Constitutional Reform

Background regarding the Proposed Changes to The Art Students League By-Laws to be voted on at the April Member Meeting: 

After more than two years of work on The Art Students League’s Constitution and By-Laws, the Constitution Reform Committee is close to reaching its goal of bringing those documents up-to-date and making them more user friendly.  The Members role in this process has been crucial as all amendments to The League’s Constitution and By-Laws Committee require approval by a substantial member vote.

The Constitution Reform Committee will present three proposals (summarized below) for vote at the April Members Meeting. These are some of the final proposals for changes to The Art Students League Constitution and By-Laws.

Because the proposed amendments are relatively easy to understand and are in line with prior changes, we will not hold a separate Town Hall to discuss the proposals.  However, we would be happy to address any questions and comments you may have at the April meeting.  Member questions and comments are also welcomed at the special email address set up for the Committee, [email protected] 

 

New BY-LAW

NOTICES, THE BULLETIN BOARD, AND COMMUNICATIONS

 Although this is a new By-Law, it reflects current practice.

Many of the By-Laws require posting of notices on the League’s “Bulletin Board” as a prerequisite for action.  This proposed By-Law preserves the practice of posting any required notices on a physical bulletin board at the League, but also offers flexibility for the future by permitting notices to be posted electronically on the League’s website or by other electronic means that may be more appropriate in the future.

The proposed By-Law also reflects the current practice of sending communications to members via email.  It gives the League discretion to send ballots by e-mail or U.S. Mail, while giving a member the right to make a reasonable request to receive communications by U.S. Mail.

 

BY-LAW XIII

ORDER OF BUSINESS

The proposed revisions to this By-Law are primarily to make it easier to read and more user friendly.

The only substantive change would be to allow the President (or in the absence of the President, the Secretary) to make changes to the order of business.  Please note that all agenda items must still be included.

Previously, the By-Laws required changes to the order of business to be made by vote of three-fourths of the members present. 

 

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OF THE BY-LAWS

NON-SUBSTANTIVE EDITS

This proposal would change numerous provisions throughout the By-Laws to make them more user-friendly.  Those changes include:

  • Reordering and renumbering the By-Laws to follow a logical order, placing those of most interest to members toward the beginning; grouping By-Laws that are related; and incorporating numerous amendments to the By-Laws that have been adopted over the years into the body of the By-Laws.
  • Clarifying edits, correction of typos and grammatical corrections.
  • The addition of headings to the By-Laws on Members and Meetings to make them easier to navigate.
  • Making enumerated lists consistent throughout the document.
  • Merging Amendment XVIII concerning meeting minutes into By-Law IX concerning meetings (without substantive changes).
  • Deleting By-Law XIV on quorums and moving the specific quorum requirements into the By-Laws on meetings (IX) and committees (XV), as appropriate.

 

PROPOSALS IN FULL:

Proposed Amendments of the By-Laws: Non-Substantive Edits

Attached is a proposed non-substantive revision to the League’s By-Laws. The proposed changes made are:

  • The renumbering and reordering of individual By-Laws because new By-Laws have been adopted over the past two years,
  • Minor clarifying edits such as typos and grammatical corrections,
  • The use of headings for certain By-Laws to make them easier to navigate,
  • Amendment XVIII concerning meeting minutes is merged (without substantive changes) into By-Law IX concerning meetings,
  • The deletion of By-Law XIV on quorums and merger of the specific quorum requirements into the By-Laws on meetings (IX) and committees (XV).

See attached markup and clean copy. Note regarding the markup, which is generated by Microsoft Word, green text in the markup is simply text that has been moved but not revised and red text is added text. In some instances, there is a mix of green and red. This means the section was moved but then also edited. See for example By-Law XXII “Amendments.” The side column shows deleted text in red and moved text in green.

For more details, click here.

Proposed Amendments of the By-Laws: Order of Business

Set forth below is a draft proposed amendment to the League’s By-Laws concerning the order of business at meetings. The current By-Law is rigid in its requirements and there is the risk of diminishing attendance and loss of a quorum as members show up late or leave early. The objective of this proposed amendment is to provide guidance and flexibility in the running of meetings and allow the BoC and the administration to design and run meetings that engage Members, focus attention on the most important matters, and ensure that all matters, including the ministerial are covered.

 

BY-LAW XIII

ORDER OF BUSINESS

At the Annual Meeting of the Members, the Order of Business shall be as follows:

  1. Calling of the roll; confirmation of a quorum.
  2. Approval of the Minutes of the last meeting of the membership.
  3. Election of new Members.
  4. Address of the President.
  5. Presentation of the Annual Report.
  6. Address of the Executive Director.
  7. Other agenda items.
  8. Appointment of Inspectors of Election.
  9. Election of Board of Control members.
  10. Member questions and comments on matters not on the agenda.
  11. Adjournment.

At each Business Meeting of the Members, the Order of Business shall be as follows:

  1. Calling of the roll; confirmation of a quorum.
  2. Approval of the Minutes of the last meeting of the membership.
  3. Election of new Members.
  4. Address of the President.
  5. Financial update.
  6. Address of the Executive Director.
  7. Other agenda items.
  8. Member questions and comments on matters not on the agenda.
  9. Adjournment.

At each Board of Control Meeting, the Order of Business shall be as follows:

  1. Calling of the roll; confirmation of a quorum.
  2. Approval of the minutes of the last meeting of the Board of Control.
  3. Report of the Executive Director.
  4. Financial report.
  5. Review of candidates for membership.
  6. Other agenda items.
  7. Items not on the agenda (may be requested by any Board of Control member or the Executive Director).
  8. Adjournment.

The order of business for any of the above meetings may be changed by the President or, in the absence of the President, by the Secretary, provided that all agenda items are included.

 

Proposed Amendment of the By-Laws: Notices, the Bulletin Board, and Communications

The objective is for this provision to be future proof, that is to enable the League to use technology, which keeps changing, where it is efficient and to ensure that notices are accessible to Members who may not have access to or be comfortable using the latest technology.  Specifically, (i) the bulletin board is not defined as a traditional bulletin board as many organizations are transitioning to smart boards and kiosks and the League should have this option, (ii) while a member page on the website is currently being brought up to speed, an app is anticipated as many organizations are starting to use apps and the League should have this flexibility, and (iii) email is the preferred means of communication, but members can request mailed copies so no one is left behind.

This By-Law, if adopted will be placed between current By-Laws VIII and IX, and current By-Laws IX et seq will be renumbered.

 

BY-LAW [__]

NOTICES, THE BULLETIN BOARD, AND COMMUNICATIONS

All notices required to be given to Members under these By-Laws shall be posted on the “Bulletin Board.” The Bulletin Board shall be located in the League’s 57th Street building and accessible to all Members for viewing when the building is open for classes.  As technology permits, the League may also post all notices electronically on a Members’ page of the League website and/or League app.

All communications required to be given to Members under these By-Laws shall be sent by email to all Active Members.  Ballots may be sent by email or United States Postal Service at the League’s discretion. Upon reasonable request, the League shall send communications and ballots to a Member via United States Postal Service.

It is the responsibility of Members to keep their contact information, including email and street addresses up to date. Notices, communications, and ballots sent to a Member shall be deemed properly delivered if sent to the last email address (or street address, if applicable) provided by the Member.