ARTICLE I: NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars, Inc.
ARTICLE II: OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this association shall be:
1. to award and plan its biennial conference.
2. to manage the affairs of the International Conferences of ACWWS.
3. to disseminate and otherwise promote the literature and orature of Caribbean women, and Caribbean women’s art and cultural production in general;
4. to provide a forum for the advancement of the critical study and teaching of the works of Caribbean women writers and scholars and support a network of scholars, teachers, artists, activists, and cultural workers who do multidisciplinary work on women, gender, and sexuality in the circum-Caribbean;
5. to support multicultural activities connected with the Caribbean and/or Caribbean peoples;
6. to increase awareness of the global presence of Caribbean peoples among the general public;
7. to foster a climate of cooperation among all linguistic and cultural groups in the Caribbean and its diasporas;
8. to publish a journal Macomére dedicated to the work of women writers and scholars of Caribbean literature;
9. to work with conference organizers in maintaining the integrity of the publication of the papers of the biennial conferences;
10. to produce a newsletter of items relevant to ACWWS.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Membership of this organization shall be open to all individuals and institutions that share the objectives of the Association. Each financial member shall be entitled to attend the bi-annual business meeting. The financial year for membership shall be the calendar year.
Section A: Professionals
Individual membership shall be open to all writers, scholars, academics and other parties interested in promoting the objectives of the Association. Membership dues must be paid annually shall be assessed as follows:
Residents of USA and Europe – US $100.00
Residents of Caribbean and Africa – US $ 50.00
Each member shall carry one vote at business meetings.
Section B: Students
Membership shall be open to any full-time graduate student interested in promoting the objectives of the Association. Student membership dues must be paid annually and shall be assessed as follows:
Residents of USA and Europe – Full-time Graduate Student US $ 50.00 (submit with photocopy of student ID)
Residents of Caribbean and Africa – Full-time Graduate Student US $ 25.00 (submit with photocopy of student ID)
Each member shall carry one vote at business meetings.
Section C: Life Membership
Although Life Memberships paid in past years shall be honored, they are no longer financially feasible for the organization. We encourage current Life Members to continue making annual donations to help generate funds for ACWWS needs and goals.
Section D: Institutions
Institutional Membership shall be open to all institutions of higher learning and/or corporations interested in promoting the objectives of the Association. Institutional Membership shall be assessed in the amount of $300.00 US annually.
Section E: All financial members shall receive the Association’s journal and the newsletter for the calendar year for which they have paid membership.
Section F: Anyone who is presenting, in any capacity, at the biennial conference or participating on editorial boards or publishing in the association’s journal must be a member of the Association.
ARTICLE IV: GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE
Section A: The Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars shall be governed by its Constitution and such other actions the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars, Inc. may make consistent therewith. Roberts Rules of Order shall be used in all situations not covered by provisions of this constitution. Issues shall be decided by the majority vote of financial members present. In case of a tie, issues shall be decided by a casting vote by the presiding executive board member.
Section B: Structure
1. Executive Board
-
- President
- Vice-President
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Archivist
- Publications Editor
- Immediate Past President
- Social Media Publicist(s)
2. Standing Committees
-
- Conference Planning and Executing Committee
- Scholarship/Publications Committee
- Finance/Membership Committee
Section C: Duties of the Executive Board
1. The duties of the President shall be as follows:
1. act as spokesperson for the Association;
2. preside at all business meetings;
3. initiate fund raising with Finance Committee;
4. execute new initiatives and projects approved by the membership of the Association;
5. establish links with other organizations of similar interests
2. The duties of the Vice-president shall be as follows:
1. serve in lieu of the president whenever necessary;
2. function as chair of the conference program committee.
3. assist in the coordination of activities of the Association
3. The duties of the Secretary shall be as follows:
1. Record minutes of Executive Board meetings, business meetings and other appropriate meetings;
2. distribute minutes of meetings to appropriate Association members;
3. publicize the Association and its publications;
4. create the Home page for the Association
4. The duties of the Treasurer shall be as follows:
1. collect all individual, student, institutional, and life membership dues;
2. maintain current records of all funds received and dispersed;
3. prepare an annual financial report for the Executive Board;
4. maintain a list of all financial members of the Association.
5. The duties of the Archivist shall be as follows:
1. maintain all records of the Association’s activities;
2. update formal written correspondence of the Association;
6. The duties of the Publications Editor shall be as follows:
1. manage and carry out all duties connected with the Association’s publishing initiatives;
2. correspond and liaise with the Editorial Board;
3. collect conference papers for archives and solicit essays and creative writings from financial members of Association;
4. establish criteria for submissions to publications.
