International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry
Constitution
I. NAME
a. The name of the corporation is The International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry (ISME).
II. OBJECTIVE:
a. The corporation is formed exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501©(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
b. Inspired by Alasdair MacIntyre’s critique of contemporary ideas and institutions, the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry is dedicated to the theoretical and practical pursuit of the human good. ISME seeks to bring together the different traditions that are informed by this Aristotelian principle. We therefore provide a forum within which contemporary Aristotelians, Thomists, Marxists, and others can explore the grounds for a common project. Scholars in fields ranging from philosophy to social sciences, and others interested theoretically and practically in human flourishing, work within ISME to try to identify and promote that common good. To this end, the corporation convenes international conferences, supports publication of conference papers, collects a bibliography of MacIntyre's work, publishes a quarterly newsletter and annual yearbook, maintains a web presence, and supports emerging scholars working with MacIntyre's ideas. We pursue these goals in a spirit of friendship and communal dialogue, whilst also engaging in dialogue with rival traditions. We invite those interested in these pursuits or in MacIntyrean enquiry more generally to join the corporation.
III. MEMBERSHIP:
a. Any person supporting the objectives of the corporation are eligible for membership
IV. OFFICERS AND GOVERNMENT
a. The officers of the corporation, or Central Committee, consist of the Founding Members, Executive Secretary, General Secretary, Treasurer, the Conference Secretaries for the immediately preceding and current years, and any other persons the Officer Council deems appropriate.
i. Founding Members shall be permanent members of the corporation’s Council and constitute full voting members of the Central Committee and the Steering Committee.
ii. Executive Secretary
1. Shall be responsible for organizing meetings, maintaining open lines of communication, promoting ISME, and other duties as determined in conjunction with the General Secretary, Treasurer, Founding Members, and, when necessary, the Steering Committee.
iii. Treasurer
1. Shall be responsible for the finances of the corporation, including intake of dues and conference fees and donations and the distribution of funds for receipts for corporation business, including costs for promotion of conferences, newsletter expenses, yearbook expenses, website costs, and other expenses as determined by the Central Committee. The treasurer shall present an annual report to the corporation at its business meeting. The Treasurer must be an agent in Indiana.
iv. General Secretary
1. Shall be responsible for working with the Executive Secretary and the Treasurer in making important decisions outside of the Steering Committee when appropriate.
v. Officers shall hold office until either they resign or a general election is called for by 2/3rds of the Central Committee or the Steering Committee, or 50% of the general membership.
b. The Steering Committee
i. Consists in those invited by the Central Committee to assist in promoting the corporation and its aims. It may include the Book Series Editor, the Newsletter Editor(s), the Yearbook Editor(s), the Webpage Designer, and other members as deemed necessary by the Central Committee.
ii. The Steering Committee functions in an advisory role to the Central Committee and may be called upon to respond to and discuss the corporations business through e-mail, phone, or in person as deemed necessary.
c. The Central Committee in conjunction with the Steering Committee may make decisions on behalf of the corporation regarding issues requiring resolution that arise between business meetings. The Executive Secretary shall communicate any such decisions to the Association’s membership in the newsletter published following the decision.
d. Compensation. Committee Members shall not receive any compensation for their services.
V. MEETINGS
a. The corporation will hold annual business meetings for the whole membership at its annual conference. The Central and Steering Committees will meet when necessary and conduct corporation business over e-mail.
b. On occasion, the corporation may hold an interim meeting in conjunction with the meeting of another corporation if the regular annual meeting is held on a different continent.
VI. AMENDMENTS
a. This Constitution may be amended by consensus of members attending any regular meeting or represented therein by proxies, provided a draft of the proposed amendment be sent to each member at least thirty (30) days before the regular meeting.
International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry
By-laws
I. Dues
a. The dues of the corporation shall be set by the Central Committee with advice from the Steering Committee
b. Dues shall be broken into three levels
i. Full Member
ii. Graduate Student Member
iii. Participating Member
c. Differences in Levels of Dues
i. Members paying Full Member dues shall receive a discount on their conference fees.
ii. Members paying Full Member dues will receive discounts on journals associated with the corporation.
iii. Members paying at the levels of graduate student or participating member will not receive discounts on either conference fees or journal subscriptions associated with the corporation.
II. Finances
a. All funds collected from dues, conference fees, sales of publications, or royalties shall be maintained in accounts managed by the treasurer
b. The funds of the corporation shall be spent only on expenses approved by the Treasurer or Central Committee for the stated purposes of the corporation.
i. The Treasurer may approve ordinary expenses (up to $500.00) involved in the ongoing activities of the corporation.
ii. The Central Committee shall approve extraordinary expenses that support the stated objective of the corporation.
iii. The treasurer may maintain accounts in Europe and North America; the Central Committee may designate an overseas assistant to manage funds locally.
c. The treasurer may delegate the management of corporation funds to the Conference Secretary to streamline administrative work
III. CONFERENCES
a. Conferences constitute the major activity of the corporation.
b. In MacIntyrean acceptance of the principle of subsidiarity, conference organizers are given the greatest latitude in organizing and planning the conference in consultation with the Central Committee, especially via the Executive Secretary, and any conference committee the Conference Secretary chooses. The Central Committee’s, and especially the Executive Secretary’s, main responsibility, with respect to ISME conferences is support of the Conference Secretary to carry out the mission of ISME through a visible and successful conference that encourages the dialogue and pursuit of the common good that defines the corporation.
IV. COMMITTEES
a. All committees shall be appointed by the Central Committee in conjunction with the Steering Committee
V. AMENDMENTS
a. These By-laws may be amended by consensus of members present and voting at the business meeting session of the annual meeting.
i. If a consensus is not reached within a reasonable amount of time, the Central Committee may
1. either remand the issue to further discussion with the Steering Committee to be presented at a future business meeting
2. or call for a two-thirds majority vote on the issue at the present meeting.