Constitution of the Medieval Studies Graduation Association

MISSION STATEMENT:
The MSGA is an independent entity. Its funds are purely and wholly for the disposal of its own working brief. The MSGA is dedicated to being a forum for sustained discussion and debate within the student medievalist body on campus and to strengthening connectivity between these students. It aims to provide a platform for underrepresented groups and disciplines. It also provides an official channel for discussion with faculty, the MS Department, and the Graduate School. It was founded at a time when there was no such forum in existence.

Its purpose is to encourage collaboration by Cornellians from across the spectrum of departments and programs on campus, so that they can get to know one another and exchange views in a relaxed and sociable atmosphere. We welcome any graduate student in any department whose research falls within the approximate time frame from the 5th c. to 15th c. CE, or anyone interested in decolonizing and/or abolishing the structures of their own fields of study. This association provides necessary professional and social activities that bring the medieval and the medievalist community together.

GOALS:
To strengthen connectivity between the medieval(ist) graduate student body on campus across the departments;
To provide a platform for underrepresented groups and disciplines;
To be a forum for discussion and debate between the medieval graduate student body;
To encourage collaboration between the various departments and programs;
To offer opportunities for professional development;
To decolonize the field of Medieval Studies and adjacent fields;
To be aware of its student body’s concerns and to suitably address these concerns;
To provide an official channel for discussion with faculty, the MS Department, and the Graduate School.

ETHICS STATEMENT
As an organization, MSGA affirms the statement of the Medievalists of Color “On Race and Medieval Studies”.¹ The organization and its officers, members, and volunteers shall conduct themselves, their research and academic activities, and the organization’s activities in accordance with the Medieval Academy of America’s professional policies.²

ORGANIZATION:
A. Name: The organization shall be known as the Medieval Studies Graduate Association (abbreviated MSGA).
B. Faculty Advisor: The organization shall be advised by a Faculty Advisor who is a full-time member of the Cornell University faculty. The faculty advisor shall serve an advisory role. They are required to approve and sign the budget request.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

The Board of Directors of the organization shall consist of four Mandatory Officers (defined in Section III) and any officers elected to Optional Officers (defined in Section IV). Members of the Board of Directors shall have the authority to transact all business of the MSGA. Officers shall be elected at the annual end of term meeting and shall serve office until the next election.

MANDATORY OFFICERS:

There shall be four mandatory officers: a President, a Vice President (VP), a Treasurer, and a Secretary. All officers are responsible for representing MSGA in the community, meaning we all represent the values of MSGA. The Board of Directors is collectively responsible for developing new initiatives that can benefit the mission and goals of MSGA. The duties of the officers are described as follows:

A. PRESIDENT

1. Duties:

The office of President shall have the following duties:

a) Responsible for overall operation of MSGA and keeps current on all its activities;
b) Acts as a liaison to the GPSA representative and the organizer of the Festival of Medieval Readings;
c) Convenes the executive board at least once a month for meetings; they will establish dates and times for meetings. The president prepares agenda in consultation with other board members and shall call and preside over all meetings of the club and of the Board of Directors;
d) Acts as an intermediary between medieval graduate students, faculty, the department, and the graduate school. Consequently, they will be responsible for taking the questions and concerns that arise in meetings and presenting them to relevant faculty or administrative members at Cornell;
e) Delegates responsibility and holds officers accountable (accountability procedure outlined below) and facilitates communication among all board members;
f) Applies for GPSA budget (in coordination with the Treasurer);
g) As needed prepares their successor after their one-year term.

2. Eligibility:

The person serving as president shall be elected to this office by a quorum of medieval studies students present at the end of term meeting. Any graduate student in the Medieval Studies PhD program who, at the time of election, expects to be enrolled or a member of Cornell University for at least 2 semesters beyond the semester of election is eligible. It is preferable that they be chosen from those who have previously demonstrated an active interest in furthering the goals of the MSGA. It would be healthy if, over time, the president is rotated among students from different departments and programs.

3. Term:

The office of President shall normally be a commitment of one academic year beginning a month before the start of the Fall semester.

4. Re-election: Presidents shall not be eligible for reelection to the offices of President or Vice President, but shall be eligible for election as Interim President when the office of President is vacated and the Vice President is unwilling or unable to assume the office of President. Past presidents shall be eligible for election to any other office besides President or Vice President, according to the guidelines specified for each position.

