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BYLAWS

BYLAWS OF THE ASSSOCIATION FOR SPIRITUAL, ETHICAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES IN COUNSELING

(Board approved 3/03)

ARTICLE I

Name and Mission

Section 1: Name

The official name of the organization shall be the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling [referred to as ASERVIC throughout this document] a Division of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Further, ASERVIC will be identified as a division of ACA in all written documents and materials.

Section 2: Mission

ASERVIC is an organization of counselors and human development professionals who believe spiritual, ethical, and religious values are essential to the overall development of the person and are committed to integrating these values into the counseling process.

Section 3: Vision

The Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) creates an environment that empowers and enables the expression, exploration, development, and research of evolving spiritual, ethical and religious values as they relate to the person, to society, and to the profession of counseling and human development.

Section 4: Compliance with ACA Bylaws

ASERVIC is organized in compliance with the bylaws of ACA.

ARTICLE II

Membership

Section 1: Membership Requirements

a) Eligibility Members must meet ACA requirements for regular membership, have membership in ACA, and have professional commitment to uphold the purpose and principles of ASERVIC upon approval of the application and payment of dues.

b) Procedure Any person desiring to become a member of ASERVIC shall make application to ACA and shall become a member of ASERVIC upon approval of the application and payment of dues.

c) Obligation and Privileges A member must pay annual dues to ASERVIC and ACA. A professional, regular, or retired member in good standing in both organizations shall be entitled to vote and to attend meetings of ASERVIC and shall be eligible to hold office. (revision adopted 04/04)
Section 2: Types of Members

ASERVIC shall include four types of membership: professional, regular, student, and retired.

a) Professional Members Professional members must hold a Masters or higher degree in counseling or a closely related field and be members of ACA.

b) Regular Members Regular members must be members of ACA. Regular members are those who do not hold a Masters or higher degree in counseling or a related field.

c) Student Members Any student at the higher education level having interests in the area of human development, counseling, personnel work or related areas and endorsed by a faculty advisor shall be eligible to become a student member of ASERVIC with all the privileges of regular membership for a period not to exceed three (3) years (unless professional membership status is achieved earlier.)

d) Retired Members Retired members who meet or have met requirements for Regular or Professional Membership are eligible for reduced rates. Retired members are considered either professional or regular members (as appropriate to their membership status prior to retirement). This category of members is created for the purpose of membership fee reduction only.

Section 3: Dues

a) Dues for members shall be established by action of the Board of Directors for ASERVIC.

b) State divisional dues shall be established by the State Divisions.

Section 4: Severance of Membership

a) The ASERVIC Ethics Committee reviews all formal ethical complaints brought to its attention related to ASERVIC members. The committee determines the merit of the complaint and forwards appropriate complaints to the ACA Ethics Committee for consideration. If a person is dropped from ACA membership, after having had a hearing by the ACA Ethics Committee, that person shall also be dropped from membership of ASERVIC.

b) A member shall be dropped from membership for the nonpayment of dues.

ARTICLE III

State Divisions

Section 1: Organization of State Divisions

a) ASERVIC shall include State Divisions, which shall be organized in accordance with the rules established by the Board of Directors and chartered by ACA.

b) A new State Division shall initially consist of at least ten (10) ACA-ASERVIC members.

Section 2: Formation of State Divisions

The Board of Directors shall have the power to grant charters to State Divisions in accordance with standing rules established by the Board of Directors relative to the formation of new Divisions and included in the Policy manual. Such divisions must reflect the ASERVIC name.

Section 3: Autonomy of State Divisions

A State Division of ASERVIC shall be free to conduct its own affairs in compliance with ASERVIC’s Bylaws and policies contained in the Policy and Procedures manual. The Board of Directors of each state shall develop such policy and procedure guides for Division operation necessary to insure responsible fiscal operations.

Section 4: Amendments to Basic Documents

Amendments to any State Division’s Bylaws or other basic documents shall be reported in writing to the President of ASERVIC for approval by the Board of Directors at least six (6) months prior to the effective date of their adoption.

Section 5: Reports

Each State Division shall transmit to the President of ASERVIC the names of its officers forthwith upon their election or appointment. Each Division shall transmit an annual written report to the President of ASERVIC who shall report salient developments to the Governing Council. Reports will be made in accordance with the policy manual.

Section 6: Involuntary Revocation of a Charter

The Board of Directors shall have the power to revoke the charter of a State Division when it no longer reflects the mission statement of ASERVIC.

a) Before final action may be taken with respect to the revocation of the charter of a State Division, a notice of intent to revoke must first be passed by a majority of the Board of Directors present and voting at the annual meeting, and the Division in question advised in writing of the reasons for the proposed action. The Division shall have until the next annual meeting of ASERVIC [but in no case less than nine (9) months] to effect remedial measures

b) A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors shall be necessary to revoke the charter of a State Division.

c) A State Division agrees that at the end of each year before the Division has been granted permanent status, the Board of Directors of ASERVIC shall have the right to revoke the provisional charter by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors members.

Section 7: Voluntary Withdrawal of a State Division

A Division may withdraw from ASERVIC only in compliance with the policy manual.

ARTICLE IV

Board of Directors

Section 1: Composition

The Board of Directors shall be composed as follows:

The officers of ASERVIC, with the Secretary and Treasurer serving as ex-officio members without vote

Eight (8) Members-at-Large(Change 2005)

A voting Representative (s) to the ACA Governing Council

A non-voting Representative of Graduate Students

A non-voting Representative to the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)

Section 2: Powers and Functions of the Board of Directors

a) To establish policies and govern the affairs of ASERVIC

b) To act on recommendations of the Executive Committee in accordance with Article IV, Section 4

c) To approve the annual budget

d) To approve all appointments

e) To approve resolutions at the annual meeting, inform the membership and make decisions relative to publication of those approved resolutions.

f) To approve all amendments of the Bylaws in accordance with Bylaws, Article IX, Section I (a, b)

g) To approve, prior to their initiation, significant projects, research publications, and other activities whenever these involve the use of the name or funds of ASERVIC

h) To grant or revoke State Division charters

i) To identify and prioritize issues and activities related to the integration of spiritual, ethical, and religious values in counseling and counselor education (revision adopted 04/04)

j) To exercise such other powers and functions as may be in the best interest of ASERVIC and that are not in conflict with the Bylaws

Section 3: Meetings of the Board

a) The Board of Directors shall convene at the annual conference of ACA. Additional meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at other times when any five (5) voting members shall submit a written request to the president and this request is approved by two-thirds of all voting members of the Board of Directors. This vote may be a mail or e-mail vote. The President shall arrange the time and place of such additional meetings. Notice thereof shall be given to all members of the Board of Directors at least (30) days prior to such additional meetings.

b) The President of ASERVIC shall preside at meetings of the Board of Directors, and in the President’s absence the President-elect shall preside.

c) Each member of the Board of Directors shall have one (1) vote, except the Treasurer, the Secretary, the CACREP representative, and the graduate student representative, who shall be ex-officio non-voting members. A majority of the voting members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. The President votes only in the case of a tie.

d) At each-national meeting, and at any other time when so requested in writing, each officer of ASERVIC and each standing and special committee chairperson as specified in the Bylaws of ASERVIC shall make a written report to the President of ASERVIC who shall report salient developments to the Board of Directors.

Section 4: Executive Committee

a) The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors shall consist of the President, the President-elect, the past President, the ACA Governing Council Representative, and two members-at-large elected from the Board of Directors, with the Treasurer and Secretary as ex-officio non-voting members. The two members-at-large shall have served on the Board at least one year.

b) At the direction of the President and in consultation with the President-elect, other ASERVIC members shall be invited to confer with the Executive Committee.

c) In order to further the goals set by the Board of Directors at its annual meeting and at the discretion of the President in consultation with the President-elect, the Executive Committee may meet one other time. The time of the meeting will be the fall or such other time as the President shall designate. The President shall designate the location of the meeting. (revision adopted 04/04)

ARTICLE V

Officers of ASERVIC

Section 1: Officers and Terms of Office

a) The officers of ASERVIC shall be the President, the President-elect, the immediate Past President, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the ACA Governing Council Representative, all of whom must be members of ASERVIC and ACA.

b) All officers of ASERVIC except the Treasurer and the Secretary shall be elected at large from among the regular members of ASERVIC and shall serve for a one (1) year term or until their successors are elected and assume office. The ACA Governing Council Representative (s) shall serve a three (3) year term that is not renewable.

c) The Treasurer shall be nominated by the President-elect and confirmed by majority vote of the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall serve for a three-year term, renewable for no more than one additional three-year term.

d) The Secretary shall be nominated by the President-elect and confirmed by majority vote of the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall serve for a one-year term, renewable for no more than two additional one-year terms.

e) Elected officers shall not be candidates to succeed themselves in office.

f) In the event of the death, resignation, or dismissal of an elected or appointed officer other than the President or President-elect, a replacement shall be appointed by majority vote of the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the President to serve out the unexpired term of the office.

g) In the event of the death, resignation, or dismissal of both the President and President-elect, the Past President convenes the Board of Directors to elect members from the Board of Directors to fill the vacant positions for the remainder of the term.

h) An elected/appointed officer or member of the Board of Directors shall not serve in two (2) offices at the same time.

i) The term of any elected officer of ASERVIC, unless otherwise stated in these Bylaws, shall begin on July 1, and shall be for a period of one (1) year or until a successor is appointed.

j) The terms of at-large members of the Board of Directors shall be three years and renewable for one full term. Each year the membership will elect four at-large members. The Board adopted the following election schedule: (2005)

2005—Two candidates 2011—Three candidates

2006—Two candidates 2012—Two candidates

2007—Three candidates 2013—Three candidates

2008—Three candidates 2014—Three candidates

2009—Two candidates 2015—Two candidates

2010—Three candidates The pattern thereafter is 3—3—2

k) The Graduate Student Representative is appointed each year by the President-elect to serve as a non-voting member on the ASERVIC Board.

l) Representatives to the ACA Governing Council shall be elected for a three-year term. Every third year the ASERVIC Board shall submit to the ACA Nominations and Elections committee the names of no more than two candidates to be placed on the ACA ballot to serve as the Governing Council Representative for ASERVIC. The nomination of the ASERVIC candidates shall occur at the annual ACA conference.

m) The CACREP representative shall be nominated by the President-elect in consultation with the President, Past President, and Nominations and Elections Committee, and appointed by the Board of Directors for a three-year term, renewable for one term.

Section 2: Duties of Officers

a) The President shall preside at all meetings of ASERVIC and at

meetings of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Committee and shall exercise such additional duties as decided by the Board of Directors. The President-elect shall appoint, with the approval of the Board, the chairpersons of all committees for the following organizational year. The President shall delegate tasks to the officers of ASERVIC as directed by the Board of Directors.

b) The President-elect, subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors, shall appoint the members of all committees in accordance with, and except as otherwise specified in, these Bylaws.

c) The immediate Past President shall serve as Chairperson of the Nominations and Elections Committee.

d) The secretary shall be responsible for recording the minutes of the fall Executive Committee meeting and the Board of Directors spring meeting.

e) The Treasurer shall serve as Chairperson of the Financial Affairs Committee. The Treasurer shall represent ASERVIC in assuring the receipt and expenditure of funds in accordance with the directives established by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall perform the duties customary to the office and such additional duties as may be directed by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall serve on the Financial Affairs Committee.

f) The ACA Governing Council Representative shall represent ASERVIC on the ACA Governing Council. The Representative shall report all information of the ACA Governing Council to the ASERVIC Board of Directors.

Section 3: Nomination and Election of Officers

a) The Nominations and Elections Committee shall conduct the election of officers in accordance with the provisions of the ASERVIC Leadership Handbook.

b) The President and ACA Governing Council Representative are elected by the ASERVIC membership.

c) The official announcement of the election results shall occur at the annual conference meeting.

d) Members of the Nominations and Elections Committee may not be nominated for elected office.

Section 4: Dismissal of Officers

a) An officer may be removed from his or her elected or appointed position for any of the following reasons:

Any conduct that injures ASERVIC or adversely affects its reputation;

Any conduct that is contrary to or destructive of its mission according to the Bylaws and the ACA Code of Ethics;

Non-performance of duties.

b) Any voting member of the Board of Directors may initiate the removal process.

c) Dismissal of officers requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting members of the ASERVIC Board of Directors in executive session.

ARTICLE VI

Membership Meeting

The membership meeting shall be held at the ACA Annual Conference. A quorum shall be comprised of a majority of the Board of Directors. Board meetings are open to all members of ASERVIC.

ARTICLE VII

Committees

Section 1: Committees

The Committees of ASERVIC shall consist of Standing and Special Committees.

a) With the approval of the Board of Directors, the President may form Special Committees and designate the chair for each committee. A person may serve a maximum of a four (4) year consecutive term on any ASERVIC committee and a maximum of three (3) years as chair of a committee.

b) The President-elect shall appoint, with approval of the Board of Directors, all committee members. The President-elect shall appoint any vacancies for his/her year.

c) The Past President shall chair the Nominations and Elections Committee.

Section 2: Standing Committees and Purposes.

The Standing Committees shall be:

a) Awards Committee The purpose of the Awards Committee is to recommend to the ASERVIC Board the recognition of individuals whose outstanding accomplishments exemplify the mission of ASERVIC.

b) Bylaws Committee (deleted 4/04)

c) Ethical Values Committee The purpose of the Ethical Values Committee is to increase the emphasis on ethical issues in counseling and counselor education and in the various functions of the Association, to uphold the ethics of ACA, to investigate any reported ethical violations, and to make appropriate recommendations for action. (revision adopted 04/04)

d) Financial Affairs Committee The purpose of the Financial Affairs Committee is to oversee the finances of the organization and to submit an annual budget to be approved by the ASERVIC Board.

e) Human Rights and Social Justice Committee (deleted 4/04)

f) Media Committee The purpose of the Media Committee is to oversee all the communication vehicles of ASERVIC, including but not limited to the Newsletter, Journal, listserv, and website, and to identify, access, and/or develop resource materials that can aid counselors and counselor educators in integrating spiritual, ethical, and religious values in the practice of counseling and in counselor education. (revision adopted 04/04)

g) Membership Services Committee The purpose of the Membership Services Committee is to solicit and promote membership in ASERVIC and to coordinate all activities related to recruitment and retention of members.

h) Nominations and Elections Committee The purpose of the Nominations and Elections Committee is to solicit, identify, and select suitable nominees for elected positions within ASERVIC.

i) Public Policy and Legislation Committee (deleted 4/04)

j) Spiritual and Religious Values Committee The purpose of the Spiritual and Religious Values Committee is to promote the integration of spiritual and religious values in counseling and counselor education. (revision adopted 4/04)

k) State Divisions Coordination Committee The purpose of the State Divisions Coordination Committee is to charter new state divisions and act as a liaison with those chartered divisions.

l) Strategic Planning Committee The purpose of the Strategic Planning Committee is to generate a five-year plan including goals, objectives, and outcomes for carrying out the mission of ASERVIC.

m) Technology Committee (deleted 4/04)

n) Convention Committee The purpose of the Convention Committee is to oversee matters involving ASERVIC’s participation at the annual ACA convention. This Committee will include the On-site Coordinator and the Booth Chair. (addition adopted 04/04)

o) Governing Documents Committee The purpose of the Governing Documents Committee is to review and make recommendations for updating and revising the ASERVIC Bylaws and the ASERVIC Policy and Procedures Manual. (revision adopted 04/04)

Section 3: Special Committees

a) The President and/or the Board of Directors may appoint Special Committees as necessary for a term of one year.

b) Prior to the establishment of a Special Committee, the President, the President-elect, or the Board of Directors shall examine the existing Standing Committees. In cases where the purposes of an existing Standing Committee are in agreement with those of the proposed Special Committee, the task or objective at hand shall be assigned as a subcommittee of the appropriate Standing Committee. The accomplishment of purpose, and thereby termination, of the subcommittee shall be determined by a consensus of the President, President-elect, and Chairperson of the Standing Committee, and shall be reported to the Board of Directors.

Section 4: Composition and Function of Standing Committees

The composition and function of the Standing Committees shall be according to the provisions of the ASERVIC Leadership Handbook.

Section 5: Reports

Each committee shall transmit an annual written report to the President of ASERVIC who shall report salient developments to the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VIII

Publications

Section 1:

a) Policy The Board of Directors shall determine and direct the basic media policy and program of ASERVIC and shall have the authority to appoint and discharge the persons serving as editors of the publications and other media of ASERVIC.

b) Official Journal. Counseling and Values shall be the official journal of ASERVIC and shall be distributed as a benefit of membership to all members of ASERVIC in good standing.

i. The Editor

1. The chief officer of Counseling and Values shall be the Editor, who shall be appointed by the Board of Directors, and shall serve for a three (3) year term and may be reappointed for not more than one (1) consecutive term.

The Editor, under the direction of the Board of Directors, shall be responsible for editorial policy and content, appropriate editing, and timely preparations of each issue of Counseling and Values, and for the preparation of an annual report and budget statement.

3. The Assistant Editor shall be appointed by the Editor with the approval of the Executive Committee, shall serve a three (3) year term, and may be reappointed for not more than one (1) consecutive term. (revision adopted 04/04)

ii. The Editorial Board

The Editor should be assisted by the members of the editorial board.

The editorial board shall consist of at least twelve (12) persons with one third (1/3) of these persons to be appointed each year for a term of three (3) years, subject to review, and may be reappointed for not more than one (1) additional term. Upon recommendation of the Editor, the editorial board shall be appointed by the President-elect subject to confirmation of the Board of Directors. In the event of a vacancy, the Editor shall recommend and the President shall appoint a successor to complete the vacancy.

3. The Editor and Assistant Editor of the newsletter INTERACTION shall be appointed by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President unexpired term for a term of three (3) years and may be reappointed for not more than one (1) additional term.

4. Copyright. ACA shall own the copyright for the original and any renewal term for any writing that is published by ACA. The author of any such writing shall have the right to make a non-profit or non-commercial use of the work provided that there be affixed to each copy the copyright notice used by ACA when the writing was first published. The author shall have the right to make or authorize the profit or commercial use of any such writing only after first obtaining the written consent of ACA.

5. Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted as limiting the freedom of a State Division to select and copyright publications of its choice.

Section 2:

No publication of the ASERVIC shall discriminate against any individual on the basis or race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments

Section 1: Amendment

These Bylaws may be amended by a majority of the Board of Directors voting by either of the two (2) following methods:

a) Proposed amendments may be presented by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, and any elected officer of a State Division who is a member of ASERVIC in good standing, or an individual member provided that in the case of an individual member the proposed amendment shall be presented over the signatures of at least fifty (50) members in good standing. The proposed amendment shall be submitted thirty (30) days prior to the annual Board of Directors meeting. An amendment shall be approved upon receiving a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board of Directors voting.

b) Amendments may originate at a Board of Directors meeting. If approved by two-thirds (2/3) of voting Board members, such proposed amendments shall be sent not less than sixty (60) days following the date of presentation for a mail vote by the Board members before whom the amendment originated. An amendment shall be approved in this manner when it receives a two-thirds (2/3) vote from those members of the Board of Directors voting.

ARTICLE X

Dissolution

Section 1: Dissolution

Should ASERVIC be disbanded at any time, all of its assets shall be distributed and conveyed to the American Counseling Association or, if it does not exist, to any other organization designated by the Board of Directors which shall then be entitled to and have a tax-exempt status under Section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

ARTICLE XI

Rules of Order