THETA ALPHA KAPPA
Policy and Procedures of the Board of Directors
History
Theta Alpha Kappa came into being through the good offices
of the Religious Studies faculty (with special reference to its chairman at the
time, Professor Albert Clark, F.S.C.) at
TAK was more formally constituted as a national honor
society when, in February 1976, ten institutions (all connected through the
College Theology Society) adopted a constitution and later that year chartered the
first 15 chapters. In part reflecting the nature of these institutions
and their interests within religious studies, the Greek letters theta, alpha
and kappa were chosen to reflect theos, anthropos, and koinonia as their
understanding of the primary foci of studies in religion and theology. [This
understanding of the society’s name is a part of its history, but is no longer
encoded into its defining documents.]
Within the next few years TAK had quickly grown into an
independent National Honor Society with - by the mid 1980's- fifty chapters,
status as a non-profit corporation in
Within the early 1990's TAK took another large
step by
becoming a "Related Scholarly Organization" of the American Academy of
Religion
(AAR, 1994), and - by the year of its 20th anniversary (1996) - had
grown to
include over 115 chapter representing a full range of diverse
institutions
offering both undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in these
fields
of study. By 1998 it had over 130 chapters, and had been granted
"affiliate society" status on the Council of Societies for the Study of
Religion (CSSR, 1998). By the end of 1999 it had over 140
chapters, had
amended its incorporation papers in preparation for an IRS 501(c) 3
application, and had become tax-exempt (
Purposes
As indicated in the new constitution of 1998, Theta Alpha
Kappa exists to encourage, recognize and help maintain excellence within the
academic study of religion and theology. It does this primarily by
recruiting and chartering local chapters in appropriate, qualified institutions
of higher learning - which chapters, in turn, exist to pursue these same
purposes in a local context through their various activities and the induction
of qualified students. Secondly, through its Journal and other programs,
TAK seeks to pursue these purposes within a national and (hopefully in future)
an international context.
TAK is held to high standards in supporting and recognizing
these scholarly pursuits by its status as a member society in the ACHS, as a
related scholarly organization of the
Governance
Theta Alpha Kappa is governed by a national Board of
Directors and - in turn - by a member-approved constitution which establishes
and legitimizes its most fundamental policies and procedures. While the
size of this Board is flexible, it currently consists of four officers (President,
Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer), three at-large representatives (of local
chapters), and a Board-appointed editor of the Journal of TAK. Officers
and representatives are elected from among candidates nominated by the
continuing individual members of TAK. The Board regularly solicits
nominations to fill these positions from this active membership and from the
members chapters.
The Board of Directors is further organized around its two
standing committees - the Executive Committee (officers and editor) and the
Nominating Committee (appointed by the Board) - and its other ad hoc committees
as determined necessary by the Board (e.g. a new chapter application/admission
committee, a publications committee, a finance committee, etc.). The rights
and duties of the two standing committees are found in Article V, Section 3 of
the Constitution; and further reference to the Nominating Committee is found in
Article V, Section 2 of the Constitution and in the "Time-Line" on pp.5-7 of
this document. However, the operations of the Nominating Committee are
sufficiently unique and important to warrant special mention here.
Nominating Committee: Four Board-appointed members make up
the Nominating Committee, at least two of whom must be current members of the
Board of Directors. The terms of these members (collectively or
individually) are determined by the Board, but how the Committee organizes
itself is left to its own members. (It is highly recommended, however,
that the Committee select a Chairperson whose job it should be to see that the
Committee does its work.) Very briefly, the Committee's duties are as
follows: 1) with the Board's help, to facilitate the solicitation of
nominations for upcoming vacancies on the Board (a process needing completion
before the time of the annual spring Board meeting), 2) to review nominees for
eligibility and 3) to make recommendations concerning potential candidates (in
ranked order or not), the Committee needs to 4) check candidate availability
and create a final slate of nominees, 5) see that the TAK membership is
notified of its recommendations and that proxy votes are invited, and 6) see
that the recommendations are brought to the Annual Meeting for its action.
Insofar as possible, Nominating Committees charged to bring
nominations to any given (fall) Annual Meeting should be appointed ca 18 months
prior (Spring Board meeting of the previous year) in order to give them ample
time and opportunity to carry out their duties.
