Constitution & Bylaws

Constitution of the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Approved December 1978; as amended November 1979, 1983, June 1987, December 1992, December 2002, December 2013, December 2014, March 2021, February 2025.

I. Name

The name of this organization shall be The Association for Computers and the Humanities (“ACH”).

II. Purpose

The purpose of ACH is to advocate for and support all of our members in their digital humanities (DH) work, with an understanding that this frequently also benefits the greater DH community (and a desire to do so, when not in conflict with prioritization of our members and limits on our resources).

DH is a broad term encompassing a wide range of subject domains, methods, and communities of practice, including (but not limited to) computer-assisted research, pedagogy, and software; resource creation, curation, and engagement; physical computing; the use of digital technologies to write, publish, and review scholarship; and humanistic research into and about digital objects and culture.

ACH recognizes that this work is inherently and inextricably sociopolitical, and thus advocates for social change through the use of computers and related technologies in the study of humanistic subjects.

ACH shall further the above-stated purpose by sponsoring regular conferences (when resources and interest allow), and by otherwise facilitating contacts and discussion among individuals interested in the goals of ACH. ACH is formed exclusively for educational, research, and advocacy purposes. It is a founding, constituent member of the international umbrella organization, the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO).

III. Membership

Membership shall be open, through the processes established by ACH and published on its website, to all persons interested in furthering the purpose of ACH, as long as they abide by ACH's codes of conduct.

ACH Officers further reserve the right to remove membership and its benefits temporarily or permanently from, and/or bar from attending ACH-(co)sponsored events, any member in violation of the letter or spirit of our codes of conduct.

Disputes over presence or severity of codes of conduct violations will be ultimately decided by majority vote of the current ACH Officers, relying on the spirit rather than the letter of any codes. Final vote outcome (yea or nay; not individual votes) should be recorded privately for the understanding of future officers and prevention of removed members from rejoining.

Classes of membership shall be established in the Bylaws.

IV. Management of ACH

A. The Officers of ACH (“Officers”) shall be

  1. The Immediate Past President(s), whose term of office shall normally be one year, coinciding with the first year of the President(s)’s term.
  2. The President(s), who shall be normally elected by the general membership originally into the position of Vice President(s) and whose term of office shall be two years, ending at the close of the Executive Council ("Exec")’s Annual Planning Meeting or (in the event the Annual Planning Meeting is not held in the summer) on August 1st of their final year in office. Following the expiration of their last term, they shall succeed to the position of Immediate Past President(s). The President(s), as the (co-)chief executive officer(s) of ACH shall:
    1. Preside at the General Business Meetings of ACH and of the Exec;
  3. The Vice President(s)/President(s)-Elect, who shall be elected by the general membership, and whose term of office shall normally be two years, ending at the close of the Annual Planning Meeting or (in the event no Exec meeting is held in the summer) on August 1st of their final year in office. Following the expiration of their term, the Vice President(s) shall succeed to the position of President(s). The Vice President(s) shall perform those of the President(s)’s duties as shall, from time to time, be delegated to them by the President(s).
  4. The Secretariat, consisting of a Secretary and a Deputy Secretary, who shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of ACH. They shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Exec. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretariat to carry out policies established by the Exec and perform such duties as are assigned by it.
  5. The Treasury, consisting of a Treasurer and possibly a Deputy Treasurer, who shall be appointed and serve at the pleasure of the Exec. They shall:
    1. Maintain accurate and timely records of all income and expenditures of ACH;
    2. Be responsible for the safekeeping of all documents relating to the fiscal affairs of ACH;
    3. Safeguard all funds and income of ACH and keep them safely deposited in a chartered bank approved by the Exec;
    4. On authorization of the Exec, draw checks against deposited funds. For checks in excess of $5,000, the signature of a second officer designated by the Exec shall be required;
    5. Prepare, with the advice of the Officers, the annual budget for the approval of the Exec;
    6. Report at the annual meeting of the Exec, or as it shall require, on the collection and disbursements of ACH.
    7. Manage official filings with the IRS in accordance with ACH's 501(c)(3) status
  6. The Communications Officer(s), consisting of a Communications Chair and possibly a Deputy Communications Officer, who shall be responsible for the communications of the ACH such as mailings, social media, and ACH.org website text. They shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Exec. It shall be the responsibility of the Communications Officer(s) to carry out policies established by the Exec and perform such duties as are assigned by it.

B. The Exec (“Exec”)

  1. The affairs and business of ACH shall be managed and controlled, subject to the provisions of the Bylaws, by an Exec consisting of:
    1. The Officers:
      1. The Immediate Past President(s), the President(s), and the Vice President(s); these officers shall be with vote, one per office.
      2. The Secretariat, the Communications Officer(s), and the Treasurer(s); these officers shall be with vote, one per office.
    2. 12 ACH Exec Representatives (“reps”), who shall serve terms of 4 years, with one quarter of their number retiring each year, at the close of the Annual Planning Meeting or (in the event no Annual Planning Meeting is held in the summer) on August 1st.
      1. To spread professional opportunities and maintain a diverse Exec with fresh points of view, ACH council reps shall not be eligible for re-election to a council rep role that begins the year starting immediately after their council rep term ends; they must spend the length of one year not being a council rep before they may serve in that role again. No person shall be allowed to serve more than 2 total terms as a council rep (i.e. one 4-year term followed by at least the required 1-year break, followed by a second 4-year term at some point; after which they may not serve as a council rep again). The exception is people who fill the rest of the term for a vacated council rep role; that partial term shall not be counted toward the 2 total full terms of allowed council rep service.
    3. One editor from each of any ACH-sponsored publications as ex officio member with vote.
    4. Liaison or affiliate representatives of allied organizations, invited by the Officers (or Liaisons and Affiliates Chair, with majority support of Officers); without vote.
  2. The Exec shall be the basic policy making organ of ACH. The function and duties of the Exec shall be:
    1. To appoint the Secretariat, Treasury, and Communications Officer(s);
    2. To approve the budget submitted by the Treasury and to set the dues and other financial conditions of membership;
    3. To organize and conduct events sponsored by ACH;
    4. To establish and terminate Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups;
    5. To accept reports as required from such committees as it shall appoint;
    6. To maintain liaison with other professional associations in related fields;
    7. To elect representatives to appropriate federations and councils;
    8. To establish, subject to the approval of a majority of the membership, appropriate Bylaws;
    9. To ensure the preservation of documents related to ACH’s business in a reliable archive or repository;
    10. To transact all such other business which furthers the purpose of ACH and which is not subject to the approval of the General Business Meeting of ACH.

