THETA ALPHA
KAPPA
Policies and
Procedures of the Board of Directors
Theta Alpha Kappa came into being
through the good offices of the Religious Studies faculty (with special
reference to its chairman at the time, Professor Albert Clark, F.S.C.) at
Manhattan College in Riverdale (the Bronx), New York in 1976 for the
purposes of honoring particularly excellent students in the fields of
theology and/or religious studies. [A fuller account of these origins can
be found on pp.1-3 of Vol.20/No.1 (Spring, 1996) of the Journal of
Theta Alpha Kappa.]
TAK was more formally constituted as a
national honor society when, in February 1976, ten institutions (all
connected through the College Theology Society) adopted a constitution and
later that year chartered the first 15 chapters. In part reflecting the
nature of these institutions and their interests within religious studies,
the Greek letters theta, alpha and kappa were chosen to reflect theos,
anthropos, and koinonia as their understanding of the primary foci of
studies in religion and theology. [This understanding of the society's
name is a part of its history, but is no longer encoded into its defining
documents.]
Within the next few years TAK had
quickly grown into an independent National Honor Society with - by the mid
1980's- fifty chapters, status as a non-profit corporation in New York
State (1983), and status as a fully approved member of the Association of
College Honor Societies (ACHS, 1985) - the first and only one of its kind
within that organization. The latter action clearly established TAK as an
academic, educational organization devoted to encouraging and rewarding
excellence in the study of religion and theology.
Within the early 1990's TAK took
another large step by becoming a "Related Scholarly Organization" of the
American Academy of Religion (AAR, 1994), and - by the year of its 20th
anniversary (1996) - had grown to include over 115 chapter representing a
full range of diverse institutions offering both undergraduate, graduate
and professional degrees in these fields of study. By 1998 it had over 130
chapters, and had been granted "affiliate society" status on the Council
of Societies for the Study of Religion (CSSR, 1998). By the end of 1999 it
had over 140 chapters, had amended its incorporation papers in preparation
for an IRS 501(c) 3 application, and had become tax-exempt (7/23/99). As
of Fall 2003 it had over 190 chapters and as of Fall 2011 it has chartered
over 290 chapters.
Purposes
As indicated in the new constitution of
1998, Theta Alpha Kappa exists to encourage, recognize and help maintain
excellence within the academic study of religion and theology. It does
this primarily by recruiting and chartering local chapters in appropriate,
qualified institutions of higher learning - which chapters, in turn, exist
to pursue these same purposes in a local context through their various
activities and the induction of qualified students. Secondly, through its
Journal and other programs, TAK seeks to pursue these purposes within a
national and (hopefully in future) an international context.
TAK is held to high standards in
supporting and recognizing these scholarly pursuits by its status as a
member society in the ACHS, as a related scholarly organization of the
AAR, an affiliated society of The Council of Societies for the Study of
Religion, and as a non-profit, educational corporation in the State of New
York. In each case TAK has committed itself - through its incorporation
papers and constitution - to these purposes and high standards.
Governance
Theta Alpha Kappa is governed by a
national Board of Directors and - in turn - by a member-approved
constitution which establishes and legitimizes its most fundamental
policies and procedures. While the size of this Board is flexible, it
currently consists of four officers (President, Vice President, Secretary,
Treasurer), three at-large representatives (of local chapters), and a
Board-appointed editor of the Journal of TAK. Officers and
representatives are elected from among candidates nominated by the
continuing individual members of TAK. The Board regularly solicits
nominations to fill these positions from this active membership and from
the members’ chapters.
The Board of Directors is further
organized around its two standing committees - the Executive Committee
(officers and editor) and the Nominating Committee (appointed by the
Board) - and its other ad hoc committees as determined necessary by the
Board (e.g. a new chapter application/admission committee, a publications
committee, a finance committee, etc.). The rights and duties of the two
standing committees are found in Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution;
and further reference to the Nominating Committee is found in Article V,
Section 2 of the Constitution and in the "Time-Line" on pp.5-7 of this
document. However, the operations of the Nominating Committee are
sufficiently unique and important to warrant special mention here.