Awards and Recognitions Committee: While not a
constitutionally created committee, this committee’s work is sufficiently
important to be described here:
Chaired by a Board-appointed member-at-large for a term to
be specified by the Board, the committee is additionally made up of the
secretary, treasurer, and editor, and it has broad responsibilities for all
awards, prizes, and forms of recognition. Its specific job is to make
recommendations to the Board for the operations of all current awards and
prizes (including the annual nomination of a Connolly-Weinert winner and the
determination of the annual Graduate Fellowship winners), and for the creation
of new awards and/or methods of recognizing people (whether students, alumni,
or faculty leadership) for work well done.
Annual Meeting: While information and input into the Board's
activities is regularly solicited from chapters and individual members,
the one formal occasion for members to vote on Board recommendations or discuss
Board policies and procedures is the Annual Meeting of the TAK membership –
currently being held annually in conjunction with the national meetings of
AAR/SBL in late November. All individual members, and especially those
members representing local chapters, are encouraged to attend and to take an
active role in this governance opportunity. Notification concerning the
place, time, and agenda of such meetings goes out to all members in September
or October.
Finances/Dues/Fees
TAK works within a relatively modest annual budget of
$50,000. The vast bulk of the income is from new chapter charter fees,
annual chapter dues, individual member induction fees and annual active member
dues (fees and dues structures are described below). Expenses are
primarily incurred in the publication and mailing of the Journal (JTAK),
office-related expenses related to the work of the officers of the Board,
travel expenses to Board members on TAK business, and miscellaneous prizes and
awards. TAK is a non-profit organization, and all Board positions are
unpaid and monetarily uncompensated. (A treasurer's report is offered at
the Annual Meeting for members’ information.) Having recently (1999)
become a tax-exempt, 501(c)3 organization, tax-deductible contributions will
increasingly be important.
Chapter Fees and Dues: a one-time only charter fee of $150
is required of new chapters seeking a charter to induct members in the TAK name
as a member chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa. Subsequently, and starting with
the next fiscal year after such chartering has taken place, all chapters are
required to pay an annual chapter dues of (according to institution size
category) $50 (small, total institution enrollments of fewer than 1,700), $75
(medium, enrollments between 1,700 and 4,000), and $100 (large, enrollments
over 4,000). As indicated in the revised 1998 constitution of TAK, and on
p.8 below, chapters that fail to pay annual dues may be subject to
inactivation.
Payment notices for chapter dues will be sent to Chapter
Representatives in the Fall of any given fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) for
payment in that fiscal year. Both the amount and the procedures for
collecting such payments are subject to change as determined by the Board.
Individual Member Fees and Dues: As of September 1, 1998,
all new, individual members being inducted into TAK via the local chapter are
required to pay Theta Alpha Kappa an induction fee of $25 - a fee which, while
payable to TAK, may be paid through the good offices of the local chapter or
directly to TAK as determined by the local chapter. Such an induction fee
must be understood as distinct and separate from any induction fee charged by
the local chapter for its own purposes (if such a local induction fee is
charged at all). Induction fees provide one full year (the year
subsequent to induction) of full "active" status. (See below for an
explanation of "active" membership, and its relationship to "permanent"
membership.)
Once inducted, and after the year subsequent to induction,
members may continue their active status by payment of an annual dues of
$20. This payment, and the active status it brings, allows members to
receive a free subscription to the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, and
financially support the work of TAK on behalf of education and scholarship
related to Religious and/or Theological Studies. ("Lifetime members," as
defined by the Board of Directors, are considered active members without
payment of annual dues. See #4 in the next section below.)
The voluntary payment or not of annual dues does not affect
a member’s original and permanent membership in TAK, but rather signals the
member’s on-going interest in and willingness to actively support the work of
TAK. Members who may not have previously paid any annual dues, or have
discontinued such payments, may start (or restart) in any given year by
notifying the Secretary indicated at the end of this document.
Endowment Fund: TAK is working on the development of an
Endowment Fund - the earnings of which will be devoted further to encouraging
and rewarding student work in these academic disciplines.
Board Member Travel Expenses: Within the following
limitations or exceptions, Board members will normally be reimbursed in full
for travel related to TAK and/or Board of Directors' business.
