2023 Bylaws Revisions Vote Has Passed!

Your vote is being sought on the creation of a new officer of the EC devoted to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). The reasons for seeking this revision to the AAAL Bylaws are explained below.

Establishing a new officer of the EC requires a change in our Bylaws, and therefore vote and approval from the membership. In order to achieve a quorum, we need 206 members (10% of the membership) to cast their votes by the end of the day on October 16, 2023. The proposed Bylaws changes requires approval by two-thirds of the members voting in order to pass.

For a number of years, the Executive Committee and many across the wider membership have been deliberating what kinds of structures might best enable the Association to fulfill its commitments to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). One of the main recommendations from the 2022-2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access Task Force (Manka Varghese, Ashley Moore, Patricia Baquedano-López, and Valentino Rahming, with Executive Committee Liaison Ryuko Kubota) was to establish permanent structures dedicated to ensuring that JEDI-related priorities are centered in the diverse practices of the Association.

The change we are proposing is driven by two primary objectives:

• To create a dedicated, permanent mechanism to enact transformations across the Association in line with our JEDI  goals. Until now, such work has depended on grassroots organizing, the Secretary of the Executive Committee, and temporary Task Forces and Working Groups. Having an Officer on the Executive Committee dedicated to JEDI will enable a sharper focus and improve our capacity to work on mid- and long-term goals.
• To better support the work of members and committees across the Association and advise them as needed on JEDI concerns that arise during their association work.

The JEDI Officer will be a voting Officer member of the Executive Committee and serve a three-year term. If approved by membership vote, a new JEDI Officer nomination will be presented on the voting slate in March 2024, voted on May/June 2024, for responsibilities that start in March 2025.

A link to the current Bylaws can be found here. A link to the proposed Bylaws with changes tracked can be found here.

Summary of changes:

Article II: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
§ 1. The Officers of AAAL shall be the President, President-Elect, First Vice-President (Conference Chair), Second Vice-President (Associate Conference Chair), Secretary, Treasurer and the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Officer.

Article VII: DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
§ 11. The JEDI Officer shall perform the functions of the office as outlined in the Standing Rules and shall strive to represent the JEDI-related interests of the membership before the Executive Committee. The JEDI Officer shall serve a term of three years and may succeed their self for no more than one additional term.

§ 12. In the event of the incapacity or resignation of the President, President-Elect, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, or JEDI Officer, the Nominating Committee will make a recommendation of a replacement to the Executive Committee within 30 days of notification by the Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee will vote within ten days of receipt of recommendation on whether or not to ratify that recommendation or seek additional nominees. In the event of the incapacity or resignation of the Immediate Past President, the immediately preceding Past President will assume those duties for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the immediately preceding Past President is unwilling or unable to serve, it shall go to the preceding Past President(s) until one is willing and able to serve. In the event of the incapacity or resignation of a Member-at-Large, the President will make a recommendation to the Executive Committee within 30 days, and the Executive Committee will vote within ten days of receiving recommendation on whether or not to ratify a recommendation or seek additional nominees. Replacement of the incapacitated or resigned officer shall be effective immediately upon ratification by the Executive Committee, or in the case of the Immediate Past President, upon confirmation from the preceding Past President of his/her ability to serve.

Thank you for your attention to this message.

Sincerely,

The AAAL Executive Committee
American Association for Applied Linguistics

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