B. VICE PRESIDENT

1. Duties:

The office of Vice President shall have the following duties:

a) The vice president shall perform the duties of the president in their absence or inability to act and the vice president shall succeed in the office of President, if this office is vacated;
b) Acts as a liaison to the Roundtable Organizer and the Prospective Students Coordinator / Student Liaison;
c) Coordinates with the MSGA president on financial matters as needed;
d) Conducting annual elections;
e) Encourages the newest members of the Medieval Studies program to become actively involved in MSGA activities;
f) As needed prepares their successor after their one-year term.

2. Eligibility:

Any graduate student associated with the field of medieval studies who, at the time of election, expects to be enrolled or a member of Cornell University for at least two (2) semesters beyond the semester of election is eligible. It is preferable that they be chosen from those who have previously demonstrated an active interest in furthering the goals of the MSGA.

3. Term:

The office of President shall normally be a commitment of one academic year beginning a month before the start of the Fall semester.

4. Re-election:

The Vice President is eligible for re-election to this or any other role.

C. TREASURER

1. Duties:

a) The treasurer shall have custody of all the funds of MSGA;
b) Coordinates with the president for the submission of general budget and rafts the budget for the next year;
c) They shall keep an accurate record of all (itemized, if possible) receipts and disbursements and submits the receipts of the year of their tenure for reimbursement;
d) The treasurer shall keep all funds separate and distinct from each other;
e) Is responsible for ensuring the proper allocation of funds and supervises how each sub-committee uses their allotted funds. They consequently must work closely with all committees and the president;
f) Either the treasurer or the president shall sign all withdrawals and transfers of funds;
g) Acts as a liaison to the reading group organizers and grant writing chairs;
h) As needed prepares their successor after their one-year term.

2. Eligibility:

Any graduate student associated with the field of medieval studies who at the time of election expects to be enrolled or a member of Cornell University for at least two (2) semesters beyond the semester of election is eligible.

3. Term: The office of President shall normally be a commitment of one academic year beginning a month before the start of the Fall semester.

4. Re-election: The Treasurer is eligible for re-election as Treasurer. The Treasurer is also eligible to run for any optional role.

D. SECRETARY

1. Duties:

a) Is responsible for keeping, filing & distributing the minutes of the bi-annual graduate student meeting and giving them to the President;
b) Will work with sub-committees and Webmaster to manage publicity;
c) Acts as a liaison to the Webmaster and the Social Media officer;
d) As needed prepares their successor after their one-year term.

2. Eligibility:

Any graduate student associated with the field of medieval studies who at the time of election expects to be enrolled or a member of Cornell University for at least two (2) semesters beyond the semester of election is eligible.

3. Term:

The office of President shall normally be a commitment of one academic year beginning a month before the start of the Fall semester.

4. Re-election:

The Secretary is eligible for re-election as Secretary. The Secretary is also eligible to run for any additional role.

E. VACATING OF OFFICE DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

1. Vacating of VP or Treasurer office: If for any reason the VP or Treasurer needs to step down or is unable to complete their term, they must notify the other members of the executive board to arrange elections. Elections will be held as soon as possible following the notification of the office.

2. Vacating of President’s office:

If for any reason the President needs to step down or is unable to complete their term, they must notify the other members of the executive board. The Vice President will assume the position of President and elections for VP will be held as soon as possible following the notification of the office. If the Vice President is unable or unwilling to fill the office of President at the time it is vacated, previous presidents will be eligible to run as Interim President following the policy outlined in Section III.A and if elected, will serve out the remainder of the term of the vacated office.

F. ACCOUNTABILITY PROCEDURES

1. Reasons for creating an accountability procedure:

a) The students elected to the position of officer need to be fully aware and informed of their responsibilities; having accountability procedures in place ensures that this is the case;
b) Having official accountability procedures as separate from Section III.H (Removal from office) ensures that steps can be taken before removal from office becomes necessary;
c) Having these procedures in place provides all officers with a safe way to address accountability concerns.

