Ethnic Minorities Section Bylaws - National Council on Family Relations
Approved November 9, 2001

Article I - Name
The name of this organization shall be the Ethnic Minorities Section of the National Council on Family Relations.

Article II - Government
The Bylaws of the National Council on Family Relations shall govern the Ethnic Minorities Section in all of its practices. The Bylaws of this section shall not conflict with the Bylaws of the National Council on Family Relations. Every amendment to the Bylaws of the NCFR shall become effective and binding on this section.

Article III - Purpose and Functions
The purpose of this section shall be: to unite those members of the NCFR who are concerned with issues pertaining to Ethnic Minorities families, to help increase their participation in the organization and annual programs of NCFR, and to help create a better understanding of the variations in families from diverse ethnic groups.

The functions of the EM Section shall include the election of officers, planning and conducting programs at the Annual Conference, communication with section members, and establishing committees for special activities. The EM Section will also submit proposals for special projects to the Board and will provide representation and input to the Board.

Article IV - Membership and Finances

Section 1 - Eligibility
Any person who is a member of the NCFR shall be eligible for membership in the Ethnic Minorities Section upon certification of current payment of the annual NCFR and Ethnic Minorities Section dues.

Section 2 - Termination of Membership
A members whose dues remain unpaid shall be dropped from membership in accordance with the NCFR policies.

Section 3 - Amount and Payment of Dues
The annual section dues are set by NCFR Board of Directors and are collected by the NCFR national office at the same time as general membership dues.

Section 4 - Finances
Requests for expenditures shall be referred to the Executive Committee before preparation of the annual budget. The Secretary-Treasurer, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall prepare an annual budget to be presented for approval by the Section membership at the annual business meeting. All expenditures shall be approved in advance by the Secretary-Treasurer before payment by NCFR Headquarters. Any expenditures that deviate from the annual budget shall be approved in advance by a majority of the Executive Committee. The Ethnic Minorities Section shall not be responsible for debts except as authorized by the Executive Committee of the Section. The annual budget and report shall be filed with NCFR headquarters.

Article V - Officers

Section 1 - Officers
The officers of this section shall be a chair, a chair-elect, a secretary/treasurer, and two student/new professional representatives. The members of the Ethnic Minorities Section shall elect them for a two-year term in accordance with established Board procedures. Each candidate will have been a section member for at least two years and a dues-paying NCFR member for the same duration.

Section 2 - Duties of Officers

A. The Chair - The chair shall be the official representative of the section in all activities of NCFR. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the section and Executive Committee, and shall call special meetings when necessary. The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all section committees, except the Nominating Committee, and shall perform all other duties pertaining to the office, including those outlined by NCFR Board of Directors policies and procedures. These include submission of a Section Monitoring Report, oversight of a section nominating committee, review of quarterly financial reports, call for abstracts for the annual meeting, and various annual conference responsibilities. The chair serves on the Annual Program Committee for NCFR and is expected to attend spring program planning meetings as designated by NCFR. The chair shall be responsible for maintaining communication with NCFR Headquarters and the Board of Directors. This includes sending a copy of all minutes and newsletters to NCFR Headquarters, and attending the Board orientation and program planning meetings as directed by NCFR. Additionally, the Chair may submit a column to the NCFR Report on a quarterly basis, to be distributed to all NCFR members. Section chairs shall not be eligible for re-election until at least one year has lapsed since prior service.

B. The Chair-Elect - The chair-elect shall act for the chair in the chair's absence or disability and perform other duties as requested by the chair. The chair-elect shall chare the Awards Committee.

C. Secretary-Treasurer - The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping minutes of meetings and taking care of correspondence and publicity of the Section. The secretary/treasurer shall serve ad Chair of the Budge Su8b-Committee of the Executive Committee and monitor the budget of the section. The secretary-treasurer will prepare a written report for distribution at the annual business meeting.

D. Student/New Professional Representatives - The two student/new professional representatives shall co-chair the Hospitality Committee and will work with section officers to see that the section addresses the needs and interests of student and new professional members.

Section 3 - Election of Officers

A. Nominations - At least two individuals shall be proposed for all positions and nominations shall be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting (odd years). Candidates for section office shall have been members of the section for at least two years and current dues paying members. Members must give their consent to serve before their names may be placed on the ballot. A nominating committee shall present a slate of nominees (who must be section members) to the Section members biannually (even years) through the NCFR Report.

