Vagantes Constitution

Preamble

We, the founders, creators, and organizers of the Vagantes Conference, do hereby establish this Constitution, ratified on this day, March 22, 2003, in order that our purpose is realized to its fullest extent.

Article I. Purpose

This constitution establishes a Board of Directors whose duties are to oversee the Vagantes Conference, protect its integrity, and ensure its continuation.

Article II. The Board of Directors

1. The Board of Directors shall consist of eight (8) persons. These persons must be graduate students from an accredited university. Four (4) of these shall be elected directors, four (4) of these shall be ex-officio directors.

2. Four (4) of the directors are to be elected by the guidelines established below, and are responsible for general management and leadership of the Board. They shall be elected for a term of two (2) years, and may be re-elected as long as they are registered as graduate students.

3. Three (3) of the directors will be representatives of the three institutions who are involved with the process of hosting the Vagantes Conference representing, respectively, the host institutions of the previous, the present, and the following year. These directors will be selected in a suitable manner by the students of the three host institutions.

4. One (1) of the directors will be a member of the Graduate Student Committee of the Medieval Academy of America. It is the responsibility of the Graduate Student Committee to select this director and to do so in a timely fashion. This director will serve as liaison between the Board of Directors and both the Medieval Academy and its Graduate Student Committee. This director's term shall be determined by the length of their term on the Graduate Student Committee.

Article III. Election of Representatives

1. Elections will be held annually at the Vagantes General Meeting during the Vagantes Conference.

2. All elected representatives shall be elected by a plurality vote by all students attending the General Meeting.

3. At the General Meeting the Board of Directors will present a slate of candidates nominated for open positions on the Board.

4. One member of the Board of Directors, whose position is not up for re-election at the time, will take nominations from the floor. The nomination process will then be closed.

5. All nominated parties are allowed to vote.

6. All voting shall be conducted by secret ballot, or by a reasonable method determined at the meeting itself.

7. Newly elected representatives will assume office immediately.

8. If an elected representative receives his or her degree while in office and has less than one year remaining in his or her term, he or she may complete the term. Should said member have more than one year remaining, his or her office will be up for election at the next General Meeting for the period of time remaining in the original term.

Article IV. Duties

1. The Board of Directors will meet at least once a year. Should a member of the Board of Directors be unable to attend this meeting a proxy vote is acceptable. A quorum shall consist of five (5) Directors or their proxies.

2. At this meeting, the Board of Directors will to decide upon future locations for the Vagantes Conference, taking into account student interest, resources, and geographical diversity.

3. The Board will also maintain records concerning past conferences, advice, suggestions, etc. for the benefit of hosting institutions and will take overall responsibility for the maintenance of the Vagantes website, including publication of Vagantes business.

4. The Board is responsible for all decisions concerning the general oversight and continuation of the Vagantes Conference, though the annual conference itself is entirely the responsibility of the local institution.

5. The Board of Directors shall also be responsible for organizing and administering the general meeting.

Article V. Replacement of Representatives

1. Should any member of the Board of Directors become unable to continue his or her duties, he or she must inform all the members of the Board immediately.

a. If the said director is a representative of a host institution, he or she must be replaced by that institution immediately.

b. If the said director is an elected representative, his or her position shall remain vacant until the next election, at which point a new representative shall be elected. A replacement may be appointed by the Board of Directors until the next election.

c. If the said director is the liaison between the Board of Directors and the Graduate Student Committee of the Medieval Academy of America, the Graduate Student Committee of the Medieval Academy of America will be notified and requested to provide a replacement immediately.

2. Should it occur that, due to direct violation of the purpose of the Board of Directors, or through continuous and inexcusable negligence of the duties described therein, a director is determined to be unfit to continue in his or her capacity as representative, he or she will be notified by written statement signed by five (5) of the remaining members of the Board, requesting his/her immediate resignation. A director may be removed from office by unanimous vote of the other Directors.

Article VI. Amendments

1. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed to the Board of Directors in writing by any graduate student involved with the Vagantes Conference at least thirty (30) days before the General Meeting.

2. Any proposed amendment to the constitution will be voted on at the General Meeting before which it was proposed, and must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of those present, including half the Board of Directors in order to take effect.