The Constitution (or Bylaws) of
THETA ALPHA KAPPA
(Revised Edition, 2006)
ARTICLE 1
Name
The name of this organization shall
be Theta Alpha Kappa (hereafter, TAK).
As a national honor society it may be referred to as the Society. As incorporated in the State of
ARTICLE 11
Purposes and Affiliations
Section 1. This organization is the national honor society for academic studies in Religion and/or Theology, and it exists to encourage, recognize, and maintain excellence in such studies within baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate degree programs, but also within the academic profession more broadly understood.
Section 2. The Society is a member society in the Association of College Honor
Societies. In addition, it is recognized as a Related
Scholarly Organization of the
ARTICLE 111
Membership
Section 1. Individual Membership
A. Permanent
and Active Members
1. Upon induction into a local chapter of
TAK and the payment of an induction fee to the Society, all inductees will be
considered permanent members of that local chapter and the
national Society unless such membership is revoked for cause either by the
local chapter or the national Society.
In no case will permanent membership be denied or revoked on the grounds
of age, race, gender, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation.
2. The Board of Directors may, at its own discretion, create a category of "active" membership by which permanent members would also be considered active members of TAK. Any special terms or conditions applying to such a membership status will be published in other documents of the Board of Directors.
B. Types
of Individual Membership
1. Student Membership (and Alumni
Membership)
a. Undergraduate students matriculated in qualified institutions as described in 111.2A below are eligible for induction/membership if they have 1) completed at least three semesters (or five quarters) at an institution having a local TAK chapter in good standing, 2) completed a minimum of twelve semester credits or eighteen quarter credits in courses representing Religious Studies or Theological Studies, 3) attained a grade point average of at least 3.5 (or B+) in such courses, 4) attained at least a 3.0 grade point average (or B) in their total academic program to date, and 5) been ranked in at least the upper 35% of their class in general scholarship at the time of induction.
c. The criteria for induction listed above are
minimum criteria; chapters may, at their own discretion, establish more
stringent or additional eligibility requirements. Criteria for student membership from
institutions whose grading systems cannot be accommodated to the above
standards shall be established by the Board on a case-by-case basis.
d. All student members will be considered alumni members upon completion of the degree program they are in when inducted.
2. Honorary Members
a. Individuals
holding faculty rank at an institution with a local chapter, and in the discipline
of Religious or Theological Studies, are eligible for induction/membership if
they have completed at least one semester (or two quarters) in that
appointment.
b. Other individuals who have clearly established a record of excellence in their own right, and shown consistent support and encouragement of these academic disciplines and the students within them shall, at the discretion of the local chapter, be eligible for induction/membership.
3. Lifetime Members
The Board of Directors may, at its own discretion, create a lifetime membership for those already inducted but having met additional criteria established by the Board.
A. Application/New Chapters
Local chapters may be established at
academic institutions of higher learning that 1) grant the baccalaureate or
higher degree, 2) are accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting
agencies, and 3) offer sufficient academic course work in Religious or
Theological Studies that students may meet minimum requirements for eligibility
for induction/membership.
1. Application procedures for chapter
membership in the Society, together with any additional uniform criteria to be
met (if any), are to be determined by the Society's Board of Directors and made
available to potential chapter organizers or applicants.
2. The Board of Directors has established
within its own policies and procedures the decision-making processes for
responding to new chapter applications, and will communicate its decision in a
timely manner.
3. The Board of Directors reserves the right to name local chapters with the appropriate Greek letters, and to hold them accountable to the rules and regulations of TAK.
B. Active
Chapters (Chapters in Good Standing)
1. Once chartered by the Society, chapters
remain active and in good standing 1) by the payment of annual chapter dues
through a procedure and in an amount to be determined by the Board of Directors
of the Society, 2) by compliance with this Constitution, and 3) by meeting any
other uniform criteria as determined by the Board of Directors. Only active chapters in good standing will be
able to induct members into TAK and participate fully in the Society's
elections or other activities.
