Central States Communication Association
Graduate Student Caucus Bylaws (draft)
Article I. Name
The name of the caucus shall be called Graduate Student caucus.
Article II. Purpose
The Graduate Student Caucus is focused on graduate student development with the Central States region and is open to all members who affiliate with the Caucus. The Caucus supports research conducted by graduate students as well as research and programming focusing on issues related to the unique situations of being a graduate student and graduate teaching or research assistant.
Article III. Membership
Membership in the Graduate Student Caucus shall be open to all those who are members in good standing in the Central States Communication Association, who are interested in advancing the purpose of the caucus, and who are currently enrolled in a graduate program.
Article IV. Officers
The officers of the Graduate Student caucus shall be a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and an appropriate number of Reviewers as determined by the officers.
Only individuals who are members of the Central States Communication Association are eligible for office. Individuals must be currently enrolled in a graduate school program when running for office.
Succession shall be automatic from Secretary to Vice-Chair to Chair during the business meeting held at the annual convention. The term for these offices shall be one year.
Reviewers will be appointed anew each year at the discretion of the officers.
The Secretary shall be elected at the annual business meeting and shall assume this position at the business meeting subsequent to which they were elected. Members running for Secretary must be current graduate students at the time of election. Election procedures are as follows:
The Chair shall serve as the presiding officer of all Graduate Student caucus business meetings and chair of the Top Paper panel. The Chair shall also serve as program planner for the annual convention. The Chair shall also be responsible for carrying out any activities requested by the Association in support of the caucus.
The Vice-Chair shall assist the Chair in planning the caucus’ program offerings for the annual convention or any other activities as requested by the Chair. The Vice-Chair is charged with coordinating programming with the membership, posting the call for papers, and serving as respondent to the caucus’ Top Paper panel. The Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in the event of that officer’s absence or incapacity.
The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining a written record of the business meetings of the interest group/caucus/section held at the annual meeting in the year following this officer’s election. It shall also be the responsibility of the secretary to maintain a record of attendance. The Secretary shall be responsible for transmitting these records to the Chair within a reasonable period following the business meeting of the interest group. The Secretary shall also be responsible for providing the membership with copies of minutes for approval at the subsequent business meeting.
Reviewers shall be responsible for making judgments about submitted papers and panels and any other activities requested by the Chair. The secretary recruits the reviewers. Papers will be assigned and submitted to the caucus Chair. Reviewers are expected to review up to 5 conference submissions. At the time of the review process (fall semester), reviewers must have successfully completed at least one-year of graduate school (at the PhD or Master’s level).
Article V. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the caucus shall be composed of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.
Article VI. Meetings
An annual meeting will be held at the time and place designated by the Vice-President of CSCA at the annual convention. Additional business meetings may be scheduled if necessary by the interest group officers.
The number of members of the caucus present at each meeting shall constitute a quorum.
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the caucus in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws and any special rules of order the interest group/caucus/section may adopt.
Article VII. Voting
All voting shall be decided by a simple majority, with the exception of changes to the bylaws.
The election of officers shall be conducted by written ballot. Ballots shall be tabulated by the current Secretary.
All voting matters other than the election of officers shall be conducted by voice support of for/yes, against/no, or abstain. The voting majority shall be determined by the Chair. Should any member present deem the voting majority to be unclear by voice support, a second vote shall be conducted using hand raising designation.
Article VIII. Awards
The top competitive paper of the caucus shall be determined by the Chair, based on Reviewer evaluations. Recipients will receive $50.00 and a certificate.
The top competitive panel shall be determined by the Chair, based on Reviewer evaluations. Recipients will receive $50.00 and a certificate.
All awards will be presented at the annual business meeting. Recipients must be present at the business meeting in order to receive award.
Article IX. Finances
The Executive Committee of CSCA allocates funds to each interest group each year. These funds shall be used in support of the interest group/caucus/section awards.
In the event that these allocated funds are less than $100.00, the funds received shall be divided equally amongst the caucus awards.
In the event that these allocated funds exceed $100.00, any remaining money following the funding of the caucus awards can be spent in support of the caucus at the discretion of the Chair.
Article X. Amendment of Bylaws
Following their establishment, any amendments to the caucus bylaws can be proposed by any member of the Executive Committee or by a petition by a member(s) of the caucus.
Caucus membership must be notified of any proposed amendments at least thirty days prior to the annual meeting. This notification is the responsibility of the Chair. So that the chair is provided with reasonable opportunity to notify membership, amendment petitions must be submitted to the Chair at least forty days prior to the annual meeting.
Amendments require the approval of two-thirds of the membership present at the annual meeting.
Article XI. Conference Programming
Programming (papers and panels) will only be accepted from students who are currently enrolled in a graduate program at the time of submission.
Competitive paper submissions can include both completed research papers as well as extended abstracts. It is the expectation of the caucus that extended abstracts are amended to completed research projects by the time of presentation. These completed projects should be sent to the caucus Chair by January 1 to ensure compliance.
It is the expectation of the caucus that you will attend the conference if your paper or panel is accepted.
Guidelines for completed individual papers and extended abstracts:
Manuscript format
Guidelines for Panel Discussion Submissions