Bylaws

2014 BYLAWS
(2014; revised June 2019)

1. Name, Nature, and Fiscal Year

The name of this organization shall be The South Central Society for Music Theory (SCSMT). This organization shall be a non-profit professional society with a fiscal year of January 1 – December 31.

1. Purposes and Activities

The object of the Society shall be the advancement of teaching and research in all the various fields of music theory through public forums and conferences.

The activities of the Society shall not be pursued for profit to such an extent as to constitute a trade or business. No part of the earnings of the Society shall benefit any Officer or employee of the Society or any other individual, except as reasonable compensation for goods or services required by the Society in pursuing its activities. No part of the activities of the Society shall consist of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation or participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office, nor shall any part of the principal or net earnings of the Society inure to the benefit of any organization which engages in such activities.

III. The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall comprise of the Officers of the Society. All Officers shall be faculty residing in the region and members of the Society, or become members of the Society upon election. In exceptional cases, students in the region may be elected as Officers if they are Ph.D. candidates and will attend the same school for the full duration of their term. The Officers and their respective duties shall be as follows:

1. The President shall carry out the policies of the Executive Committee and shall preside at all meetings of the Society and the Executive Committee. The President shall appoint all committees, with the advice of the Executive Committee, and shall be a member ex officio of all Standing Committees. The President shall represent the Society in its relations with other organizations and agencies. The President is responsible, with the assistance of the Executive and Standing Committees, for growing the membership of the Society, and all aspects of recruitment, including outreach to underrepresented populations. The President shall discharge other duties as are customarily associated with the office.

2. The Secretary shall assist and advise the President and shall discharge the duties of the President in case of the latter’s absence or disability, or at the latter’s request. The Secretary shall take the minutes of all meetings of the Society and of the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall conduct correspondence for the Society, maintain the membership lists of the Society, and shall perform other duties appropriate to the office.

3. The Treasurer shall maintain accurate and timely records of the Society’s income from all sources and of its expenses, and shall be authorized to disburse funds and pay all bills on behalf of the Society. The Treasurer shall maintain accounts in which the Society’s funds will be deposited and shall make a financial report to the membership at the Annual Meeting and other such reports as the Executive Committee may direct. The Treasurer shall collect membership dues and other monies. The Treasurer shall perform other duties appropriate to the office, as directed by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer, with the consent of the Executive Board, may delegate various duties of his or her office to the President, including the authority to disburse funds in the name of the Society.

Each member of the Executive Committee shall have a single vote, and all motions shall be carried by a simple majority. In the event of absent members, a tie vote may be carried over to a future meeting, or – at the discretion of the President – absent members may be canvassed by mail, telephone, or other electronic means.

1. Management

The Executive Committee, comprised of the Officers designated in Bylaws III, shall function as the operating committee of the Society and shall have control and management of the affairs and funds of the Society. The duties of the Executive Committee shall be:

1. To call meetings of the Society;

2. To prepare the agenda for such meetings;

3. To order the taking of votes when such action shall be necessary or advisable;

4. To establish and collect dues from the members of the Society;

5. To prepare the Society’s reports;

6. To oversee the affairs of the Society and to execute its decisions.

A quorum of the Executive Committee shall be a majority of the voting members. In case of necessity, the members may communicate their votes on any matter by mail, telephone, or other electronic means.

1. Election and Terms of Officers

1. All Officers shall be elected by the members of the Society. Any member of the Society may propose names for consideration prior to the Annual Meeting. The Executive Committee shall confirm the availability for all nominees prior to the Annual Meeting. If more than one candidate is proposed, all present members of the Society shall vote by ballet at the Annual Meeting. A majority shall determine the election. In the event of a tie vote, the election may be carried over and absent members in good standing can be canvassed by mail, telephone, or other electronic means. If a single candidate is proposed, that candidate shall be elected with the approval of the majority of present members. No person shall be elected to the Executive Committee for more than two consecutive terms.

2. The Treasurer shall be elected for a term of three years with eligibility for renewal.

3. With the exception of the Treasurer, all Officers shall be elected for terms of two years. The President shall be elected in even years, and the Secretary in odd years.

4. No person shall hold more than one office at a time.

The terms of office shall begin at the end of the Annual Meeting in the year in which the term is to begin. Vacancies on the Executive Committee arising between Annual Meetings shall be filled by special election by the membership for the period of the remainder of the unexpired term.

1. Membership

Membership in the Society shall be open to all persons interested in any aspect of music theory. Application for memberships shall be made to the Treasurer of the Society. The rates and schedule for payment of membership dues shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Membership shall be required of anyone making a presentation at a conference sponsored by the Society. Anyone whose dues payment is current shall be considered a member in good standing of the Society.

VII. Meetings

There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Society at a time and place set by the Executive Committee. Other meetings may also be held at places and on dates set by the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall send open notice of each meeting to the members of the Society at least 30 days before the date set for the meeting.

