ARTICLE I - Name and Purposes

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be the Auburn Chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Section 2: The purposes of the chapter shall be:

  1. the furtherance of the objectives of the national body of the association.
  2. the strengthening of cooperation between the faculties of this university and the administration in the solution of educational and research problems.
  3. the increasing of the contribution of the university to the welfare of the state.
  4. the improvement of student faculty relations.

ARTICLE II - Membership

Section 1: Membership in the chapter shall be determined by the provision of Article II of the constitution of the national association . A member shall be considered in good standing only if he/she has paid his national and local dues.

Section 2: Membership conveys the right to discuss and to vote upon matters under consideration by the chapter or national association and the right to hold office.

Section 3: The right to discuss, but not to vote upon matters of a local nature, may be extended to non-members at the discretion of the president and executive committee of the chapter.

ARTICLE III - Officers

Section 1: The officers of the chapter shall be president, president-elect, secretary and treasurer. Only active members are eligible for these offices.

Section 2: The president-elect shall be elected for a term of one year at the last meeting of the academic year. The secretary and the treasurer shall be elected for a term of two years at the last meeting of the academic year. The election of the secretary and the treasurer shall take place on alternate years.

Section 3: The president, with the advice and approval of the executive committee of the chapter, shall appoint a committee of three persons to present nominations to the meeting in which the election of officers shall take place.

Section 4: Further nominations may be made by members after the nominating committee has reported.

Section 5: If the president resigns or for any reason is unable to complete his/her term in office, the president-elect shall complete his/her term.

Section 6: If the president-elect, secretary, treasurer, or an elected member of the executive committee resigns or for any reason is unable to complete his/her term in office, the president shall, with the advice and approval of the executive committee, fill the vacancy by appointment pending an election to the office so filled at a regular meeting (except such a meeting as is provided for by Article VII, Section 5) held within two months of the occurrence of the vacancy. The procedure specified in Article III, Sections 3 and 4, shall apply to elections held according to the provisions of this section.

ARTICLE IV - The Duties of Officers

Section 1: The president shall:

  1. preside over the meetings of the chapter and encourage free and open discussion of all matters brought before the chapter.
  2. be an ex-officio member of all the committees of the chapter except the nomination committee.

Section 2: The president-elect shall:

  1. in the absence or during the incapacity of the president perform the duties of the president and so acting shall have all the president's rights and privileges.
  2. act as chairman of the committee on membership.
  3. perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the chapter or its executive committee.
  4. succeed to the presidency after serving one year as president-elect.

Section 3: The secretary shall

  1. keep a record of all the proceedings of the chapter and of its executive committee.
  2. assist the president-elect in keeping the membership list up to date.
  3. issue notices of the meetings of the chapter and of its executive committee.
  4. be responsible for the records, reports, correspondence, and other properties of the chapter.
  5. in the case of obsolete records, deposit them in the hands of a suitable agency (archives office) of the institution.

Section 4: The treasurer shall

  1. collect the local dues assessed upon the members by the chapter.
  2. disburse its funds on order of the chapter or of the president.
  3. render a financial report to the chapter at the last meeting of the academic year or on the call of the chapter.

ARTICLE V - The Executive Committee

Section 1: The Executive Committee of the chapter shall consist of the elected officers together with the immediate past president of the chapter and six other members elected from the active membership of the chapter.

Section 2: The elected members of the Executive Committee shall be nominated from the floor and elected at the spring business meeting at which time the other officers of the organization are elected. They shall hold office for a term of two years and shall be eligible for re-election. These terms will be staggered so that each year three members will be replaced. The widest possible representation of the different colleges and schools of the university should be sought; at a minimum, members of the Executive Committee shall represent three different colleges or schools.

Section 3: The Executive Committee shall

  1. act upon communications and instructions received from the national association.
  2. serve as the administrative board of the chapter.
  3. carry into effect the attitude and policies of the chapter as ascertained from or instructed by the membership at meetings of the chapter.
  4. receive and consider proposals and suggestions offered to it by an individual member or members.
  5. prepare the agenda and determine the time and place of the meetings of the chapter.
  6. secure the consent of the chapter in a regular or special meeting before making a major commitment concerning the chapter.
  7. appoint a chapter newsletter editor and a chapter web master.

Section 4: The majority of the members of the executive committee shall constitute a quorum.

Section 5: The editor of the chapter newsletter and the chapter web master will serve as an ex officio member of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE VI - Other Committees

Section 1: The committees of the chapter shall be of two kinds: (a) standing; and (b) special.

Section 2: A standing committee shall be one that is charged with duties of a more or less permanent nature, or likely to require attention over a period of more than one academic year. The following standing committee shall be established (a) committee on academic freedom and tenure.

Section 3:A special committee shall be one charged with duties not answering the description of those assigned to a standing committee.

Section 4: The appointment of committee members shall be by the president, with the approval of the executive committee.

Section 5: The chair of each committee shall file a report, signed by him/her and the members of the committee, with the secretary of the chapter within two weeks after the approval of the report by the chapter.

ARTICLE VII - Meetings

Section 1: (Amended October 2000) The members of the chapter shall meet at least once each semester not later than the tenth week of each Fall and Spring semester at a time and place designated by the president and at such other times as it may be considered advisable by the membership of the chapter.

Section 2: A quorum shall consist of the number present after due notice of a meeting has been sent to all members.

Section 3: A majority vote shall be sufficient for the election of officers and the transaction of the business of the chapter.

Section 4: All meetings of the chapter and its executive committee shall be conducted in accordance with the parliamentary practice prescribed in the most recent edition available in the university library of Roberts' Rules of Order.