Nominating Committee: Four Board-appointed members make up
the Nominating Committee, at least two of whom must be current members of
the Board of Directors. The terms of these members (collectively or
individually) are determined by the Board, but how the Committee organizes
itself is left to its own members. (It is highly recommended, however,
that the Committee select a Chairperson whose job it should be to see that
the Committee does its work.) Very briefly, the Committee's duties
are as follows: 1) with the Board's help, to facilitate the solicitation
of nominations for upcoming vacancies on the Board (a process needing
completion before the time of the annual spring Board meeting), 2) to
review nominees for eligibility and 3) to make recommendations concerning
potential candidates (in ranked order or not), the Committee needs to 4)
check candidate availability and create a final slate of nominees, 5) see
that the TAK membership is notified of its recommendations and that proxy
votes are invited, and 6) see that the recommendations are brought to the
Annual Meeting for its action.
Insofar as possible, Nominating
Committees charged to bring nominations to any given (fall) Annual Meeting
should be appointed ca 18 months prior (Spring Board meeting of the
previous year) in order to give them ample time and opportunity to carry
out their duties.
Awards and Recognitions Committee: While not a
constitutionally created committee, this committee's work is sufficiently
important to be described here:
This committee will comprise the three
Representatives at Large, who will elect a chair annually. The task of the
Awards and Recognitions Committee is to oversee all current awards and
prizes, and to recommend future awards, changes to existing awards, and
new initiatives to recognize the work and service of members and chapter
representatives. In particular, the Awards and Recognitions Committee will
bring a nomination for the Kathleen Connolly-Weinert Award to the Fall
Board Meeting and will select the winners of the Graduate Fellowship
Award.
Annual Meeting: While information and input into the Board's activities is
regularly solicited from chapters and individual members, the one formal
occasion for members to vote on Board recommendations or discuss Board
policies and procedures is the Annual Meeting of the TAK membership -
currently being held annually in conjunction with the national meetings of
AAR/SBL in late November. All individual members, and especially those
members representing local chapters, are encouraged to attend and to take
an active role in this governance opportunity. Notification concerning the
place, time, and agenda of such meetings goes out to all members in
September or October.
Finances/Dues/Fees
TAK works within a relatively modest
annual budget of $50,000. The vast bulk of the income is from new chapter
charter fees, annual chapter dues, individual member induction fees and
annual active member dues (fees and dues structures are described below).
Expenses are primarily incurred in the publication and mailing of the
Journal (JTAK), office-related expenses related to the work of the
officers of the Board, travel expenses to Board members on TAK business,
and miscellaneous prizes and awards. TAK is a non-profit organization, and
all Board positions are unpaid and monetarily uncompensated. (A
treasurer's report is offered at the Annual Meeting for members'
information.) Having recently (1999) become a tax-exempt, 501(c)3
organization, tax-deductible contributions will increasingly be important.
Chapter Fees and Dues: a one-time only charter fee of
$150 is required of new chapters seeking a charter to induct members in
the TAK name as a member chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa. Subsequently, and
starting with the next fiscal year after such chartering has taken place,
all chapters are required to pay an annual chapter dues of
(according to institution size category) $50 (small, total institution
enrollments of fewer than 1,700), $75 (medium, enrollments between 1,700
and 4,000), and $100 (large, enrollments over 4,000). As indicated in the
revised 1998 constitution of TAK, and in the section below, chapters that
fail to pay annual dues may be subject to inactivation.
Payment notices for chapter dues will
be sent to Chapter Representatives in the Fall of any given fiscal year
(July 1 to June 30) for payment in that fiscal year. Both the amount and
the procedures for collecting such payments are subject to change as
determined by the Board.
