Constitution

Summary of changes: significant changes include revisions to Articles 5 and 6 to reflect the current separation of Secretary General and Treasurer as well as brief descriptions of officer positions (Article 6) (full responsibilities will appear in a separate document) and a revision to Elections (Article 7). Minor editorial changes include removing “postal” ballot, updating “Chairman” to “Chair,” and changing the subscription date from 1 January each year to 31 January.

IAUPE Constitution

(Revised Spring 2023)

Article 1 – Purposes of the Association

The aim and purpose of the Association is to promote international understanding and exchange among scholars of English at a high academic level. To further this aim the Association shall:

(a) make accessible to all its members, through its website or by other means, information of common interest, in particular information relating to English studies and to the teaching of English in universities;

(b) hold international conferences at regular intervals;

(c) publish volumes of conference papers and other appropriate material.

(d) The official address of the Association is the address of the elected Treasurer (treasurer.iaupe@gmail.com).

 

Article 2 – Affiliations of the Association

The Association will foster contact at an international level, as appropriate, with other relevant bodies, such as the Fédération Internationale des Langues et LittératuresModernes (FILLM), UNESCO, and the European Society for the Study of English.

 

Article 3 – Membership

Membership of the Association may be conferred on university professors of English Language and/or Literature and on other scholars of distinction in these and related fields. Admission to membership is determined by the International Committee, based on a simple majority decision.

 

Article 4 – Subscription

A subscription, the sum from time to time determined, shall become due on 31 January in each year. Members who retire before 31 January shall have their subscriptions reduced by half. The funds of the Association shall be devoted to furthering the purposes of the Association.

 

Article 5 – Committees

Overall responsibility for the activities of the Association shall be held by the International Committee (IC). This Committee (which shall meet at least once every three years) shall consist of:

  1. Twelve ordinary members one of whom is elected by the International Committee as the Chair;

  2. the President, for three years preceding the conference he or she hosts

and for a further three years afterwards;

(c) the Secretary-General (SG);

(d) the Treasurer (T).

International Committee (IC). The functions of the International Committee are:

(a) to promote and sustain the aims of the Association as defined above;

(b) to secure adequate funding to sustain these aims;

(c) to promote and monitor membership in all parts of the world;

(d) to arrange elections to the Association’s committees as they fall due;

(e) to recommend to each General Meeting venues for future conferences.

Executive Committee (EC). The International Committee shall elect from its members an Executive Sub-Committee to be responsible for the conduct of the Association’s activities between conferences. This Sub-Committee shall consist of the Chair of the International Committee and four other members, together with the Secretary-General and the Treasurer. It shall ordinarily meet at least once between conferences.

 

Article 6 – Officer Positions (full responsibilities not listed here)

Chair, International Committee.

The Chair leads the work of the IC and EC in between the conferences. Together with the Secretary-General the Chair has an overall responsibility for ensuring that IAUPE matters are taken care of in an efficient manner, that the meetings are well planned and effectively run. Further, the Chair ensures that the President’s plan for the triennial conference is sound and makes recommendations to improve the organization. The Chair sets the agenda for meetings.

President. For organizing the conference, the International Committee shall appoint a President from among the members of the Association in the country where the next conference is to be held. The President may appoint his or her own Conference Committee and shall be accountable to the membership of the Association through the International Committee.

The Secretary-General. The Secretary is a spokesperson for the interests of IAUPE and as such has an overall responsibility for ensuring smooth functioning of the International Committee (and its sub-committee, the Executive Committee) and communication with IAUPE members. The Secretary’s role is to support the International Committee Chair and to make sure that any inquiries from IAUPE members, other organizations or individuals are dealt with in an efficient manner.

The Treasurer. The Treasurer has general charge of the finances of the Association and is signatory to the Association’s bank account. He or she keeps financial records of the Association and keeps the EC informed about IAUPE’s financial situation.

Article 7 – Elections

The International Committee (IC) has the overall responsibility to secure replacement of an IC member(s) whose term of service ends. The IC will review open positions at the triennial conference or sooner in the event a member resigns. The IC will secure approval from those in attendance at the General Meeting.

The International Committee will be responsible for drawing up a list of not more than fifteen names, having regard to

(a) the candidate’s scholarly distinction;

(b) his or her active commitment to IAUPE;

(c) geographical distribution.

The twelve ordinary members of the International Committee shall be elected for a period of six years and shall not be eligible for re-election until a period of three years has elapsed following that term of office. To ensure continuity, no more than half the Committee shall be elected at any one time. Elections will be held every three years, with every member of the Association being entitled to nominate candidates.

The Secretary-General and the Treasurer shall be elected for six years and shall be eligible for re-election. Ideally, both the terms of Secretary-General and the Treasurer would not end in the same year.

 

Article 8 – Conferences

  1. An International Conference shall be held at regular intervals, normally every third year, as far as possible alternately in an English-speaking and non-English-speaking country.

  2. Admission to any conference shall be open to all members of the Association, subject to the payment of a fee.

  3. The President of the Association shall have power to admit non-members to a conference on payment of a fee or by invitation if accommodation and other circumstances so permit.

Article 9 – Revision of the Constitution

The International Committee shall have power to recommend changing the articles of the Constitution. All such changes shall require a quorum, which IAUPE defines as one-third of its membership. Changes then pass by simple majority. In cases of electronic ballots, there can be at least two attempts to attain a quorum. If a quorum is not achieved on the second attempt, the IC may pass the change if the IC’s vote is unanimous.