Bylaws of the New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society

Drafted by Chapter President, Rebecca Marchand (2012-2016), in collaboration with Jacquelyn Sholes, Program Chair and Sam Rechtoris, Secretary-Treasurer

APPROVED at the Spring Meeting: May 3, 2014 at Providence College

Article II AMENDED at the Winter Chapter Meeting February 21, 2015 at Boston University

Adopted/Approved:

Article I: Name This organization shall be known as “The New England Chapter of the American Musicological Society.” Henceforth the American Musicological Society shall be referred to as the “Society” and the New England Chapter as the “Chapter.” The official abbreviation for headings, checks, etc. shall read: “AMS-NE.”

Article II: Objectives The objectives of the Chapter shall be to foster: 1) The advancement of scholarship in the various fields of music through research, learning, and teaching. 2) The cooperation among members of the Society in the Chapter’s geographical area; 3) The exchange of ideas 4) The regional implementation of policies, programs and directives as adopted by the government of the Society. 

The Chapter is organized exclusively for educational purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Article III: Area The geographical area of the Chapter includes the Maritime Provinces, (Eastern) Quebec, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Central & Eastern Connecticut.

Article IV: MembershipThe Chapter membership shall consist of regular and student members-in-good-standing of the Society who have paid annual Chapter dues. Eligibility for Chapter membership, therefore, shall be provided in Article III of the Society’s amended bylaws (May 2013), as published in the 2013 Directory. Graduate student members have the same rights and responsibilities as regular members but are only eligible for the office of Student Representative to AMS Council.

Article IV. a.: Dues Annual dues shall be established by the President and Treasurer. Every member of the Chapter must pay annual dues for every fiscal year (1 July to 30 June). The membership is determined by the fiscal year. The Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer, will oversee collection of dues at Chapter Meetings, and can also receive dues payments by mail. The annual dues amount can be revised by a vote at the Spring Business meeting of the Chapter.

Article V: Government The officers of the Chapter shall be the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, (or a Secretary- Treasurer), and the Program Chair. Ancillary positions include the AMS Council Representative, and two Student Representatives to the AMS Council. Chapter officers must live in the geographical area as defined in Article III at the time of their appointment.The Chapter shall elect a member from the regular membership to serve a two-year term as President. The President shall call and preside at Chapter meetings, and shall supervise the affairs of the Chapter.In the absence, incapacity, or disability of the President, the Secretary (or Secretary-Treasurer) shall exercise the functions of the President. Should the office of the President fall vacant before the expiration of the appointed term, the Secretary (or Secretary-Treasurer) shall fill the remaining tenure of the vacated office, or may request that a trusted and longtime member of the chapter serve as an interim President.The Chapter shall elect a member from the regular membership as Secretary, who shall keep the records and correspondence of the Chapter. In addition, the Chapter shall elect a member from the regular membership as Treasurer, who shall collect and disburse the Chapter’s funds. One person, designated as Secretary-Treasurer may fill both positions.. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the President may appoint a member of the Chapter to fill in the vacancy until the next Chapter meeting, at which time a member shall be elected for the remaining tenure of the vacated office.The Chapter shall elect a member from the regular membership to serve as Program Chair. The Program Chair will oversee the paper selection process for chapter meetings, liason with the local arrangements chair for meetings, and will act as a general moderator for paper sessions.In accordance with Article IV of the Society’s bylaws, the Chapter shall elect a member from the regular membership to serve Chapter’s regular representative on the national Council. The Chapter Representative should be able to attend the annual Council meetings at the annual Meeting of the Society.In accordance with Article IV of the Society’s by-laws, the Chapter shall elect two student members from the student membership to overlapping two-year terms as the Chapter’s non- voting student representatives on the national Council. One student shall be elected each year. According to this article, “The student members of the Council shall be students who have embarked on doctoral programs in any field of musical scholarship.” At least one student representative should be able to attend the annual meeting of the Council. The newly elected student representative is expected to help with planning for Chapter meetings between the election and the official beginning of her or his term.

