Constitution & ByLaws
CONSTITUTION
The Name of the organization shall be: "Northeastern
Agricultural and Resource Economics Association."
- Purpose-The purpose of the Association is to
stimulate and promote education and research on economic
and social problems related to the production, marketing
and consumption of agricultural products; natural
resource use, the environment, and rural economic
development; and the interrelation of the agricultural
and rural sectors with the rest of the economy.
- Organization-The Association is organized as a
group of professional agricultural economists and other
persons interested in promoting the purpose of the
Association.
- Affiliation-The Association is officially affiliated with the American Agricultural Economics Association and its President shall serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the AAEA. The Association shall not be affiliated with any other institution, organization, or agency, either public or private.
Adopted June 24, 1974
Amended August 7, 1984
Amended June 22, 1993
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I. Membership
Section 1. General Membership
Any person interested in the purpose of the Association may become a member by payment of annual dues.
Section 2. Student Membership
Any college undergraduate or graduate student interested in the purpose of the Association may become a member by payment of annual dues.
Section 3. Honorary Life Membership
The Executive Committee of the NAREA shall confer Honorary Life Membership upon those duly recommended members in good standing of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association who have actively participated in the affairs of the Association and its predecessor organizations as appropriate, and who, while maintaining an active interest in their profession, have recently retired from their formal professional position that comprised the major reason for their initial involvement with the Association. Honorary Life Members shall have all voting rights and privileges of General Members, but shall be exempted from dues payment. Current Honorary Life Members shall be listed in the Journal annually.
Section 4. Distinguished Membership
The Executive Committee of the NAREA each year at its Fall
meeting shall select not more than three members from among
those duly nominated and recommended to receive the
Distinguished Member Award for the coming year. Eligible
candidates shall include all members of the Northeastern
Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in good
standing, irrespective of age, sex, and institutional
affiliation. Candidates may have teaching, research, extension,
administration, government, or business responsibilities or some
combination of these responsibilities. To be eligible, each
candidate must be nominated by a member in good standing and
that nomination must be co-signed by two additional members in
good standing. A member may receive this Award more than once.
Those members selected for the Award generally will have made
continuous and outstanding contributions to the Association, the
region and the profession. The Award will typically recognize
members for significant recent professional achievements in the
context of an overall meritorious record.
ARTICLE II. Meetings
Section 1. Annual Professional Meeting
An Annual Meeting of the Association shall be held at a time and location selected by the Executive Committee. Each Annual Meeting shall be sponsored by a host institution. The host institution shall be responsible for all local arrangements.
Section 2. Annual Business Meeting
An Annual Business Meeting of the Association shall be held at the time of the Annual Meeting.
Section 3. Executive Committee Meeting
The Executive Committee shall meet once a year prior to the Annual Meeting, but may meet more often. These meetings shall be called by the President.
Section 4. Standing and Special Committee Meetings
Meetings of standing and special committees shall be called
by the respective chairpersons.
ARTICLE III. Officers and Committees
Section 1. Officers
Officers of the Association shall comprise the President, six Directors, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Editor of the Journal, the Editor-Elect, and the Historian. These Officers shall serve without compensation from the Association. The President-Elect and two Directors shall be elected annually. The President-Elect shall accede to the Office of the President at the end of the Annual Business Meeting one year after the announcement of his or her election as President-Elect. The terms of the President, the President-Elect, and the Immediate Past President shall be one year. In a case where the President-Elect is unable to accede to the Office of the President and the Office of the President is otherwise vacant, the President shall be chosen by a special election, the results of which shall be announced at the earliest feasible time following the vacancy, consistent with all other provisions of the Constitution. In the interim, the Immediate Past President shall serve as Acting President. In the event that the Offices of President, President-Elect, and Immediate Past President are all vacated, the Executive Committee shall appoint one of its members to serve until the next Annual Business Meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a three year term. The Secretary-Treasurer may be appointed for a consecutive three year term by the Executive Committee but may not serve for more than two Consecutive terms. In the event the Secretary-Treasurer is unable to complete his or her term, the Executive Committee shall appoint an individual to complete the unexpired term of office. The Executive Committee shall appoint an Editor to serve for a period of three years. At the beginning of the Editor’s third year in office, the Executive Committee shall appoint an Editor-Elect. The Editor-Elect shall accede to the Office of Editor after the current Editor has published the Proceedings Issue of the Journal that was pending at the time that the Editor-Elect was appointed. The Executive Committee shall appoint a Historian to serve at their pleasure.
Section 2. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the Association shall consist of the President, the Immediate Past President, the President-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Editor and six Directors. No more than one Director shall serve from any one state. The six Directors shall be elected from the entire membership and shall serve three-year staggered terms. In the initial election the two Directors receiving the most votes will serve three year terms; the next two, two year terms; and the next two, one year terms. A Representative of the U.S.D.A. as jointly agree upon by the other members of the Executive Committee and appropriate individuals in the U.S.D.A. shall be appointed annually to serve in an Ex-officio, non-voting capacity. An Industry Representative, as agreed upon by the other members of the Executive Committee, shall be appointed annually to serve in an Ex-officio, non-voting capacity. The President and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association shall fill the same Offices on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee members shall serve without compensation from the Association.
