OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY CONSTITUTION
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ARTICLE I
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Ohio Academy of History.
ARTICLE II
Section 1. Its object shall be to promote the study and teaching of history, historical research, and the publication of historical works; to encourage historical organizations, libraries, and archives; and to aid in the elevation of the general level of historical consciousness in the State of Ohio.
ARTICLE III
Section 1. Membership shall be open to persons engaged in teaching history, doing research, or otherwise interested in history.5
Section 2. Only Members shall be entitled to vote and hold office in the Academy.
Section 3. The Executive Council shall establish the amount of annual dues.2
Section 4. Students in good standing may become student members of the Academy.5
ARTICLE IV
Section 1. The officers shall be a President, Vice President who shall be designated President-Elect, and Secretary Treasurer.5, 8
Section 2. The Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected by active members in attendance at the annual meeting from a slate of nominees provided by the Nominating Committee and from other nominations that may be made from the floor.6, 8
Section 3. If the office of President shall become vacant, the Vice President shall thereupon become President. In such a case the President shall serve an additional year. If the office of both the President and Vice President shall become vacant, the most recent living president shall return to the presidency until the next annual meeting.8 Section 4. There shall be an Executive Council consisting of the President, Vice President, retiring President, and Secretary Treasurer, appointed officers and a representative of the Ohio Historical Society, all of whom serve ex-officio, plus seven additional elected members, elected for three-year terms, at least two to be elected each year. Rotation of the elected members of the Executive Council shall ensure that each year there are two members from private colleges and universities, two members from state universities, one member from public history, one member from two-year institutions and regional campuses, and one member who has been a social studies teacher from the 7-12 level. The Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two persons for each elected position on the Executive Council. Other candidates may be nominated from the floor. The appointed officers who serve ex-officio with the power to vote are the General Editor and Associate Editor of the Newsletter, the Editor of the Proceedings, and the Archivist. No member of the Executive Council may cast more than one vote.2, 5, 14, 17
Section 5. A majority vote of those present shall be sufficient to elect to any elective office.
Section 6. The Executive Council has authority to 1) conduct the affairs of the Academy; 2) assist and advise the President; 3) determine the amounts of membership dues; 4) determine the number, size, and function of committees; 5) authorize the President to appoint other officers as it feels necessary to conduct the affairs of the Academy.5
Section 7. The Academy membership at any annual meeting may, by majority vote of those present, overrule the decisions of the Executive Council.
Section 8. If a vacancy should occur during the three-year term of any elected representative to the Executive Council, the President shall appoint the runner-up nominated for the same position to fulfill the remainder of the term. If the runner-up is unable to serve, the Nominating Committee will select two new candidates from the same type of institution as the original nominees for a special election. The special election may be held by electronic ballot or at the following annual spring meeting. The winner of the special election will serve out the remainder of the original term.17
ARTICLE V
Section 1. An annual meeting shall be held in the spring of each year on a date fixed by the Executive Council. Other meetings may be called by the Executive Council.
ARTICLE VI
Section 1. The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee. The Committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall prepare a slate of candidates for the annual election of officers.9
Section 2. The President shall appoint a Program Committee. The Committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall prepare the program for the annual meeting.9
Section 3. The President shall appoint a Committee on Awards for Outstanding Historical Publication. The committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall select the winner(s) of the Academy’s annual award(s) for outstanding publication(s) in the field of history.9, 19
Section 4. The President shall appoint a Committee on Awards for Distinguished Service to the historical Profession. The committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall select the winners of the Academy’s award for Distinguished Service.9
Section 5. The President shall appoint a Committee on K-12 Professional Development and Outreach. The Committee shall be composed of at least three members of the Academy, each member being appointed for a three-year term. It shall be the duty and responsibility of this committee to assist in the pursuit of higher standards for K-12 history teaching in this state through the promotion of opportunities for K-12 teachers to receive professional development in history. The committee shall also monitor the history coursework requirements of social studies teacher preparation programs offered by Ohio’s universities and offer its endorsement to those programs whose requirements are seen to promote better K-12 history teaching. The committee shall also have the responsibility to monitor the development and amendment of K-12 standards for history and social studies in the state and communicate the views of the Academy to the Ohio Department of Education regarding these standards. The committee shall report from time to time its activities, findings, and recommendations to the President, Executive Council, and the Academy.9, 18
Section 6. The President shall appoint a Committee on Public History. The committee shall be composed of five members, each for a three-year term, and three of these members shall be public historians not principally employed as faculty members. It shall be the duty and responsibility of this committee to serve as a conduit of information between public history practitioners and academic history departments; provide educational opportunities for those currently involved in or seeking to become engaged in public history work; and select the recipient of the Academy’s annual award for outstanding contribution to public history. The committee shall report from time to time to the President and the Academy.11, 17
Section 7. The President shall appoint a Committee on Awards for Excellence in the Teaching of History. The committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall select winners of the Academy’s awards for excellence in the teaching of history.4, 9
