NASA is indexed in ISI web of Knowledge, Current Web Contents
Bylaws of the National Association of Student Anthropologists
a Section of the American Anthropological Association
(as published in NASA's Bulletin Vol II No 3)
As revised effective July 1, 1999


ARTICLE I. Name
1. The Section shall be known as the National Association of Student Anthropologists (NASA), a Section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA).


ARTICLE II. Purpose
1. Its purpose shall be to stimulate and encourage the interests and involvement of both graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology.


ARTICLE III. Powers
1. The Section shall be autonomous in all matters of student concern that are not reserved by the Bylaws of the AAA, inimical to the AAA's interests, or prohibited by law.

2. The Section shall have elected or appointed officers as set forth in these bylaws.
3. The Section is empowered to determine membership dues.
4. The Section shall determine voting requirements on all Section matters.
5. The Section may engage in publishing and program activities, appoint editors, committees and other agents, and set publication and program policies appropriate to its purposes.
6. The Section shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure consistent with the AAA Bylaws. The Section shall file with the AAA Secretary a copy of its current Bylaws, Rules of Procedure and Table of Organization.

ARTICLE IV. Membership
1. Membership in the Section shall be open to any student in good standing with the AAA who supports the above purposes subject to the payment of dues stipulated by the Executive Committee of the Section.

2. A Member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in the scientific program, receive publications and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Section.
3. Students shall remain Members of the Section as long as they maintain student membership status in the AAA.
4. Should an Executive Committee Member cease to meet AAA student membership criteria during their term of office, then they shall be allowed to continue as a Section member until the next regularly scheduled election.
5. For just cause, a Member may be deprived of membership by two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee, subject to appeal to the Members at the Annual Meeting.

ARTICLE V. Dues
1. The Executive Committee shall set the annual dues of Members and may establish rates for special categories.

2. Any Members in arrears in the payment of dues shall lose all membership privileges.

ARTICLE VI. Officers
1. The Officers shall be President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Editor.

2. The President shall be the presiding officer of the Section and, should the Section be entitled to such representation, its first representative on the Board of Directors of the AAA and its representative on the Executive Committee of the AAA. The primary duties of the President shall be to assure the external affairs of the Association and to chair the Executive Committee.
3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall have charge of the records of the Section and shall submit a draft budget for the approval of the Executive Committee not less than sixty (60) days before the Annual Meeting. Each Officer will have one vote in matters involving the Executive Committee. The terms of all officers shall be two years, commencing at the end of the Annual Meeting of the AAA.

ARTICLE VII. Executive Committee
1. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the officers, the President-Elect, and four members elected at-large from the membership of the Section.

2. The four members elected at-large will consist of two graduate students and two undergraduate students. This designation will be determined by student status at the time of election to the Executive Committee. All members of the Executive Committee will have one vote each in matters involving the Executive Committee.
3. Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the Members of the Section, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the Section all powers and functions defined by these Bylaws.
4. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once annually, at the time of the Annual Meeting and may meet additionally on the call of the President or a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
5. The Executive Committee shall make all non-elective appointments and may make interim appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office until the next regularly scheduled election.
2003 Article Amendment:
6. The terms of office of all Executive Committee members shall be two years, except for the President-Elect, who will serve one year as President-elect and one year as President. All terms of office will commence at the end of the Annual Meeting of the AAA.


ARTICLE VIII. Annual Report
1. At the time of each Annual Business Meeting, the Executive Committee shall report its activities to the members and to the Board of Directors of the AAA. The report shall include the reports of the Secretary-Treasurer, editors of the publications, committees and other agents representing the Section.

ARTICLE IX. Meetings
1. The Section shall hold an Annual Business Meeting at the time of the Annual Meeting of the AAA.

2. The place and date of the Annual Meeting shall be disclosed to the Members not less than one hundred twenty (120) days in advance of the meeting.
3. The Executive Committee shall appoint a Program Chair who shall organize the scientific program of the Section.
4. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee or upon written request of five (5) percent of the Members.

ARTICLE X. Quorum
1. Five (5) percent of the Members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Business Meeting.