Individual Member Fees and Dues: As of September 1, 1998, all new,
individual members being inducted into TAK via the local chapter are
required to pay Theta Alpha Kappa an induction fee of $25 - a fee
which, while payable to TAK, may be paid through the good offices of the
local chapter or directly to TAK as determined by the local chapter. Such
an induction fee must be understood as distinct and separate from any
induction fee charged by the local chapter for its own purposes (if such a
local induction fee is charged at all). Induction fees provide one full
year (the year subsequent to induction) of full "active" status. (See
below for an explanation of "active" membership, and its relationship to
"permanent" membership.)
Once inducted, and after the year
subsequent to induction, members may continue their active status by
payment of an annual dues of $20. This payment, and the active
status it brings, allows members to receive a free subscription to the
Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, and financially support the work of TAK
on behalf of education and scholarship related to Religious and/or
Theological Studies. ("Lifetime members," as defined by the Board of
Directors, are considered active members without payment of annual dues.
See #4 in the next section below.)
The voluntary payment or not of annual
dues does not affect a member's original and permanent membership in TAK,
but rather signals the member's on-going interest in and willingness to
actively support the work of TAK. Members who may not have previously paid
any annual dues, or have discontinued such payments, may start (or
restart) in any given year by notifying the Secretary indicated at the end
of this document.
Endowment Fund: TAK is working on the development of an Endowment Fund - the
earnings of which will be devoted further to encouraging and rewarding
student work in these academic disciplines.
Board Member Travel Expenses: Within the following limitations or
exceptions, Board members will normally be reimbursed in full for travel
related to TAK and/or Board of Directors' business. Exceptions/limitations
include but are not necessarily limited to: 1) personal automobile use
will be reimbursed at the current IRS mileage reimbursement rate; 2) fall
meeting (AAR/SBL-related) trips will be limited to a one-day per diem of
$200, and 1/2 of travel expenses if the member's institution will fund the
other half. (All travel expenses will be covered if not funded by the home
institution or other source). The treasurer may make decisions about and
exceptions for this policy as need arises, but all such decisions and
exceptions are subject to Executive Committee or Board approval as any
Board member may request.
Programs of the Board
The programs or activities of the Board
that most directly relate to fulfilling the purposes of TAK include the
following:
1.
Chartering Chapters: It is TAK's primary job, in the pursuit of its purposes, to
recruit, charter, and maintain local chapters who, in turn, work directly
with students and others in encouraging and recognizing excellence in
these studies. By its own constitution, and by its membership in ACHS, TAK
is authorized to charter chapters and induct - through those chapters -
individual members in its own name and that of ACHS. (See below for
further information on chapters.)
2.
Communications/Publications: The Board communicates with the chapter and individual membership
in a number of ways, including but not limited to a) the regular
publication and dissemination (to active individual members and selected
libraries) of the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa, b) the semi-annual
"President's Newsletter" sent to chapters via Chapter Representatives, c)
dues notices to chapters and individuals, and d) periodic requests to
chapters and/or individual members for information updates, nominations
for positions on the Board, nominations for a variety of awards and prizes
(see below), and for help in generating the submission of articles to
JTAK for possible publication.
Among these communications, the
Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa is an important and substantive link
between the Board and the active membership (chapters and individuals)
since it both disseminates information about Board activities and the
scholarly work of members, and receives information about chapter
activities and submissions of scholarly work for publication and/or
prizes.
3.
Annual Meeting/Reception: TAK holds an Annual Meeting of the membership, together with a
reception, normally in conjunction with the annual meetings of the
American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature
(SBL). As suggested under "governance" above, this is an opportunity for
the membership to take an active role in Board matters, and to offer votes
and opinions about the operations of TAK. Mechanisms are also in place, if
attendance at the Annual Meeting is not possible, to submit proxy votes on
certain matters to come before the Meeting. Voting on matters before this
meeting is the privilege of all permanent individual members of TAK.
4.
