CKS Revised Bylaws

Rules and Procedures for the Nomination and Election of Members of the Executive Committee of the Committee on Korean Studies, AAS

Revised January 2020

1) The Committee on Korean Studies – The Committee on Korean Studies is open to all persons who are interested in Korean Studies.

2) The Voting Members of the Committee on Korean Studies – The voting members of the Committee on Korean Studies are all persons who are members of the Association of Asian Studies and who are interested in Korean Studies

3) The Executive Committee of the Committee on Korean Studies – The Executive Committee consists of five members elected by the voting members of the Committee on Korean Studies for a three-year staggered period so that two new members shall be chosen each year and one new member every third year.  The number of Executive Committee members elected in any given year may be adjusted to account for resignations in the interim as well as for factors listed below.

In the event that the Chair of the Executive Committee is selected with fewer than two years remaining on her or his Executive Committee term of service, his or her Executive Committee term of service shall be extended so as to encompass the full term of her or his Chairship.

In the event that the Chair of the Executive Committee is selected from outside the existing membership of the Executive Committee, and subsequently confirmed via a confirmatory vote of the Voting Members of the Committee on Korean Studies (per the procedures outlined in The Chair of the Executive Committee, below), the Chair shall serve a third year as a member of the Executive Committee immediately after the completion of his or her two-year term as Chair.

Terms of service of members of the Executive Committee and of all its officers, including the Chair, shall begin and end at the end of the annual General Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies.

4) Nominations – The Executive Committee shall appoint from among its membership a Committee on Nominations and Elections and a Chair of this committee.  The Committee on Nominations and Elections shall solicit, from the Voting Members, a list of interested persons, and from this list shall prepare and announce to the Voting Members an initial list of nominees by the First of December each year.  The Nominating Committee should select a slate of candidates that reflects both the ability and the range of disciplinary interests and diversity of the Committee’s membership.

Nominees may also be added to the slate of candidates by petition.  Petitions for nominees shall be signed or electronically agreed to by the lesser of twenty members or five or more percent of the Voting Members of the Committee on Korean Studies and deposited with the Chair of the Committee on Nominations and Elections by a designated date, no earlier than thirty days before the opening of the Election for the Executive Committee.  It shall be obligatory upon the Committee on Nominations and Elections to include among the nominees all members nominated by petition for the election of members of the Executive Committee.

Nominees for the Executive Committee should hold the Ph.D., its equivalent, or another terminal degree appropriate for their area of specialization and should be Voting Members.  There is no employment criterion for nomination to the Executive Committee.

5) Election of the Executive Committee – The final slate of candidates for the Executive Committee shall consist of members nominated by the Committee on Nominations and Elections plus any candidates validly nominated by petition as outlined above.  Each Voting Member of the Committee on Korean Studies shall be entitled to vote for a number of persons equal to the number of persons to be elected from this slate of candidates.

The election of members of the Executive Committee shall be opened no earlier than the Fifteenth of January each year, and the election window shall remain open for at least ten days, at the discretion of the Committee on Nominations and Elections.  The outcome of the election shall be announced during the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies after it has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Association.

6) The Chair of the Executive Committee – The Chair of the Executive Committee shall be elected every two years from and by the members of the Executive Committee and no member of the Executive Committee shall serve as Chair of the Executive Committee for more than one consecutive term.

In the event that no member of the Executive Committee is able or willing to serve as Chair, the Executive Committee may appoint a new Chair from among the Voting Members of the Committee on Korean Studies.  In this case, the new Chair shall be subject to a confirmatory vote by the Voting Members, with a simple majority of votes cast necessary for confirmation.

7) Re-election to the Executive Committee – Persons who have served on the Executive Committee shall be re-elected to the Executive Committee or to its Chairship only after one year has elapsed since the termination of their previous service.

8) Ex officio Members of the Executive Committee – The Executive Committee shall be authorized to appoint ex officio members on the Committee for a term of one year.  Such ex officio members shall include the editor of the Committee on Korean Studies newsletter, which should be sent to members at least annually.

9) Annual Meeting – The Committee on Korean Studies shall conduct an annual business meeting, open to all members and chaired by the Chair of the Executive Committee, at the annual General Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies.

10) Other Voting Procedures – The Executive Committee may, at its discretion, submit other matters requiring broad consideration to a vote of the Voting Members of the Committee on Korean Studies either during Annual Meetings or, in the interim, by ballot.  Revisions of these Rules and Procedures shall be submitted for such a vote.

11) Electronic Communication – Email or other future means of electronic communication shall be deemed acceptable substitutes for written communication within the Executive Committee and between the Executive Committee and Members or Voting Members, including for votes and petitions.  When necessary, the Executive Committee may act to confirm the validity of electronic documents.