Approved
by the ASMOSIA Executive Committee on 18 September 2003
ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF MARBLE AND OTHER STONES IN
ANTIQUITY
The name of this organization is the "Association for the Study of Marble and Other Stones In Antiquity" (hereinafter referred to as ASMOSIA).
Section 2. Location
ASMOSIA is an international organization with no fixed location. Because its members are widely scattered around the world, the organization shall conduct its business by both remote means and at meetings of the membership. These meetings shall be held, on a rotating basis, in the countries where members reside.
The mission of ASMOSIA shall be to promote the exchange of knowledge among its members in all fields related to the study of marble and other stones of art historical or archaeological interest. This exchange shall be accomplished through periodic Newsletters to members, meetings of the membership, and publication of the meeting transactions.
Section 4. Legal Status
ASMOSIA is a not-for-profit organization that operates exclusively for scholarly purposes. Because of its informal, international structure, it neither seeks nor requires official recognition from its members' countries for purposes of tax exemption or other governmental approvals.
Section 5. Limitations and Conflicts of Interest
No member shall receive monetary compensation for their service to ASMOSIA. Neither shall any member, nor their friends and relatives, receive, either directly or indirectly, any profit from their position within ASMOSIA.
Section 1. Dues
A prerequisite for membership in ASMOSIA is the payment of dues. The period of membership covered by a dues payment shall correspond to the time between two successive meetings. The amount of dues shall be set by a vote of the membership in the business session of a meeting. The Executive Committee shall reserve the right to excuse some members from paying dues where doing so would work an unreasonable hardship upon them.
Section 2. Members
Members of ASMOSIA in good standing shall be those persons who have paid their dues since the last meeting of the membership. Persons desiring to become members shall submit an application form to the Secretary. Applications shall be considered for approval twice yearly by the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Exclusions
The Executive Committee shall reserve the right to refuse membership to any individual who it deems ineligible for any reason including but not limited to professional misconduct.
Meetings of the membership (hereinafter referred to as simply the "meeting") shall be held every two and a half to three years, and successive meetings shall be, when possible, alternated between late Spring and early fall.
At each meeting, the Executive Committee shall convene in a special session to select the date, location and host for the next meeting, and also to consider plans for other future meetings.
The purpose of the meetings is to allow members and others in attendance to present scholarly papers on their research, and to engage in discussions of these papers and other research interests.
Section 2. Collection of Dues
If they have not done so previously, all participants in a meeting shall pay, along with the registration fee, dues, which will maintain them as a member in good standing until the next meeting. Members not attending the meeting shall be encouraged to pay their dues through either individual notices or general notices in the Newsletter.
Section 3. Business Session
During each meeting there shall be a special session for members in which matters relating to ASMOSIA's activities, finances and governance are considered. Notice of this session shall be provided to the membership at the beginning of the meeting. A quorum to conduct business shall be defined as the presence of at least one-half of the Executive Committee, including either the President or Vice President. Motions and candidates standing for election to councilorships shall be approved by a simple majority of all members present. Only the dues-paying members or those excused from paying dues by the Executive Committee are eligible to vote. In the event of a failure to achieve a quorum, members may continue the business session informally but without the power to approve motions or take other actions.
Manuscripts based on the papers presented at each meeting shall be published, provided they are original and of acceptable quality, by ASMOSIA in association with a commercial publishing company. The primary editor of the transactions volume shall be the person responsible for organizing the meeting in which the papers were presented. Additional editors may be drawn from the ASMOSIA membership as needed, and all matters relating to the publishing of the volume are subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.
Every effort shall be made to publish the transactions within two to three years of the meeting where the papers were presented. One copy of the transactions volume shall be given at no cost to each author or co-author who paid the full meeting fee. Copies will be sold at reduced cost to other registered meeting participants, and to unregistered authors and ASMOSIA members. A limited number of offprints of papers shall also be provided, at no cost, to each author or first co-author.
Section 1. Chief Administrative Officers
The chief administrative officers of ASMOSIA shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The duties and powers of these officers shall be as follows:
President: exercises general supervision over all the affairs of ASMOSIA, chairs the Executive Committee, and presides over the business sessions at meetings.
Vice President: assists the President with the activities of ASMOSIA. If the President is unavailable, the Vice President shall chair the Executive Committee and preside over the business sessions at meetings.