2. The Board of Directors is responsible for establishing uniform procedures for responding to chapters that fail to meet the criteria for remaining active.
C.
Other Chapters
This constitution allows for the
possibility of forming other kinds of chapters (for example, Alumni Chapters or
International Chapters), or other kinds of relationships among local chapters
(for example, regional chapter groupings).
Formal recognition of such chapters or regional groupings requires
approval by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE IV
Local Chapter Organization and Responsibilities
Section 1. Responsibilities
A. Local chapters must operate in such a way as
to promote the general purposes of this Society as outlined in Article 11, with
special reference to inducting qualified individual members and encouraging
scholarly excellence among the students of these academic disciplines.
B. Local chapters shall have a set of by-laws,
or be prepared to accept the provisions of this Constitution in its stead. Chapter by-laws, if any, must be consistent with
this (national) Constitution. Each
chapter shall have full charge of its own activities within the limits of this
(national) Constitution.
C. Local chapters shall hold inductions at least
once a year with the Society by responding to Society-sponsored requests
including (but not limited to) the following.
Requests for dues, annual reports or updates of chapter information,
nominations for Board positions or Board-sponsored awards, votes when called
for, and the submission of student scholarly work in competition for
publication in the Society's journal, or for occasional prizes or awards.
Section 2. Organization
A. Officers,
Advisors/Moderators
1. Local chapters should have at least three elected officers representing the functions of a President, Vice President, Secretary and/or Treasurer. Officers may be elected in a manner and for terms to be determined by the local chapter, but must be members of the Society (student, honorary, or alumni) at the time of election. Officers (e.g. if also faculty members) need not have been originally inducted by their local chapter in order to be eligible for election. Chapters may establish other officers at their discretion, and assign responsibilities to each.
2. Local chapters (or, in their stead, departmental
faculty or chairs) may elect or appoint a faculty advisor, if need be, to help
the officers in running the chapter.
This person may or may not - at the discretion of the chapter -
simultaneously hold an office in the chapter or be the Chapter Representative,
but should be a member of the Society.
B. Chapter Representative/Contact Person
1. Local chapters (or, in their stead,
departmental faculty or chairs) shall appoint or elect a faculty contact person
as a Chapter Representative in a manner and for a term of their own
choosing. The Chapter Representative
need not be a chapter officer or advisor, but should be a member of the
Society.
2. The function of the Chapter
Representative (or his/her designated alternate) will be to 1) be the primary
contact person between the local chapter and the Society, 2) when possible or
necessary, represent the chapter at the Society's Annual Meeting, and 3)
represent the chapter in voting processes calling for a chapter vote on a
Society matter.
C. General
Operations/Organization
Any other organizational
features—including but not limited to the creation of Standing Committees, the
establishing of chapter induction fees or annual dues, and the promotion of
relationships with alumni members—shall be at the discretion of the chapter.
ARTICLE V
National Board of
Directors
Section 1.
Membership
A. Number
The number of directors on the Board
shall normally be eight, with proviso for a ninth member. (See D.1 below.) However, the Board may, at its own
discretion, either increase the size of the Board to as many as twelve members
or decrease the size to as few as six members (including ex officio
members).
B. Officers
The national officers shall be
President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers shall perform the duties
prescribed by this constitution and by the parliamentary authority adopted by
the Society. The President shall be responsible
for planning, convening and presiding over all meetings of the Board, the
Executive Committee, and the Annual Meeting.
