The Constitution of Arts Priori
As of July 2004
Article I—Name
Section 1: The name of this organization is Arts Priori.
Article II—Purpose
Section 1: Arts Priori supports the Arts Policy and Administration Program within the
Department of Art Education and the College of the Arts, to ensure the student
constituents a voice in matters of interest, pertinent to their course of study at The Ohio
State University.
Section 2: Arts Priori shall serve as the representative body for students university-wide
having expressed an interest in the fields of administration, policy and advocacy in the
arts and arts education. Arts Priori shall provide a forum for their views and concerns to
be expressed, and a support network whereby their interests at The Ohio State University
may be enhanced.
Article III—Non-discrimination Policy
Section 1: Arts Priori is affected by the policies adopted by The Ohio State University
Board of Trustees and follows the current non-discrimination policy of The Ohio State
University.
Section 2: The equity of individuals is important to Arts Priori and there shall be no
discrimination by Arts Priori or any of its members against any individual on the basis of
race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, political views, Vietnam-era veteran status,
sexual orientation or disability.
Article IV—Membership
Section 1: Arts Priori is open to all students currently enrolled at The Ohio State
University who have an interest in the fields of administration, policy and advocacy in
the arts and arts educations, and non-students, such as faculty, alumni, and professionals,
who share this interest. New members may sign up at any time during the academic year.
Continuing members, students and non-students, must sign up at the beginning of each
academic year to maintain their status as active members in Arts Priori.
Section 2: Non-student members of Arts Priori shall serve as non-voting members of the
organization. Voting members must be active members of the organization, as defined in
Article IV, Section 1.
Arts Priori Constitution
Section 3: Arts Priori shall be student-led and student-maintained throughout the course
of its existence.
Section 4: No student shall be denied membership in Arts Priori in accordance with the
non-discrimination policy as defined in Article III.
Article V—Committees
Section 1: The Executive Committee conducts the business of Arts Priori between
meetings and prepares the agenda for regularly-scheduled meetings.
Section 2: Arts Priori may create such committees as it shall deem necessary.
Article VI—Organization Leadership
Section 1: Arts Priori executive officers represent the Executive Committee and general
membership.
Section 2: Arts Priori shall elect annually from the voting membership the following
executive officers to comprise its Executive Committee: President, Vice-President,
Secretary, Treasurer, and one First-Year Representative.
Section 3:
A. The President presides over all meetings of Arts Priori and is responsible for
implementing all decisions of the membership.
B. The Executive Committee appoints the time and place of all regular and
special meetings of the organization. Within the first ten days of each quarter
the President shall inform all members in writing of the times appointed for
regular meetings that quarter.
C. The President may appoint Departmental Liaisons with appropriate
departments or schools, such as the Department of Art Education, the School
of Public Policy and Management, the College of Education, or the
performing or fine arts departments. The Liaison(s) report to the Executive
Committee.
Section 4:
decisions.
The Vice-President assists the President in carrying out all Arts Priori
Section 5: The Secretary is responsible for keeping the minutes of the meetings of Arts
Priori and the Executive Committee and for maintaining records.
Section 6: The Treasurer handles all finances of Art Priori and keeps an accurate record
of its financial status at all times.
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Arts Priori Constitution
Section 7: The First-Year Representative will ensure that incoming students are given a
voice in matters discussed during Executive Meetings and are responsible for
representing their concerns.
Section 8: The Departmental Liaison, when appointed, shall assist the Executive Officers
in facilitating communication between Arts Priori and the Department to which he/she is
assigned.
Section 9: All Arts Priori meetings are chaired by an Executive Officer.
Section 10: The members have the authority to remove an Executive Officer only
through the following procedure:
A. The written motion for such action, bearing the signature of at least one-third
of the active members, must be submitted at a general meeting.
B. The officer shall be given the opportunity to respond to the motion at a
hearing with the Organization.
C. The Executive Committee and Organization will thereupon conduct an
investigation into the allegations against the officer and present its findings at
the next general meeting.
D. Following the presentation, the motion will be voted upon. A two-thirds vote
of Arts Priori members is required to effect the removal.
Article VII—Advisors
Section 1: The Advisor must be a full-time member of The Ohio State University’s
faculty or administrative/professional staff and may be selected/terminated by the
Executive Committee. The Advisor may confer with the Executive Committee to appoint
an Acting Advisor if deemed appropriate.
Section 2: The responsibilities of the Advisor/Acting Advisor will include the following:
assisting in the procurement of funds; providing guidance in matters regarding University
policy; attending the Executive Committee meetings; and providing information about
activities of relevance to Arts Priori’s members.
Article VIII—Meetings
Section 1: In accordance with the Executive Committee, there will be at least one (1)
meeting each quarter, excluding Summer Quarter, of at least the membership of the
Executive Committee.
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Arts Priori Constitution
Section 2: Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the President, the
Executive Committee, or at the request of the Advisor/Acting Advisor.
Section 3: Attendance by active members is strongly encouraged, and members must be
present to vote except when absentee voting is allowed by the constitution (see Article X,
Section 4). Absentee votes are to be given to an Executive Committee member prior to
the meeting upon which an item is being voted. Attendance by the Executive Committee
at all general membership meetings is required.
Article IX—Bylaws
Section 1: Arts Priori may enact or amend Bylaws by a simple majority vote at a general
meeting. However, any proposed amendment to the Bylaws must have been presented in
writing at a prior regular meeting. Such Bylaws shall be appended to this Constitution
and available upon request.
Article X—Amendments
Section 1: Any proposed amendment to this constitution must be presented in writing
with the signatures of no less than two-thirds of the members present at a general meeting
of Arts Priori.
Section 2: All proposed amendments shall be read at the general meeting in which they
are proposed, at the general meeting in which they are voted on, and at any general
meetings which occur in the interim.