A business meeting shall be held every year in which an Annual Meeting takes place. A quorum at all meetings of the Society shall be 50 percent of the current voting members. The members of the Society in good standing shall have exclusive voting power at meetings of the Society, and shall have one vote each. The rules contained in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern procedure at the Society’s business meetings, except in cases where these procedures are inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Society. Members may vote by mail on matters specifically designated by the Executive Committee.

VIII. Standing Committees

The Standing Committees of the Society shall include:

1. The Program Committee, which shall prepare the program of papers, panel discussions, and other presentations at meetings of the Society. The Program Committee shall comprise of at least four but no more than six persons appointed for one year by the President with the advice of the Executive Committee. The Program Committee shall be comprised of a minimum of three faculty members, together with the previous winner of the Student Paper Award, and led by a chair. If the winner of the Student Paper Award is unable to accept, another student will be appointed by the President. In consultation with the Executive Board, the chair of the Program Committee will be responsible to gather, present, and publish data on presenters, as the archiving of this data is essential to the Society’s long-term goals of increased recruitment and member diversity. The Program Committee shall judge and present an award to the best student paper delivered at the Annual Meeting. In the event of a joint conference, the Program Committee shall determine if a joint award will be presented or individual awards.

2. The Election Committee, which shall collect and announce nominations for Officers and manage the election at the Annual Meeting. The Election Committee shall comprise of three members of the Society.

3. The Local Arrangements Committee, which shall work with the Program Committee and the Executive Committee in preparing for the Annual Meeting. The Local Arrangements Committee shall provide maps, lodging information, and other materials to be mailed to the membership in advance of each Annual Meeting and arrange for a location for the meeting. The Local Arrangements Committee, consisting of one or more members of the Society, shall be appointed by the President for a term of one year.

Other committees shall be constituted in the same manner as needed.

IX. Social Media Policies

• 1. Social Media Coordinator
  • a. The Social Media Coordinator(s) oversee the curation of the SCSMT social media accounts on various platforms.
  • b. The Social Media Coordinator will post the following materials pertinent to the SCSMT on the SCSMT social media accounts:
    • i. Updates about the SCSMT or its events from the Executive Board, Local Arrangements Committee, and the Program Committee.
    • ii. Updates to the SCSMT website including, but not limited to post-conference information, future meeting sites, and election results.
    • iii. Real-time conference posts about upcoming papers and workshops at the annual SCSMT meeting.
  • c. In order to keep posting at a reasonable level throughout the year, the Social Media Coordinator may draw other posts for the SCSMT social media accounts from other sources, including, but not limited to:
    • i. Individual member achievements (i.e. the publication of a book or article, the completion of a dissertation or degree, receiving a grant).
    • ii. Member-University Events (e.g. the bi-annual LSU Music Theory Forum, guest lectures by music academics, and so forth).
    • iii. Re-postings of pertinent material from other societies and their various social media accounts, including calls for papers, national conference information, new publications, announcements from the Society for Music Theory pertinent to the SCSMT membership, and so forth.
    • iv. Real-time conference posts about upcoming papers and workshops at the annual Society for Music Theory meeting or other national-level meetings.
    • v. The Social Media Coordinator(s) will post information about the SCSMT’s Call for Papers (for the annual conference) in the appropriate social media groups.
• 2. General Account Guidelines
  • a. The SCSMT Social Media accounts on Twitter and related websites will follow people and accounts from these groups:
    • i. Music theorists, musicologists, and ethnomusicologists (of any status and rank)
    • ii. Professional societies dedicated to music theory and musicology
    • iii. Music schools and departments in the South-Central region
    • iv. Professional societies, music theorists, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, music schools, and music theory groups that follow SCSMT
  • b. The SCSMT Social Media accounts will not follow, under any circumstances, accounts whose existence violates any of the posting guidelines listed below nor will it follow any bots. This includes, for example, “hate” accounts and spam advertising accounts.
• 3. Posting Guidelines
  • a. Posts must adhere to standards of courteous professional discourse. Posts that include any of the following will be subject to removal:
    • i. Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person
    • ii. Deliberate intimidation, personal insults, or any other language that denigrates a person
    • iii. Jokes or other language that is sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory in nature
    • iv. Sexually explicit material
    • v. Unwelcome sexual attention, including sexualized comments or jokes
    • vi. Inappropriate or illegally obtained/used photography or recording
    • vii. Encouragement of any of the above behavior
  • b. Members and/or followers may flag posts or comments that they consider inappropriate by emailing the Social Media Coordinator(s). Such posts will be reviewed by the coordinator(s) and may be removed if the posts include anything proscribed in point 3a directly above.
  • c. Anyone who repeatedly violates the guidelines of the SCSMT Social Media spaces, especially as regards inappropriate posts, may be subject to sanction as the Executive Board deem appropriate, up to and including a temporary or permanent ban from the site.
  • d. Appeals related to rejected threads, removed messages, or more serious sanctions are to be directed first to the Social Media Coordinators. If the appealer remains unsatisfied, they may appeal further to the South-Central Society for Music Theory Executive Board. The decisions of the Executive Board are final.