Prepared by Kathy McCoy on behalf of the
Executive
Committee
3/16/2000; ratified 10/5/2000
6/01/02; amended election procedure ratified
10/30/05; positions of past-secretary and past-treasurer ratified
ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS
CONSTITUTION
I. NAME
Association for Computational Linguistics
II. PURPOSES
The purposes of the Association are:
- To promote research and development activities in the field of
computational
linguistics.
- To promote cooperation and information exchange among related
professional
and technical societies.
- To represent computational linguistics to foundations and
government
agencies
worldwide.
- To provide information on computational linguistics to the
general
public.
III. MEMBERSHIP
- Membership is open to any person with an interest in
computational
linguistics.
- All members receive the regular publications of the Association
(including
the Association's journal). All members may submit papers for
presentation
at meetings of the Association. All members may participate in the
Annual
Business Meetings of the Association, may vote in Association
elections,
and may hold office in the Association.
- There are four main classes of membership: regular, student,
retired,
and
joint members. Student, retired, and joint members are eligible for
reduced
dues rates. To qualify for the student rate, a person must be taking a
full-time program of courses and not earning a regular income. However,
students who do not qualify for the student rate, but who are enrolled
at a university in a degree program and taking some classes, may still
be eligible to participate in student activities. Members who are
retired
and no longer earning a regular income are eligible for a reduced
retired
dues rate. Couples who have the same mailing address may become joint
members
and pay less than twice the full rate for their class; if they do not
belong
to the same class, they pay at the rate appropriate for the higher
class.
Joint members will receive only one set of publications, but each will
be eligible for all other member benefits.
- Dues for each calendar year are payable upon receipt of a dues
statement.
Members in arrears will be dropped from membership.
- Distinguished scholars in the field may be elected Fellows of the
Association
by members at the Annual Business Meeting, upon recommendation by the
Nominating
Committee to the Executive Committee. The number of living Fellows
shall
not exceed twenty-five; no more than three may be selected in any year.
IV. BUSINESS MEETING
- There shall be an Annual Business Meeting of the Association,
with
notice
mailed to the membership at least two months before the meeting date.
V. OFFICERS, ADMINISTRATION, AND ELECTIONS
- The officers of the Association shall be: a President, a
Vice-President,
a Vice-President-elect, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The President,
Vice-President,
and Vice-President-elect represent a succession of offices each held
for
1 year. The Vice-President-elect is elected by the members of the
Association
for a 1-year term. The next year, subject to confirmation of the
executive
committee, the person holding the Vice-President-elect position will
become
the Vice-President, and the one holding the Vice-President position
will
become the President. In cases where an individual does not fulfill
his/her
succession through the offices, a replacement will be appointed by the
Executive Committee until the 1st of January after an
election
can be held to fill the vacancy (where appropriate). The Secretary and
the Treasurer are elected by the members of the Association for a
five-year
term, and may not hold office for more than two such terms. At
the end of the term(s) of office of the Secretary and Treasurer, they
will assume respectively the one-year positions of Past Secretary and
Past Treasurer in order to provide for continuity in the handling of
the association's business. The executive
Committee may appoint an Associate Secretary and/or Associate
Treasurer,
to hold office for a period of up to two years; this appointment may be
renewed once.
- The administration of the Association shall be the responsibility
of
the
Executive Committee, which consists of the Officers, the Editor in
chief
of the Association's Journal, the immediately Past President, the
immediately Past Secretary and/or the immediately Past Treasurer during
the year immediately following the election of a new Secretary
and/or Treasurer, the Chairs
of the Association's Chapters, and three members elected for terms of
three
years by the members of the Association. If vacancies occur, the
Executive
Committee shall appoint replacements serving until the first of January
after elections can be held to fill those vacancies. An Associate
Secretary
and Associate Treasurer may be made non-voting members of the Executive
Committee. The President of the Association shall chair the Executive
Committee
for the one year of his or her tenure. The Treasurer is empowered to
deposit
and disburse funds and to enter into contracts as appropriate to
conduct
the business of the Association. The Treasurer shall deliver a written
Annual Financial and Membership Report, to the Association by the end
of
each year.
- There shall be an Annual Executive Committee Meeting.
- The Executive Committee shall (a) determine the place and time of
the
Association
meetings and appoint members to be responsible for organizing its
programs
and for local arrangements; (b) select or approve the editors of any
publication
sponsored by the Association; (c) appoint members to various positions
and form committees to assist in conducting the activities of the
Association;
(d) fix the annual dues of the Association; (e) fix registration fees
for
meetings; (f) negotiate subscription and advertising rates for the
publications
of the Association; (g) be responsible for a review of the Treasurer's
Financial and Membership Report before this report is presented to the
Annual Business Meeting; (h) charter Chapters of the association,
revoke
the charter of any such Chapter if it no longer serves the objectives
of
the Association, and appoint inaugural officers and committees of such
Chapters; (i) oversee Special Interest Groups of the Association; (j)
fix
the times of the Annual Business Meeting and Annual Executive Committee
Meeting.
- There shall be a Nominating Committee consisting of the three
most
recent
Past Presidents, each serving for the three years following their own
Presidency.
The member whose term is about to expire shall chair the Committee. In
case of a vacancy the Executive shall appoint a member to serve for the
appropriate period.
- There shall be an Accounts Scrutiny Committee consisting of the
immediately
Past President and an elected member of the Executive Committee, the
latter
serving for one year. The duty of the Committee is to consider the
Treasurer's
Annual Report and to review the financial state of the Association, in
preparation for the Annual Executive Committee Meeting.
- Elections shall be conducted as follows: the Nominating Committee
shall
nominate (normally two) people who are willing to serve in each
position
to be filled at an annual election. The Secretary shall announce these
nominees at the annual meeting (normally held during the summer), post
their names on the Association web site, and invite the membership to
submit
additional nominations. Additional nominations will be
accepted
by email, starting immediately after the conference and ending one
month
later, provided that two members of the association second each such
nomination
and provided that evidence is presented that such a nominee will serve
if elected. Nominees will be given at least two weeks to
provide
a statement of their vision for ACL; these vision statements will be
posted
on the web site for viewing by the membership. After the
nomination
and posting of vision statements, the Secretary will mail a ballot
containing
the final list of nominees for each position, along with information
about
the URL containing the vision statements, to the membership. Voting
will
be performed in a manner specified in the ballot, which manner will be
open to all members of the Association, secret, verifiable, and
overseen
by an executive committee member (normally the Secretary) who is not
running
for office, and who is acceptable to all nominees. Any nominee
receiving
the most votes cast will be declared elected at the Annual Business
Meeting.
Should no candidate receive a majority of the votes cast, subsequent
ballots
will be held until one candidate receives a majority. Those elected
shall
take office on the first of January following the vote and serve until
succeeded. In the event that the annual meeting is not held
during
the summer, the Executive Board may vote to alter the timing of the
election
for that year.
VI. AMENDMENTS
- Amendments to the Constitution shall be instituted as follows.
Proposed
Amendments approved by a majority of the Executive Committee or
proposed
by not less than ten members shall be put before the membership for
consideration.
Notification of proposed amendments shall be mailed by the Secretary to
the membership at least two months prior to a vote on the matter.
During
the first month after notice, the proposed amendment shall be open for
discussion among the membership. After the 1-month period, if the
proposers
do not retract the proposed amendment, the Secretary will mail a ballot
including comments designated by members for public distribution to the
membership. Voting will be performed in a manner specified in the
ballot,
which manner will be open to all members of the Association, secret,
verifiable,
and overseen by the Secretary. The amendment shall be ratified if
approved
by a majority of those members voting.