By-Laws

I.       Name:  The name of this organization shall be the Virginia Association of Criminal Justice Educators, hereafter referred to as the VACJE.  

II.      Purpose: The purposes of the VACJE are to:

            A. Advocate for professional standards and competencies in criminal justice education

            B. Continuously search for new techniques and approaches in the delivery of academic criminal justice programs to advance criminal justice education in the Commonwealth of Virginia

           C. Provide professional development opportunities for criminal justice educators

           D. Inform and update criminal justice educators of the current research findings in criminal justice education

           E. Enable criminal justice educators to network, connect, collaborate and exchange innovative teaching approaches

           F. Support criminal justice agencies in the recruitment of an academically and professionally educated workforce in the criminal justice field

          G. Develop a criminal justice education curriculum at the college, university level, and secondary schools; supports the development in other recognized educational institutions, such as criminal justice training academies

III.    Members:

          A. Regular membership in VACJE shall be open to all persons who engage in the teaching, training, or administration of education or training programs in the field of Criminal Justice or who are practitioners in criminal justice agencies or organizations.

         B. There shall be five additional categories of membership.

              1. Honorary life members, who may, in honor of their retirement and in recognition of at least 10 years of continuous service to VACJE be appointed as such by a majority of the members at a regular meeting of the membership. Honorary life members shall not be required to pay dues.

              2. Life members, who have paid in no more than 3 consecutive annual installments a sum to be determined from time to time by the board.

              3. Institutions and organizations that deliver or receive criminal justice education or training.

             4. Student membership shall be open to those students pursuing academic study in criminal justice or a related field.

             5. Corporate sponsors and community partners who have expressed an interest in criminal justice educational initiatives.

        C. Voting: Each member in the above categories (Section III-A+B-1/2/3) whose dues for the current year have been paid are entitled to one vote in any election, referendum, or membership meeting. Student members, corporate sponsors, and community partners are excluded from voting privileges. Each institutional or organizational member shall appoint one person to carry its vote. No voting by proxy shall be permitted. Ballots shall be sent to the members in a manner determined by the VACJE  Board and include mailed ballots (i.e., U.S. Postal Service) or electronic ballots. The Board will determine how ballots are to be returned and the deadline for voting. It is the responsibility of each member to ensure his/her business address and email address are currently on file with the association. Each member shall be assigned a membership number to account for all ballots.

        D. Dues: Membership dues shall be at such rate or rates, schedule or formula as may be approved by the Board of Directors from time to time.

        E. Termination:

            1. Any member may be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors at a regularly scheduled Board Meeting, for conduct prejudicial to the mission and purpose of the VACJE, after due notice and opportunity to be heard by the board. 

            2. A member who has not paid dues by December 01 will be dropped from membership.

IV. Meetings

      A. Timely notice of the location and time of meetings of the membership of VACJE, both annual and special, shall be provided to the membership.

      B.  The Annual Meeting shall be held in the fall of each year, unless circumstances require the board to do otherwise.

      C. Special meetings of VACJE may be called by the president, by the board, or by one-tenth of the membership, upon 14 days written notice to the members, stating the purpose of the meeting

      D.  At meetings of the members, twenty percent of the membership shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of votes shall prevail. 

      E. The Annual Meeting and special meetings may be held in-person or virtual, as determined by the Board of Directors.

V. The Board of Directors

    A. The board shall consist of the president, the immediate past president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and not more than four directors-at- large.

    B. The board shall set policy, evaluate operations, monitor finances, and have responsibility for long-range planning.

    C. No public statement of policy by any member, representative, committee, group, volunteer, employee, director, or officer shall be binding upon, or constitute an expression of, the policy of the VACJE unless approved or ratified by a majority of the directors.

    D. Unless otherwise ordered by the board, regular meetings of the board shall be held at least four times each year. Special or additional meetings of the board may be called by the president and shall be called upon the written request of three directors,                  with at least forty-eight hours written notice having been given.

    E. A majority of the board (5) shall constitute a quorum.

VI. Election of the Officers and Directors

      A. Upon receipt of the Nominating Committee’s (See Section VIII, paragraph B) report and ballot, the president shall immediately distribute to all members in good standing, the names of the nominees on a Ballot approved by the Board of Directors and arrange for additional write-in names. The Board shall establish a minimum of two weeks for voting and the date and time by which all ballots must be received by the Chair of the Nominating Committee. The returned ballots shall be tabulated by the nominating committee. The nominees who receive the most votes shall be elected. The nominating committee shall certify the results to the president and a public announcement of newly-elected officers and directors shall be made as soon as appropriate.

     B. The terms of office for Officers and Directors At-Large shall be for two years.

     C. Vacancies

         1. The board shall declare vacant any office or director-at-large position if that officer or director-at-large has been absent from two consecutive board meetings- Absences may be excused by vote of a majority of the board, or

         2. There was no one elected to the office or director-at-large position.

         3. Recommendations for filling officer or director-at-large vacancies shall be made by nominating committee. Vacancies on the board shall be filled by the board of directors by a majority vote at any regular board meeting.

     D. Upon completing four years of service as a director-at-large, an individual shall be ineligible to serve as a director-at-large for the following term in that position.

     E. Individuals who are not current in dues payment shall not be eligible for election, and when directors or other officers are not current they shall be removed from office and a vacancy declared within 30 days of the dues becoming due.

VII.  Officers and Duties

        A. The officers of the VACJE shall be the president, the vice president, and the immediate past president, the secretary, and the treasurer. These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws.