Exceptions/limitations include but are not necessarily limited to: 1) personal
automobile use will be reimbursed at $.20 per mile; 2) fall meeting
(AAR/SBL-related) trips will be limited to a one-day per diem of $200,
and travel will be covered if not already funded by the home institution
or other source). The treasurer may make decisions about and exceptions for
this policy as need arises, but all such decisions and exceptions are subject
to Executive Committee or Board approval as any Board member may request.
Programs of the Board
The programs or activities of the Board that most directly
relate to fulfilling the purposes of TAK include the following:
1. Chartering
Chapters: It is TAK's primary job, in the pursuit of its purposes, to recruit,
charter, and maintain local chapters who, in turn, work directly with students
and others in encouraging and recognizing excellence in these studies. By
its own constitution, and by its membership in ACHS, TAK is authorized to
charter chapters and induct - through those chapters - individual members in
its own name and that of ACHS. (See below for further information on
chapters.)
2.
Communications/Publications: The Board communicates with the chapter
and
individual membership in a number of ways, including but not limited to
a) the
regular publication and dissemination (to active individual members and
selected libraries) of the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, b) the
semi-annual "President’s Newsletter" sent to chapters via Chapter
Representatives, c) dues
notices to chapters and individuals, and d) periodic requests to
chapters
and/or individual members for information updates, nominations for
positions on
the Board, nominations for a variety of awards and prizes (see below),
and for
help in generating the submission of articles to JTAK for possible
publication.
Among these communications, the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa
is an important and substantive link between the Board and the active
membership (chapters and individuals) since it both disseminates information
about Board activities and the scholarly work of members, and receives
information about chapter activities and submissions of scholarly work for
publication and/or prizes.
3. Annual
Meeting/Reception: TAK holds an Annual Meeting of the membership, together with
a reception, normally in conjunction with the annual meetings of the
4. Award
and Prizes: The Board sponsors a number of awards and prizes honoring
excellence in work related to the purposes of TAK. These awards and
prizes include a) the Albert Clark prizes (established in 1996 to honor our
founding president) for an outstanding undergraduate and graduate essay/paper
(a cash prize plus promise of publication in JTAK), b) the Kathleen
Connolly-Weinert Leader-of-the-Year award (established in 1990 to honor a
former Board member who met an untimely death), c) the National Dean's List
(NDL) award for an outstanding student of religion (a cash prize) and d)
lifetime membership for those who have served at least one full term on the
Board of Directors, and/or have been selected as a Leader-of-the-Year by the
Board, e) the annual undergraduate achievement award given to eligible
students as nominated by their chapters, f) the annual graduate
fellowship award, and g) see #7 in this section. Separate procedures are
in place, outside the purview of this document, for the implementation of these
awards and prizes. (Cf. Awards and Recognitions Committee above.)
Additionally, and to chapters as well as new inductees, TAK
offers certificates of membership and, for a small price, miscellaneous
honorific regalia such as TAK pins and honor cords. Particularly to
student inductees, TAK offers a nomination to the NDL program for a listing in
that program’s "who’s who" annual volume. (The current treasurer of TAK,
listed at the end of this document, can provide further information about TAK
pins and honor cords.) (See more on NDL at #2.C in the following section.)
5. The
Board may offer services of one sort or another to member chapters as requests
come in. For example, chapters may use, for a one-time fee of $75, the
Society's mailing list(s) for purposes that the Board approves as relevant to
its mission in promoting educational programs for the membership. In like
manner, TAK is currently working on the development of a web-site for the
dissemination of information, and possibly for the creation of data banks with
helpful information such as graduate programs in religion or theology.
6. The
Board manages a website at http://www.ThetaAlphaKappa.net
which houses this and other documents, as well as information and forms useful
in the operations of the National Society and its local chapters.
7. Theta
Alpha Kappa seeks to sponsor or co-sponsor undergraduate panels at the regional
meetings of the
Major Board Activities: Time-Line
1.
January-March:
New Board terms begin July 1.
The Board and Nominating Committee are in the final
processes of soliciting the names of possible candidates for Board positions
starting the next July 1, and the Board is similarly in the process of
soliciting names of possible candidates for the Kathleen Connolly-Weinert
Leader-of-the-Year Award.
