I. The name of this organization is Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (hereafter, SOLGA).
II. Goals of the Organization
The principal goals of SOLGA are:
A. to facilitate communication among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and other queer anthropologists and between them and similar scholars in other fields;
B. to encourage and support anthropological research on homosexuality,bisexuality, transsexuality and gender in all subfields of the discipline;
C. to help develop materials for teaching about the above topics in various cultural contexts; and to serve the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered anthropologists within the American Anthropological Association.
III. Membership
A. Membership is open to all members of the American Anthropological Association who share in the interests of SOLGA.
B. Members of SOLGA, in good standing, shall receive those publications which are appropriate to their membership class.
C. Members shall receive notice of the annual Business Meeting.
D. Each member who has already paid her/his SOLGA dues for the relevant period shall be eligible to vote on all matters brought before the annual Business Meeting.
E. Institutions may subscribe to the SOLGA publications at a rate set by the annual Business Meeting; however, such subscribers shall not be entitled to vote at annual meetings.
IV. Officers
A. Insofar as possible, office holdings in SOLGA shall be consistent with the principle of gender equity. All reasonable efforts shall be made to obtain representation of people of color, transgenders, and other queer persons among the Officers of the Society.
B. The officers of SOLGA shall consist of:
- Two Co-Chairs of differing gender identity;
- An Editor; and
- A Secretary
- A Treasurer
The above Officers of the Society, except the Co-Chairs, shall be nominated and elected at the annual business meeting as vacancies arise.
C. The Co-Chairs shall serve for two years, and then remain a third year on the Board, one of the Co-Chairs being elected in each year. They shall have overall responsibility for directing the internal affairs of the Society, for organizing activities in pursuit of its aims, and for dealing on behalf of the Society with officials of the American Anthropological Association. The Co-Chairs, acting with the Program Chair, will have the responsibility for suggesting and organizing symposia to be presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, or at any other professional gathering where a SOLGA symposium shall be judged appropriate by them. In case of a disagreement between Co-Chairs, a deadlock shall be broken by a vote of the full SOLGA Board.
D. The Editor shall be responsible for the production of the publications of the Society. In this capacity, he or she may designate other individuals as “contributing associate editors.”
E. The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining accurate and current financial records of the Society and for preparing the annual financial report of the Society in consultation with the Co-Chairs, said report to be submitted by the Co-Chairs to the AAA.
F. The Secretary shall be responsible for the taking and preparation of the minutes of each annual business meeting of the Society, said minutes to be disseminated to the SOLGA membership prior to the next annual business meeting. The Secretary shall also be responsible for any membership mailings the Society undertakes, for maintaining the publisher mailing list, and coordinating the publisher mailing announcing the annual Benedict Prize competition.
G. Board of Directors. The above four Officers of the Society, the Awards Committees Chairs, one former Co-Chair, Program Editors, AAA Newsletter’s SOLGA column editor, and one student shall act as its Board of Directors, all eleven Officers having an equal vote. The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Co-Chairs as vacancies arise. Between business meetings, the Co-Chairs shall consult with and advise the Board of Directors on all major matters and the majority vote of this body shall be binding. The Co-Chairs in consultation shall decide what matters should be referred to the Board. The quorum for Board meetings shall be four of the above members.
H. Vacancies: Should any office of the Society become vacant, Co-Chairs shall appoint an interim Officer to fill the vacancy until the next annual business meeting.
V. Committee Structure
A. Committee Chairs shall be appointed by the Co-Chairs
B. The Awards Committees, each composed of a chair and two committee members, shall award prizes for the best professional and student works on gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender topics. The Chair and the committee members shall be appointed by the Board. The majority decision of the Awards Committee shall determine who shall receive each annual award. The amount of the awards shall be determined by the Co-Chairs, after consultation with the Awards Committee and the Treasurer.
C. The Program Chair shall act with the SOLGA Co-Chairs in organizing symposia to be presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association, and at any other professional gathering where a SOLGA symposium shall be judged appropriate by them.
D. Archives: SOLGA archives, including all past newsletters, shall be housed at the ONE Institute-International Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California. ONE-IGLA will make available these archives for duplication and will seek other documents for the collection.
E. The Board shall have the power to create for special purposes such other ad hoc committees and chairs as it shall consider appropriate between business meetings.
VI. Business Meetings
A. The annual business meeting of the Society shall occur in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Anthropological association
B. All major matters before the Society, except those mandated to a mail ballot as provided for in section F below, shall be considered and voted upon at the annual meeting, including the election of the Co-Chairs, Editor, and Secretary-Treasurer. A simple majority will constitute passage for any matter. The quorum for the annual business meetings shall be thirty members of the Society.
C. The minutes of the annual business meeting shall be printed on the website or in the next subsequent SOLGA newsletter.
D. Proposed changes in the dues structure of the Society shall be noticed in the preceding SOLGA newsletter and voted on at an annual business meeting.
E. Amendments to these By-Laws shall be voted upon by mail, following publication and circulation of the proposed by-Laws in a mailing to all members. A simple majority will constitute passage of any amendments.
F. Should four members of the Board, a two-thirds majority of the members present at a business meeting, or petition by twenty members authorize it, any matter may be submitted to the full membership by mail ballot. A simple majority voting on such a ballot shall indicate passage. Should the recall of an officer of SOLGA be called for, this action must be taken by mail ballot.