Africa Research Group (ARG) Activity Report and Budget—Fall 2021

Constitution:
Constitution: THE AFRICA RESEARCH GROUP OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY CENTER THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK CONSTITUTION Article I. NAME The name of this organization shall be the Africa Research Group (ARG). Article II. PURPOSE The purpose of this organization shall be: a) To provide the Graduate Center with an inter-disciplinary forum for research, dialogue, and networking related to scholarly and professional pursuits on Africa. b) To support and strengthen the Africa focus within existing courses at the Graduate Center. c) To support and coordinate research and publication on Africa among students at the Graduate Center and other CUNY colleges. d) To encourage stronger ties between Africanist students and faculty at the Graduate Center. e) To build a network of Africanists at the Graduate Center to facilitate the sharing of information and ideas. Article III. MEMBERSHIP a) Membership shall be comprised of graduate students, alumni, and faculty within CUNY who indicate their wishes to assume the privileges and responsibilities of membership in the Group. b) Each member in good standing shall be entitled to hold any officer position and to hold one vote. c) In order to maintain good standing, a member must have a good record of participation in meetings and events of the association during the semester. d) Each member shall be entitled to participate and be a member of other associations within the Graduate Center. Article IV. OFFICERS AND DUTIES a) The governing council and executive committee of the association shall be the Council of Chairs. b) The Council of Chairs shall be comprised of the following officers: one or two Program Co-Chairs, one or two Research Co-Chairs, one or two Communications Co-Chairs, and one Finance Chair. c) The tenure of the Chairs will be one year from September 15 to September 14 of the following year. d) There are no term limits but elections must be held each year. e) Every member who holds an office shall not withdraw from such position unless he or she submits a resignation letter to the Council of Chairs one month in advance. f) Whenever a seat on the Council of Chairs has been vacated due to reasons other than the natural end of the term, the Council will ask for nominations and hold a vote at the next general meeting. g) All Chairs are subject to recall by members. A recall motion for a particular office shall be discussed and voted on at a general meeting in which it is introduced only after it has been seconded by five members. Chairs are recallable as officeholders on an individual basis by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Group at a meeting at which one-third (1/3) quorum is present. g) The duties of each Chair shall be as follows: Section 1. The Program Co-Chair(s) shall: 1. Set up an agenda for the activities and programs for the semester. 2. Hold regular Council meetings in order to coordinate these activities. 3. Hold monthly or bi-monthly research seminars when members may present on-going research and discuss and evaluate their findings, with the aim to encourage formal presentations at conferences. 4. Host and co-host seminars and conferences on Africa, with the aim to promote cooperation between the ARG membership and the greater Africanist community, including graduate students at other universities. 5. Prepare and submit all required program reports to the DSC. Section 2. The Research Co-Chair(s) shall: 1. Compile lists of conferences on Africa and calls for papers and circulate them to members. 2. Maintain a current list of journals on Africa and other information to encourage the submission of papers for publication by members. 3. Distribute information on other Africa-related events. 4. Maintain a resource library on Africa-related materials. 5. Hold research workshops on Africa. Section 3. The Communications Co-Chair(s) shall: 1. Establish and maintain a communications network to announce ARG activities as well as Africa-related events and information which may be of interest to members. 2. Maintain an active contact list of members and outside participants in ARG events. 3. Maintain the ARG bulletin board. 4. Be responsible for making and posting all flyers and making announcements in CUNY newsletters and elsewhere. 5. Be responsible for recruiting members and all other outreach. Section 4. The Finance Chair shall: 1. Keep an accounting of all financial transactions and expenditures of the association. 2. Submit expense reports for reimbursement of expenses. 3. Prepare program budgets for the DSC fiscal year which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. 4. Submit grant applications and be responsible for all fundraising. 5. Prepare and submit all required financial reports to the DSC. 6. Coordinate Group activities along with the Program Co-Chair(s). Article V. MEETINGS a) The Council of Chairs shall hold a general business meeting open to all members each month during the semester. The first meeting of the year must be held by September 14. The Council may hold planning meetings outside of the general business meetings as needed. b) All meetings and their agendas shall be announced in writing and/or electronically and shall be sent to all members 15 days in advance. In addition, all meeting dates shall be posted on bulletin boards throughout the Graduate Center. c) All general meetings shall take place at the Graduate Center. d) Respective Co-Chairs shall meet for planning purposes outside of these general meetings as needed, and may ask other members, or form committees, to help with specific activities and events. Article VI. ELECTIONS The Council of Chairs shall be elected in the first general meeting of the year, except for the first constituting Council. In such meeting, any appointed member for any position shall get the majority of the votes. Elections shall be held by ballot. Article VII. AMENDMENTS This constitution may be amended by the favorable vote of three-fourths (3/4) of the members present and voting at any general meeting and provided the amendment has been sent by mail or electronically to all members 15 days in advance of the meeting. Further amendments to the constitution may be acted upon at such meeting.