The Board President attends the annual meetings of the
Association of College Honor Societies.
The "President’s Newsletter," together with other relevant
notices of interest, goes out to Chapter Representatives. Among other
attachments, nominations/applications are solicited for the annual graduate
fellowship award.
Chapter- and student- eligibility for receipt of the annual
Undergraduate Achievement Award is determined, and nominations are gathered for
awards to be made.
2. April-May:
A spring Board (or Executive Committee) meeting is held,
with special concern for the Nominating Committee's report and identifying
candidates for Board positions (to be elected at the fall Annual Meeting), and
for creating any subsequent (future) Nominating Committee that may be needed.
The Editor solicits submissions of student work for the
Albert Clark prizes and for potential publication. The Spring issue of
JTAK goes out to all active individual members.
The Secretary receives the names of new inductees from
chapters, and submits students’ names to the NDL program for the latter’s
follow-through. (Follow-through entails notifying students of their
nomination and of the NDL’s scholarship program, and inviting students to submit
biographical information for its annual "who's who" volume entitled The
National Dean’s List.)
The Awards/Recognitions Committee conducts and carries out
the annual competition for the Graduate Fellowship award.
3. June-August
The Nominating Committee finishes its work in preparation
for proposing a slate of candidates to the membership for voting purposes at
the Annual Meeting. (Voting on this matter may include soliciting proxy
votes from the membership to be voted at the Meeting by the designated holder
of proxies.) The subsequent Nominating Commitee for the following year
begins its work.
The Fiscal Year ends June 30 and the new one begins July 1.
New Board-member terms start July 1. (Regular terms run three
years)
4.
September-October:
The "President’s Newsletter," together with any other
relevant notices of interest, goes out, and it includes information about the
fall Annual Meeting/Reception, the slate of candidates being recommended for Board
positions, and (if need be) a call for proxy votes. The Newsletter goes
to Chapter Representatives, who, in turn, are asked to pass on such news as it
contains to the local membership.
The chapter dues payment notices, as well as the chapter
information forms, go out to Chapter Representatives for payment of the current
fiscal year’s dues.
The individual "active member" dues payment notices go out,
together with a note including information indicated in item 4.a above, or any
other notifications as deemed necessary.
The Board President attends the annual meeting of the
Council of Societies for the Study of Religion.
5.
November-December:
The fall issue of JTAK goes out, and it includes news from
TAK about the fall Annual Meeting (see 4.a above). The Journal is always
sent to current, active individual members, as well as selected libraries.
The fall Board meeting is held, and the Board - together
with the Nominating Committee - initiates the processes referred to in 1.b
above. In addition, nominations are received and decisions made about the
Kathleen Connolly-Weinert award winner for the next year. (That person is
asked to name a National Dean’s List winner.)
The Annual Meeting/Reception is held (normally in late
November in conjunction with the national meetings of the
The annual report to ACHS is submitted thereto by the
President.
Chapter Procedures
New and continuing local chapters must conform to the
policies and procedures articulated in the TAK constitution and in this TAK
Board of Directors' statement of procedures and policies. Beyond that,
there is considerable latitude in how they are organized, what activities they
sponsor, and how they go about their business. However, it might be
useful to highlight the following issues and procedures, and to remind chapters
that TAK has a "Chapter Handbook" (under separate cover) which expands on these
issues.
1. New
Chapter Application: Persons at eligible institutions who are interested in
forming a chapter should contact the Vice President listed at the end of this
document in order to receive further information and/or chapter application
instructions. Key questions related to applications include the nature of
the institution and its willingness to support/approve this action, the
adequacy of the program in religion or theology, the willingness to develop an
approved set of by-laws (or to affirm the national constitution), and the
payment of a charter fee and subsequent chapter dues.
2. Chapter
Organization/Leadership: The broad outlines of TAK's expectations in this area
are found in the "Chapter Handbook" and in Article IV of the national
constitution, with particular attention to Section 2. Perhaps most
important to the Board is the identification of a Chapter Representative who is
to be the primary liaison between the local chapter and the national
Board. This person, in addition to fulfilling the responsibilities
described in IV.2.B of the constitution, is important to the Board in
responding to its requests for information, chapter dues, and nominations to
fill Board positions, or for other honors, awards, or prizes. Otherwise,
the Board expects - but offers some latitude in - the
identification/appointment of local chapter officers.