The Vice President shall 1) take over the duties of the President when
that person is absent, 2) act as the Board's primary liaison to new and
continuing chapters, and 3) serve in such other capacities as determined by the
Board. The Secretary shall provide 1)
minutes for meetings of the Board, the Executive Committee, and the Annual
Meeting, 2) general correspondence, 3) dues-collecting services to individual
members as determined by the Board, and 4) address-list and archival services
for matters and materials relevant to the Society and its chapters. The Treasurer shall 1) keep account of all
financial assets and debits of the Society and pay all bills as appropriate, 2)
receive and handle all dues collected, and 3) make an annual report to the
Board and the membership concerning the fiscal status of the Society. (If, as allowed in V.1.C.1 below, an
Executive Secretary position is created, certain routine functions of these
officers would, at the discretion of the Board, be transferred to that
position. Similarly at the discretion of
the Board, certain officers' duties not demanded by parliamentary authority may
be reassigned to other officers or members of the Board.)
C. At-Large Members
With exceptions noted above as to
the size of the Board (V.1.A), normally three additional, at-large members
shall be elected in a manner, and for terms, as indicated below. These members shall be full voting members and
should be nominated and elected with some attention to representing the
diversity of the chapters, their institutions, and individual members of the
Society. This diversity includes, but is
not limited to, institutional size (by student enrollment), location (by
regional areas), and type (by private, public, professional); types of
individual members (by gender, race, etc.); and the nature of the chapters (by
size or location).
D. Ex-Officio Members
1. There shall be one ex-officio
member, with provision for a second at the discretion of the Board. The one is the editor of the Journal of
Theta Alpha Kappa. The second, if
the Board should so determine, shall be an Executive Secretary whose duties
would include many of the current day-to-day operations of the Society.
2. The editor shall (and the Executive
Secretary would) be appointed by the Board to a five-year term, renewable upon
review by the Board.
3. Ex-officio members shall serve
on the Board without vote except as otherwise noted below.
Section 2. Election
and Terms of Office
A. Qualifications
All candidates for elected (non ex-officio) membership on the Board must be members of the Society, and should be nominated and elected with some attention to representing the diversity indicated in V.1.B above. There may be no more than one current elected member from any single institution.
The Board will solicit nominations to fill Board member positions from individual members and from active chapters, the latter through the Chapter Representative or contact person. Such solicitations will be made in a timely manner so that the Board's Nominating Committee has time to receive and review nominations, and to formulate a recommendation to bring to the Annual Meeting for a vote. Notification of the Nominating Committee's recommendations will be sent out with the announcement of the Annual Meeting's agenda. All recommendations must be approved by the Board.
All elected directors are chosen by a majority vote of individual members at a duly convened and constituted Annual Meeting of the Society. Proxy votes may be submitted to the Nominating Committee prior to the Meeting and will be cast along with the votes of qualified voters present. Election will be by majority of all votes cast. It will be the duty of the Nominating Committee to recommend a slate of directors to this meeting—whether as single or multiple candidates for any given position to be filled.
D. Terms of Office
1. All elected directors shall serve terms of
three years, or until their successor's terms begin.
No member
shall hold more than one office at a time, and no member shall be
eligible for more than two
successive terms in the same office. A
member having served more than half a term shall be deemed to have served a
term.
2. These terms shall be initially implemented
(beginning 7/1/07) in such a way that, in any subsequent three-year period the
following director groupings will come up for election in the first, second,
and third year respectively: 1) the President, Vice President, and one at-large
representative; 2) the Secretary and one at-large representative; and the
Treasurer and one at-large representatives.
3. Terms of office will begin on the following
July 1. The Board of Directors may, at
its discretion, change this date to better accord with any changes in the
timing of the Annual Meeting.
4. The Board of Directors may, at its own
discretion, appoint an interim officer or director to serve out the regular
term of any vacant officer or director position.
E. Quorum/Voting
Five members of the Board, including
at least four elected directors, shall constitute a quorum. Assuming a quorum, measures will pass by a
majority vote of those voting members present and voting. This quorum shall be increased or decreased
accordingly if the Board is expanded or contracted.
Section 3. Organization
1.
The four officers, together with the Ex-officio member(s), shall
constitute the Executive Committee.
2.
The function of the Executive Committee is, when empowered by the Board
of Directors to do so, to meet (in person or otherwise) and bring
recommendations to the Board concerning Society operations. Three members of the Executive committee, at
least two of whom must be elected directors, will constitute a quorum. (Ex-officio members of the board may
serve on this Committee with a vote.)
