Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors

As the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors, we dedicate ourselves to supporting and improving the lives of Michigan's families through effective literacy instruction.

___________________________
Return to Home
__________________________
last updated June 2007

A proposal respectfully submitted to the general membership heavily modeled on the Text and Academic Officers Association, Inc. in Florida.

Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors
By-Laws and Operating Procedures

Article 1: Name and Location

The name of this Michigan organization shall be the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors (MARP), Inc. The offices and mailing address will be in the state of Michigan and will not be moved to any other state without prior dissolution of the corporation. MARP may have multiple sites throughout the state of Michigan as deemed necessary by the membership.

Article II: Objective and Mission

In an attempt to reach out to families in Michigan whose lives are directly affected by all literacy instruction, the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors (MARP) pledges to help make sense of the varied and numerous voices in the reading arena in a positive advocacy role.

We support the following Mission Statement:

As the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors, we dedicate ourselves to supporting and improving the lives of Michigan’s children and families through effective literacy instruction.

Article III: Membership

Qualifications: Membership is open to all members of college and university faculty working in departments teaching literacy. Voting members will be regular members and retired members as defined in the Operating Procedures.

Executive Committee

The Alliance of Michigan Reading Professors shall be governed by an Executive Committee (Board of Directors). The Executive Committee may adopt rules and procedures for its meetings as it finds necessary or advisable.

Members

The Executive Committee shall consist of a president; a vice- president/president-elect; a treasurer; a secretary; the immediate past president; and three at-large members. The president with the consent of the Executive Committee may appoint other members to advise and represent MARP. These appointed members shall be non-voting.

Term of Office

The term of office for president and vice-president shall be one year. The term of office for treasurer and secretary and the at-large members shall be two years. No Executive Committee member shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. The treasurer and secretary shall be elected in different years to assist continuity. The terms of the at-large members shall be staggered so that one is elected one year, and two the next.

Meetings

The Executive Committee shall meet a minimum of four times each year. Additional meetings may be called by the president or by a written request of three members of the Executive Committee. (E-mail notification will suffice but must be directed to all Executive Committee Members.)

Voting Procedures

Each member of the Executive Committee has the right to vote. These votes may not be voted by proxy. However, votes of the Executive Committee may be conducted by mail, including e-mail, or by telephone conference. All votes must be recorded by the secretary.

Compensation

Executive Committee members will not be reimbursed for the work done on behalf of the Alliance nor for attendance at Executive Committee meetings.

Notice of Meeting

All Executive Committee members must be notified of meetings at least five day prior to the meetings. Notice must arrive at the members’ home or place of business at least five days prior to the meeting.

Vacancies

Any vacancy occurring on the Executive Committee will be filled by the president with the assent of the Executive Committee.

Officers

The officers of the Michigan Alliance of Reading Professors are the president, the vice-president, the treasurer and the secretary. All officers shall be regular members of MARP.

Duties of Officers

President: The president serves as the chief executive officer of MARP, presides at all meetings, and shall perform the duties that normally fall to that position. The president may speak on behalf of MARP.

Vice-President: The vice-president shall perform the duties of president during her/his absence. The vice-president may speak on behalf of MARP. She/he will perform other duties as directed by the Executive Committee.

Treasurer: The treasurer shall be responsible for oversight of the MARP’s funds and records of those funds. She/he must establish procedures allowing for easily tracking funds and making the records available for yearly audit.

Secretary: The secretary shall be responsible for keeping records of MARP’s activities and proceedings. She/he will be responsible for keeping an accurate list of members and their contact information.

Removal from Office

Members of the Executive Committee may be removed from office for repeated absences, failure to carry out duties of office, or unethical behavior.

Elections

Elections will be conducted each year during February through April according to the procedures detailed in the operating procedures. Newly elected members of the Executive Committee will assume office on September 1st.

General Membership Meetings

There shall be at least two general membership meetings each year that will include business meetings. Other meetings may be called by the Executive Committee. Business meetings will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order. The president must report on actions of the Executive Committee. Items of new business may be introduced at any business meeting.
A general membership meeting may be initiated by a petition of at least 25% of the members.

A quorum for any general membership meeting will consist of the members present.

Non-Profit Status

No assets of the Alliance shall accrue to any member. All monies shall be used for the operation of the Alliance or to further the goals of the Alliance. No member has any rights to any of the assets of the alliance.
Upon dissolution of MARP any assets will be transferred to one or more Michigan organizations dedicated to literacy.

