Bylaws

Bylaws of the Tsinghua Alumni Academia Club (TAAC)

March 31, 2018

Article I

Name and Object

Section 1. This entity shall be known as the Tsinghua Alumni Academia Club (TAAC, hereafter as “TAAC”) of North America.

Section 2. The vision is to enhance communications and interactions, and to promote excellence in research and education for the benefit of the society.

Section 3. The mission is to foster professional and career growth of its members through sharing and exchange of research, educational and career information, to promote its members for professional recognitions, to enhance its public visibility in the respective fields, and to serve the society at large.

Section 4. These Bylaws provide guidance for operations of TAAC in accordance with all applicable laws.

Article II

Field of Interest

Section 1. The field of interest of TAAC is all aspects of research and education, which benefit its members in particular and the society at large.

Article III

Membership

Section 1. Membership of the Tsinghua Alumni Academia Club shall be available only to those meeting the following criteria and by application,

(i) Holding an official full-time appointment as a tenure-track or tenured faculty member or officially retired from a tenured faculty position in a higher education institution, accredited to grand academic degrees of at or above the bachelor level, in the North America, and,

(ii) Received a bachelor, master or doctoral degree from, or completed a national-level accredited postdoctoral research appointment at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Section 2. Membership applications shall be reviewed against all the above criteria and approved accordingly by the Membership Committee under the Board of Directors.

Section 3. Members shall pay the annual membership dues.

Section 4. A member violating the TAAC Bylaws may be removed from TAAC upon due vetting and recommendation by the Membership Committee, and upon approval of the Board of Directors.

Article IV

Organization

Section 1. The TAAC shall be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seventeen (17) elected members-at-large and an Executive Committee (ExCom). The ExCom consists of five (5) Officers, being President, two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer.

Section 2. The members of the Board of Directors and the ExCom must be members of the TAAC in good standing for at least two consecutive years, except for the initial two years when TAAC is established.

Section 3. All elected positions start the two-year terms on the succeeding first day of January after the annual election in December.

Section 4. The President and the members of the Board of Directors form the Voting Body, and shall have voting privileges on all business matters of TAAC. The positions of Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer do not automatically carry voting privileges, unless they are directors concurrently.

Section 5. In the event of a tie in voting, the President shall cast the deciding vote.

Section 6. The President shall have the general supervision of the TAAC affairs and shall speak for TAAC for all matters.

Section 7. The terms of the Officers and the members of the Board of Directors shall be for two (2) years starting on the succeeding first day of January after the biennial or annual election, respectively, in December. Only one (1) full term is permitted for the ExCom Officers of the same role. Only two (2) consecutive full terms are permitted for the members of the Board of Directors. Former Directors may be reelected as Directors after at least a four-year gap.

Article V

Financial Support

Section 1. Operations of TAAC shall be supported by its funds consisting its annual membership dues, donations and other incomes, in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Section 2. The annual budget shall be approved by the voting body, which is the Board of Directors plus the President.

Section 3. Usage of the TAAC funds, per the annual budget approved by the Board of Directors, shall be endorsed by the President and the Treasurer together.

Section 4. The TAAC funds shall be used for TAAC business only and managed according to all applicable laws and regulations.

Article VI

Nomination and Election

Section 1. Election of the Board of Directors shall be conducted annually in December with eight or nine members to be elected each year, except for the first year when TAAC is established (the founding year).

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall publish a notice of Board of Directors nomination for the annual election at least thirty (30) days before the annual election. Any member of TAAC in good standing for at least two consecutive years who is willing to serve may be nominated or self-nominated for election to the Board of Directors. The election of the Board of Directors shall be conducted by general members of TAAC by voting in December. The nominees receiving the highest numbers of the votes will be elected to the Board of Directors during an election. In the case of a tie, the President will cast the deciding vote.

Section 3. The Board of Directors shall conduct a biennial election in December to fill the positions of the next ExCom (five Officers) that will occur on the succeeding first day of January. The nomination and election for the ExCom shall be conducted by the Board of the Directors. The candidates for the ExCom must have served as members of the Board of Directors prior to the nomination. To win the election for an Officer position, the nominee must receive a majority of the votes (greater than 50%) of the Board of Directors members at the voting, given a quorum present. If no candidate receives a majority vote, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will be dropped and another voting shall be held until two candidates remain. If still a tie, the sitting President shall cast the deciding vote.

Section 4. Should a Board of Directors position become vacant at any time before end of the term, the vacancy will remain open and will be filled in the next election, and in that case more than eight or nine members may be elected in the next annual election to maintain full seventeen (17) members for the new Board of Directors after the annual election. Should an ExCom position become vacant, an immediate election will be conducted by the Board of Directors to fill the Officer position.

Article VII

Meetings

Section 1. TAAC may hold meetings, including, but not limited to, an annual meeting, and one or more technical meetings and forums.

Section 2. An Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held in the end of each calendar year. A biennial election shall be conducted at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors in December to elect the next ExCom that will occur on the succeeding first day of January.

Section 3. For the Board of Directors meetings, a quorum is defined as having a majority of voting members.

Section 4. The approval of an action will require a majority vote.

Section 5. Business of the Board of Directors may be handled by any means of telecommunication upon discretion of the President. A majority vote of the members of the Board of Directors is necessary for approval of actions.

Article VIII

Others

Section 1. All business and operations of TAAC must be conducted in accordance of all applicable laws and regulations, and the highest codes of ethics.

Section 2. No individual can use, without an approval of the Board of Directors, the name and resources of TAAC for anything other than the business of TAAC, including for any pure personal benefits.

Section 3. Amendments to this Bylaws must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Voting Body, which is the Board of Directors plus the President.

Section 4. Termination of TAAC shall be approved by the majority of its general members and followed by the due disclosure procedures.

Section 5. These Bylaws were approved by the Board of Directors of TAAC on March 31, 2018.