Constitution

LASSO Constitution

(Last revised 12/18/2023)*

 

Article I. Name and Object

  1. This organization shall be called the LINGUISTIC ASSOCIATION OF THE SOUTHWEST, the official acronym for which shall be LASSO.
  2. Its object is the advancement of the scientific study of language.

Article II. Membership

  1. There shall be two categories of membership: regular and student.

1.1 Any person may become a regular member by payment of the membership dues.

1.2 Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in the regular academic year at any recognized college or university may become a student member upon payment of dues. Student memberships shall be limited to the amount of time the member is a student, be it undergraduate or graduate.

  1. The membership year shall be the calendar year, and payment of dues at any time during the year shall maintain a member in good standing. Failure to pay dues before December 31 shall render a member in default. Any member in default for two years shall be dropped from the membership. 
  2. Only members in good standing may vote and hold office.
  3. Only members in good standing are able to present and/or be on the program at the Annual Meeting of the Association.

Article III. Offices and Committees

  1. The officers shall be a President, a Vice-President, an Executive Director, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. Assuming office at the close of the annual meeting, the President and Vice-President shall serve for one year, with the Executive Director, the Secretary, and the Treasurer serving for three-year terms, which may be renewed once.

1.1 The Executive Director shall preside at meetings of the Association and of the Executive Committee, shall appoint all non-elective committees, shall have the responsibility of determining whether the organization is functioning according to the Constitution, and in consultation with the Executive Committee shall appoint a member to fill a vacated position. The Executive Director shall ensure that venues for the annual meeting be identified and that all committee memberships are filled on a timely basis. The Executive Director shall coordinate the conference fees collected and distributed by LASSO with local arrangements committees and the Treasurer in the case that the local arrangements committees wish to have the fees collected and distributed by the organization. The Executive Director shall prepare two newsletters per year, to be distributed to the membership.

1.2 The Secretary shall keep Minutes of LASSO meetings, maintain all membership records, and collaborate on the preparation and distribution of any official Association communications other than the Journal.

1.3 The President shall have the responsibility of organizing the process for the Helmut Esau award, shall advise the Vice-President on details pertaining to the following year’s annual meeting, and shall perform the functions of the Executive Director in their absence. The President will deliver the Presidential Address at the annual meeting that concludes their term.

1.4 The Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President in the latter’s absence, shall be responsible for the program of the yearly meeting, including the selection of the keynote speaker, shall inform the Executive Director of the final program in time for the fall newsletter, shall organize the abstract submission process, shall look for pertinent abstract reviewers, shall coordinate the conference organization with the Local Arrangements Committee, shall also be responsible for suggesting to the Executive Committee the site of the following meeting, and shall succeed to the Presidency at the conclusion of the annual Business Meeting.

1.5 The Treasurer shall maintain records of the financial transactions of the Association. The Treasurer shall be the fiscal officer of the Association, receiving and processing dues payments from members and shall prepare and submit to the Executive Director and Secretary annually a complete list of members. The Treasurer shall also produce a statement of the financial condition of the Association, which, upon being reviewed by the Executive Director and Executive Committee, shall be distributed to the members by the Executive Director. In the event that Local Arrangement Committees wish to have LASSO collect conference fees, the Treasurer will communicate to the Executive Director and the Secretary the collection and disbursement of said funds, which are separate from dues payments.

  1. There shall be an Executive Committee composed of six voting ex officio members – namely, the five officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Executive Director) and the past president – and three elected members.

2.1 The Executive Committee shall act for and represent the Association at all times except when the Association is itself assembled in its Annual Meeting. The Executive Committee shall nominate the Treasurer and Editor. It shall exercise final authority in the interpretation of the Constitution.

2.2 The Executive Committee shall meet at least once annually, just prior to the Annual Meeting of the Association. If any member of the Executive Committee does not attend a meeting of the committee, that member shall designate a proxy.

2.3 The term of an elected member of the Executive Committee shall be three years, with only one member being elected each year. No one who at the time of the election is serving on the Executive Committee in any capacity shall be eligible for election as an elected member of the committee.

  1. There shall be a Nominating Committee composed of three members elected by the Association.

3.1 The term of each member shall be three years, with only one member being elected each year. The senior member shall serve as chair. The retiring member of the Committee shall not be eligible for reelection.

3.2 The Nominating Committee shall annually nominate members to fill vacancies among the elective offices within the Association.

  1. There shall be a Program Committee, Local Arrangements Committee, Budget Committee, and Development Committee, the composition of which are detailed in the by-laws.
  2. Elections to Association offices shall be conducted in accordance with the rules as outlined in the by-laws.

Article IV. Meetings

  1. There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Association at a time and place determined by the Local Arrangements Committee. The Annual Meeting shall consist of at least one business session and one or more scholarly sessions. A quorum shall consist of members present at the meeting.
  2. All scholarly aspects of the Annual Meeting shall be the responsibility of the Program Chair, all decisions of which shall be final.
  3. Speaker fees are to be limited to $700 plus hotel and travel expenses from the conference budget. The Local Arrangements Committees may increase this amount with external funding.

Article V. Publications

  1. The Association shall publish a journal, which shall be titled the International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest.

1.1 The Executive Editor of the journal shall be nominated by the Executive Committee and shall serve a three-year term which may be renewed once.

1.2 The Executive Editor shall be responsible for the publication of the journal of the organization, shall present a yearly report in the annual conference at the Executive and the Business Meetings, and shall work closely with the Treasurer on the records of the journal.