Section 5: A special meeting of the entire membership of the chapter must be called by the executive committee at the signed request of one-tenth of the total membership or of the president. No business except that for which the meeting was requested shall be considered. Special meetings shall be subject to the provisions governing regular meetings of the chapter.

ARTICLE VIII - Constitution and By-Laws

Section 1: This constitution of the chapter may be amended at a regular or special meeting of the chapter, but such amendment shall go into effect only after having been read and approved at two regular meetings of the chapter. The necessary approval must be secured within one calendar year beginning with the day of the proposal of the amendment.

Section 2: A by-law may be proposed or amended at a regular or special meeting of the chapter, but shall go into effect only after having been read and approved at a subsequent regular meeting of the chapter. The necessary approval must be secured within six months of the day on which the by-law was proposed.

Section 3: All previous constitutions and by-laws of the chapter are hereby repealed.

Section 4: This constitution was approved, adopted, and became effective on May 18, 1966.

BY-LAWS AUBURN CHAPTER AAUP

[By-Laws passed January 23, 1968]

[Amended May 23, 1994 except where noted]

[Amended February 21, 2017]

By-Law No. 1 (Resolutions)

Resolutions are chapter statements of positions on issues. The statements are intended for distribution outside the chapter. They may influence public opinion of the AAUP and its Auburn Chapter. Hence, resolutions should be carefully constructed and should be consistent with the broad policies of the AAUP.

Procedure I

  1. Members wishing to have resolutions considered by the Auburn Chapter should submit the resolution to the executive committee at least four (4) days prior to the meeting at which the chapter would vote on the motion. Along with the proposal shall be a statement indicating its distribution. This provision will not prevent consideration of a resolution at any special meeting of the chapter.
  2. The executive committee should then circulate the proposal among the membership. The executive committee may circulate its comment on the proposal at the same time.
  3. The circulation of the proposal automatically places it on the agenda of the next voting session of the chapter.
  4. A simple majority of those voting will be needed for acceptance of the resolution.
  5. The executive committee is responsible for the publication and distribution of resolutions passed by the membership.

Procedure II (Emergency)

  1. The executive committee may call a special meeting of the chapter if in its opinion there is not time to follow steps in Procedure I.
  2. Any member wishing to submit a resolution at an emergency meeting must present it, in writing, to the secretary at the meeting. The proposed resolution shall indicate its distribution.
  3. When the secretary receives the resolution, he/she will then notify the president that a member wishes to present said resolution for discussion and action.
  4. The president will then call for a reading of the resolution by the secretary. If possible the resolution should be displayed visually.
  5. After discussion the members present will vote on the proposed resolution. A two-thirds majority will be needed for acceptance of the resolution.

By-Law No. 2 (Standing Committees)

Each of the standing committees of the chapter, with the exception of the Executive Committee, shall be composed of a minimum of three members appointed by the Chapter President for a term of two years. If a person cannot complete his/her appointment, a replacement will be appointed by the Chapter President to complete the unexpired term.

By-Law No. 3 (Standing Committees)

The chairman of the standing committee will be appointed by the chapter president. Such an appointment will be for one year.

By-Law No. 4 (Standing Committees)

Resolutions are chapter statements of positions on issues. The statements are intended for distribution outside the chapter. They may influence public opinion of the AAUP and its Auburn Chapter. Hence, resolutions should be carefully constructed and should be consistent with the broad policies of the AAUP.

  1. The committee reports will be incorporated into the minutes of the chapter meetings.
  2. The responsibilities of the individual standing committees of the Chapter are:
    1. Academic Freedom and Tenure
  3. To become familiar with all aspects and questions arising from the possible denial of academic freedom and tenure.
  4. To educate the academic community as a whole on the issues of academic freedom and tenure.
  5. To review chapter policies concerning operations of the chapter in the area of academic freedom and formulate recommendations when changes are needed.
  6. To advise individual faculty members and students on issues involving academic freedom and tenure.
  7. To advise the university administration through the executive committee on issues involving academic freedom and tenure.
  8. The national organization of the AAUP is responsible for formal investigations of alleged violations of the accepted rules covering academic freedom and tenure, the chapter committee has no formal investigative or judicial powers.

By-Law No. 5 (Chapter Dues)

The Auburn Chapter shall levy annual dues of ten dollars ($10.00) from each member in the chapter except graduate students. The fiscal year will run from October 1 to September 30 of the following year.

By-Law No. 6: E-Mail Voting (Adopted 10-10-01)

Section 1

The Executive Committee, polled in person, by telephone, or by e-mail by the President, will determine when a resolution or motion will be put to an e-mail vote of the membership. This bylaw does not replace By-Law No.1 (Resolutions), Procedure I, but can be used in place of By-Law No. 1, Procedure II (Emergency).

Section 2

  1. Upon request by any member of the Executive Committee, the President or Secretary will poll the members of the Executive Committee to determine the applicability of an e-mail vote. The vote will occur if a simple majority of the Executive Committee and officers agree.
  2. The resolution or motion that has received a second within the Executive Committee will be reduced to writing and circulated via the AAUP Auburn Chapter electronic listserve, with a notice giving the time limits for discussion and voting.
  3. Each voter will cast a ballot by separate message to the Secretary who will tally the votes at the end of the allotted time period. After announcing the results, the Secretary will destroy all votes as thoroughly as possible.
  4. Absentee votes may be cast electronically by simple message to the Secretary- for elective offices or business published in a chapter meeting agenda. The deadline to vote absentee will be 5 p.m. of the day prior to the meeting. Secretary- will tally the votes and report totals to the President as appropriate. Secretary- will retain a list of those who have voted electronically so they may not vote again.