All actions of this Committee are subject to the review of the Board.
B. Nominating
Committee
these four must be current members of the Board. (Ex-officio members of the Board, if appointed to this Committee, will be voting members of the Committee.)
2.
The Board shall appoint the members of this Committee and determine the
length of any particular person's term on it.
The Committee shall organize itself as it sees fit in the pursuit of its
duties.
3.
The Committee's primary task will be to oversee and facilitate the
nomination and election or appointment process by which positions on the Board
are filled. This includes not only the
officers and at-large members (by election at the Annual Meeting), but the ex-officio
member(s) as well (by Board appointment).
a. In the case of elections, this Committee
shall ensure that the timely solicitation of nominations occurs, that nominees
are credentialed as relates to the qualifications articulated in this
Constitution, that slate(s) of candidates are announced in a timely manner
before the Annual Meeting (with one or more persons being recommended for any
given position), and that proper voting procedures are followed.
b. In the case of appointments, this
Committee shall ensure that there is a timely review of the ex-officio
(appointed) member(s) of the Board, and that nominees for appointment are made
available to the Board for its action.
4. All actions of this Committee are subject to
the review and approval of the Board of Directors.
C.
Other
1.
The Board may, at its own discretion, create other standing or special
committees, and generally organize itself as it sees fit in the pursuit of its
duties.
2. Any more detailed organizational structure
shall be further elaborated and made
public in separate documents approved by the Board.
Section 4. Functions
A. Except for matters left to the decision of
the Annual Meeting or to a majority of local chapters (as dictated by this
Constitution or Board action), the Board of Directors is empowered to run and
supervise the Society, and to conduct the Society's business in a manner
consistent with this Constitution. To
clarify that business in greater detail, the Board shall establish, keep
current, and disseminate a separate set of policies and procedures that is both
consistent with this constitution and clear in communicating the details of the
Society's (Board's) operations. Unless
otherwise determined by the Board, such a policy and procedures statement is
solely the province of the Board and not subject to broader membership approval.
B. The Board shall meet at least twice a year,
with one of those meetings being in conjunction with the Annual Meeting. At its discretion the Board may empower the
Executive Committee to meet in its stead for the second (or other)
meeting(s). Any additional or special
meetings of the Board may be called by the President, or shall be called by the
President upon the written request of any three elected directors. Meetings of the Board of the Executive Committee
by conference call or electronic transfer are allowed.
Reimbursement for travel expenses, in
accordance with guidelines determined by the Board, may be paid to members of
the Board for attending such meetings.
ARTICLE VI
The Annual Meeting
Section 1. Convening
A. The Board of Directors, led by the
President, shall plan, notify the membership and chapters about, and convene an
Annual Meeting of the total membership (individuals and chapters) of the
Society, normally to be held in conjunction with the national meetings of a
cognate discipline (for example, the American Academy of Religion). Notification of such a meeting shall take
place at least one month prior to its taking place.
B. This meeting shall be presided over by
the President acting on behalf of the Board and following a pre-circulated
agenda.
Section 2. Proper Business
While all members and chapters may
recommend to the Board prior to the Meeting that items of business be put on
the agenda, it is expected -- minimally -- that the President will give a
report of the Society's activities, the Secretary will provide approved minutes
of the last Annual Meeting, the Treasurer will provide a report on the fiscal
condition of the Society, and the Nominating Committee will make its
recommendations concerning the election of appropriate Board members (with
relevant election procedures to follow).
Other items of business may be brought before this Meeting at the
Board's discretion or by action of the membership at the Meeting.
Section 3. Voting
A. Quorum
Those individual members present at
the Annual Meeting shall constitute a quorum.
B. Voting
Rights
1.
Except where otherwise noted, a majority of those individual members
present (including any previously submitted votes as noted above) shall be
sufficient to reach decisions.