Section 3. Duties of Officers
The President shall preside at business meetings of the Association and the Executive Committee and call meetings of the Executive Committee. The President-Elect shall be responsible for the planning of the program for the Annual Meeting. The Immediate Past President shall advise the President and President-Elect and serve as provided for in Article III, Sections 1, 5(c), 5(f) and 5(g). The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep a complete record of all business meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee, shall receive all dues and other income, shall keep the financial records of the Association, and shall conduct business correspondence of the Association. The Editor shall be responsible for the publication of the Journal. The Historian shall be responsible for maintaining the historical records of the Association and its predecessor organizations. He or she will disseminate information to the Association membership when deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee.
Section 4. Duties of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall conduct the affairs of the Association between Annual Meetings, and decisions shall be by majority vote of those present and voting.
Section 5. Standing Committees
The following Standing Committees shall function on a continuing basis and shall be constituted, appointed, and empowered as prescribed below:
(a) Awards Committees
i. The Distinguished and Life Member Awards Committee. This Committee shall be comprised of three members. The President shall appoint one member each year, except that he may appoint more when a member is unable to complete his or her term. Each member shall serve three years except in cases where appointment has been made to an unexpired term. The senior member shall serve as Chairperson. The Committee shall recommend to the Executive Committee all members to receive the Distinguished Member Award and the Honorary Life Member Award.
ii. The Master’s Thesis Awards Committee. The Committee shall be comprised of six members. The President shall appoint the members and the chairpersons as needed, with the understanding that each member normally serve 3 years. The senior member shall serve as Chairman. The Chairman of the Committee shall report the recipient of the NAREA Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award of Merit to the President at least 30 days before the beginning date of the Annual Meeting.
(b) Undergraduate Liaison CommitteeThe Undergraduate Liaison Committee shall be comprised of a faculty member from each of the departments of agricultural economics or equivalent that elect to participate, and not more than three at-large members, including an undergraduate student member. Members shall be appointed for renewable annual terms by the President on the advice of the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint a chairperson annually. The chairperson will appoint subcommittees as needed. The Committee shall develop and maintain active, continuous liaison between individual undergraduate students, student groups, association officers and members and relevant AAEA officers to ensure relevant and adequate professional programs and activities for undergraduate student members. From time to time, the Committee shall recommend to the Executive Committee and to the Association other actions that will further the purposes of the Committee and the Association.
(c) Program Committee
The Program Committee shall be comprised of the President, the President-Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Secretary-Treasurer and a representative of the host institution for the forthcoming annual meetings. The President-Elect shall chair this Committee. This Committee shall develop the program and the associated arrangements for the Annual Meeting and any other special meeting that the Executive Committee judges to be in the best interests of the Association.
(d) Editorial Board
The Editorial Board shall be comprised of the Editor and at least six other members, appointed annually by the Editor. The Editor shall chair this board. The board shall be responsible for developing, maintaining, updating, and executing the editorial policy of the Journal and other such publications as they may produce.
(e) Selected Papers and Symposia Committee
The Selected Papers and Symposia shall be comprised of a chairperson appointed to a one-year term by the President-Elect, and eighteen at-large members of the Association. Each year the President-Elect will appoint nine members to the committee for a two-year term. The President-Elect shall also appoint additional persons as necessary to replace Committee members who can not complete the second year of their term. (To initiate the Committee, the President and President-Elect both shall appoint nine members; those appointed by the President will serve a one-year term.)
The Committee shall review all papers postmarked by the deadline of March 15th (or an alternative date specified by the President-Elect) and select those papers to be presented at the Association meeting. Authors will be notified of the Committee’s decision by May 15th (or an alternative date specified by the President-Elect). The committee shall have two options for each paper submitted:
1. Accept for presentation:
2. Reject the paper.The Committee shall also review symposia proposals and select those to be presented at the Association meeting. Symposia topics must be postmarked by April 15 (or an alternative date specified by the President-Elect) to be considered by the Committee. Symposia leaders will be informed of the decision of the Committee by May 15th (or an alternative date specified by the President-Elect). The Committee shall also have the option to formulate symposia based on papers submitted for the selected papers program.
The Committee Chairperson shall assist the President-Elect and other members of the Program Committee in formulating the selected papers and symposia components of the Association meeting program.
(f) Finance Committee
The Finance Committee shall be comprised of three voting members. The Past President of the Association shall act as chair. The President shall appoint two members, one each year, except that more than one member may be appointed when a member is unable to complete the unexpired term. Each appointed member shall serve two years. The Secretary-Treasurer of the Association shall serve as a non-voting member. This committee shall receive, review, and recommend to the Executive Committee funding requests received from other committees and officers of the Association. It shall recommend methods to finance the operations of the Association.