2. Procedures:

a) All officers read the constitution upon their election to office and agree to perform their tasks to the best of their ability.
b) Upon their election, the newly elected officers will take part in two meetings in order to ensure a better comprehension of their office and its duties. These meetings will take place before the start of their official term as officer. These meetings are:
(1) They will meet with their predecessor in order to discuss the office and its duties. The predecessor will be responsible for preparing the newly elected officer for their office and for addressing any questions the newly elected officer has about their office.
(2) A meeting with all newly elected officers, so that they are familiar with each other and with the different offices that they hold. This meeting can take place with the predecessors of the officers as needed in order to facilitate a continuous transfer of information.
c) If at any point during their term as officer, parts of their tasks or of the mission statement, goals, ethics statement and the constitution become unclear to them or do not suit the realities pertaining to the performance of their office, the officer will notify the other officers and they will seek a resolution to this together. This also means that the officers are free to assess the statements in the constitution and to what extent they remain relevant to the performance of their duties in a changing academic environment.
d) During the weekly or semi-weekly meetings, all officers will update the other officers on the activities pertaining to their role and any other additional tasks they may have been assigned. All officers are aware of what the other officers are working on at that moment. The President puts this check-in on the agenda of the meetings of the Board of Directors.
e) If at any point in the process, an officer has repeatedly failed to perform their tasks, causing a significant delay of or obstruction to the performance of MSGA’s responsibilities, the other officers have cause to address this with that officer. The President is mainly responsible for addressing this, but all officers have the right and the responsibility to address concerns pertaining to a situation like the one described here.
f) In the case of an officer failing to perform their tasks as described in Section III.F2e, the first order of business must always be to assess if there are any extenuating circumstances and if the officer in question needs support in order to perform their tasks.
g) In the case of an officer failing to perform their tasks as described in Section III.F2e and being unwilling to resolve this issue as described in Section III.F2f, the other officers need to assess if this is cause for removal of the officer as outlined in Section III.H.

G. REDISTRIBUTION OF TASKS DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

1. Reasons:

a) Personal circumstances of various kinds;
b) Unforeseen circumstances that make the performance of certain duties no longer relevant, desired, or impossible;
c) The necessitated creation of new tasks that disproportionately fall under the responsibility of one officer.

2. Procedures:

a) In the event of the redistribution of tasks due to extenuating circumstances, the redistribution will be recorded and kept as a segment of the Appendix. This will set precedents for similar occasions in the future and provide a template to fall back on.
b) The redistribution of tasks will always be determined in a meeting that includes the complete Board of Directors as well as any extant Optional Officers.
c) An assessment will be made by a) the officer whose task(s) will be redistributed to another officer OR b) the officer who requests to take on new tasks. This assessment will be made in collaboration with the other officers. The assessment will include how many and which tasks need to be redistributed in order to accommodate the extenuating circumstance(s).
d) Redistribution of tasks is based on the extent to which an individual task suits the current duties and the severity of these duties of the officer who requests or is asked to add the task to their duties.
e) The term of the redistribution of task(s) is determined immediately upon the redistribution of task(s), e.g. will the redistribution be for the remainder of the officers’ terms or for a shorter period?

H. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

1. Reasons:

Any violation or disregard for any part of this constitution, gross misconduct in violation of Cornell University policies, or violation of the statement of the Medievalists of Color “On Race and Medieval Studies” or of the Medieval Academy of America’s professional policies. Disregard for any part of this institution also entails disregarding tasks an officer has been assigned (before removal from office becomes necessary assess whether the accountability and the extenuating circumstances procedures have been applied and would help resolve the situation).

2. Procedures:

a) Any member in good standing can call for a removal vote.
b) This vote must be seconded by another member in good standing.
c) If the motion passes with a two-thirds vote of members in good standing, the officer will be removed from their position and a new election will be held as soon as possible. A quorum of three-quarters of members in good standing must be met for the motion to be binding.
d) ‘Good standing’: see section VI.B.

A. Any member may nominate themselves or another member for an optional officer position at the time of annual elections. Optional officers shall serve for one academic year and shall be members of good standing who expect to be enrolled at Cornell University for 2 semesters following their election.

B. Optional officers may include, but not be limited to:

1. REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CORNELL GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION (GPSA Representative):

This officer shall serve as the organization’s representative at twice-monthly meetings of the GPSA and is responsible for keeping the executive board informed of any relevant information disseminated during these meetings. In the event that this office is left vacant for a given term or the GPSA Representative must miss a meeting, the Mandatory Officers will rotate attendance to the GPSA meetings.

2. PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS COORDINATOR/STUDENT LIAISON:

This officer is responsible for communicating with incoming students before they arrive at Cornell and for supporting them during their first year at Cornell. Their responsibilities include:

a) Emailing accepted students and reaching out to welcome them to the program. An important aspect of this is ensuring that they find their visit to Cornell comfortable and see how the program provides a welcoming environment on a personal and academic level;
b) Helping the Graduate Field Assistant with the organization of the meet-ups between visiting students and current graduate students;
c) Arranging a place to stay with current graduate students who can act as hosts;
d) Staying in touch with prospective students after their visits and through the start of the new academic year;
e) Managing a mentorship program which is designed to support the incoming students:
(1) These mentors are responsible for meeting with these students at least once a month;
(2) Updating them on information included in the ‘Medievalist First-Year Survival Guide.’