2.
All Chapter Representatives present, or their designated alternates,
will have one chapter vote in the event that a matter calling for a chapter
vote comes before the Meeting.
ARTICLE VII
Publications
Section 1. The official publication of the Society shall be called the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa. It will be published and distributed regularly to selected (by Board action) individual members as 1) a refereed journal, 2) a journal publishing the work of students and other scholars of Religious Studies and Theology, and 3) a communication link to the membership.
Section 2. Additional
publications may be authorized by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VIII
National Finances
Section 1. Budget/Endowment
A. The Board of Directors shall approve an
annual budget and function solely within that framework. Any adjustments to this will require the
approval of the Executive Committee, with Board review of such actions to occur
at its next meeting, or of the Board itself.
B. An Endowment may be established, the
earnings from which would be used, at the Board's discretion, for the
encouragement and reward of excellence in student scholarship.
Section 2. Fiscal Year
The fiscal
year of the Society shall be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section 3. Dues/Fees
The Board will establish both the
policy and the procedures for collecting any individual or chapter dues—as well
as charter or induction fees—and the amounts attendant to each. These policies, procedures and amounts will
be published in separate documents approved by the Board.
ARTICLE 1X
Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's
Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to which
they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this
Constitution and any special rules of order the Society may adopt.
ARTICLE X
Corporate Offices
While for purposes of its incorporation in the State of
ARTICLE X1
Amendment of the Constitution
This Constitution may be amended in any one of the following ways:
Section 1. An
amendment approved by the Board of Directors by majority vote may be adopted by
the Annual Meeting by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been
submitted in writing to the chapters at least 30 days before the meeting.
Section 2. An
amendment approved by the Board of Directors by a two-thirds vote may be
submitted to the chapters by mail ballot to be acted upon by each chapter or
representative thereof. Adoption shall
be by a two-thirds vote of those chapters returning ballots by a date clearly
specified on the mail ballot.
Section 3. An
amendment approved by the Board of Directors by a two-thirds vote may be
submitted to the chapters by mail ballot to be acted upon by each chapter or
representative thereof. Adoption shall
be by a two-thirds vote of those chapters returning ballots by a date clearly
specified on the mail ballot.
Indemnification
The Corporation is authorized to purchase insurance for the
indemnification of all directors and officers.
No person who is now, or who later becomes, a director, officer or
member shall be personally liable for any covenants, stipulations, promises,
agreements and obligations of the Corporation, and no recourse under or upon
any covenants, obligations, stipulations, promises, and agreements shall be had
against any past, present or future director, officer or member, and any and
all creditors of the Corporation shall look only to the assets of the
Corporation for payment.
ARTICLE X111
Dissolution
Should there be a vote or action to dissolve the
organization, all remaining assets—after necessary expenses -- shall be
distributed to one or more appropriate scholarly, professional, non-profit
organizations qualifying under 1RC 501(c)3—as determined by the Board of
Directors or a duly constituted Annual Meeting of the membership.
ARTICLE X1V
Non-Inurement Provision
No part of the net earnings of the Corporation shall inure
to the benefit of any member, director or officer of the Corporation, or any
private individual (except that reasonable compensation may be paid for
services rendered to or for the Corporation), and no member, director or
officer of the Corporation or any private individual shall be entitled to share
in the distribution of any of the assets on dissolution of the Corporation.
ARTICLE XV
Restrictive Legislation Provision
No substantial part of the activities of the Corporation
shall be carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation
(except as otherwise provided by Internal Revenue Code Section 501(h) or
participating in, or intervening in (including the publication or distribution
of statements), any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public
office.
ARTICLE XV1
Restrictive Purposes and Activities Provision
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution,
the Corporation is organized exclusively for the purpose specified in Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and shall not carry
on any activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from
Federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended.
Approved by the Board of Directors,
Approved by the member chapters,
Effective Date:
Amendment Dates:
Change in Affiliation Statement (ART.11.2)