Award and Prizes: The Board sponsors a number of awards and prizes honoring
excellence in work related to the purposes of TAK. These awards and prizes
include a) the Albert Clark prizes (established in 1996 to honor our
founding president) for an outstanding undergraduate and graduate
essay/paper (a cash prize plus promise of publication in JTAK), b) the
Kathleen Connolly-Weinert Leader-of-the-Year award (established in 1990 to
honor a former Board member who met an untimely death), and c) lifetime
membership for those who have served at least one full term on the Board
of Directors, and/or have been selected as a Leader-of-the-Year by the
Board, d) the annual undergraduate achievement award given to
eligible students as nominated by their chapters, e) the annual
graduate fellowship award, and f) see #7 in this section. Separate
procedures are in place, outside the purview of this document, for the
implementation of these awards and prizes. (Cf. Awards and Recognitions
Committee above.)
Additionally, and to chapters as well
as new inductees, TAK offers certificates of membership and, for a small
price, miscellaneous honorific regalia such as TAK pins and honor cords.
(Further information about orderingTAK pins and honor cords can be found
at the TAK website.)
5. 5.
The Board manages a website at
http://www.ThetaAlphaKappa.net which houses this and other documents, as well as information and
forms useful in the operations of the National Society and its local
chapters.
6.
Theta Alpha Kappa seeks to sponsor or co-sponsor undergraduate
panels at the regional meetings of the AAR (and SBL when it meets in
conjunction with the AAR regions). A first-year start-up incentive of $200
is offered to the region, and an annual best-paper prize of $100 is
offered to a deserving participating student.
Major
Board Activities: Time-Line
1. January-March:
New Board terms begin July 1.
The Board and Nominating Committee are
in the final processes of soliciting the names of possible candidates for
Board positions starting July 1 after-next, and the Board is similarly in
the process of soliciting names of possible candidates for the Kathleen
Connolly-Weinert Leader-of-the-Year Award.
The Board President attends the annual
meetings of the Association of College Honor Societies.
The "President's Newsletter," together
with other relevant notices of interest, goes out to Chapter
Representatives. Among other attachments, nominations/applications are
solicited for the annual graduate fellowship award.
Chapter- and student- eligibility for
receipt of the annual Undergraduate Achievement Award is determined, and
nominations are gathered for awards to be made.
2. April-May:
A spring Board (or Executive Committee)
meeting is held, with special concern for the Nominating Committee's
report and identifying candidates for Board positions (to be elected at
the fall Annual Meeting), and for creating any subsequent (future)
Nominating Committee that may be needed.
The Editor solicits submissions of
student work for the Albert Clark prizes and for potential publication.
The Spring issue of JTAK goes out to all active individual members.
The Awards/Recognitions Committee
conducts and carries out the annual competition for the Graduate
Fellowship award.
3. June-August
The Nominating Committee finishes its
work in preparation for proposing a slate of candidates to the membership
for voting purposes at the Annual Meeting. (Voting on this matter may
include soliciting proxy votes from the membership to be voted at the
Meeting by the designated holder of proxies.) The subsequent
Nominating Committee for the following year begins its work.
The Fiscal Year ends June 30 and the
new one begins July 1.
New Board-member terms start July 1.
(Regular terms run three years)
4. September-October:
The "President's Newsletter," together
with any other relevant notices of interest, goes out, and it includes
information about the fall Annual Meeting/Reception, the slate of
candidates being recommended for Board positions, and (if need be) a call
for proxy votes. The Newsletter goes to Chapter Representatives, who, in
turn, are asked to pass on such news as it contains to the local
membership.
The chapter dues payment notices, as
well as the chapter information forms, go out to Chapter Representatives
for payment of the current fiscal year's dues.
5. November-December:
The fall issue of JTAK goes out, and it
includes news from TAK about the fall Annual Meeting (see 4.a above). The
Journal is always sent to current, active individual members, as well as
selected libraries.
The fall Board meeting is held, and the
Board - together with the Nominating Committee - initiates the processes
referred to in 1.b above. In addition, nominations are received and
decisions made about the Kathleen Connolly-Weinert award winner for the
next year. (That person is asked to name a student for the Moderator’s
Award.)
The Annual Meeting/Reception is held
(normally in late November in conjunction with the national meetings of
the AAR and SBL), with special reference to voting on Board
recommendations and honoring the Kathleen Connolly-Weinert award winner.
