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PSS Constitution

Article I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Pennsylvania Sociological Society (PSS).

Article II
PURPOSE
The major objective of the PSS is to provide a forum for communication for sociologists working in diverse settings: education, industry, government, voluntary associations, or solo practitioners; and to increase understanding of the interplay of sociological knowledge and social research. An adjunct objective is to assist future sociologists in developing their careers.

Article III
MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the PSS is open to anyone who has expressed or demonstrated an interest in the field of sociology. There are no restrictions on race, sex, age, creed, or national origin. Active members are those who paid dues for the current year.

Article IV
OFFICERS
The officers shall be: immediate Past President, the President, the President-Elect, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the chairperson of the Long Range Planning Committee. The officers shall assume office at the conclusion of the annual meeting.

Article V
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1: Past President
The immediate Past President shall act in an advisory capacity to the President in carrying out the duties of that office, turning overall correspondence and records relevant to the office at the annual meeting.

Section 2: President
The President shall preside at all business meetings; and coordinate the substantive sessions of the annual meeting; delegate specific duties; and appoint committees as needed. The President shall initiate and maintain contact with the Executive Committee and the membership. He/she shall act as a conduit for information on members' to issues of common concern. In the event that controversial issues are raised, the President shall invite opposing views to be presented. The President shall appoint the Editor of the newsletter. The President shall see that the newsletter is distributed to the membership. The President shall represent the PSS in contact with other groups such as Regional State Associations, Regional Associations, the National council of State Sociological Associations, the American Sociological Association, and International Organizations.

The President is also responsible for appointing chairs for certain committees: Publications, Task Force on Employment/Applied and Clinical Sociology, Committee on the Status of Women and Minorities, and Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching (see articles 10, 11, 12, and 13).

Section 3: President-Elect
The President-Elect shall assist the President in obtaining information needed to fulfill the duties of that office. The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in his/her absence. The President-Elect will serve as Chair of the PSS Nominations Committee. This should include at least three members, one from each region of the state. The committee should be formed by January 1st. The President-Elect will introduce the nominees at the annual meeting and will be responsible for the dissemination, collection, and tallying of the ballots. Additional duties of the President-Elect regard the annual meeting are covered in the Bylaws, Articles 3-4.

Section 4: Vice-President
The Vice President shall supervise the award functions of the organization. He/she will serve as the chairperson of the PSS Distinguished Sociologist Award Committee. In addition, he/she will appoint the chair of the Undergraduate Student Paper Award Committee. These committees will be formed by the Spring Executive Committee meeting.

Section 5: Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the expenditures of funds. He/she shall handle all monies of the PSS and prepare a budget statement for approval at the annual business meeting. The Treasurer shall provide all officers with a list of paid-up members by December 1st to facilitate the formation of committees.

Section 6: Secretary
The Secretary shall be responsible for taking minutes at the Business Meeting and Executive Committee meetings. These minutes should be typed and circulated to all officers and the Editor of the Newsletter for distribution to the membership.

All members should assist in recruitment of new members. The Secretary shall serve as Chairperson of the Membership Committee which will recruit new members and ensure that current members maintain due payments.

Section 7: Chairperson of Long Range Planning Committee
The chairperson will be elected for a period of three years by a majority vote. The Long Range Planning Committee will consist of a chairperson serving a three year term; three members, one from each region of Pennsylvania, each serving a two year term, all chairpersons with elected officials and each head of the committee members.

Article VI
ELECTIONS, PROCEDURES, AND SUCCESSION
Section 1:  Elections
The election of officers shall be conducted at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Sociological Society. A majority of those present and voting is necessary for election.

Section 2:  Procedures
The nominations of officers may be made b active PSS members. Member shall secure the agreement of candidates to run for President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and chairperson of the long range planning committee and submit the nomination to the President-Elect by May 15th. The candidates' names and statements shall appear in the newsletter preceding the annual meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor, provided the nominee is willing to serve.

Voting shall be by secret ballot. The Nominations Committee shall conduct the electing. If a candidate is not present when elected, the President shall inform the new officer within one week of the annual meeting.

Section 3:  Succession
The change over of officers will occur at the annual meeting. Immediately following the annual meeting, the President would become the immediate Past President. The President-Elect, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and chairperson of the Long Range Planning Committee would start fulfilling their offices the day following the annual meeting. All terms of office are for one year except the chairperson of the Long Range Planning Committee. This term is for three years. In the event an elected officer cannot fulfill the duties, the Executive Committee may exercise emergency power to appoint a replacement from among willing candidates.

Article VII
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee shall consist of the two immediate Past Presidents, the current President, the President-Elect, Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the chairperson of the Long Range Planning Committee, and the editor of the newsletter, the editor and managing editor of the journal, and three other members-at-large, to be elected at the annual meeting (one for a 3-year term and two for 2-year terms. All meetings of the Executive Committee are open to all active members. The Executive Committee is vested with the power to carry out all necessary operations of the PSS including the assessment of dues. It shall serve as the representative body of the membership. Other committees may be appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Committee on an ad hoc basis.

Article VIII
MEETINGS
The PSS shall meet at least once each year. The annual meetings will be held in the fall and a planning session in the spring. These meetings will be rotated yearly among different areas eastern, central and western Pennsylvania.

Article IX
STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD
In accordance with past practices, the PSS will give an award for the best student research paper presented at the annual meeting. The selection shall be made by the chairperson of the student research session with the assistance of his/her committee. The chairperson shall be appointed by the President. The chairperson shall appoint the members of his/her committee. See By Laws Article I. This award shall be made at the annual luncheon.

Article X
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
The President shall appoint the chairperson for the Publications Committee. That person shall be responsible for work on PSS publications relating to the annual meeting, such as Proceedings of the annual meeting, and topical brochures of interest to Pennsylvania sociologists.

Article XI
TASK FORCE ON EMPLOYMENT/APPLIED AND CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts of a Committee on Employment/Applied and Clinical Sociology.

Article XII
COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF MINORITIES AND WOMEN
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts of a Committee on Minorities and Women. The tasks of this committee should include the development of strategies to increase he participation of minorities and women at all levels of the Society.

Article XIII
COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF RESEARCH AND TEACHING
The President shall appoint a chairperson to coordinate the efforts of a Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching. The role of such a committee would include the handling of grievances of PSS members regarding violations of the ASA Guidelines for Initial Appointments and related documents concerning faculty rights in the areas of research and teaching. The PSS COFRAT Committee could offer its assistance to COFRAT Committees of other professional organizations at the regional level in handling Pennsylvania-based cases.

Article XIV
LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The tasks for the Long Range Planning Committee is to oversee the constitution implemented for the constitutional planning for future policy issues and other proposals that may be brought before the committee for consideration. It would also involve a periodic assessment for various community works and planning for budget resources.