Section 3: A copy of all proposed amendments and their scheduled voting date must be
sent to all members at least one week prior to the general meeting in which they are to be
voted on.
Section 4: An affirmative vote of two-thirds of those delegates and absentee responses
which are accounted for at a regular meeting following the regular meeting at which the
amendment was proposed will be sufficient to adopt the amendment, provided that the
conditions of Section 1, 2, and 3 of this Article are met.
Article XI—Method of Dissolution of Organization
Section1: Dissolution of Arts Priori may only be done if approval has been obtained, in
writing, from the Organization’s Advisor and with the agreement from two-thirds of the
members.
Bylaws of Arts Priori
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Arts Priori Constitution
As of July 2004
Article I—Membership
Section I.1: Members—The term “members” of Arts Priori shall refer to all active
members, students and non-students, and include the executive officers.
I.1.A. Regardless of the nature of the service, regular attendance and participation
will be expected.
Article II—Officers and Advisors
Section II.1: Advisor—The Executive Committee shall select a faculty advisor for Arts
Priori.
Section II.2: Election of Officers
II.2.A. The following Executive Officers are elected at a general meeting in
spring quarter (no later than the second week of May): President, Vice
President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These newly elected officials will
take office on the first day of summer quarter. These officers-elect shall
sit (without authority) in Executive Committee meetings with the outgoing
Executive Committee during the remainder of the spring quarter.
II.2.B. The First-Year Representative to serve on the Executive Committee are
elected at a general meeting in fall quarter (no later than the last week of
October). These newly elected officials will take office at the time of their
election and serve through spring quarter.
II.2.C. Any eligible graduate student in the Art Education Department may apply
for election or be nominated by another student. If a person receives more
than one nomination, that person must decline all but one. All
nominations must be received in writing no less than ten business days
prior to the elections meeting.
II.2.D. A notice of officer elections and elections procedures will be announced at
the general meeting prior to elections and sent electronically to the Art
Education listserv.
II.2.E. A simple majority of those members voting is required to elect an officer.
If no candidate receives a majority, a vote shall be taken again between the
two candidates receiving the most votes. This procedure shall be repeated
as necessary until a candidate is elected.
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Arts Priori Constitution
Article III—Committees
Section III.1: General—Arts Priori holds the authority to appoint graduate student
members of university committees. The duties of these appointees shall be determined
by the respective committee; in all cases, the student shall consult with the President and
the Organization to develop and promote graduate student positions on the issues or
proposals considered by these bodies. Terms of office shall normally be one year,
beginning autumn quarter.
Section III.2: Application—Graduate students may submit applications themselves or
nominate others to be considered for appointment.
Section III.3: Appointment—The Executive Committee shall have the primary authority
of appointment.
Section III.4: Removal
III.4.A. If an appointee does not fulfill required duties in a responsible manner,
the Executive Committee may remove the appointee, acting either on its
own initiative, or at the request of relevant parties.
III.4.B. The Executive Committee shall consider lack of responsibility to include,
but not be limited to, the following:
III.4.B.i. Excessive absences from meetings; and
III.4.B.ii. Failure to make requested reports to constituents and/or the
Executive Officers.
III.4.C. Representatives who have been removed from their positions may appeal
this decision directly to Arts Priori or the Advisor/Acting Advisor.
Article IV—Budgeting and Financial Affairs
Section IV.1: Budget
IV.1.A. Definition—The financial resources of Arts Priori must be allocated in
accordance with an annual budget.
IV.1.B. Budget Approval—A proposed budget will be prepared by the Treasurer
in consultation with the President, reviewed by the Executive Committee
and the Advisor/Acting Advisor, and presented at the last general meeting
of Spring Quarter. This budget, or an amended version thereof, must be
adopted by a simple majority vote of the members present.
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Arts Priori Constitution
IV.1.C. Budget Amendments—This budget may be revised at any time during the
year by a simple majority vote of members present at a general meeting.
Section IV.2: Expenditures
IV.2.A. Authority—Only the President and the Treasurer may make financial
commitments on behalf of Arts Priori, including purchases, travel, repair
services, and related business affairs. Expenditures from the checking and
banking accounts may only be performed by the Treasurer and require the
signatures of the Treasurer, the President or the Advisor/Acting Advisor.
IV.2.B. Unauthorized Commitments—Persons making unauthorized purchases or
other commitments may be held personally liable for the payment of such
transactions.
IV.2.C. Reimbursement—The Treasurer, with the consent of the President and the
Executive Committee, may establish procedures for notification, receipts,
reimbursement, and other associated tasks. These procedures must be
documented and made available upon request. The Treasurer, except
where notice is given otherwise, must reimburse individuals within two
weeks of the completed request for reimbursement.
IV.2.D. Timeliness—All bills for authorized expenditures must be paid by the
Treasurer by the due date, or within such period necessary to take
advantage of cash discounts and to avoid service charges, provided there
are sufficient funds in the respective Arts Priori budget account. If the
Treasurer fails to comply with this requirement, the President may pay the
bill.
Section IV.3: Records and Reports
IV.3.A. Fiscal Year—The fiscal year of Arts Priori will extend from the first day
of July through the last day of June.
IV.3.B. Recording—All income and expenditures of the Council must be
recorded by the Treasurer.
IV.3.C. Quarterly Reports—A summary of current and proposed expenditures,
and the status of all budget categories, must be prepared by the last day of
each quarter and presented at the first general meeting of the following
quarter.
Article V—Meetings
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Arts Priori Constitution
Section V.1: Special Meetings—Meetings held at the request of the Executive
Committee or the written request of five members must be held within two weeks of such
request.
Section V.2: Attendance—All graduate students shall be encouraged to attend Arts Priori
meetings.
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