HGSA Constitution
Ratified March 1999

We, the graduate students of the History Department of Purdue University, do hereby recognize in this Constitution the organizing principles of our representative body, the History Graduate Students' Association (HGSA). In doing so, we also formally acknowledge the existence and procedures of the HGSA, which has in fact been active since March 1998.

1. Organization
   1. General Membership
      All full- and part-time enrolled graduate students in the Department of History and the American Studies Program at Purdue University are members of the HGSA.
   2. Leadership
      The HGSA is led by an elected executive committee, comprised of a President, Vice President, Secretary, American History Representative, European History Representative, At-Large Representative, and Off-Campus Students' Representative, with one vote each. If available, past HGSA Presidents may also serve as ex-officio members of the committee.
   3. Meetings
      Meetings of the HGSA are open to all active History and American Studies graduate students. The executive committee shall set the meeting schedule. The presence of five of the seven elected officers shall comprise a quorum.
2. Officers
   1. Responsibilities
      1. The President shall set the agenda for and preside over HGSA meetings, and shall serve as primary liaison between the HGSA and the departmental administration, in particular the Graduate Committee.
      2. The Vice President shall serve as primary liaison between the HGSA and the university's Graduate Student Association (GSA), and shall assume the duties of the President in case of absence.
      3. The Secretary shall make a record of HGSA meetings and distribute the pertinent information to departmental graduate students.
      4. The American History and European History delegates shall represent the interests of the students in their respective fields.
      5. The Off-Campus Students' delegate shall serve as the primary liaison between the HGSA and active graduate students presently away from Purdue University.
      6. The At-Large Representative shall represent no particular constituency but serve rather to facilitate the work of the organization.
   2. Qualifications
      The President and the Vice President shall be in the Ph.D. program at the time of their election. All other representatives may be at any stage of their graduate school career. The American History and European History Representatives should have as their declared specializations those respective fields. The At-Large Representative may be any graduate student with an official affiliation with the department of history by admission or assignment of teaching or research responsibility and who is not in the first academic year of course work upon taking office.
   3. Tenure of Office
      Each term of office is for one year, but there are no term limits for officers of the HGSA.
3. Elections
   1. Timing
      The HGSA shall hold annual elections of new officers each December. The exact date shall be determined by the executive committee.
   2. Administration
      Prior to the election, each candidate for the office of President shall prepare a statement of vision and intent, to be distributed to the electorate by the Secretary. The Secretary shall also distribute ballots, and tally and publish the results of the election.
4. Ratification and Emendation
   1. Ratification
      This Constitution shall be ratified by a five-sevenths majority of the acting HGSA executive committee (as of March 1999).
   2. Emendation
      This Constitution may be amended by a five-sevenths majority of the HGSA executive committee or by a two-thirds majority of a HGSA general referendum.

Amendments

1. First Year Representative will be elected every fall from the cohort of MA students in their first year in the program and will represent their interests for that academic year (April 10, 2002).
2. Global History Representative shall represent the interests of the students in this field. The representative should have global history as his/her declared specialization. As this amendment was ratified before the new Global History field had any students as declared specialists, this position will be filled upon the enrollment of a sufficient number of students specializing in the field (April 10, 2002).
3. Quorum / Emendation: Whereas Amendments 1 & 2 created new elected offices, the number of officers required to constitute a quorum shall henceforth be six, upon the activation of the office of Global History Representative. Moreover, the number of officers' votes required to ratify an Amendment to this Constitution shall be a five-eighths majority or a six-ninths majority upon activation of the office of Global History Representative (April 10, 2002).
4. Elections: This Amendment changes Article III Section B on the timing of elections. The HGSA shall hold elections of new officers each April, at an exact date determined by the executive committee (April 10, 2002).
5. Qualifications for the office of President: This Amendment changes Article II Section B on the qualifications of officers. The President shall be in the PhD program, and have one year of experience as an elected officer in the HGSA executive committee, at the time of her/his election. The Vice President need only be in the PhD program (April 25, 2003).
6. Responsibilities of the Secretary: This Amendment changes Article II Section B on the responsibilities of the Secretary, adding the following: The Secretary shall also serve as web coordinator for the maintenance of the HGSA website, working with the appropriate History Department personnel (April 25, 2003).
7. Elections: This Amendment adds to Article III, becoming Section C. In the event of a tied election, a run-off shall be held to determine the outcome. If the run-off results in a tie, the executive committee shall hold a tie-breaking vote. In case of multiple tied elections, run-offs shall be held one at a time beginning with the highest ranking office (April 25, 2003).
8. Elections: This Amendment adds to Article III, becoming Section D. If an elected officer is unable to carry out his/her term, a special election shall be held to determine a new office-holder. The date of the special election shall be determined by the executive committee (April 25, 2003).
9. Organization:
   1. General Membership: All full- and part-time enrolled graduate students in the Department of History and the American Studies-History Program at Purdue University are members of the HGSA.
   2. Leadership: The HGSA is led by an elected executive committee, comprised of a President, Vice President, Secretary, American History Representative, European History Representative, At-Large Representative, and Off-Campus Students’ Representative, with one vote each. If available, past HGSA Presidents may also serve as ex-officio members of the committee.
   3. Meetings: Meetings of the HGSA are open to all active History and American Studies-History graduate students. The executive committee shall set the meeting schedule. The presence of five of the seven elected officers shall comprise a quorum.
10. Officers: The executive committee may appoint a surrogate to serve as HGSA senator to the Purdue Graduate Student Government or any other successor organization. The surrogate must be a member of the HGSA and be approved by a simple majority vote of the executive committee. The Surrogate senator shall submit written reports of their services on a monthly basis and verbal reports to the executive committee as requested by the president of the HGSA.
11. Elections: In the event that no qualified candidates are nominated for the following positions: American History Representative, European History Representative, Global History Representative, Off-Campus History Representative, the executive committee may modify the qualifications for service in these offices. Any modifications must have the approval of a simple majority vote and will extend for a period of one year.