ARTICLE I

NAME

The organization shall operate under the name of Oklahoma State University Asian American Faculty and Staff Association. The acronym for the organization shall be AAFSA.

ARTICLE II

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Association shall be to:

• 1) Promote fellowship among OSU faculty and staff of Asian origin.
• 2) Engage in cultural and social activities as deemed appropriate by the membership.
• 3) Liaise with other cultural/civic/ethnic/international organizations within OSU to promote or collaborate on common activities.
• 4) Serve as a liaison between OSU administration and faculty and staff of Asian origin.
• 5) Serve as a liaison between the Stillwater and broader Oklahoma community and OSU faculty and staff of Asian origin.

ARTICLE III

POLICY

AAFSA is a non-political organization and as such shall be nonpartisan and nonsectarian.

ARTICLE IV

MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1 – ELIGIBILITY

• 1) Membership is open to OSU faculty and staff who are of Asian origin (American citizenship is not a requirement).
• 2) Individuals not of Asian origin may also seek membership upon payment of membership dues; however, they may not hold voting privileges.

SECTION 2 – DUES

• 1) Annual membership dues are $10.00.   Dues become payable at the first meeting of the Fall Term and qualify an individual as a member for a full year or twelve months.   Those individuals who join after the initial pay period will enjoy membership status until the next annual dues payment date.
• 2) Only paid members are entitled to vote.
• 3) Membership dues are not refundable.

SECTION 3 – OPERATING YEAR

The operating year of the Association is from September 1 through August 31.

ARTICLE V

OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS

SECTION 1 – OFFICERS

The elected officers of the association shall be:   President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

SECTION 2 – ELIGIBILITY

• 1) To be eligible as elected officer of the Association, a person must be a voting member of the AAFSA for at least one year.

SECTION 3 – TERM OF OFFICE

• 1) The term of office shall be for one year for the President and Vice-President positions.  The Vice-President will become the President of the Association in the year following his/her tenure as Vice-President.  The term of office for the Secretary and Treasurer position is two years. 
• 2) Annual elections will be held for the Vice-President position.  Elections for the position of Secretary will be held in odd calendar years.  Elections for the position of Treasurer will be held in even calendar years. 
• 3) An officer shall continue to fulfill the obligations of the office until the newly elected officer has been duly installed in that position.

SECTION 4 – CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS

• 1) The elections will be overseen by the Elections Committee consisting of 3 members who are not current elected officers of the Association and are not seeking an elected office.  The Elections Committee is to be constituted by the Executive Committee by January 31.
• 2) The Elections Committee will complete the nominations process by March 31 and submit nominations to the membership at the second general body meeting in the Spring term of each year.   In seeking nominations the Committee will keep in mind the very diverse nature of the membership.
• 3) Voting is by online ballot to be handled by a neutral third party, possibly the Multicultural Student Center of OSU.  The ballot will be conducted within two weeks of the second Spring term general body meeting and announcement of the new officers will be made before the end of the Spring term.
• 4) The new slate of officers will take over the Association activities effective the first general body meeting of the Fall term.

SECTION 5 – OFFICER DUTIES

• 1) The President shall preside at all meetings, appoint committee members; and perform all other necessary and responsible duties relevant to the stated purposes of the organization.
• 2) The Vice-President shall assume the duties and responsibilities of the President in his or her absence and assist the President in the conduct of the Association’s activities as needed.
• 3) The Secretary shall take minutes at each meeting and email them to the membership.  The Secretary is responsible for providing members with advance and reasonable notice of scheduled meetings or special functions.
• 4) The Treasurer is responsible for an accurate record of all financial transactions of the organization.   The Treasurer shall present annual financial report for distribution to members at the final general body meeting of the Spring term.   This report will include a record of paid voting and paid non-voting members to facilitate the election process.
• 5) All expenditures must be approved by the Executive Committee and paperwork countersigned by the Treasurer and the President of the Association.
• 6) Executive Committee members are expected to attend all meetings.  Any Executive member who has 3 unexcused absences will be deemed to have vacated the office.  

SECTION 6 – VACANCIES

The President shall appoint eligible individuals to fill vacancies left by an officer or committee member unable to complete their term of service.   This appointee shall complete the remaining term of service.   In the event the President is unable to complete a service term, the Vice-President will serve as President for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE VI

COMMITTEES

• President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Association
• 3 members at large selected by the President to ensure adequate representation of the diverse membership of the organization
• One ex-officio member from the Office of Multicultural Student Center

ARTICLE VII

MEETINGS

SECTION 1. GENERAL BODY MEETINGS.

Two (2) general body meetings shall be held each semester.  The first meeting should be held during the first four weeks of the semester and the second during the last four weeks of the semester.  The meetings should alternate between a Wednesday and a Thursday.  The recommended time for the meeting is between 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.  The meeting schedule and time are set to encourage maximum participation from the membership.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

The Bylaws of the Association may be amended by a two-thirds majority of the votes.