Bylaws of the Student Media Advisors division of the BEA
Approved by SMA division members on April 8th, 2013.
Article I: Name: The name of this division shall be Student Media Advisors.
Article II: Purpose: The mission of the Student Media Advisors division is to provide a discussion forum for the person(s) responsible for supervising and/or advising student-operated media outlets.
The goals of the division are:
1) to stimulate awareness and discussion of existing issues and problems related to student-operated electronic outlets on campuses;
2) to encourage dissemination of information about the impact of student operations to professional colleagues in the field; and
3) to foster and promote the teaching of information connected with the operation of any outlet where students are the primary workforce as a substantive area of student learning within the disciplines of broadcasting/media.
To this end, the Student Media Advisors division shall provide the following:
1) A forum for:
- a) the exchange of teaching and advising techniques and materials,
- b) the presentation of juried and non-juried scholarly research,
2) A means of evaluation through juried competition of scholarly research.
Article III: Officers: The governing body of the division shall be called the Leadership of the Student Media Advisors division and shall consist of: a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Membership Coordinator, Communication Chair. The chair shall be the senior coordinating officer of the Leadership.
Section 1: Chair. The Vice-Chair shall succeed the Chair on even-numbered years to a two-year term. The duties of the Chair shall include:
1) Representing the Student Media Advisors division in all BEA convention meetings,
2) Chairing the Business Meeting at the annual BEA convention,
3) Handling Student Media Advisors division business in the interim between BEA conventions,
4) Serving as panel coordinator, overseeing Leadership’s evaluation and ranking of panel proposals, and
5) Authorizing expenditure of Student Media Advisors division funds.
Section 2: Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair shall be elected on even-numbered years to a two-year term. Duties of the Vice-Chair shall include:
1) Representing the Student Media Advisors division in all BEA convention meetings in absence of the Chair, or as designated by the Chair,
2) Assisting the Chair during the business meeting at the annual BEA convention,
3) Assisting the Chair in handling division business in the interim between BEA conventions,
4) Managing the SMA Division’s competitive paper competition,
5) Assuming the Chair’s position at the end of the two-year term.
Section 3: Communication Chair. The Communication Chair shall be elected on even-numbered years to a two-year term. The duties of the office shall include:
1) Writing or editing all copy to communicate and promote to SMA membership,
2) Preparing, publishing, and distributing the newsletter to Student Media Advisors division members, and
3) Take notes at the annual business meeting of the SMA Division for distribution to the membership within 60 days of the business meeting.
Section 4: Membership Coordinator. The Membership Coordinator shall be appointed on even-numbered years to a two-year term. Normally, the outgoing SMA Division Chair is appointed by the leadership to become the Membership Coordinator. The duties of the office shall include:
1) Prior to the convention:
- a) Working with the BEA staff and Board of Directors and Leadership of the SMA Division to promote the activities of the division and the benefits of membership in the division.
- b) Reporting of all activities to the membership through the newsletter.
2) During the convention, report to the SMA membership at the business meeting.
Section 6: Procedures for the Election of Officers. Nominations will be taken from the floor for each vacant position at the business meeting at the annual BEA convention. The Vice-Chair moves into the chair’s position at the end of the two-year term. Therefore, the chair’s position is generally not open for election. After nominations are closed, the candidate getting the most votes of the SMA members who are present and voting will be elected to the office for each vacant position.
Section 7: Procedures for Filling Vacant Offices:
Procedures for Filling Vacated Offices. If an officer cannot complete his or her elected term or assume the designated progression assignment, the following rules will apply:
Chair: If the Chair cannot complete the two-year term, the Vice Chair will become Chair and serve the remainder of the departing Chair’s two-year term.
At the next annual business meeting, nominations will be accepted for a new Vice Chair and the elected nominee will become Vice Chair for the remainder of the unfilled term. After completion of this interim term, officer terms will return to the normal 2-year rotation.
Vice Chair: If the Vice Chair cannot assume the duties as Chair, the current Chair may be nominated or self-nominated to serve one additional year as interim Chair and oversee an election for a replacement Vice Chair. If the current Chair declines the opportunity to serve as interim Chair, new elections will be held for both Vice Chair and Chair, according to terms for officers described previously.
All other officers: If any of the other officers indicate at the annual business meeting that they cannot complete their term, nominations will be accepted during the business meeting to fill the position for the remainder of the vacated term. If an officer position is vacated during the year (between business meetings) the Division Chair should immediately notify the BEA Executive Director and Interest Division Representative (IDR).
Working with the Executive Director and IDR, the Division Chair may seek an interim replacement from within the Division membership to fill the vacant office until the next Division business meeting. The Chair should notify the entire Division membership seeking volunteers to fill the position. If more than one replacement is identified, a committee consisting of the Division Chair, Vice Chair and IDR will select the interim replacement. The interim replacement will serve in the vacated position until the next division business meeting. At the next business meeting, an election will be held to fill the remainder of the vacated term. The interim replacement, as well as anyone nominated from the floor, will be an eligible candidate in this election.
Article IV: Communications: The Communication Chair is responsible for updating BEA Connect and other online vehicles for delivering information to SMA membership on a regular basis.
Article V: Paper Competitions: The purpose of the paper competition shall be to provide a juried evaluation of faculty work. The competition shall be open to both members and nonmembers of the BEA. However, all competition winners shall be required to attend the convention or forfeit their award AND all presenters are required to be members of BEA.
Section 1: Competition Categories and Awards. The paper competition shall follow the BEA guidelines and shall consist of both Debut and Open categories. The Debut competition is open to persons who have not previously presented a paper at BEA and shall have a $200 award for first place and a $100 award for second place. Funds for the Debut competition come from the BEA National budget. The Open competition shall be available to anyone who would like to submit a paper and shall have a $200 award for first place and a $100 award for second place. Funds for the Open competition come from the Student Media Advisors annual fund.
Section 2: Competition Procedures. The responsibility for operating the competition shall fall to the Vice-Chair. There shall be at least three [university] judges for the competition with the Vice-Chair making every effort to balance the judges by their interest in SMA activities. The paper competition shall follow the deadlines established by the BEA.
Article VI: Division Panels: Panel proposals shall be submitted to the Chair of the SMA division. Both members and nonmembers of the BEA are eligible to submit panel proposals with the understanding that all panel members are planning to attend the BEA annual convention and will become members of the BEA. The Chair shall coordinate the rank ordering of the proposals. The Chair shall then submit the final panels in rank order to the convention coordinator by the deadlines established by the BEA. Upon receipt of the final recommendation of the convention coordinator, the Chair shall notify the panel conveners of the decision regarding their proposals.
Note: Bylaws of the Student Media Advisors Division comply with the BEA Interest Division Policies and Guidelines.
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