Section 8. The President shall appoint a Committee on Awards for Outstanding Dissertation. The Committee shall be composed of at least three members, and shall select the winner of the Academy’s annual award for outstanding doctoral dissertation in the field of history.10
Section 9. [In April, 2011, Section 9 was incorporated into Article 6, Section 6.]11, 17
Section 10. The President shall appoint a Conference Committee composed of the Coordinator of Local Arrangements, the president, Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, and the Chair of the Program Committee. This committee shall be responsible for coordinating all of the arrangements for the spring meeting.14
Section 11. The Academy shall have a Distinguished Historian Committee consisting of the President, the immediate Past President, and the Chair of the Program Committee, which shall select the award winner. Members of the Academy may nominate persons to receive the award with a written message to the President.15
Section 12. The President shall appoint a Committee on Membership. The committee shall be composed of six members, the Vice-President, President, and Past President, and three members of the Academy, who will serve staggered three-year terms. The president shall appoint a chair of the committee. The Committee shall maintain a current roster of historians in Ohio, recruit new members for the Academy, and publicize the activities of the Academy. The committee shall report in writing to the Secretary-Treasurer by a date determined by the Secretary-Treasurer, who will convey the report to the Officers, Executive Council, and Academy.16, 18
Section 13. The President shall appoint a Junior Faculty Research Grant Committee. The committee shall be composed of three members who will serve staggered three-year terms. It will select the winner of the annual Junior Faculty Research Grant competition.17
ARTICLE VII
Section 1. At the annual meeting the Academy shall give an award(s) for outstanding historical publication to an active member(s) of the Academy. No more than two awards will be given in any one year, and then only when the award committee deems that choosing between a major second or subsequent monograph and a first one would unfairly disadvantage the author of the latter. The award(s) shall be given for outstanding publication, in book format, in the field of history issued in the year preceding the annual meeting. If no person qualifies for such an award in a particular year, no award shall be given. A person who has received the award twice shall be ineligible to receive the award a third time.19
Section 2. At the annual meeting the Academy may give an award for distinguished service to the historical profession to a person or persons who have actively contributed to the Ohio Academy of History through specific achievement or through long-time distinguished service. Each recipient of the Distinguished Service Award will be granted an Honorary Life Membership. If no person qualifies for such an award in a particular year no awards shall be given. A person who has received the award shall be ineligible to receive it a second time.2, 3
Section 3. At the annual meeting the Academy may recognize excellence in the teaching of history by giving an award to a person or persons selected for such recognition by the committee on Awards for Excellence in Teaching.4, 7
Section 4. At the annual meeting the Academy may give an award for the outstanding doctoral dissertation awarded by an Ohio institution granted in the year preceding the annual meeting. If no person qualifies for an award in the particular year, no award shall be given. The person who has received the award will be provided the opportunity to present the findings at the following annual meeting.10
Section 5. At the annual meeting the Academy may give an award for the outstanding contribution to public history accomplished within the previous two years and completed by January 15 of the award year. If no project qualifies for an award in the particular year, no award shall be given.11
Section 6. The Academy will grant an annual award of “The Ohio Academy of History Distinguished Historian.” This award will go to a historian whose teaching and scholarship, including substantial publications, transcends specialized fields and has an interest to educated persons even beyond the discipline of history. The person will also have a close affiliation with a college, university, or historical agency in Ohio, if not actually residing in the state. The recipient of the award will have agreed to deliver a public address during the opening evening of the annual spring meeting of the Academy, and that address will become part of the program of the spring meeting. The recipient will receive recognition during the business meeting of the Academy that occurs during the annual spring meeting. The recipient may choose to have his or her paper published in the Academy’s Proceedings volume.15
Section 7. At the annual spring meeting, the Academy may award a junior faculty research grant. The recipient will possess a Ph.D. in history, and be less than six years from award of that title. The recipient will be an untenured faculty member at an Ohio college or university and a member of the Ohio Academy. The recipient may be a full-time (tenure-track), lecturer, adjunct or other non-tenure-line faculty member. If no application is suitable for the award, no award shall be given.17
ARTICLE VIII
Section 1. Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted in writing at the annual meeting. A two-thirds majority of the members present and voting shall be necessary to pass an amendment.
ARTICLE IX
Section 1. Upon dissolution of the Ohio Academy of History, its assets and all property and interests of which it shall be possessed, including any devise, bequest, gift, or grant continued in any will or other instrument, in trust or otherwise made before or after dissolution, shall pass as decided by a vote of the membership at that time. It is specifically understood that the assets cannot, upon dissolution, be distributed to its members or shareholders but must be transferred for an exempt purpose to another organization meeting the test set forth under present Internal Revenue Code #501(c) (3).
NOTES
- The constitution was adopted in 1958, revised in 1961 and 1969 and amended in 1970, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984,1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013. Revisions and amendments have been incorporated into this edition of the constitution.
- Amended 4 April 1970
- Amended 30 April 1977
- Amended 26 April 1980
- Amended 25 April 1981
- Amended 14 April 1984
- Amended 19 April 1986
- Amended 16 April 1988
- Amended 21 April 1990
- Amended 23 April 1994
- Amended 27 April 1996
- Amended 26 April 2003
- Amended 17 April 2004
- Amended 4 April 2009
- Amended 29 April 2011
- Amended 31 March 2012
- Amended 6 April 2013