2. A majority of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.
3. The business of the Section shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided by these Bylaws.

ARTICLE XI. Nominations and Elections
1. Candidates for any elective office may be nominated by the Executive Committee, by the Nominations Committee, or by the Members. All candidates shall be Members in good standing of the Section.

2. A Nominations Committee of three (3) members shall be elected by a majority of the membership. The terms of office shall be two years and terms will commence at 9 o'clock pm, on the third day of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.
3. The Nominations Committee shall nominate two (2) persons for each vacant office. However, if the Nominations Committee is unable to identify and nominate two (2) persons for each vacant office it will be empowered, in consultation with NASA's Executive Committee, to submit to the AAA Executive Director a slate which may include some or all offices for which there may be only one (1) candidate. If no candidates are identified or nominated by the Nominations Committee, then the Executive Committee of NASA shall act according to Article VII Section 5 of the Bylaws. When possible, these nominations shall be made known to Members at least one hundred (100) days before the Annual Meeting.
4. Five (5) percent of the Members in good standing may nominate an additional candidate for any office, provided the nomination is received in writing by the Secretary at least ninety (90) days before the Annual Meeting.
5. The Secretary-Treasurer shall inform the prospective nominee of the probable extent of the burden of office. A nomination becomes effective only upon filing with the Secretary-Treasurer a statement of willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the Section as necessary to the effective execution of office.

ARTICLE XII. Balloting
1. A Member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or referendum.

2. Ballots shall be secret and enclosed in a signed envelope. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to examine the eligibility of any voter.
3. Thirty (30) days shall be allowed for the return of ballots. Ballots must be received by the Secretary-Treasurer not later than the stated returned date to be counted.
4. A service agency may be engaged to tally the votes and certify the results to the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE XIII. Referenda
1. A referenda may be conducted by mail ballot at any time upon initiation of the Executive Committee, or upon receipt by the Secretary-Treasurer of a petition signed by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. A majority of votes received shall constitute a favorable vote.


ARTICLE XIV. Finances
1. The fiscal year of the Section shall be that of the AAA.

2. The Section shall submit an annual operating budget to the AAA Board of Directors, which, when approved, shall govern Section activities.
3. The income from annual dues and from investments and other sources shall constitute a working fund, available for operating, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Section.
4. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Committee or by any officer on behalf of the Section except that for the purpose of this section, estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may be considered as available funds.
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5. The Section may establish special funds to be administered by the AAA for purposes the Section may designate.

2002 Article Amendment:
6. All members of the executive committee, including both incoming and outgoing officers who travel to meetings on official NASA business, shall be eligible for partial reimbursement of their travel costs. The executive committee, by majority vote, may declare specific other persons traveling on official NASA business to be eligible for reimbursement, as well. The amount of funding available for travel reimbursement each year shall be included in the annual budget, and may not exceed fifty percent of the total budgeted amount in any given year. The treasurer shall collect receipts for any legitimate travel-related expenses at the end of each fiscal year. Applicants for reimbursement must declare any outside sources of travel funding when submitting receipts. The reimbursement amount for each claim shall be equal, determined by dividing the number of eligible claims for reimbursement by the budgeted reimbursement amount. No person shall receive a reimbursement greater than the value of the receipts submitted, including outside sources of travel funding.
ARTICLE XV. Publications
1. The Anthropology Newsletter shall be the official newsletter of the Section.

2. The Section may initiate additional publications and appoint additional editors subject to the approval of the members.
3. The Section may initiate additional publications and appoint editors subject to the approval of the Members.

ARTICLE XVI. Liaison
1. The Section may establish a liaison with other organizations with overlapping objectives.


ARTICLE XVII. Amendment
1. These Bylaws may be amended by the Members by mail ballot, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.

2. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by five (5) percent of the Members in good standing. The Executive Committee shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow thirty (30) days for the return of ballots.
3. The amendments and provisions of these Bylaws shall be effective immediately upon adoption and shall supersede and nullify all previous amendments and provisions.

ARTICLE XVIII. Dissolution
1. The Section may decide, through a vote of its Members, to dissolve in accordance with the Bylaws of the AAA.
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