3. WEBMASTER:

This person is responsible for taking care of the graduate student profiles on the Medieval Studies website and for creating and managing a digital space on the Medieval Studies website or outside of this space that contains general information related to MSGA.

The person is responsible for maintaining up-to-date profiles, a permanent page for MSGA, and including more frequent news stories on the Medieval Studies website. This has mostly involved sending email blasts once or twice a semester asking if people want edits made to their profiles. (The website editing portal is very simple and does not require any training beyond an explanation of how it works. Access to it, however, can only be granted by IT via the Medieval Studies Graduate Field Assistant.)

4. LISTSERV OFFICER:

This officer is responsible for managing the Medieval Studies listserv, which includes: having an up-to-date list of people who are on this listserv; regularly checking and managing requests to join the listserv (i.e. accepting and rejecting requests); and encouraging medievalist grad students to join the listserv.

5. SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR:

This office can be merged with the position of webmaster, depending on need and availability of officers. This officer shall be responsible for the creation and maintenance of any public social media accounts. To prevent the lapse of any active social media accounts, in the event that this position is left vacant for any given term, the Mandatory Officers will assume joint responsibility of the social media account(s) and will delegate responsibility for the relevant accounts among themselves.

6. GRANT WRITING CHAIR(S):

Responsible for looking for and managing the writing and submission of grant applications on behalf of the organization in support of events. The organization can have up to two members serving simultaneously in this position.

7. ROUNDTABLE ORGANIZER:

Responsible for organizing the monthly Roundtable Discussions. An extensive description of this task can be found in the addendum. Their responsibilities include:

a) Emailing the listservs to schedule each semester’s round tables;
b) Emailing a survey to find what time works for most students and faculty;
c) Making a poster to be distributed around Goldwin Smith Hall and posted to the website;
d) Filling out an event request for events with alcohol;
e) Reminding members one week in advance of the event and distributing papers at the same time;
f) Buying food and drinks for the event;
g) Keeping receipts and submit them for reimbursement;
h) Booking a room or schedule a Zoom meeting for the event and sending the details to all interested parties.

8. FESTIVAL OF MEDIEVAL READINGS ORGANIZER/MAGISTERIUM ORATIONUM:

This officer organizes the annual Festival of Medieval Readings. The term of this officer is usually the Fall semester, and the time commitment is
approximately 20 hours across the semester. Time commitment begins halfway into Fall semester and peaks during the month of November.

Their responsibilities include:
a) Contacting the Big Red Barn to reserve a time and space for the festival;
b) Contacting Campus Food Services to order food for the event (light refreshments, i.e. coffee, tea, cookies, veg platter);
c) Soliciting readings and selections from the medieval community broadly;
d) Organizing and editing the selections received into a pamphlet;
e) Contacting Marion or current Graduate Assistant and ask them to print off ~40-50 pamphlets for the festival;
f) Arriving early to the festival for set up and staying late for break down.

9. READING GROUPS ORGANIZERS:

Reading groups are organized and attended by students interested in learning about and exploring a certain topic together, like a research theme or literature written in a particular language. The meeting frequency is determined by the chair of the reading group. The addendum contains a list of reading groups with their contact persons listed. The current reading groups are as follows:

a) Decolonizing the Global Middle Ages
b) Old French
c) Old English
d) Medieval Latin
e) Middle English
f) Archaeological Science Group
g) ARCO – Anti-racist archaeology group

10. EVENTS CHAIR(S):

Responsible for working with the President to coordinate the planning and execution of any events other than regular meetings which are primarily sponsored by the organization, and for collaborating with planners of any events co-sponsored by the organization. The Conference Chair(s)’s responsibilities may and should include delegation of relevant tasks to members and volunteers of the organization. A maximum of two members may serve simultaneously in this position for a given term.

C. Re-election:

All optional officers are eligible for re-election to any role.

D. Vacating of Optional Offices during term:

If for any reason an officer holding an Optional Office needs to step down or is unable to complete their term, they must notify the other members of the executive board to arrange elections. An election process to fill the vacated position will be initiated no more than two weeks following the executive board.

E. Removal of Optional Officers from office will be subject to the same conditions, policies, and procedures set out in Section I.E.

A. Nomination:

Candidates for officer positions must be members of the organization in good standing who expect to be enrolled at Cornell University for 2 semesters. They may be self-nominated or nominated by another member in good standing. Nominations may be submitted to the incumbent President, along with a short bio and statement of intent. Nominations shall close no fewer than two (2) weeks before the opening of voting. The President shall then disseminate the list of candidates, bios, and statements of intent to the members of the organization.