Article V. a.: Nominations and Elections Nominations for the offices of President, Secretary, Treasurer, or Secretary-Treasurer, Program Chair, and a regular and student Council representatives may come from any Chapter member in good standing. Members in good standing may vote at the meeting. Members will have the opportunity to pay their dues at this meeting in order to vote. No person shall hold more than one elected office in the Chapter at the same time, except in the event of a Secretary-Treasurer who fills both positions.

Article V. b.: Terms of Office 1. The terms of every office, except National Council Chapter Representative, shall be two (2) years. The President, Program Chair and one Student Representative shall be elected in even-numbered years, and the Secretary-Treasurer (or Secretary), and one Student Representative in odd-numbered years for overlapping terms of service. Two National Council Student Representatives shall be elected for overlapping terms of two (2) years. The National Council Chapter Representative shall be elected for a term that is in accordance with Article IV of the Society’s by-laws.2. Every active member may become a candidate for elective office, except for Student Representative, which is reserved for graduate students of an academic institution. 3. No member may be a candidate for the same office more than twice in succession, except for the Secretary (or Secretary-Treasurer). The National Council Representatives may not succeed themselves, nor may Student Representatives.4. Members may not continue in office if their permanent residence has been transferred out of the Chapter’s jurisdiction, if they become physically or mentally incapacitated, if they are suspended from active membership, or if their removal has been requested by the Executive Board of the Society or by the two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Total Chapter Government.

Article VI: Program Committee The Program Committee consists of the Program Chair and four additional members, all of whom should be regular members, selected by the Program Chair. The Call for Papers will be generated by the Program Chair, who will be responsible for collecting submitted abstracts via e-mail or in hard copy. The Committee will then review all abstracts blindly–and will evaluate them according to a ranking system established by the Program Chair. The process should include discussion among all members of the Committee. With the exception of invited papers (see Article VII.a. below), abstracts will be evaluated according to the criteria of the blind review process, and no other factors (such as the submitter’s institutional affiliation, length of Membership within the Chapter, faculty ranking, Chapter Officer, etc) shall be considered.

Article VII: Meetings The Chapter shall normally hold three full-day meetings during the months of September to May, ideally in September, February, and April. Adjustments may be made due to host availability. Normally there shall be no more than one joint meeting with another society or music department per academic year. All members of the Society, their guests, and other interested parties may attend the meetings; only those members of the Society who have paid their dues are members- in-good-standing. 10 members-in-good-standing of the Chapter shall constitute a quorum for elections or voting on business items. The President shall hold a business meeting at the Spring meeting for the purpose of elections and chapter business. If circumstances require it, the President may also hold a business meeting at any of the meetings.

Article VII. a.: Papers All members-in-good-standing of both the Society and Chapter are eligible to read papers at the meetings. Undergraduate papers, selected by the program committee, may be read, but are ineligible for consideration for the Schafer Award. (See Schafer Award Tab for Schafer Award Guidelines).The President, in consultation with the Program Chair and Program Committee, may invite speakers to a chapter meeting. Invited papers may include keynote addresses by senior scholars and special topic papers for meetings that focus on a special topic.

Article VII. b: Hosting Meetings Any Member or Institution may host a meeting of the Chapter. Graduate students from the hosting institution who volunteer or assist with the meeting may waive their Chapter Dues for the year in which the meeting takes place.

Article VIII: Fiscal Year The fiscal year of the Chapter shall run from 1 July through 30 June.

Article IX: Action of the Chapter No action of the Chapter shall be considered an action of the Society unless approved by the Society’s Board of Directors.

Article X: Rules Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern all meetings and committees where those rules are applicable and consistent with these bylaws. A Chapter member designated by the President, shall serve as parliamentarian.

Article XI: Amendments The Constitution or the Bylaws of the Chapter may be amended by the two-thirds (2/3) vote of those active regular members who vote on the specific amendment (see Bylaw VII). All amendments to the Constitution or to the Bylaws shall be in consonance with the Bylaws of the Society.

