2024 Bylaws Amendments

2024 Proposed Changes to the MCAA Bylaws

According to the bylaws adopted by vote of the Marlboro College Alumni Association (MCAA) in November 2022, any association member in good standing can propose a change, and changes can only be adopted by a vote of the Association. This year, we have two proposed changes to the bylaws for MCAA members to consider.

1. Proposed Change to the Frequency of Elections:

What? A proposed change to the frequency of elections, moving them from once every year to once every other year.

Who? This change was proposed by the Nominations and Elections committee and endorsed by the council.

Why? Running elections takes a huge amount of time and energy. Having elections every other year, instead of every year, will create stability on the council and increase the likelihood that association members will continue to volunteer to run elections without getting burnt out. Term limits will be four years instead of three to accommodate this change (note that, in order to stagger council members cycling off the council and to preserve institutional memory, some members of the first elected council are already serving four-year terms).

The proposed language is below:

Article IV: Governance

I.

B. All Council members shall be elected to serve terms not to exceed four years. No member (whether at-large or officer) shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms on the Council. Council members finishing two consecutive terms may run for another term, but not until after at least one complete election cycle has elapsed.

[...]

II. Alumni Council elections:

A. Elections for council seats shall be held every other year near the close of the year, for three of the nine Council seats. Council terms shall begin in January.

2. Proposed Change to Rules for Council Quorum:

What? A proposed change to the number of council members needed for a quorum in council meetings.

Who? This change was proposed and endorsed by the council.

Why? This proposal introduces a mechanism to ensure that the council can operate functionally by ensuring that a quorum is made up of a proportion of actively participating council members, rather than static number of council members overall. The council is a volunteer body, and members who are elected to serve have occasionally stepped back from council participation for various reasons. The new language will allow the council to move forward with that important business that requires a quorum vote without long delays while we wait for empty council seats to be filled by the next election.

The proposed language is below:

Amend Article IV, section II B to read:

“1. A quorum of the council is defined as ⅔ of its active members (see section II F) . Without a quorum, a vote cannot be taken.

[…]

3. If a vote taken is split evenly, the vote must be undertaken again at the next meeting at which a quorum is present.”

Under Article IV, section II F, add:

“2. Any council member who has not participated in meetings or communicated with the council for a 90 day period will be considered inactive.

3. All members not considered inactive are active.”

To read the bylaws as ratified by the Association in 2022, click here.