The President or Vice President may assume responsibility for organizing a meeting of the membership either during their term in office or prior to it, but this is not a requirement of the office.
Secretary: maintains the ASMOSIA membership rolls, handles all correspondence regarding membership matters, and records all motions made during the business session of a meeting.
Treasurer: manages ASMOSIA's funds, including depositing checks for dues payments and other contributions, issuing checks to cover operating expenses, and reporting to the membership on the organization's finances at the meetings.
Section 2. Honorary President and Advisors
Individuals serving in an advisory capacity and appointed by the Executive Committee shall, at times, include an Honorary President and Honorary Advisors. These positions are given to individuals in recognition of their outstanding past service to the organization. The Honorary President must be a living past president of ASMOSIA and the position shall be a lifetime appointment.
Councilors advise the President and other officers on matters pertaining to the operation of ASMOSIA.
Special Councilors: In the event that the President or Vice President is not responsible for organizing the next meeting, the person who has volunteered for this task, or the chairman of the local organizing committee, shall automatically become a Special Councilor. Organizers of past meetings also automatically become Special Councilors if not serving the organization in another position.
Elected Councilors: are elected by the membership at the business sessions of meetings.
Section 4. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is comprised of all officers (administrative and advisory) and Councilors. This group shall be responsible for general oversight of ASMOSIA's fiscal affairs and scholarly activities, and shall deal with all other matters as arise that do not fall within the purview of the individual officers. The President shall chair this committee with the Vice President assuming this role if the President is absent. The convening of either the President or Vice President together with both the Secretary and Treasurer (or their designated proxies), at least one advisory officer, and at least two councilors shall constitute a quorum. Only other members of the Executive Committee may be designated as proxies by an absent Secretary or Treasurer. Motions shall be approved by a simple majority of those committee members (including proxies) casting votes, and may be entertained at either meetings or, in between these times, by remote means. In the event of a failure to achieve a quorum, members may continue the session informally but without the power to approve motions or take other actions.
Section 5. Newsletter Editor and Web Site Manager
The duties associated with these positions shall be as follows:
Newsletter Editor: prepares and distributes at least one issue of the ASMOSIA Newsletter annually.
Web Site Manager: maintains ASMOSIA's world wide web internet site.
The Newsletter Editor and Web Site Manager are appointed and supervised by the Executive Committee, and shall serve until removed by this committee.
Section 6. Elections and Terms of Office
At every other
meeting of the membership, the business session shall also include the election
of two Councilors. These will serve until the second meeting after the one they
were elected in, a term of five to six years. In a special session at the same
meeting, but after election of the Councilors, the President, Vice President,
Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected by a simple majority of the Executive
Committee members present providing a quorum is present. These officers shall
serve for a period covering two consecutive meetings or five to six years.
Persons declared
Special Councilors shall hold these appointments for an indefinite period of
time and for as long as the Executive Committee wishes to continue them (see
Article IV, Section 8).
The Executive Committee shall function as a nominating committee for the purpose of preparing a slate of candidates for the administrative positions and councilorships. This slate shall be published in the ASMOSIA Newsletter prior to the meeting when the election is held. Between the time of this publication and the meeting, members of ASMOSIA may nominate other candidates for the position of Councilor. All nominated candidates for councilorships shall appear on the ballot together with, for each position, an empty slot for write-in candidates. Elections shall be held during the business session of every second meeting.
There is no limit to the number of terms an administrative officer or Councilor may serve. Each may be reelected to the same position or elected to a different position. An individual may hold two or more administrative positions simultaneously, with the exception of the presidency and vice presidency.
Section 7. Vacancies
A vacancy in the office of the President shall be filled by the Vice President. Vacancies among the other officers and Councilors shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee with the appointed individual serving the balance of the unexpired term.
Section 8. Removal from Office
Any officer or Councilor may be removed from their position by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. Grounds for removal shall include, but not be limited to, prolonged inactivity in ASMOSIA or within the field that is the focus of ASMOSIA's mission.
These By-Laws may be altered, amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the membership present at any business session of a meeting for which a quorum is present and providing prior written notice has been given to the membership.
ASMOSIA may be dissolved upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the membership present at any business session of a meeting for which a quorum is present. In the event of dissolution, all assets of ASMOSIA remaining after payment of all obligations shall be distributed to one or more not-for-profit organizations where it will be used exclusively for scholarly purposes.