The annual report to ACHS is submitted
thereto by the President.
Chapter Procedures
Theta Alpha Kappa chapters are found at
a wide variety of colleges and universities offering a broad range of
courses in the fields of religious studies and theology. Some chapters are
hosted by public or nonsectarian private institutions while others are
housed in religiously-affiliated institutions (including seminaries) for
which ministry training may be an important focus. Theta Alpha Kappa
heartily welcomes and encourages the formation of chapters in all these
settings. While the society recognizes that courses with a vocational
ministry focus need not be any less rigorous than others in our fields of
study, it is also our commitment that courses with strong textual,
historical, and/or theoretical foci lie at the heart of academic studies
in religion and theology and should be the basis on which students gain
entry into Theta Alpha Kappa. The society’s board carefully considers the
presence and centrality of these courses when evaluating applications for
new chapters and expects that chapter representatives only count such
courses when determining student eligibility for induction.
New and continuing local chapters must
conform to the policies and procedures articulated in the TAK constitution
and in this TAK Board of Directors' statement of procedures and policies.
Beyond that, there is considerable latitude in how they are organized,
what activities they sponsor, and how they go about their business.
However, it might be useful to highlight the following issues and
procedures, and to remind chapters that TAK has a "Chapter Handbook"
(under separate cover) which expands on these issues.
1.
New Chapter Application: Persons at eligible institutions who are interested in forming a
chapter should contact the Vice President listed on the TAK website in
order to receive further information and/or chapter application
instructions. Key questions related to applications include the nature of
the institution and its willingness to support/approve this action, the
adequacy of the program in religion or theology, the willingness to
develop an approved set of by-laws (or to affirm the national
constitution), and the payment of a charter fee and subsequent chapter
dues. Applications are approved by a 2/3 majority of voting members of the
Board of Directors.
2.
Chapter Organization/Leadership: The broad outlines of TAK's expectations in this area are found
in the "Chapter Handbook" and in Article IV of the national constitution,
with particular attention to Section 2. Perhaps most important to the
Board is the identification of a Chapter Representative who is to be the
primary liaison between the local chapter and the national Board. This
person, in addition to fulfilling the responsibilities described in IV.2.B
of the constitution, is important to the Board in responding to its
requests for information, chapter dues, and nominations to fill Board
positions, or for other honors, awards, or prizes. Otherwise, the Board
expects - but offers some latitude in - the identification/appointment of
local chapter officers.
While TAK expects the Chapter
Representative to be a faculty member who is also a member of the Society,
this does not preclude the designation by this person of someone else who
will carry out these duties. Similarly, the Board does not necessarily
assume that this Representative (or Chapter Contact) is an officer or
moderator/advisor for the chapter (though he/she may well be). The actual
"leadership" of the chapter is left to the decision of the local chapter,
as is the decision about who may be officers (e.g., faculty or students)
or whether there is a "moderator" or "advisor," or not. These are issues
that may well be decided upon and written up for preservation and
continuity in a local set of by-laws.
3.
Chapter Activities: Again, the national constitution and the "Chapter Handbook"
indicate - in both specific and general terms - those activities that are
appropriate for chapters to sponsor, most importantly to include the
selection and induction of individual members. (See Article IV, Section 1;
and cf. Article III, Section 1.B for information on types of membership
available, and the criteria established for each.)
Beyond the annual induction ceremony
(together, perhaps, with a business meeting) chapters are free to sponsor
(and raise/spend funds relevant to) any number of activities which they
may determine as important to the underlying purposes of TAK for
supporting and encouraging scholarly, academic studies in these
disciplines. Broadly speaking, these activities might be categorized in
terms of scholarly/academic (guest lectures, student papers read
and discussed, panel discussions, essay contests, etc.); social
(student clubs, receptions for relevant students, special trips or other
basically social gatherings as they encourage or reward such students in
or for their work); and community relations (sponsoring programs to
bridge the gap between "town and gown," and to promote an understanding of
and appreciation for the academic study of religion or theology and its
value for the larger community).
