History Graduate Student Association

HGSA Constitution

ARTICLE I – Title

This organization shall be known as the History Graduate Student Association (HGSA).

 

ARTICLE II – Purpose

The purpose of HGSA is to represent all History graduate students in providing a link between students and departmental administration, as well as fostering socially and academically motivated activities for faculty, staff and students within the department.

 

ARTICLE III – Membership

Membership is open to all part-time and full-time graduate students in the Department of History at the University of Maine.

 

ARTICLE IV – Executive Officers

A. Executive Officers — HGSA shall be administered by four executive officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In the case of small activity levels, resignation of an officer, or as deemed necessary by the organization, the duties of these positions may be combined in the following manner, in an interim basis (See Art. IV, Sec. C): President/Secretary, Vice President/Treasurer. The duties of these offices are as follows:

1.President

a. Shall preside over all general HGSA meetings and all HGSA Executive Board meetings

b. The President or designee will act as a liaison between departmental administration and HGSA members and attend monthly faculty meetings

2. Vice President

a. Shall attend all HGSA committee meetings and report findings to the Executive Board

b. Shall act in the capacity of the President in the event that the President is unable to attend a meeting or event

c. In the event that the President submits his/her resignation, the Vice President shall become President for the remainder of the term.

d. Shall act as the social activities coordinator

e. Shall be a representative on the Graduate Studies Committee

3. Secretary

a. Shall keep minutes of all HGSA meetings and make them public within one week of said meetings

b. Shall be responsible for maintaining the official correspondence and files of HGSA

c. Shall be a GSG representative and make a GSG report public within one week

4. Treasurer

a. Shall be the financial officer of HGSA and shall be responsible for all funds held by HGSA

b. Shall submit a proposed budget at the beginning of each school year

c. Shall submit receipts and end of year budget report to Graduate Student Government by the end of May

d. Shall provide an accurate count of current graduate students in the department

5. Social Media/Outreach

a. Shall be responsible for HGSA’s social media platforms and general outreach/communications.

b. May take on the responsibility of event planning.

c. Will update HGSA’s website for the department or will coordinate with the Office Administrator to do so. 

d. Will draft posts and send to the Executive Board for approval prior to uploading.

 

B. Term of Office – The term of office for Executive Officers shall be from June 1 to May 31.

C. Elections – Officers shall be elected each April and shall assume their offices the following 1st of June. A simple majority of the membership present shall be required for an officer to be elected. There shall be a nomination period of a minimum of one week prior to all elections.

Should a vacancy occur in the offices of Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary, it shall be filled by special election.

D. Voting – all elections shall be by secret ballot. A simple majority of the membership present shall be sufficient to pass organizational business and other matters.

Ballots should be distributed virtually via Google Forms or some other similar method.

E. All officers will serve in their designated committees unless changes are necessary.

 

ARTICLE V – Meetings

Meetings will be held a minimum of once every academic month.  Notices will be sent out at the previous meeting, two weeks, and one week in advance.  The one week notice will contain a preliminary agenda.

 

ARTICLE VI – GSG Representation

A. HGSA shall have two representatives to GSG and one alternate.  One GSG representative shall be the HGSA Secretary.  In the situation of a schedule conflict, the duties of GSG representative shall fall to the HGSA Treasurer.  The second HGSA student representative shall be chosen by the Executive Committee.

B. The History Graduate Studies Committee shall have the number of HGSA representatives set by the Committee itself.  The Vice President shall be one representative.  Any other representatives shall be chosen by the Executive Committee.

 

ARTICLE VII – Amending the Constitution

A. Adoption of the Constitution – The constitution shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership present.

B. A quorum consisting of no less than 10% of the membership as described in Article III must be present for the Constitution to be amended. A two-thirds majority vote is needed to pass the amendment.

C. Any changes to the Constitution must be presented to the HGSA membership a minimum of one month in advance.

 

ARTICLE VIII – Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

A. Land Acknowledgement: The University of Maine recognizes that it is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation, where issues of water and territorial rights, and encroachment upon sacred sites, are ongoing. Penobscot homeland is connected to the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations — the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac — through kinship, alliances and diplomacy. The university also recognizes that the Penobscot Nation and the other Wabanaki Tribal Nations are distinct, sovereign, legal and political entities with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination.

B. University of Maine History Department Statement Regarding the Protests Against Racism and Police Violence: https://umaine.edu/history/statement-regarding-the-protests-against-racism-and-police-violence/

And other statements regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion: https://umaine.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/

C. As a graduate student community, we pledge to make the History Department an inclusive, diverse, and anti-racist space for graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, and staff members.

D. In order to do so, HGSA plans to hold a yearly open-forum meeting to discuss action points for inclusion, diversity, and anti-racism.

The Executive Committee must undergo diversity training in order to maintain their position as officers. 

 

 

Updated and Amended on February, 2021