7. The duties of the Past President (Immediate) will be to assist in maintaining organizational continuity (e.g. assistance with funding raising, governance, organizational problems) and other duties as called upon. The past president may continue projects initiated as president, with executive permission.
8. The duties of the Social Media Publicist shall be as follows:
1. manage the organization’s social media profiles (e.g. keep the ACWWS website and Facebook page up-to-date, establish and maintain Twitter and Instagram accounts; post video feeds to the ACWWS YouTube channel);
2. execute effective marketing strategies to help build brand awareness, and promote the organization’s creative and scholarly events;
3. regularly email membership with updates;
4. meet and maintain the organization’s academic and politically progressive standards.
Section D: Term of Executive Board & Elections
To assure continuity, the term of officers shall be as follows:
1. The elected Vice-president in 1998 will succeed to the Presidency after two years normally.
2. The positions of Secretary, Treasurer, and Publications Editor shall be elected for four years, beginning in 1998-9
3. Elections for Acquisitions Archivist and Social Media Publicist shall be held every 2 years.
4. Graduate Students may run for the Social Media Publicist position.
5. Current officers may run for re-election.
6. In the event of the resignation of an elected officer or the existence of vacancies on the Executive by other means, the Executive Board will attempt to fill vacancies with financial members who will function in an Acting capacity until the general election.
Section E: Term of Executive Board & Elections
1. Candidates for positions on the Executive Board shall be nominated by financial members and submitted to the Secretary by November 15 of the year preceding the conference.
2. Elections for the Executive Board will occur every two years.
3. Ballots shall be mailed out no later than December 1st, listing all nominated persons who accepted nomination.
4. Completed ballots shall be returned to the Secretary by February 15th, of the following year.
5. Elected members will be announced at the following biennial conference.
Section F: Standing Committees
1. Conference Planning and Executing Committee.
1. The Conference Planning and Executing Committee shall be composed of the On-Site Committee and the designated members of the Executive Board.
2. The Vice-president of the Executive Board will be the liaison with the conference convener(s) and be ACWWS Chair of the Conference Planning and Executing Committee.
3. The On-Site Conference Committee. The On-Site Conference committee shall include members as designated by the host institution but will not act independently in organizing the conference and/or publishing its papers.
4. Final agreement on organizing the conference publishing its papers must be arrived at in consultation with the Executive Board of the organization.
5. The Conference Planning and Executing Committee (On-site committee and delegated Executive Committee representatives) shall plan and execute the program jointly;
6. The On-Site committee will have responsibility on identifying the theme of the conference, fund-raising for the conference, organizing the logistics of the conference, planning local aspects of the conference and such other duties as the Conference Planning and Executing Committee may identify. The On-Site Committee cannot however, commit the organization financially or otherwise without prior approval from the Executive Board. Any such commitment will be the responsibility of the On-Site Committee
7. The Biennial Conference of the ACWWS shall be held during the months of April and May, close to the end of the Spring Semester of the Conference year.
8. A plenary session of the conference shall be assigned for the Association’s business meeting. Space should be provided for the organization’s business meeting at a prominent time during the conference on the morning of the third day of the conference.
9. The Executive board shall provide the conference committee with all relevant information and documents and shall share their expertise on conference financing, organization, and publicity.
10. The Executive Board will award the conference on the receipt of written bids offering to host the biennial conference.
11. Assignment of Conference: The written bids should contain commitments from institutions in terms of space, financial support and personnel.
2. Finance/Membership Committee
1. This committee shall develop strategies for maintaining an active membership roster.
2. This committee shall plan and execute fund-raising as well as seek foundations’ support of the Association’s activities and otherwise maintain the organization’s financial responsibility under the leadership of the treasurer.
3. Publications and Scholarship Committee
1. This Committee shall identify ways to promote scholarship and publications of Caribbean Women Writers.
2. This Committee shall maintain the intellectual and professional standards of the organization at the conferences and in its publications.
ARTICLE V: AMENDMENTS
Section A: Proposed Amendments to this constitution shall be submitted to the president in writing for submission to the membership for vote at the conference’s business meeting or by November 1st of the year preceding the conference.
Section B: A two-thirds (2/3) vote of all financial members present shall suffice for adoption.
ARTICLE VI: INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE
The Executive Board shall nominate International Representatives for different regions and linguistic areas in order to maximize representation at the conference and to disseminate information to conference participants and members from different areas. The International Coordinating Committee shall also help facilitate smooth running of the conference before and at the time of the conference itself. (Moved and passed at the Annual Business Meeting, Grand Anse, Grenada).
Constitution last ratified by ACWWS Membership during the business meeting at the 1998 biennial conference.