Dear NAPS members,
One of the topics that has been raised most persistently and with greatest passion in recent years at both the general business meetings and the meetings of the Board of Directors of NAPS is the importance of our graduate student members and the need to support that constituency effectively. Consequently, at the 2009 business meeting of our society, the membership approved a change in our By-laws allowing for an expansion from seven to eight in the number of Directors that may be elected to the Board: this was done to pave the way for the creation of a student representative to the Board. It should be said that nothing prevents student members also being elected to any of the four positions for Members-at-large, though this has to my knowledge never occurred in the relatively brief history of our society. What is desired is to secure the voice of at least one student member on the Board every year by the addition of this new position.
The ad-hoc appointment of graduate students to the Board in 2008-09 and 2009-10 has already enriched our conversations and planning. This was evidenced in the last Annual Meeting by the addition of a pre-conference publishing workshop and a graduate student breakfast hosted by present and former presidents of NAPS; this year we plan to continue the initiative with a pre-conference teaching workshop and another graduate student breakfast. There are also further conversations underway regarding how we might best mentor and financially support graduate students who are submitting paper proposals for the annual meeting. It is expected that a regular student voice on the Board will continue to contribute to shaping the direction of the society in a way that fosters further integration of graduate students into the life of the society and its Annual Meeting.
In order to make the appointment of a student member to the Board of Directors permanent, the Board has drafted an amendment to the NAPS Constitution that will be considered and voted upon at the NAPS business meeting on Friday, May 28, 2010. The NAPS Constitution requires that the society’s members be notified of any proposed amendments at least thirty days prior to any vote. We are therefore circulating this proposal in advance of the meeting; changes are marked in bold:
RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS Constitution Article II, Section 3 to read,
“There shall be a Board of Directors composed of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary‑Treasurer and FIVE other members elected by the membership, ONE OF WHOM MUST BE A STUDENT. FOUR OF these latter FIVE members shall be elected for a two‑year term and shall not be eligible to succeed themselves immediately; THE STUDENT MEMBER SHALL BE ELECTED FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM. Division of service shall be determined by lot. Editors of Society publications, appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be ex officio non‑voting members of the Board of Directors. It shall be the task of the Board of Directors to conduct the business of the Society in the period between Annual Meetings.”
RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS By-Laws Article II, Section 3, Part D to read,
“The members shall elect four (4) additional directors for a term of two (2) years each AND ONE (1) STUDENT DIRECTOR FOR A TERM OF ONE (1) YEAR. THE TERMS OF THOSE DIRECTORS SERVING FOR TWO YEARS [in cases of enlargement of the Board of Directors, terms] shall be staggered so that half of the directors shall be elected in one year and the other half in the subsequent year.”
Gratefully yours,
Virginia Burrus
NAPS President, 2009-2010