Article XII: Dissolution of the Chapter In the event of the dissolution of the Chapter, any assets remaining shall be disposed of by the Society’s Board of Directors in accordance with the Society’s bylaws.

Communications Policy

Updated August 2020

The AMS-NE (American Musicological Society — New England Chapter) shall communicate primarily through the following methods/venues:

  1. E-mail (henceforth: chapter email address)
  2. The website/blog
  3. Facebook group
  4. Twitter
  5. Paper mailings (rare–only when necessary)

The chapter e-mail address will be a distinctive account (ams dot newengland at gmail dot com) which will be maintained primarily by the web administrator although the President, Secretary, and Program Chair may also have access.

That account will be used to send official communications of the chapter, and can only be used by the aforementioned Chapter Officers and positions. All basic inquiries shall be sent to this e-mail address.

E-mail List

The web administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, will maintain the mailing list for the chapter. The mailing list will be used in the BCC field ONLY. The TO field will contain the chapter email address. The mailing list includes all interested parties (including non-members) and is opt-in only.

Chapter members who wish to share announcements with the chapter may do so by sending the announcement to ams.newengland@gmail.com with the indication that they would like it to be shared (forwarded). Only the following type of announcements will be shared and the web administrator reserves the right not to send anything that does not comply with these guidelines. Please note that these guidelines also apply to the Facebook group and Blog*.

Postings must adhere to the following:

  1. All events must take place in the “New England area”, understood as extending to Eastern Quebec, Maritime Provinces, New Jersey, New York, and any state/region within 3-6 hours drive of a New England state. If the event is online, it should be hosted by an entity or persons who are located in the region described as “New England area”. 
  2. The following event types are acceptable: Conferences, Symposia, Lectures and other events where the musicological component is central.
  3. Concerts that do not have a distinctive musicological component will not be shared. Lecture-recitals/concerts with a distinctive musicological component are ok. This must be something outside the repertoire itself.
  4. Job postings should be geared toward musicologists, or suitable alt-ac positions, and must be within the New England area.
  5. Promotions of books, awards, articles, and other accolades will NOT be shared, although these can be sent for posting on the “Chapter News” tab on the blog.
  6. The Web administrator has the right to refuse sharing any announcement

The chapter website is maintained by the web administrator and is found at https://www.newengland.ams-net.org/

Primary postings regarding chapter events will be posted on the landing page. There are also five tabs: Chapter News and Announcements*, Upcoming Meetings, Schafer Memorial Award, Meeting Archive, Chapter Bylaws and Officers.

*An exception to content policies will be made for the Chapter Website. Members in good standing (recent meeting attendance and/or dues paid) can email the Chapter e-mail address to share news of awards and recent publications only. Concert announcements will not be shared unless they feature a lecture or other musicological aspect. Other types of announcements will be approved on a case-by-case basis.

Facebook Group

At present, any member of the Facebook Group may post. The web administrator, and any other assigned Facebook Group moderators can delete any post that does not comply with the guidelines as stated above. These guidelines are available at the Facebook group site as well. If a post does not comply, the poster will be made aware of the reason for deletion and asked to review the guidelines. If the same person posts again, with a post that does not fit the guidelines, they will be removed from the group. 

The Facebook group is private but open to anyone who answers the “membership question” upon asking permission to join. The membership question is as follows: “Hello! Please kindly share your interest in joining the group, as we do use this space for a specific purpose. Thanks!” Current members can invite others, but those people will still need to answer the membership question in order to be approved.

Twitter

The web administrator may use the Twitter account (@AMSNewEng) to advertise Chapter news and relevant items. The web administrator will determine hashtags for meetings. Live-tweeting of meetings can only occur with each speaker’s approval. If in-person, a “Tweets ok” sign should be hung in a visible place in front of each speaker. If online, the Program Chair should communicate Twitter permissions for each speaker in the chat box and in introductions.

Paper mailings

Due to labor and cost, paper mailings will be kept to a minimum. In the rare case that a chapter member may not have access to email, or has to pay dues by mail, USPS will be utilized.