Pacific Northwest Renaissance Society By-Laws

  1. Name: The Pacific Northwest Renaissance Society (PNRS) shall be the name of the regional organization of the national Renaissance Society of America and the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies.

  2. Purpose: The society promotes scholarly activity in Renaissance studies, especially by holding an annual meeting for the exchange of scholarship.

  3. Membership: The Pacific Northwest Renaissance Society region consists of the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Scholars resident in the region or elsewhere may become members upon payment of the annual dues. All members are eligible to submit a paper, attend the annual meeting, and participate in other benefits the PNRS may arrange, but only those residing in the region may become officers or members of the Board (see sections 4 and 6).

  4. Officers: The officers of the PRNS shall be a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Member-at-large who shall be elected by a simple majority of the membership, and each of whom shall serve for three years. Nominees shall be members of the PNRS; the election shall normally be conducted by the outgoing President at an annual meeting, but may also be conducted by mail ballot. Normally, the President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be elected in different years. Should an officer be unable to complete the term, one of the other officers will assume the duties until the next annual meeting when a successor shall be elected. The President may serve two three-year terms. The Treasurer, Secretary, and Member-at-large are not limited in the number of terms they serve. The nationality of the succeeding Presidents will alternate between American and Canadian. If possible the nationalities of the other officers will also alternate.

  5. Duties of Officers: The President shall be the official spokesperson for the PNRS, maintain liaison with the national organizations and whenever possible attend their annual meetings as the PNRS's representative, chair business and other meetings, and conduct the election of officers. The President will also endeavour to organize a PNRS session for the annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America. The Secretary shall keep formal records of the annual meeting and maintain a file of programmes and proceedings. The Treasurer will collect dues and other moneys, pay authorized bills, maintain accounts, and present an annual financial report, keep a current membership list and provide it to the chair of the annual meeting; arrange for an audit by a qualified CPE (CA) unconnected with the PNRS in the year his/her term of office is to end.

  6. Executive Board: There shall be an executive board consisting of seven PNRS members: the President, the Past-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the conference chair of the preceding and current year, and the Member-at-large.

  7. Duties of the Executive Board: The Board shall prepare the agenda of the annual business meeting, assist, on request, the chair of the annual meeting, advise the officers on policy, help seek financing from appropriate granting agencies, and maintain liaison with the membership. To this end, members of the Board shall, as far as is practicable, come from several states and provinces. The Board may establish ad hoc committees drawn from the membership at large. Additional meetings may be called by the President; a quorum shall consist of four members.

  8. Annual dues: The annual dues shall be determined by the Board subject to ratification at the next following annual meeting by the membership or by mail ballot at the discretion of the Board. Dues may be paid to the Treasurer or at the annual meeting; dues collected at the annual meeting must be paid to the Treasurer within six months of that meeting.

  9. Annual Meeting: The annual meeting shall be held within the region under sponsorship1 of an institution of higher education or a group of such institutions. The invitation for a meeting shall normally be delivered and accepted no less than one calendar year before the proposed date of the meeting, and the sponsorship confirmed by a letter to the President of the PNRS from a senior administrative office of the host institution (Dean, Vice-President, President). The meeting shall be organized by a local chair whose appointment shall be officially confirmed by the PNRS Board, and who shall designate a deputy to take over responsibility for organizing the conference should he or she be temporarily or permanently unable to serve. The chair shall have full discretion about members of the local committee, selection of papers and content of the programme, and all other matters connected with the meeting, and shall allot a reasonable length of time for a plenary business meeting at an hour acceptable to the Board. The chair shall be responsible for arranging meeting and accommodation space, sending out a call for papers, placing notices in appropriate journals,2 and securing funds from the host institution or institutions and/or other granting agencies. The chair shall become a member of the PNRS Board as soon as his/her appointment is confirmed, and may call upon the Board and Officer for advice and assistance, especially in dealing with intra- or extra-mural sources of funds.

  10. Journals and Publications: The PNRS may undertake to sponsor any existing or projected journal or other publication, including one of its own; such sponsorship or undertaking requires approval by simple majority of the annual meeting. The PNRS will endeavour to maintain an e-mail list of all members and a website; these will be used to convey news about the PNRS conference and general news of interest to Renaissance scholars.

  11. These By-Laws may be amended by majority vote at the annual meeting or by mail ballot.

An agreement to sponsor includes the provision of a meeting place, reasonable clerical assistance to the local committee, agreement to provide at least interim financing to print and mail publicity and relief from non-teaching duties at least during the three months prior to the conference date for the conference chair.

Communication to RSA and the CSRS, Newberry Library for Renaissance News and IRIS, to Renaissance and Reformation, to PMLA, to appropriate e-mail forums, and others. The Board should prepare a list of names and addresses and the Treasurer should provide these to each conference chair as soon as his appointment has been confirmed by the Board.