1.3 The Executive Editor shall nominate Associate Editors, to be approved by the Executive Committee, to serve three-year overlapping terms which may be renewed. Their duties and responsibilities shall be determined by the Executive Editor.

1.4 At the discretion of the Executive Editor, they may nominate up to seven members of the Editorial Board to serve three-year overlapping terms which may be renewed. They shall serve in an advisory role to the Executive Editor should any issues or questions arise.

1.5 The Reviews Editor shall be nominated by the Executive Editor, to be approved by the Executive Committee, for a three-year term which may be renewed once. Their duties and responsibilities shall be determined by the Executive Editor. 

1.6 The journal shall include a list of the elected officers and committee members.

1.7 The journal shall publish articles by LASSO members only.

1.8 Upon the successful completion of a three-year term, the Executive Editor shall become a Life Member of LASSO.

  1. The Association shall publish a newsletter.

2.1 The Executive Director shall publish the LASSO newsletter twice a year (February and August).

2.2 Each newsletter shall contain: (1) a list of elected officers and committee members; (2) a section on “Southwest Research in Progress”; (3) a section on meetings and information of interest; (4) the current research priority as determined by the Executive Committee; (5) the annual meeting information, (6) information about the Helmut Esau award. The Spring newsletter shall include: (1) the deadline for submission of abstracts for the annual meeting; (2) the complete program for the fall meeting; (3) the minutes of the Executive Committee meeting; (4) the actions of the business meeting; (5) information about the Helmut Esau award; and (6) the yearly financial statement. The Fall newsletter shall include: (1) the preliminary program for the annual meeting; (2) lodging and travel arrangements for the conference and any other important details; and (3) an announcement of the Helmut Esau award recipient(s).

Article VI. Amendments

  1. Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted to the Executive Director in writing, signed by at least five members of the Association. Balloting on Constitutional amendments shall be by electronic mail or any electronic survey method, with a quorum consisting of all ballots returned to a designated Association member within the specified balloting period. An amendment to the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority of the quorum.
  2. Proposed amendments to the by-laws shall be submitted to the Executive Director in writing, signed by at least five members of the Association. Balloting on by-law amendments shall, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, be conducted either by electronic mail or any electronic survey method or during the business session of the Annual Meeting. By-law amendments require a simple majority of the quorum.

LASSO By-Laws to the Constitution

Article I

  1. While The Linguistic Association of the Southwest is primarily interested in languages of the Southwestern United States, it shall draw its membership from any region in the world.

Article II

  1. Annual dues shall be as follows: $75 regular, $30 student, $600 life.

Article III

  1. In selecting nominees, the Nominating Committee shall strive to maintain balance in discipline and language representation, but this representation shall not be the deciding factor in selecting nominees.

1.1 Balloting on nominees to elective offices of the Association shall be conducted during the business session of the Annual Meeting.

1.2 The Vice President, in arranging the program, shall be in contact with the President, the Treasurer, and the Local Arrangements Committee. The Local Arrangements Committee shall inform the Executive Committee of the local research interest so that one part of the conference program may be directed toward that local interest.

1.3 The Local Arrangements Committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee. Ideally, the Local Arrangements Committee shall consist, at a minimum, of two members. Each member of the committee shall serve for one year.

1.4 The Local Arrangements Committee shall be responsible for (1) reserving hotel rooms and meeting rooms for the yearly meeting; (2) contacting publishers for a display of books and materials; (3) promoting the yearly meeting in the local media and at the area high schools, community colleges, and universities; and (4) providing refreshments during the meeting, within a budget set by the Local Arrangements Committee.

1.5 The Local Arrangements Committee shall work on a budget to spend for the yearly meeting.

1.6 The Local Arrangements Committee shall be responsible for all expenses the plenary speaker shall incur, except the honorarium fee which will be covered by the association. In case the Local Arrangements Committee decides to invite more than one plenary speaker, they shall cover all costs related to honorarium, travel, and lodging.

1.7 The Local Arrangements Committee shall pay the lodging of the President if any conference funds are available.

1.8 The Development Committee shall try to obtain media coverage of LASSO events, shall encourage liaison with related professional organizations in the area, shall seek ads for the journal, shall appoint a LASSO member, in each geographical area, who will be responsible for publicizing LASSO events.

Article IV. Meetings

 

  1. The opportunity to host an Annual Meeting is open to any LASSO member in good standing. Solicitation will be made at least once a year in the LASSO Newsletter. Interested persons, on behalf of organizations/institutions, shall submit to the Executive Committee relevant details, including at a minimum dates, organizing committee members, and availability of facilities and funding. By invitation, a spokesperson for the proposal may be present to answer questions at the appropriate Executive Committee meeting.
  2. The Executive Committee shall vary the location of the Annual Meeting sufficiently to provide geographic diversity from year to year.
  3. Special tribute sessions during Annual Meetings that are designed to honor former professors, mentors, or those who have done significant service to LASSO:

3.1 Shall be included in the call for papers for the Annual Meetings.

3.2 Shall be submitted via e-mail to the Executive Committee of LASSO for recommendation in conjunction with the Program Chair by the established deadline for submissions for possible presentation at the Annual Meeting.

3.3 These tributes may vary in format and content. Options may include, personal anecdotes, commendation and/or ‘roasting’, panels, roundtables, etc. on related work.

*In addition to the 2023 revisions to the Constitution approved by consensus of the LASSO membership, the document has been re-formatted to include previous changes. For the previous version, click here.