Amendments

Amendments to the by-laws may be proposed by a motion from the Executive Committee that shall then be submitted to the general membership. Such a change to the by-laws must be distributed in writing (e-mail is acceptable) three weeks prior to a general membership meeting. A discussion and vote on the amendment will be held at the general membership meeting. An amendment may be proposed at a business meeting by any two regular members. The amendment should be in writing with copies for all present. The amendment will be discussed at that meeting; further discussion and a vote will take place at the next business meeting. Two-thirds of the members present will be necessary to adopt the proposed amendment.

OPERATING PROCEDURES

The Operating Procedures are to guide the day-to-day activities of the Michigan
Alliance of Reading Professors. It both provides more information as to the purposes of MARP structure and its course of action.

Objectives

• To advocate that every student in Michigan receives equitable reading opportunities and reading instruction is based on rigorous research;
• To promote teacher expertise and professional decision making in literacy assessment and instruction;
• To communicate with families, educators, policy-makers, and others about literacy issues;
• To advocate for the rights of literacy professionals to identify and implement effective reading instruction;
• To promote assessment, and research using diverse methodologies;
• To collaborate with other professional organizations who share our goals.

Membership

There will be three types of membership:

• Regular Membership—available to full-time literacy faculty members who are working in Michigan colleges and universities. Regular members will have voting privileges.

• Retirees—who have a regular membership at the time they retire. These Retirees shall have voting privileges.

• Student membership—available to Ed Spec., Ph.D. and Ed.D. students in literacy education obtaining their degrees from a Michigan university. Student members will not have voting privileges.

Members consist of those who meet the requirements as stated in the Operating Procedures and have paid the dues appropriate to that membership category. Membership dues will be proposed by the Executive Committee and voted upon at a general membership meeting. Dues for student members shall never exceed 50% of the regular member dues.

Elections

In February, the president shall appoint a nominating committee of three persons, one of whom must be a member of the Executive Committee. This nominating committee will identify voting member who are able and willing to fulfill the duties of the open office. It is preferred that all positions to be filled will have at least two candidates.

During the month of March, each voting member of MARP will be supplied with a written ballot of candidates for the open positions. The ballots should be marked and returned to a person designated. Write in votes will be accepted. The balloting will be open for three weeks. At the end of balloting votes will be counted by at least two members appointed by the nominating committee and results announced via the MARP email list. In the event of a tie in the voting, those involved in the tie will be asked if they wish to participate in a runoff election.

If a tie still exists for one or more positions, the election committee shall notify the membership through a listserv or by individual email. Paper ballots will be sent to the membership during April and/or May using the same procedures in the regular balloting.

If a tie results in the second balloting, the winning candidate will be chosen by a coin flip or a card draw.

Newly elected members of the Executive Committee will assume office on September 1st.

Committees

The President may appoint with the approval of the Executive Committee committees to undertake the work of the Alliance. Chairs of these committees may attend and participate in the Executive Committee meetings. They shall not have a vote in the Executive Committee decisions.

The Executive Committee or the General Membership may propose a standing committee. This would be done using the same method as amending the Operating Procedures.

Fiscal Year

The fiscal year for MARP shall be September 1st to August 30th.

Meetings

It is preferred that meetings be held in different geographical locations in Michigan. The purpose of membership meetings shall be determined by the Executive Committee but may include meetings to share information about the state of the profession; the impact of legislation and regulation on literacy instruction in Michigan; the opportunity to share research investigating literacy instruction in Michigan; and to meet with others who impact literacy instruction in Michigan including governmental agencies, advocacy groups, and professional organizations. Additional items may be suggested for the agenda of a meeting by contacting a member of the Executive Committee.

Amendments

Amendments to the Operating Procedures require a motion from the Executive Committee that may be proposed to the general membership. Such a change to the by-laws must be distributed in writing (e-mail is acceptable) three weeks prior to a general membership meeting. A discussion and vote on the amendment will be held at the general membership meeting. An amendment may be proposed at a business meeting by any two regular members. The amendment must be in writing with copies for all members present. The amendment will be discussed at that meeting; further discussion and a vote will take place at the next business meeting. A majority of the members present will be necessary to adopt the proposed amendment.

Passed as amended, June 1, 2007, Western Michigan University