B. Election - Voting shall be by ballot and a majority of the votes cast shall be necessary for election. Elections shall be held biannually (even years) by mail through the NCFR office. Each member, including students, shall have one vote.

Section 4 - Terms of Office
The elected officers shall take office at the close of the annual meeting. No person shall serve two consecutive terms of office.

Section 5 - Vacancies
In the event of a vacancy in office, the section chair will contract the membership for volunteers to fill the vacancy. The Executive Committee shall then determine who will fill the office for the unexpired term.

Section 6 - Removal from Office
Any officer who fails to perform his or her duties adequately may be relieved of his or her office by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 7 - Student Members
Student members shall not be eligible to serve as officers of the Section, with the exception of the student/new professional office.

Article VI - The Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers and the chairs of the standing and ad hoc committees of the Ethnic Minorities Section. The immediate past chair is an ex-officio member. Meetings shall be called at the request of the chair. The executive committee is empowered to act for the membership between annual meetings.

Article VII - Committees

Section 1 - Program Committee
The Program Committee is chaired by the section chair, and shall include other committee members as appointed by the chair. This committee shall be responsible for the planning and implementation of the annual conference program, with input from section members. The section chair shall represent the section on the NCFR Program Committee and shall attend meetings designated by NCFR during the spring and at the annual conference. Sections are expected to pay the cost of a shared room for the chair to attend the spring conference-planning meeting. If a section chair requests a single room, the chair is expected to pay the difference between a single and double room.

Section 2 - Nominating Committee
The nominating committee shall be chaired by the immediate past chair and composed of three members elected from the floor at the annual meeting the year before members are nominated for office. A student member shall be appointed by the chair as needed. This committee shall prepare the slate of nominees to be voted on by members through the NCFR office.

Section 3 - Awards Committee
The committee shall be chaired by the Chair-Elect and composed of three immediate past winners of the Marie Peters Award, and other awards, which may be developed later by the membership. The Chair-Elect is responsible for the development and submission of the call for nominations.

Section 4 - Hospitality Committee
The Hospitality Committee shall be chaired by the two-student/new professional representatives and shall include other members appointed by the co-chairs as needed. This committee shall be responsible for arranging a hospitality reception or planning networking events for section members.

Section 5 - Mentoring Committee
The Mentoring Committee shall be chaired by a member appointed by the Section chair and shall include other members appointed by the chair as needed. The Mentoring Committee shall be responsible for maintaining and monitoring a mentoring network.

Section 6 - Other Committees
There shall be such other committees as shall be deemed advisable by the membership or by the Executive Committee. The chair in consultation with the Executive Committee shall appoint these ad hoc committees.

Article VIII - Activities of the Section

Section 1 - Section Activities - The Ethnic Minorities Section may prepare and submit majority and minority positing papers or statements to the NCFR Board of Directors for their action. A proposal requiring immediate action may be brought to the attention of the Section Chair when at least 25 members of the Section request it. The Section Chair shall bring the proposal to the attention of the NCFR Board. Examples of Section activities are sponsorship of workshops, meetings of its members organized around topics of common interest, publications concerned with scholarship on ethnic minority families, and collaboration with other groups of scholars including NCFR affiliated councils. All activities will be conducted in keeping with the policies and procedures of NCFR.

Section 2 - Section Decisions - The need to have decisions made in a timely manner in order to support and further the section and NCFR will sometimes preclude face-to-face meetings of Section Membership and/or the Executive Committee. In such cases, the person responsible for convening the voting body (with the approval of the section chair and/or members of that committee) may poll the committee/section via email. A 2/3 vote of members eligible to vote on the issue is needed in order for the proposal to pass.

Article IX - Annual Business Meeting
The section shall hold an annual business meeting at the annual conference of the NCFR. At that time, projects and concerns of the membership shall be discussed and debated openly. A written secretary-treasurer's report and proposed budget shall be available at annual meetings. Matters related to the development of new committees, workshops, and other functions shall be presented and issues related to expenditure of funds shall be discussed.

Article X - Rules of Order
Roberts' Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the Section in all parliamentary procedures in which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with the bylaws.

Article XI - Amendments
Provisions of these bylaws not governed by the bylaws of NCFR may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of members in attendance at any annual business meeting of the section.

Approved by the Ethnic Minorities Section, November 9, 2001, Rochester, NY
Edited and distributed via email, December 2001