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The Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the United States (ACPSS), founded and Texas-registered in 1995, is a non-profit and non-government professional organization residing in the United States.As of its founding, ACPSS has been committed to its three-fold mission:

(1) to promote and protect the rights and interests of Chinese scholars of social sciences and humanities who currently hold teaching and research positions in academic institutions,

(2) to sponsor and facilitate interdisciplinary research collaboration in social sciences, humanities and other relevant fields, and

(3) to provide a platform of scholarly exchange and information sharing for all Chinese professionals living around the world. Our dedication to our mission manifests itself in our unyielding pursuit of academic integrity and professional excellence.

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(Approved by the Board on November 18, 2003)

1. Income from Membership Dues

1.1 All membership dues collected after the elections belong to the funds of the new administration.

1.2 The Membership Board Director will collect all checks for membership dues, record relevant information (amount paid, check number, expiration date, etc) in the database, and keep copies of the checks as record before mailing the checks to the Board Treasurer.

2. Income from Donations and Fund-Raising

2.1 All income from donations and fund-raising activities must be sent to the Board Treasurer and directly deposited into the Board account of the current administration.

2.2 The individuals who first receive checks from donors or sponsors must keep copies of the checks as record before mailing the checks to the Board Treasurer.

3. Reimbursement

3.1 Fund-raisers who are not current elected officers of ACPSS are entitled to receiving, with approval of the President, a reasonable per diem, travel expenses, and/or an award of free lifetime membership. Current elected officers of ACPSS will only be reimbursed for appropriate expenses.

3.2 All reimbursement requests must be approved in writing (e.g., e-mail, fax, or actual signature) by the President, or by the Executive Vice President if the reimbursement is for the President.

3.3 All reimbursement requests must be made with original/valid receipts and written descriptions of the reasons.

4. Treasurer and Account Management

4.1 The Treasurer does the routine and timely book-keeping for the Board account and keeps all financial records of the Board.

4.2 The Treasurer must keep a copy of any check received before depositing the check in the bank.

4.3 The Treasurer can sign checks up to $500.00. Any checks above $500.00 must be pre-approved in writing (e.g., e-mail, fax, or actual signature) by the President.

4.4 The Treasurer makes an annual financial report to the Board at the end of the first year, and the second, final, financial report to the Board on the account of the two years at the end of the term of the Board. Either report is due the end of October or the beginning of November. Upon review by the Board and approval by the President, both annual reports shall be published to the ACPSS members.

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Article I. Purposes and Mission

Section 1. The Association of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the United States (ACPSS) is a non­political, non-profit academic organization.

Section 2. The purposes of the ACPSS are to aggregate scholars of social sciences who originally came from China and now are holding academic appointments in Western academic institutions and to assist to maintain the rights and privileges accorded to them.

Section 3. It is the mission of the ACPSS to promote academic cooperation and exchange among its members.

Section 4. It is the mission of the ACPSS to establish and strengthen academic connections and exchanges among scholars from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; promote a full­fledged development of research and studies in social sciences in mainland China; advocate and support reform and openness in China; encourage and sponsor academic exchanges between China and the West; and, in a constructive manner, make contributions to social progress in China, and to the advancement of social science studies in general.

Section 5. The ACPSS is registered in the State of Texas, United States of America. The ACPSS shall observe the laws and regulations of the United States applicable to its operation.

Article II. Membership Eligibility and Member's Responsibilities

Section 1. The ACPSS is open to any applicant who meets one of the following four criteria:

(1) holding an earned doctorate in social sciences and/or humanities, as defined by Section 2 of this Article, from an accredited Western academic institution;

(2) holding an academic appointment, at the assistant professor level or above, in social sciences and/or humanities, as defined by Section 2 of this Article, in a Western academic institution;

(3) holding a regular research appointment, at the research fellow level or above, in social sciences and/or humanities, as defined by Section 2 of this Article, in a Western academic institution;

(4) having equivalent professional qualifications to those specified above in one of the three criteria, and with the special approval of the President of the ACPSS.

Section 2. The term social sciences used in this document is defined as to include the following fields of study: political science, economics, management, sociology, philosophy, legal studies, history, religious studies, education, communication, anthropology, archeology, literature, arts, musicology, psychology, geography, linguistics, library science, public administration, women's studies, and other commonly recognized social sciences and humanities fields.

Section 3. Members have the right to vote and the right to be voted for.

Section 4. Members are obliged to observe these bylaws and other regulations which may later be enacted by the ACPSS and pay membership dues. The amount of membership dues shall be determined by respective Board of Directors of the ACPSS.

Section 5. No member of the ACPSS shall be allowed to express opinions in behalf of the ACPSS without the authorization of the Board of Directors or a vote of its members.

Section 6. Any motion signed by 10 or more members and approved by the Board of Directors must be submitted to a vote of the members.

Section 7. Such a vote may be supervised by a special committee consisting of two members of the Board of Directors and three Association members who originally made the motion signed by 10 or more members of the ACPSS. With 2/3 of votes the President and any board directors may be dismissed but no more than 2 board directors at one time. New board directors must be elected within a month.

Article III. Organizational Structure

Section 1. The organizational structure of the ACPSS includes the members, a Board of Directors, and a Board of Advisors.

Section 2. The Board of Directors has the power to appoint special ad hoc committees, academic departmental committees, and regional committees as required by its academic projects.

Article IV. Board of Directors

Section 1. The Board of Directors of the ACPSS shall include a President, an Executive Vice President who shall also serve as Executive Director, a Vice President, and four Board members.

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall serve for a term of two years. The President may serve consecutively for another term if duly reelected. The Executive Vice President, Vice President, and members of the Board may serve two more consecutive terms if duly reelected.

Article V. Board of Advisors

Section 1. The Board of Advisors shall advise the academic projects of the ACPSS, help open new channels for academic exchanges, and provide other forms of professional assistance that shall advance the development of the ACPSS.

Section 2. The Board of Advisors shall be composed of internationally recognized scholars from China and other countries.

Section 3. Nomination of an Advisor may be made in writing by any five members, and be ratified by the Board of Directors. Then the President of the ACPSS shall extend the invitation and make the appointment of the Advisor.

Article VI. Election

Section 1. Any member may nominate any eligible person, including himself or herself, for a position in the Board of Directors of the ACPSS.

Section 2. Elections for the President and for members of the Board of Directors will be conducted separately. These elections may occur at the plenary meeting or by correspondence.

Section 3. The President appoints the Executive Vice President and Vice President from among the board directors.

Section 4. If an election is conducted by correspondence, the new President and the Board of Directors shall become official one week after the designated date for closing the vote.

Section 5. The Treasurer and Secretary of the ACPSS shall be appointed by the President. Such appointments shall have no effect unless they are approved by simple majority vote of the Board of Directors.

Article VII. Powers of the Board of Directors

Section 1. The President shall direct and supervise operation of all activities of the ACPSS.

Section 2. The Executive Vice President (Who also serves as the Executive Director) shall assist the President in conducting routine administrative and public relation activities of the ACPSS. The Executive Vice President shall represent the President and take charge of the activities of the ACPSS should the President become incapable of performing his designated duties.

Section 3. The Vice President shall assist the President in managing activities of the ACPSS.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for managing the funds of the ACPSS and other routine business of the Association. The Treasurer shall be under the direct supervision of the President and the Executive Vice President.

Article VIII. Amendment to the Bylaws

These by laws shall take effect immediately after they are approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present at the meeting at which the ACPSS is to be established. The authority to interpret the bylaws shall be reserved to the Board of Directors. No amendment to these bylaws shall be enacted unless such amendment is approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present at annual meeting of the Association.

I hereby certify that this is a full and true copy of the bylaws of the Assication of Chinese Professors of Social Sciences in the United States as adopted on June 18, 1995.

Guoqiang Tian
President of the ACPSS

July 26, 1995

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(Approved by the ACPSS Board — September 5, 2007)

1. Nomination-Recording Committee

a. The Nomination-Recording Committee will

i. Collect and record all the nominations from any qualifying current ACPSS members (current members refer to those whose memberships are in good standing).

ii. Check the nominees’ and nominators’ membership to verify validity of the nomination.

iii. Confirm with nominees by the deadline about their final decision to be on the ballot.

iv. Announce the candidates on the ballot for each position.

b. Members for the Nomination-Recording Committee and candidacy

i. The Nomination-Recording Committee will consist of 2-3 current Board members.

ii. The Nomination-Recording Committee will be formed by the Board around the middle of September 2007.

iii. Members on the Nomination-Recording Committee will quit the committee if she/he is nominated and accepts the nomination for the election.

iv. In the event not enough Board members are able to serve on the Nomination-Recording Committee, the Board may ask other qualifying ACPSS members to serve on the committee.

2. Positions open for election

a. President (1)

b. Board members (6)

c. Assets Management Committee members (3)

3. Nominations for ACPSS officers

a. Nominators and nominees for ACPSS officers must be current ACPSS members.

b. Any current members can nominate or self-nominate before the set deadline.

c. One eligible ACPSS member can be nominated for only one of the positions.

d. The Nomination Committee is to verify with all nominees on their willingness before their names are officially listed on the ballot.

e. Ballot Designing

i. Ballots will be designed by the Nomination Committee. Candidates will be listed in alphabetic order by their last names.

ii. One ballot will be designed for each of the positions.

iii. The electronic ballots will be announced on the ACPSS listserv and/or the ACPSS website about three weeks before the election.

4. Election Committee (EC)

a. The Election Committee is to conduct the election according to the election rules and procedures.

b. Candidates for the Election Committee must be current ACPSS members who are not candidates for any of the positions of the election.

c. Candidates for the Election Committee are to be nominated by the current ACPSS members and voted by the Board.

d. The Election Committee will consist of 3 (three) members and will be announced by the Board no later than the middle of October 2007.

e. The Board will select chair and vice chair of the Election Committee.

f. Candidates not chosen for the Election Committee will become substitutes, via majority vote of the Board, for the Election Committee if any member of the committee withdraws, is disqualified, or is absent on the day of the election.

g. In the event that there are not enough members on the Election Committee before or during the election, the current board will choose, via majority vote, any qualifying current ACPSS members for the Election Committee.

5. Voting

a. All candidates must be physically present at the time of election. Each candidate may choose to give a brief speech (about 5 minutes), and answer questions, if any, from the voters.

b. Ballots are to be distributed by the Election Committee, in the presence of the Board membership director; Only ACPSS members with current membership can vote.

c. The election committee will collect, check, and count the votes for each position on the election site.

d. In cases where the candidates nominated and confirmed on the ballot at the close of the nominations are equal to, or, fewer than, the number of candidates for the position, voting for that position at the election shall proceed in the following manner:

i. Those candidates who have been confirmed on the ballot, as long as they are physically present and make a verbal commitment to serving, are to be considered elected, before any on-site nominations are called for any unfilled positions.

ii. On-site nominations are only called for any remaining open positions. In such cases where ballots have not been prepared in advance, voters will write the candidates’
names on a validated piece of paper distributed by the Election Committee.

e. A vote is valid only if it is cast by the current qualifying ACPSS member and only if the number of the names chosen on the ballot does not exceed the number of the officers to be elected.

f. Those current members who attend the conference but may have to be absent from the election can cast their votes in the following manner:

i. Sign the voter’s name on the ballot before having it sealed in an envelop, put the voter’s name on the front of the envelop, and have both the chair of the election committee and the Board membership director sign on the back seal of the envelop.

ii. The sealed envelop/ballot is to be kept by the Election Committee chair and presented at the election site.

iii. This vote, if valid, will preclude the voter’s on-site vote should she/he later be able to attend the election.

6. Absentee Votes

a. Those current ACPSS members who are not attending the election or wish to cast absentee votes can use absentee votes, with the following regulations:

i. All absentee votes are open votes, and should be dated and written on the voter’s institutional letterhead, with the voter’s signature.

ii. All absentee votes must be accompanied by a copy of the voter’s government-issued photo ID (e.g., driving license or passport).

iii. All absentee votes must be postmarked 10 (ten) days before the election and must be mailed to the chair of the Election Committee via certified mail. The exact postmark date is to be announced along with the ballot.

iv. All absentee votes will be collected by the Election Committee chair, brought to the election site, and opened in the presence of the election chair, the Election
Committee, and the Board membership director.

v. The absentee vote, if valid, will preclude the voter’s on-site vote should she/he decide to attend the election.

7. Recording and announcing election results

a. Election results are to be recorded on site by the Election Committee.

b. Election results are to be announced by the Election Committee.

8. These rules are to be interpreted by the Board.