B. Annual elections:

1. Regular elections shall be held annually at the end of the Spring semesterto elect the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and any other non-mandatory offices, for terms beginning in the Fall semester.
2. Elections shall be held anonymously over digital ballot.
3. Elections will last for one week after dissemination of the ballot, after which voting will be closed. The incumbent President will be responsible for disseminating the list of candidates, ballot, and results of the election. Voters shall be members in good standing.
4. Elections will be discussed during the end of term meeting at the end of the Spring semester.

C. A quorum for elections shall consist of 60% percent of the members in goodstanding.

D. Elections for Mandatory Officers vacated before completion of term: In the event that a required office should be vacated before the completion of the officer’s term, an election to fill the position must be initiated within no more than two weeks of the officer giving notice. The election shall follow the process laid out for the annual elections.

E. The elected officers will start serving their term a month before the beginning of the Fall semester. This allows for a transitional period between the end of the Spring semester and the start of the term of the new officer.

F. Elections for Vacant Optional Officers:

1. If no officer is elected at annual elections: The Mandatory Officers shall make a decision as to which duties of vacant offices they are reasonably able to assume. If an optional office is left vacant for the spring semester and a member in-good-standing would like to nominate themselves or another member in-good-standing for a vacant optional office, an election will be held at the beginning of the fall semester and the individual will hold that position for the remainder of that semester.

2. Vacancy during term due to extenuating circumstances before the completion of their term: An election to that position shall be initiated no more than two weeks following the notification of the Board of Directors as soon as is reasonably possible following the same process as the annual elections.

A. Membership:

Membership shall be open to all enrolled Cornell University graduate and professional students. Postdoctoral fellows, faculty and staff members, and undergraduate students at Cornell University, members of Ithaca College, graduate and professional students on leave from Cornell University, and members of the local community are welcome to attend meetings and to volunteer on behalf of the organization but are not eligible for membership.

B. The events which MSGA organizes are not only open to its members, but also to the general public. They are advertised both on the email listserv, through relevant departments, and through posted announcements throughout campus.

C. MSGA complies entirely with the anti-discrimination policies 6.4 of Cornell University, titled “Prohibited Bias, Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual and Related Misconduct.”

D. All members of MSGA must abide by the Cornell Student Handbook, and specifically Policy 6.4: Prohibited Bias, Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual and Related misconduct. Additionally, all members of MSGA must follow local, state, and federal laws, Cornell University rules, and the guidelines of this constitution. Any person who is found in violation of these rules will be removed from MSGA and/or barred from future membership, at the discretion of the officers and the advisor.

E. Membership ‘in good standing’:

Members shall be considered to be ‘in good standing’ if they do not qualify for the reasons mentioned in Section III.F and comply with all Cornell University policies, including but not limited to academic and professional conduct.

A. Regular Meetings of the Board of Directors: Regular meetings of the Board of Directors will be held weekly or biweekly depending on need. The President will call these meetings, provide an agenda and preside over these meetings. Any officer of the Board of Directors may call additional meetings and provide agendas.

B. Meeting with all the medievalist graduate students at the beginning and the end of the academic year, taking place before the opening and closing town hall meetings in order to discuss any student concerns before addressing them in the town hall meetings with faculty.

1. Additional meetings like these, in order to gauge student concerns more regularly, can be held at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Suggested meeting frequency is once per month.

C. Round Table meetings: these meetings will be held once per month while the semester is in session. These meetings are an opportunity for all medievalist students at Cornell to discuss and receive feedback on papers that they have written.

D. Festival of Medieval Readings: This is an annual, festive event held at the end of the Fall semester. Medievalist students and faculty will read texts in their original languages which can broadly be defined as medieval or of interest to medievalists.

E. Reading Group meetings: These meetings concern the reading of texts dealing with a common research theme or written in a particular language. The meeting frequency is determined by the individual reading group chairs. A list of current reading groups and their contact information can be found in the Appendix.

F. Other events: The organization may host or co-sponsor other events including, but not limited to, visiting speakers, field trips, and conferences related to medieval studies. Co-sponsorship should only be of events whose policies are also compliant with the organization’s ethics statement.

The constitution of the organization can be amended as needed by the following procedure:

A. Any member in good standing can call for (an) amendment(s) to the constitution, with clear justification for the amendment(s), by notifying the President or Vice President, who will then notify all members of the proposed amendment.

B. This vote must be seconded by another member in good standing within one week of the notification.

C. The vote will proceed anonymously by a digital ballot and will be initiated no less than one week after the vote is seconded. If the motion passes with a two-thirds vote of members in good standing, the constitution shall be amended. A quorum of three-quarters of members in good standing must be met for the motion to be binding.