Constitution of the

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council

(As amended March 17, 1990, March 30, 2002, and March 29, 2003)

                                     

Article    I:         This organization shall be known as the Virginias Collegiate Honors Council, afterwards referred to as VCHC.

 

Article   II:         Mission

 

The mission of VCHC shall be:

 

1.         to provide a forum for sharing information about Honors programs;

2.         to provide students with greater opportunities for intercollegiate   Honors programs activities, including the opportunity for students to present their own research publicly in an academic setting;

3.         to collaborate with regional and national organizations which have similar goals;

4.         to encourage articulation between two- and four-year Honors programs;                  

5.         to increase public and private awareness of and fiscal commitment to Honors programs and projects.

6.         to work closely with SCHEV to encourage excellence in undergraduate education and to encourage the development of honors programs/colleges in all state institutions of higher learning;

7.         to work closely with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities to encourage excellence in undergraduate education.

 

Article  III:          Membership

 

Membership in VCHC shall consist of institutional and individual members who have paid dues.

 

Section 1:         Institutional members:  Any post-secondary institution with accreditation or recognized candidacy may hold membership and be eligible to send one voting representative to annual meetings.  Foundations and state and federal agencies are eligible for institutional membership.

 

Institutional memberships from multi-campus institutions shall be assigned in a manner determined by each institution.  If each campus has a separate Honors

Program, each program may pay dues and have an          institutional representative.  It will be the responsibility of the institution to certify to the VCHC secretary-treasurer if it desires to be treated as a multi-campus institution.

 

Section 2:         Individual members:  Faculty, students, administrators and other interested persons are eligible for membership.

                                     

Article IV:          Voting

 

Each individual member and each voting representative of a member institution shall be entitled to one vote in all transactions of VCHC, but no individual shall have more than one vote.

 

Section 1:         Only those institutions whose dues are paid before the annual meeting are entitled to a vote in the business of          VCHC.

                 

Section 2:         Only those individual members whose dues are paid before           the annual meeting are entitled to vote in the business of  VCHC.  Failure to pay dues on time does not restrict individuals from participating in the other activities of the annual meeting.

                 

Article V.           Quorum  

 

Twenty percent of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting announced 30 days in advance.

         

Article   VI:        Officers

 

The officers of VCHC shall be a President, a Faculty Vice-President, a Student Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, and members at-large.  At the first Executive Committee meeting after the election, officers will be informed of their duties.

 

Section 1:         The President shall be elected at the annual meeting from all eligible faculty members.  The term of office shall run from the conclusion of that annual meeting through the conclusion of the next annual meeting.  The President shall call for and preside over the meetings of VCHC and the Executive Committee, shall appoint members to committees, and shall appoint the following individuals to serve as ex officio (non-voting) members of the VCHC Executive Committee: a liaison to NCHC, SRHC, and other honors organizations; and a webmaven.  Other individuals will be appointed as deemed necessary.               

                       

Section 2:         The Vice-Presidents shall be elected at the annual meeting.  The term of office shall coincide with the term of the President.  The Faculty Vice-President shall preside over VCHC in the absence of the President.  The Faculty Vice-President shall co-chair the fall meeting of VCHC.  The Student Vice-President shall co-chair the spring meeting of VCHC.

                 

Section 3:         The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected at the annual meeting from all eligible faculty members.  The term of office shall be three (3) years.  The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep the minutes of the meeting of the VCHC, collect dues, maintain financial and membership      records, and perform such other duties as may be incidental to the office.

 

Section 4:         The Executive Committee members at-large shall be elected at the annual meeting.  The term of office shall be as described in Article VII, Section 2.

                 

Article   VII:       The Executive Committee

 

At the first Executive Committee meeting after the election, the Executive Committee members will be informed of their duties.

 

Section 1:         The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers of VCHC and six at-large members.  There shall be one faculty member and one student from two-year colleges, four-year private institutions, and four-year public institutions.  The past president shall be an ex-officio (voting) member of the Executive Committee for one year.

 

Section 2:         Student members at large will serve one-year terms; faculty          members at large will serve rotating two-year terms.

                 

Section 3:         No single institution shall hold more than one faculty and one student elected position on the Executive Committee.

                 

Section 4:         All persons on the Executive Committee must be individual members of VCHC.

 

Section 5:         The duties of the Executive Committee shall be:

 

1.         to advise the President of VCHC;

2.         to make policy decisions for VCHC except in those cases where that right has      been given to the whole membership (constitution, by-laws, dues, and election);

3.         to create and supervise the work of all other committees;

4.         to conduct such business as is necessary between sessions of VCHC;                                   

5.         to conduct any other activities which facilitate the mission of VCHC;

6.         to provide for a nominating process for election of officers;

7.         to fill vacancies in office until the next annual meeting.

 

Article VIII:        Meetings

 

Section 1:         VCHC shall hold an annual conference in the spring at a time and place determined by the Executive Committee.  Other meetings may be called by the President by majority agreement of the Executive Committee or if requested in writing by ten percent of the membership.

 

 Section 2:        There shall be a fall meeting at a time and place determined by the Executive Committee for faculty involved in Honors programs in Virginia.

 

Article   IX:        Amendments  

 

Any amendment to the Constitution shall be presented in writing to the membership at the beginning of the annual meeting and shall be voted on at that meeting.  Two-thirds of those present and voting must approve any amendment to the Constitution.  An amendment shall be effective immediately upon enactment.

 

Article  X:          Ratification

 

Ratification of the Constitution shall be by simple majority of those present             and voting at the first annual business meeting of VCHC.

 

Article   XI:        Bylaws

 

Section 1:         Bylaws shall be established as necessary for the transaction of the business of VCHC.

 

Section 2:         Changes in the bylaws shall be approved at the annual meeting of VCHC.  A majority of those present and voting is necessary to adopt a change.  A change shall be effective immediately upon enactment.

 

Bylaws

of the

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council

(As changed March 17, 1990, and March 30, 2002)

 

Article 1:           The annual dues for the institutional members are $35.00.

 

Article 2:           The annual dues for individual members are $10.00.

 

Article 3:           All committees and elected officers shall represent to the greatest extent possible the diverse constituencies of VCHC, including students and faculty.

 

Article 4:           The standing committees of VCHC shall be (A) the Program Committee and (B) the Bylaws Committee.  Other committees may be created by the Executive Committee.

 

Article 5:           Ad hoc committees may be created by the President.  An ad hoc committee shall last twelve months from the date of  its creation or until discharged from its duty by the President.  The President will provide the appointed committee chair a specific charge for the committee.

 

Article 6:           The Program Committee shall work with the co-chairs to develop a series of activities for the meetings of VCHC that recognize the diverse nature and interests of its members.

 

Article 7:           The Bylaws Committee shall review the VCHC Constitution and Bylaws, and recommend changes to the Executive Committee for possible recommendation to the annual meeting.

 

Article 8:           The ad hoc Nominations Committee shall nominate at least one candidate for each office to be elected at the annual meeting. This committee shall be appointed annually by the President.  The floor will be open for additional nominations. 

 

Article 9:           The ad hoc Scholarship Committee shall solicit and receive applications from interested juniors for the Howard Davis Scholarship.  This committee shall be appointed annually by the President.