4.
Chapters in "Good Standing": The constitution of 1998, in Article
III Section 2.B, lists the general criteria chapters must meet in order to
remain "active" and/or "in good standing," and indicates that only those
chapters meeting these criteria may continue to induct new members. Beyond
that, however, it also leaves to the Board the responsibility for
determining if and when chapters have failed to meet these criteria, and
how it will respond to such failures. What follows, therefore, is the
Board's policy and procedure for responding to these failures.
Chapters that fail to pay annual dues
will no longer be considered active and in good standing. They will be not
be able to induct new members nor order TAK paraphernailia. Such a chapter
may return to good standing by payment of past dues.
|
Chapters that fail to pay annual dues
for three consecutive years | and/or fail to live up to any other
obligations under the 1998 constitution, are subject - by Board action -
to "deactivation" by which they are no| longer able to |call themselves a
chapter of TAK. Such chapters may "reactivate" only by a new application
to the Board for reinstatement - including but not limited to the payment
of a new charter fee. The chapter's Greek letters, once assigned, will not
be reassigned to another chapter.
Chapters concerned about their status
may contact the Vice President indicated at the end of this document, and
that officer will have the authority to "negotiate" with - and inform
chapters about - these matters. When formal action has been taken by the
Board for |deactivation or reactivation, the Secretary will provide formal
notification to the chapter.
Antitrust Policy
Theta Alpha Kappa, the National Honor Society for
Religious Studies and Theology, is a national, not-for-profit organization
that is dedicated to serving the interests of our chapters and their
membership, the public, and higher education in our country through our
several activities, which include gathering and dissemination of relevant
data and information in furtherance of our purposes.
It is the long-standing policy of Theta Alpha Kappa to comply fully with
all laws and regulations applicable to our activities, including the
federal and state antitrust laws, which are intended to protect
competition. The antitrust laws prohibit hard-core anticompetitive
practices such as price-fixing, market division, and group boycotts, as
well as certain other arrangements and transactions that may possibly harm
the competitive process. Although our Society’s activities and programs
generally do not present antitrust issues, we and our members must be
informed about the antitrust laws and be sensitive to any possible
antitrust issue or question.
In support of the Theta Alpha Kappa antitrust compliance policy, the
following procedures and principles are applicable to the Society and our
members: Theta Alpha Kappa meetings are to follow a pre-approved agenda,
and meeting minutes will subsequently be prepared and distributed; any
antitrust issue or question pertaining to Theta Alpha Kappa or our
activities should be directed to the President, for review by counsel if
necessary; and Theta Alpha Kappa chapters are encouraged to adopt
antitrust guidelines of their own consistent with this Society policy
statement.
Although Theta Alpha Kappa serves as a forum for the free and open
discussion of diverse opinions, certain topics are inconsistent with our
antitrust compliance policy. With respect to membership in ACHS and the
related admission requirements, our Constitution sets forth the governing
standards and procedures; any actions, understandings, or statements
inconsistent with the Constitution are prohibited. More generally, any
actions, understandings, or statements arising in the context of Theta
Alpha Kappa, which appear to be anti-competitive in purpose or potential
effect are inconsistent with Society policy, can be harmful to Theta Alpha
Kappa and our members, and are prohibited. Under the antitrust laws
relating to "group boycotts," each member chapter must make its own,
unilateral decisions as to the vendors or other entities with which it
will do business, and on what terms. Any actions, understandings, or
statements inconsistent with this antitrust principle should be avoided.
(Adopted April 16, 2011.)
This Document:
This document is the policy and
procedures statement of the Board of Directors referenced in the national
constitution (V.3.C2;V.4A;VIII.3). It is a document designed to describe
in greater detail the de facto operations and procedures of the Board as
currently in force (and thereby regularly updated).
These policies and procedures are the
purview of the Board, and not subject to membership approval. The edition
you are currently reading is dated April 20, 2013.
The original version of this document
was created and approved by the Board in the Fall 1997 for implementation
in January 1998.
Spring 2013
Society Website Address: