ATHE DIRECTING FOCUS GROUP BY LAWS

UPDATED AND APPROVED AUGUST 2014

 ARTICLE I – NAME 

 The name of this organization is Directing, a program of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

 ARTICLE II – PURPOSE

 The purpose of Directing is to:

1. Serve as a program unit of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.
2. Provide programs at the annual ATHE Conference that are responsive to the needs, concerns and interests of Directors in the Academy and the Profession.
3. Offer a variety of forums (panels, workshops, lectures and performances) for the exchange of ideas, practical and theoretical techniques, state of the art innovations, curriculum design, and other possible formats.
4. Foster congeniality, and establish a network that will provide a means for gathering and disseminating information pertinent to the membership.
5. Identify, promote and establish guidelines for ethical standards.
6. Identify, foster and celebrate artistic excellence.
7. Establish standards of evaluation for retention, tenure and promotion.
8. Establish standards for working conditions.
9. Encourage exploration of and establish an interaction with other artistic disciplines.
10. Provide a support matrix for the directing profession and facilitate an open and readily accessible exchange for the director in both the academic and non-academic worlds.
11. Identify and recruit members.

 ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP

 Membership in Directing is open to all members of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education at no fee.

ARTICLE IV – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DIRECTING FOCUS GROUP

The leadership for the Directing shall be provided by the Focus Group Representative, Conference Planner, Secretary/Treasurer, Information Coordinator, Graduate Student Representative, and Members-at-Large elected at the annual business meeting.

Focus Group Representative – Elected for a two-year term, responsible for scheduling and conducting the annual business meetings of the Focus Group and;

1. representing the interests of the Focus Group’s constituency;
2. serving as liaison between constituency, general membership and the ATHE Board of Governors;
3. facilitating communication among constituencies;
4. serving as advisor to the Board of Governors on members’ needs;
5. serving as advisor to the Vice President for Conferences on conference matters;
6. attending Business Meetings called by the Forum Chair or a quorum of the Focus Group Representatives;
7. meeting deadlines for focus group business items;
8. maintaining communications through the DPList and/or ATHECALL

Conference Planner – Elected for a parallel two years with the Representative to the Focus Group, responsible for:

1. submitting a mid-year and annual report of the Focus Group’s activities to the ATHE President
2. developing and negotiating conference programming in agreement with guidelines established by the Vice President for Conferences;
3. facilitating gathering of necessary data for conference participants, panel descriptions, audio visual needs, guest passes, grant applications, appearance and taping agreements;
4. serving as liaison between Vice President for Conferences, panel chairs and panelists;
5. meeting deadlines for conference planning;
6. notifying members of conference planning and proposals through the DPList and/or ATHECALL
7. mentoring the Conference Planner Elect

In addition to the above, Directing Focus Group recognizes that the automatic succession of Conference Planner to Focus Group Representative was and is intended to accomplish at least four purposes:

1. to provide an essential and experienced mentor for the incoming Conference Planner, who, with the Focus Group Representative, has the responsibility of shaping the directing profession’s contributions to the ATHE national conference attendees;
2. to provide stability in leadership, planning, vision, and implementation for Directing;
3. to represent and advocate the Directing membership’s goals, needs, and wishes in the ATHE Forum and to the Governing Council; and,
4. to generate the opportunity for an experience for Directing to become Representative and supply the vision needed to lead the Directing Focus Group into subsequent years.

 Secretary/Treasurer – Elected for a two year term with the following responsibilities:

1. Record and distribute minutes from the annual Directing Program (DP) business meeting;
2. Report on the state of the budget at the annual DP meeting;
3. Work on preparation of grant proposals for the DP

Information Officer—elected for two years, with the possibility of serving for additional terms if so elected. The office will entail the following responsibilities:

1. maintaining and updating the DP website;
2. coordinating any changes to links with the ATHE website;
3. staying abreast of issues that may affect communications through DPList or website, and solving problems when they occur;
4. updating information on the website or list as requested by other DP officers or ATHE Governing Council.

Graduate Student Representative – elected for two years on alternative years to that of the Focus Group Representative and the Conference Planner. The Graduate Student Representative must be a graduate student at the time of the election but s/he need not be in graduate school for the whole term of office.  The graduate student is responsible for:

1. representing and advocating the DP graduate students’ interest and concerns;
2. organizing and stimulating proposals for a graduate student debut panel at the conference;
3. aiding with the reading and vetting of debut panel proposals.

Conference Planner-Elect – elected for a one year term and to succeed as Conference Planner. The Conference Planner-Elect is elected at the beginning of the Conference Planner’s second year term and this election occurs at the DP annual Business Meeting.

Conference Planner-Elect will entail these responsibilities:

1. assisting the Conference Planner in all responsibilities as outlined in these by-laws:
2. attending all conference planning meetings called by the Associate Vice-President of Conference Planning that will occur two years out;

To provide for continuing Directing Focus Group leadership from officers who have gained DFG leadership experience in conference planning, in the event that any officer desires to leave office or before the end of term, that office will be replaced for the length of the term by a previous Focus Group Representative, Conference Planner or Conference Planner-Elect. Appointment or election will be at the discretion of the current highest officer not leaving office; first the Focus Group Representative, followed by Conference Planner, Immediate Past Focus Group Rep, Secretary/Treasurer, Information Coordinator, and then the Conference Planner-Elect.

Immediate Past Focus Group Representative—in order to further continuity and stability in leadership and conference planning, after the completion of a two year term, the FGR will remain a member of the Executive Committee for two years. As such, the Immediate Past FGR will mentor and consult as requested with the incoming FGR and Conference Planner, vet session proposals for conferences and pre-cons, and represent the focus group as needed in the absence of the FGR or CP.

ARTICLE V – VOTING

All members are eligible to vote on all issues presented to the membership. In the event of a tie, the Representative may cast the deciding vote.  A quorum shall consist of no less than four members from the Directing Focus Group.

ARTICLE VI – ANNUAL MEETING

The annual Focus Group meeting will be held at the annual ATHE Conference.  The Focus Group Representative will be responsible for developing the agenda for this meeting.

ARTICLE VII – AMENDMENTS

These Articles of Operation may be amended by a vote of the majority of those members attending the Annual Meeting and voting by proxy. Online notification of amendments to the Articles of Operation are to be posted on the DPList at least one week prior to the annual conference. Proxy votes may be received online up to three days before the start of the annual conference.