(g) Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee shall be comprised of the Immediate Past President and two members appointed by the President. The Committee shall be chaired by the Immediate Past President. The Committee shall be responsible for developing a slate of nominees consisting of two candidates for each office to be elected by the membership and shall serve as Tellers for the mail election of officers.
(h) Audit Committee
The Audit Committee shall be comprised of three members appointed by the President. All members of the Committee shall be located at the same institution as the Secretary-Treasurer. The Committee shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Agricultural Economics Department or its equivalent. The Committee shall be responsible for certifying to the Association the accuracy of the record of receipts and expenditures and that all expenditures are consistent with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association.
(i) Membership Committee
The Membership Committee shall be comprised of three members. The President shall appoint one member each year, except that he may appoint more when a member is unable to complete his or her term. Each member shall serve three years except in cases where appointment has been made to an unexpired term. The senior member shall serve as Chairman. The Committee shall recruit new members for the Association and promote NAREA membership in and outside the northeast region.
Section 6. Special Committees
Special committees appointed as needed on a temporary basis may be set up by the Association at the Annual Business Meeting or by the Executive Committee. Each special committee shall make a report at the Annual Business Meeting.
ARTICLE IV. Publications
Section 1. Journal
The Association shall publish a Journal – Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. The Spring Issue shall contain member papers and be published about March 1. The Fall Issue shall contain member papers and invited papers from the Annual Program. Member papers presented in both issues will be subjected to editorial review. It shall be the responsibility of the Editor to prepare the Journal and distribute it to all members of the Association and to subscribers.
Section 2. Other Publications
The Association may, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee and when authorized by the members, publish news notes or other regular or periodic publications or journals and mail them to all members. Costs of preparation and mailing shall be borne by the Association.
ARTICLE V. Voting and Election of Officers
Section 1. Voting Rights
All persons holding Membership in the Association shall be
entitled to vote.
Section 2. Election of Officers
The Nominating Committee shall nominate two candidates for each office to be elected by the membership. Vote shall be by secret mail ballot. The candidate for each office receiving the most votes shall be elected. The ballot shall be designed to allow members a write-in vote for an individual for each office other than the Nominating Committee nominations. The Nominating Committee shall serve as Tellers and report the results of the election at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 3. Procedure
A majority vote of those Members present at an Annual Business Meeting is sufficient to pass or reject any motion, or to act on proposed changes to these By-Laws or the Constitution of the Association. Voting on motions shall be by voice vote except that the President may ask for a hand vote and any member may request a secret ballot vote.
Section 4. Quorum of the Executive Committee
A quorum shall be half of the Executive Committee at a called meeting, or those Members present at an adjourned Executive Committee meeting called with at least one week’s notice, not less than one week or more than one month after the called meeting when a quorum was not present.
ARTICLE VI. Finance
Section 1. Management of Funds
Dues, page charges and other income shall be collected by the Secretary-Treasurer and managed in a prudent fashion. The Secretary-Treasurer will make timely disbursement of these funds for authorized expenditures as directed by the Executive Committee and as stipulated in the By-Laws. The Finance Committee will advise the Executive Committee on all financial matters of the organization.
Section 2. Fiscal Year
The Fiscal Year of the Association shall begin on January 1 and end on December 31.
Section 3. Audit
The financial records of the Association shall be audited annually by the Audit Committee and a report made to the Association at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 4. Dues
The amounts of dues for all classes of members shall be initiated by the Executive Committee on the advice of the Finance Committee. All changes in dues shall be approved by a majority vote of those present at an Annual Business Meeting.
Section 5. Journal Page Charges
Journal page charges shall be established by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Editor and Finance Committee.
Section 6. Expenses of Officers
It shall be the policy of the Association that no NAREA officer shall receive compensation or travel allowances from the Association for performance of their official duties, including travel to Executive Committee Meetings or the Annual Meeting. The Association will reimburse the Offices of the Secretary-Treasurer and Editor for stationery, paper, postage, copying, telephone toll charges, and other miscellaneous office expenses incurred in performance of Association business.
Section 7. Awards and Honoraria
Amounts of Awards shall be established by the Executive Committee upon consultation with the Finance Committee, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the appropriate Awards Committee. Honoraria shall be determined by the Program Committee in consultation with the Finance Committee and the Secretary-Treasurer.
Section 8. Annual Meeting Costs
The President-Elect will coordinate with the Host Institution on matters dealing with registration fees, lodging and meal charges, and other charges.
ARTICLE VII. Amendments
Section 1. Voting
These By-Laws may be altered or amended or any section thereof may be replaced only at an Annual Business Meeting by a majority vote of the Membership present.
Section 2. Eligibility
To be eligible for consideration at an Annual Business Meeting, any proposed alteration or amendment of these By-Laws must be furnished to the President and Secretary-Treasurer at least two weeks before the Annual Meeting of the Association, and they must make it available to members in written form at least 12 hours before the Annual Business Meeting.
Revised and Approved June 17, 1981
Amended June 23, 1982
Amended June 21,
1983
Amended August 7, 1984
Amended June 25,
1985
Amended June 22, 1987
Amended June 22,
1993