§7. A quorum of the Council shall consist of a majority of its voting members and must include the current president.

§8. All persons serving on the Council shall be semi-regular attendees of the New England Political Science Association annual Conference.

§9. Absence from more than one scheduled meeting of the Council shall be grounds for removal.

ARTICLE V: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

§1. The President, two President-designates, and four at-large Council members shall be elected at the Association’s annual meeting. The term of office for the President and President-designate shall be one year, and incumbents may serve only one consecutive term in each office and is not renewable. The office of President-designate is filled two years in advance of the Conference over which that President-designate will preside; consequently, the term of office for each President-designate shall be the two years prior to their conference and is not renewable. The term of office for Council members shall be two years and they may serve no more than two consecutive terms.

§2. Nominations for the offices of President, President-designate, and Council members shall be made by existing Officers or Council members at the annual Council meeting preceding the conference, in accordance with Article VI, §1, of this Constitution. Insofar as possible, nominations shall be made to represent equitably all six states of the New England region and all major fields of the discipline of political science.

§3. A majority of the Council members present and voting at the Council Meeting shall decide to submit nominations to the conference Registrants. Council members unable to attend the Council Meeting are allowed to designate another Council member to act as a voting proxy. The slate of nominees will then be presented to Conference Registrants at the Business Meeting, pursuant to Article VI, §5, of this Constitution

§4. A majority of Registrants present and voting at the Business Meeting shall decide elections of officers and Council members. If Registrants present and voting at the Business Meeting do not approve nominations from the Council, nominations from the floor will be solicited, discussed, and subject to a vote.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS

§1. The Council shall hold at least one scheduled meeting per year, and shall meet on the site of the Conference the night before the first panel sessions of the Conference. In the event of circumstances which would force a cancellation of an in-person Conference, the Council shall have the option of convening a virtual meeting.

§2. The annual meeting of the Association shall be held at a time specified by the Council.

§3. Conference Registrants shall be given at least thirty days notice in writing of the time, place and program of the Conference.

§4. Council members shall be given at least seven days notice of the time, place, and agenda of all scheduled Council Meetings.

§5. A Business Meeting shall be held as part of the Saturday luncheon program at the Conference, at which time nominations for the offices of President, President-designate, and Council members will be presented for a vote, and Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed and voted on. Any Conference Registrant may attend the Business Meeting and vote on matters (with the exception of undergraduate Registrants, who may attend the Business Meeting but not vote). Conference Registrants who wish to attend the Business Meeting without attending the paid luncheon may do so, by informing the Executive Director of their desire to attend the Business Meeting; once the Business Meeting is about to begin, they will be admitted into the meeting room by the Executive Director.

ARTICLE VII: COMMITTEES

The Council may establish committees for various purposes. The president shall appoint chairpersons and members of all committees except for the Nominating Committee. Committees shall terminate at the close of the annual meeting.

ARTICLE VIII: FINANCES

§1. Conference Registrants will pay a fee to cover the costs associated with the conference. The Council shall determine such fees annually at the Council Meeting.

§2. Other fees as deemed necessary for continuing and special projects may be assessed by the Council.

§3. NEPSA is a §501(c)(3) not-for profit corporation.

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this Constitution may be made in the following manner:

§1. Potential amendments can only be presented to Registrants for a vote at the Business Meeting if they have previously been approved by a majority vote of the Council, and such a vote must take place no later than forty days prior to the Business Meeting.

§2. Discussion of, and voting on, possible amendments by the Council must take place in-person or via videoconference, hereinafter referred to as an “Amendment Consideration Meeting” and abbreviated as “ACM.” A quorum of the members of the Council with voting privileges, pursuant to Article IV, §7 of this Constitution, is required for an ACM. Council members who cannot attend an ACM may designate another member of the Council as their proxy to vote on amendments.

§2a. Pursuant to Article IV, §4 and §6, respectively, of this Constitution, the Executive Director and the Secretary-Treasurer may attend an ACM and participate in the discussion, but may not vote on the amendment(s). The presence of the Executive Director and/or the Secretary-Treasurer shall not be counted towards a quorum.

§2b. Nothing in this article shall be construed as forbidding discussion of possible amendments via email; this article shall only be read to require an ACM, and further requires that a vote on amendments must be taken at an ACM and cannot be done via email.

§2c. The Council may take up a possible amendment which has been proposed by a Registrant. In the event of such a proposal, the Registrant shall be invited to attend an ACM and participate in the discussion, but the Registrant shall not cast a vote nor be counted towards a quorum. The Registrant’s presence at an ACM is not required. If the Registrant’s proposal is approved by the Council, the Council shall have the prerogative to invite the Registrant to address the Business Meeting at which the amendment will be presented for discussion and a vote.

§3. If the Council successfully votes out a proposed amendment by the deadline specified in Article IX, §1 of this Constitution, the Executive Director shall provide written notice, no later than thirty days prior to the Business Meeting, that proposed amendments shall be presented for discussion and a vote at the upcoming Business Meeting. Notice shall be provided as follows:

§3a. Via email to all names on the main Association mailing list (as distinguished from a working list of Registrants for the upcoming Conference), AND

§3b. Via posting to the Association’s website. This posting shall include a posting of the proposed changes to be presented at the Business Meeting.

§4. Following a discussion of proposed amendments to this Constitution at the Business Meeting, amendments may be adopted by a majority vote of Registrants present and voting at the Business Meeting. Because the Association does not have formal “members,” there are no provisions for “proxy” voting on constitutional amendments; voting privileges are only accorded to Registrants who are present at the Business Meeting.

ARTICLE X: NON-CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

§1. The Executive Council shall have the authority to create governance positions that do not rise to the level of Council membership, and shall have the authority to set the terms of the positions and select individuals to fill them.

§2. The Executive Council shall have the authority to adopt and modify a Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy. Modifications may be made by the Executive Council by majority vote, either at the Council Meeting or during a separate in-person or videoconference meeting, pursuant to the quorum requirements of Article IV, §7 of this Constitution; such modifications do not need to be presented for a vote at the Business Meeting.