AIARD's Constitution and Bylaws

Revised - December 2000

I. Name | II. Purpose | III. Membership
IV. Organization | V. Duties of Officers | VI. Meetings
VII. External Proposals and Projects | VIII. Amendments | IX. Organizational Conditions

Article I - Name

The name of the organization shall be the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article II - Purpose

The purposes of the Association are to:

1. Provide a medium for exchange of ideas and information relating to programs in international agriculture and rural development and to encourage further development of scientific and educational programs directed at modernization of world agriculture.
2. Provide liaison on international agricultural education research and public service among U.S. colleges of agriculture, government agencies, the U.S. Congress, private industry groups, foundations, and international agencies.

Consistent with these purposes, the programs of the Association strive to:

1. Stimulate new ideas and scholarship.
2. Upgrade members’ abilities to implement development programs.
3. Inform members about international opportunities with a variety of donor organizations.
4. Improve education in, and foster greater understanding of, international development and related issues.
5. Promote greater interaction and cooperation among various types of organizations engaged in development assistance.
6. Achieve the mutual benefits to partner countries and partnership institutions from development assistance through trade, technical exchange and other institutional relationships.

Article III- Membership

Section 1 - Eligibility

All persons engaged in international agriculture and rural development shall be eligible for membership.

Section 2 - Membership Fee

The annual membership fee shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

Section 3 - Acceptance to Membership

Membership in the Association may be obtained by payment of dues.

Section 4 - Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Association shall commence on July 1 of a given calendar year and extend through June 30 of the succeeding calendar year. Annual membership dues may be paid prior to commencement of, or during, the fiscal year.

Article IV - Organization

Section 1 - Officers

The officers of the Association shall be a president, president-elect, vice president, and secretary-treasurer. In addition, there shall be five directors, one of whom shall be the immediate past-president. This group of officers and directors shall constitute the Executive Board of the Association. All officers shall be members of the Association.

Section 2 - Election of Officers

The President-Elect shall be elected by a vote of the membership for a term of one year, to take office at the time of the annual meeting of the Association, following election. Upon completion of the term of office as President-elect, he or she shall succeed to the office of President for one year.

The Vice President shall be elected by a vote of the membership for a term of one year, to take office at the time of the annual meeting of the Association, following election. Upon completion of the term of office as Vice President, he or she shall be nominated for the office of President-Elect for one year.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected by a vote of the membership for a term of two years, without limitation on the number of terms for which he or she can be reelected. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be a member of the Executive Committee and shall be eligible for nomination for election to Vice President.

One Director shall be elected each year for a four-year term. The immediate Past-President shall serve for one year as a Director.

Section 3 - Nominations

Nominations for the offices to be filled by membership voting shall be by a Nominating Committee of three members appointed by the President. The Nominating Committee shall submit one name for each office to be filled.

An official ballot, containing the list of nominees, shall be mailed by regular or electronic mail by the Secretary-Treasurer to each member of the Association on or before April 1. Ballots shall be returned within 30 days of mailing to the office of the Secretary-Treasurer for tabulation.

The elected officers shall be so informed by the President prior to the annual meeting at which the election results will be announced. New officers will begin their term of office immediately after the annual meeting.

Section 4 - Filling Vacancies

The Executive Board shall fill, for the unexpired terms, all vacancies in elective officers. The President shall fill all vacancies in appointive positions on committees.

Section 5 - Committees

There shall be five standing committees of the Association, namely: Membership, Awards, Finance, Communications, and Education and Advocacy.

The chair of each committee will be elected by the membership coincident with the schedule of elections for officers and directors. The chair of each of the five standing committees shall also serve as ex-officio member of the Executive Board, with full voice and vote.

From time to time, the President shall appoint such ad hoc committees as are necessary to carry out the business of the Association. These committees shall deal with nominations, awards, other episodic events, and special projects.

Article V - Duties of Officers

Section 1 - President

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the meetings of the Executive Board and shall perform such other duties as pertain to the office.

Section 2 - President-Elect

The President-Elect shall preside, in the absence of the President, at meetings of the Association and the Executive Board and shall perform such other duties as pertain to the office.

The President-Elect shall be responsible for the Annual Meeting Program in consultation with the Executive Committee.

Section 3 - Vice President

The Vice President shall develop and facilitate new Project Initiatives in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Vice President shall preside, in the absence of the President and President-Elect, at meetings of the Association and the Executive Board and shall perform such other duties as pertain to the office.

Section 4 - Secretary-Treasurer

The Secretary-Treasurer shall manage the business of the Association in accordance with policies established by the Executive Board and the membership.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall have custody of the books and records of the Association, keep the minutes of all meetings of the Association and the Executive Board, maintain a list of all members, receive applications for membership, keep the funds of the Association, submit an annual budget for consideration by the Executive Board, and make disbursements as authorized in the budget approved by the Executive Board.

Section 5 - Executive Board

1. The Executive Board shall have full control of the business of the Association and shall report its official actions to the members of the Association at the annual meeting. If such a meeting is not held, the report of actions taken shall be mailed to the membership.
2. Other duties and responsibilities shall be:
   1. Adopt the annual budget;
   2. Act on behalf of the Association as directed by Association action;
   3. Plan programs and assist with all meetings held by the Association;
   4. Fix the amount of dues to be paid by members;

Article VI - Meetings

A meeting of the Association will be held each year at the time and place as agreed upon at the last meeting.

A meeting of the Executive Board shall be held each year prior to the annual meeting of the Association. Other meetings may be held on a call by the President, or by written request of a majority of the members of the Executive Board.

Article VII - External Proposals and Projects

External proposals which involve AIARD as the responsible entity for the execution of a project, which includes the receipt of and distribution of project funds, shall be approved by the President in consultation with the Secretary/Treasurer and the Executive Committee. A multidonor/multiyear project would need to be approved only once by the Executive Committee. The AIARD President and signatory may be different in different years but each has oversight responsibilities over the project during their term and ex-officio responsibility until the project is completed. The contractual documents, correspondence relating to the administration and execution of the project, and copies of all reports will be maintained by the AIARD Secretary/Treasurer.

AIARD will retain 15% of the funds a portion of which may be used for extra secretarial help in administering the project. The remainder will be for expenses for conducting the project to include investigator expenses, reports, publications, commodities, travel, and miscellaneous. A project budget will be prepared prior to final approval of the project. Any significant adjustments to the budget will require majority approval of the Executive Committee and concurrence of the granting institution.

Article VIII - Amendments

Section 1

The Constitution and Bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Association by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of those members present. All amendments must be submitted for approval only after they have been presented in writing to the membership at the previous annual meeting. All amendments must have been acted upon by the Executive Board prior to final action by the Association.

Section 2

The Executive Board may submit proposed amendments, approved by the Board, to the members of the Association for vote by mail. In such case, a minimum of twenty-five percent of the membership must vote and an affirmative vote by two-thirds of all voting shall be necessary for its approval.

Article IX - Organizational Conditions

Conditions associated with the organization and dissolution of the Association are:

1. The Association is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes.
2. No part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered in furtherance of the purposes set forth in paragraph (a) of this section.
   
   No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
   
   Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the Association shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from Federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (or the corresponding provisions of any future United States Internal Revenue Law).
3. Upon dissolution of the Association, the Executive Board shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all of the liabilities of the organization, dispose of all of the assets of the organization exclusively for the purposes of the organization in such manner, or to such organization(s) organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes as at the time shall qualify as an exempt organization(s) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (or the corresponding provisions of any United States Internal Revenue Law), as the Executive Board shall determine.

Oval Myers, Jr.   Secretary-Treasurer
 Revised December 2000