        B. The term of office for the officers shall be as follows:

             1. President – Two-Years

             2. Immediate Past President – Two Years

             3. Vice President – Two Years

             4. Secretary – Two Years

             5.Treasurer – Two Years

       The term of office of the President and Immediate Past President shall be limited to two (2) years following installation (or until the end of the respective term of the predecessor, if the person shall not have completed such term) and until the election of a successor. If the out-going President cannot fulfill the term of Immediate Past President, the most recent Immediate Past President will be asked by the Board to serve the remainder of that term. In the event the President cannot fulfill the term of that office or his/her duties, the Vice President shall succeed to that office for the balance of that term. The Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer may serve two terms. If the Vice President, Secretary, and/or Treasurer cannot fulfill the term of that office, or his/her duties, the Board shall appoint a person from the membership at-large to serve for the balance of the term. To receive the appointment from the Board, the member must receive a majority vote of the Board of Directors. The term of office of the newly elected officers and directors-at-large shall commence on January 1 following the election and end on December 31, at the end of the two-year term. The officers and directors-at-large shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be provided by the Bylaws, parliamentary authority of the VACJE, Robert’s Rules of Order, or as the Board of Directors may determine.

     C. No member shall hold more than one position on the board at a time.

     D. The president of the board shall:

          1. Serve as the executive head of the VACJE, and shall preside at all meetings of the membership and the board.

          2. Appoint all committee chairs from the Board members and approve all committee members.

          3. Be an ex-officio member of all VACJE committees, but is under no obligation to attend committee meeting and is not counted as part of the committee’s quorum.

          4. Serve as the official spokesperson for the Association and shall speak and act on behalf of the Board and the members within existing policy and Board decisions. The President may, at his/her discretion, delegate the spokesperson responsibility to another Officer or Director-at-large for a specific period of time.

         5. Have authority to approve expenses not to exceed $100 per occurrence without prior approval of the Board.

         6. Have other duties as assigned by the Board from time-to-time.

         7. Report to the Board, at every Board Meeting all issues addressed and actions taken in keeping with the provisions of this section.

     E. The vice president shall serve as president-elect and as program chair. In the absence of the president, the vice president shall exercise the functions of the president.

     F. The immediate past president shall assist the president in such duties as may be mutually agreed upon and shall chair and recruit members for the nominating committee.

     G. The treasurer shall maintain the roll of the membership. The treasurer also shall oversee receipt and proper disbursement of all funds by the VACJE. Such funds shall be kept on deposit in financial institutions approved by the board. Checks shall be signed by any two of the following: president, vice president, and treasurer. Checks drawn for less than $100 require only the signature of one of those aforementioned. The Treasurer shall develop internal controls for the association which shall be reviewed and approved by the Board.

      H. The secretary shall keep a formal record of each meeting and provide

same promptly and in electronic form to the webmaster.

VIII. Standing Committees: Standing Committees are those identified in these Bylaws. The Chair of each Standing Committee shall be a member of the Board

         A. A Program Committee shall be chaired by the vice president, who shall, with the assistance of the board, recruit additional members to serve on the Committee. The program committee shall plan, publicize, and manage the annual meeting.

         B. A Nominating Committee composed of three members and chaired by the immediate past president shall be appointed by the president and approved by the board promptly after the new officers are installed.

             1. It shall be the duty of the nominating committee to recruit and gain the consent of candidates for the board and for offices within the board, as well as for appointments and nominations made by the board to external groups.

             2. Every reasonable effort shall be made to recruit candidates who within the preceding three years have participated actively in VACJE meetings and projects, and to recruit a sufficient number of candidates to give the membership a choice at the time of election.

             3. The Nominating Committee shall solicit nominations (including self- nominations) from the membership.

             4. The Nominating Committee shall submit its Report and Ballot to the President and the Board not later than October 1 st of each even numbered year. The Board shall approve the Ballot and the President shall direct its publication and distribution to the members for voting. The list of candidates and their biographical information shall be made available on the VACJE Website and newsletter. The outcome of the election shall be made know at the Annual Meeting.

             5. The nominating committee shall also present to the board for its approval the names of candidates to fill unexpired terms within 30 days of the Board’s declaration that the position is vacant.

         C. The Communications Committee shall be chaired by a board member, who shall be appointed by the president with the consent of the board. That individual, and other committee members appointed by the President shall assume responsibility for printed and virtual communications materials and methods employed by VACJE.

         D. Other committees, such as ad hoc, special, or advisory, shall be appointed by the President as the Board or President shall from time to time deem necessary to carry on the work of the VACJE. Each Committee shall have a chair appointed by the president and shall report at the annual meeting on its activities during the preceding year.

         E. The term of membership on any committee is two (2) years and may be renewable.

IX. Finances

      A. The VACJE’s fiscal year shall begin on 1 September and end on 31 August.

      B.  The accounts of the VACJE shall be audited bi-annually by two members appointed by the president with the consent of the board at the beginning of a new term of officers and Board members. The audit report shall be presented to the membership at the annual meeting.

     C. The VACJE shall be registered with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Internal Revenue Service.

     D. At the beginning of every new term for Officers and Board members, the

Board will review and approve the internal controls of the Association.

X. Parliamentary Authority

    The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the VACJE in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the VACJE may adopt.

XI. Amendment of Bylaws

      These bylaws may be amended by the membership by a two-thirds vote of those eligible to vote, provided that the amendment has been recommended by the Board and subsequently distributed to the membership at least 30 days prior to the close of voting.

XII. Dissolution

       The VACJE shall use its funds only to accomplish the objectives and purposes specified in these bylaws. On dissolution of the VACJE, any funds remaining shall be distributed to one or more regularly organized and qualified charitable, educational, scientific, or philanthropic organizations to be selected by the board of directors.