While TAK expects the Chapter Representative to be a faculty
member who is also a member of the Society, this does not preclude the designation
by this person of someone else who will carry out these duties.
Similarly, the Board does not necessarily assume that this Representative (or
Chapter Contact) is an officer or moderator/advisor for the chapter (though
he/she may well be). The actual "leadership" of the chapter is left to
the decision of the local chapter, as is the decision about who may be officers
(e.g., faculty or students) or whether there is a "moderator" or "advisor," or
not. These are issues that may well be decided upon and written up for
preservation and continuity in a local set of by-laws.
3. Chapter
Activities: Again, the national constitution and the "Chapter Handbook"
indicate - in both specific and general terms - those activities that are
appropriate for chapters to sponsor, most importantly to include the selection
and induction of individual members. (See Article IV, Section 1; and cf.
Article III, Section 1.B for information on types of membership available, and
the criteria established for each.)
Beyond the annual induction ceremony (together, perhaps,
with a business meeting) chapters are free to sponsor (and raise/spend funds
relevant to) any number of activities which they may determine as important to
the underlying purposes of TAK for supporting and encouraging scholarly,
academic studies in these disciplines. Broadly speaking, these activities
might be categorized in terms of scholarly/academic (guest lectures, student
papers read and discussed, panel discussions, essay contests, etc.); social (student
clubs, receptions for relevant students, special trips or other basically
social gatherings as they encourage or reward such students in or for their
work); and community relations (sponsoring programs to bridge the gap between
“town and gown,” and to promote an understanding of and appreciation for the
academic study of religion or theology and its value for the larger community).
4. Chapters
in "Good Standing": The constitution of 1998, in Article III Section 2.B, lists
the general criteria chapters must meet in order to remain "active" and/or "in
good standing," and indicates that only those chapters meeting these criteria
may continue to induct new members. Beyond that, however, it also leaves
to the Board the responsibility for determining if and when chapters have
failed to meet these criteria, and how it will respond to such failures.
What follows, therefore, is the Board's policy and procedure for responding to
these failures.
Chapters that fail to pay annual dues for three consecutive
years will be considered "inactive" and “not in good standing." They will
not be able to induct new members in any subsequent years unless they go
through a "reactivation" process minimally to include an explanation
of their situation, the payment of a mutually agreeable arrears payment, and
Board approval.
Chapters that fail to pay annual dues beyond the
three-consecutive-year limit, and/or fail to live up to any other obligations
under the 1998 constitution, are subject - by Board action - to "deactivation"
by which they are not longer able to induct new members or call themselves a
chapter of TAK. Such chapters may "reactivate" only by a new application
to the Board for reinstatement - including but not limited to the payment of a
new charter fee. The chapter’s Greek letters, once assigned, will not be
reassigned to another chapter.
Chapters concerned about their status may contact the Vice
President indicated at the end of this document, and that officer will have the
authority to "negotiate" with - and inform chapters about - these
matters. When formal action has been taken by the Board for inactivation,
deactivation or reactivation, the Secretary will provide formal notification to
the chapter.
This Document:
This document is the policy and procedures statement of the
Board of Directors referenced in the national constitution
(V.3.C2;V.4A;VIII.3). It is a document designed to describe in greater
detail the de facto operations and procedures of the Board as currently in
force (and thereby regularly updated).
These policies and procedures are the purview of the Board,
and not subject to membership approval. The edition you are currently
reading is 2003-2004.
Current Members of the Board
President: Vivian-Lee Nyitray, University of California at Riverside
Vice President: R. Blake Michael, Ohio Wesleyan University
Secretary: Betsy Bauman, St. Norbert College
Treasurer: Robert Dunston, University of the Cumberlands
Representative #1: David Grant, Texas Christian University
Representative #2: Susan L. Graham, Saint Peter's College
Representative #3: Mark C. Mattes, Grand View College
Editor of JTAK: Leo H. Madden, Ohio Dominican University
The original version of this document was created and
approved by the Board in the Fall 1997 for implementation in January 1998.
Last update11/24/03 for use in 2003-2004.
Society Website Address: