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