V. Conferences

  1. A recurring conference shall normally be held annually, at times and places determined by the Officers in partnership with the current ACH Conference Committee Chair(s).
  2. ACH may sponsor or co-sponsor, at the discretion of the Exec, similar conferences.

VI. Meetings and Voting Measures

A. Annual General Meetings

  1. An Annual General Meeting of ACH shall be held in conjunction with ACH’s major annual conference, should this take place during the given year, or at another time during each year if there is no conference or this is otherwise logistically challenging.
  2. In the event a vote is required, 30 members in good standing (attending in person, virtually, or via proxy) shall constitute a legal quorum.
  3. Other business Meetings may be ordered by the Exec and called by the President(s). At these, 15 members (attending in person, virtually, or via proxy) shall constitute a legal quorum.
  4. Notice of the AGM will be by means of inclusion in the program for ACH conference (should the AGM take place then), and by email to ACH membership. In the case of a special meeting, notice shall be deemed duly given to members by email announcement.
  5. The vote of a majority of the members entitled to vote that are present in person or by proxy at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be necessary and sufficient for the adoption of any matter voted upon by the members, unless a greater vote of the members is required by law or by the Exec.

B. Exec Meetings

  1. A regular Meeting of the Exec shall be held each year, on a date and at a location determined by the Officers.
  2. Additional meetings may be convened by the President(s) on their own initiative or on notice signed by 7 members of the Exec.
  3. A quorum shall consist of any 7 members of the Exec in addition to any two of the officers. If a quorum of the Exec is present and wishes to conduct official business, but the President(s) and the Vice President(s) are unavailable, a Secretariat member may preside. If a Secretariat member is also unavailable, the Exec may elect a chairperson pro tem to preside.
  4. The Exec plus current affiliates, liaisons, and ACH-sponsored publication editors shall be referred to as the “Exec+”. At any meeting of the Exec+ for which the majority of the Officers approve, other persons may be invited to participate in Exec+ meetings without vote.
  5. No public notice shall be required.

C. Amendments and Petitions

The Constitution or the Bylaws may be amended as follows:

  1. The Exec may approve an amendment proposal by receiving positive votes equal to at least two-thirds of the total returned votes. When counting votes to determine if the two-thirds majority has been met, non-responses count as yeas; in other words, the default vote is yea and members must actively vote nay if they wish to oppose (i.e. “lazy consensus”). A member may also vote to abstain; an abstention reduces the total number of returned votes by 1 vote. Then a ballot shall be sent to the entire membership and at least 14 days allowed for return. The distribution, voting, and counting of the ballots shall be conducted via a platform private to the Exec (such as the Exec email listserv). Ratification shall require a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, following the same “lazy consensus” procedure described above.
  2. Any member in good standing may create and, with the obligatory assistance of the officers of the organization, distribute a petition, if seconded by at least five members in good standing, to fellow members. These petitions may propose and call for a vote to ratify changes to ACH Constitution or Bylaws, or initiate a vote of no confidence in leadership and a special elections process.

VII. Dissolution

Upon dissolution of ACH, a matter which requires assent of three-quarters of the membership, the Exec shall, after paying or making provisions for payment of all the liabilities of ACH, dispose of all the assets of ACH exclusively for the purpose of ACH in such manner, or to such organization or organizations organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes or shall at the time qualify as an exempt organization or organizations under section 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue law), as the Exec shall determine. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by the Court of Common Pleas of the country in which the principal office of ACH is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

Bylaws of the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Approved August 1979, Amended 1983, 1987, 1992, 2002, 2013, 2021, 2025

I. Membership and Dues

A. The Membership of the Association shall consist of

  1. Members. Any person not previously removed from membership nor banned from joining may become a Member of ACH on the terms established by ACH and published on its website and in the categories of membership provided.

B. Privileges of Membership

  1. All classes of membership, except as otherwise specified, shall be entitled to reduced prices on such publications as ACH may arrange, to reduced registration fees at the annual meeting, and to other benefits as may be negotiated or provided by the Exec.

C. Payment of Dues

  1. The annual dues for members shall be payable in accordance with the terms laid out on ACH’s website.

D. Removal and Resignation of Members

  1. The privileges of ACH shall be withdrawn from any member:
    1. whose membership has lapsed more than 1 month,
    2. who has requested by email to membership@ach.org to have their membership ended,
    3. Who is an officer or other Exec member and has not filled out the annual conflict of interest statement by two weeks after the deadline identified in an email requesting it, and/or
    4. who is voted to be removed from membership due to codes of conduct violations (see ACH Constitution, Part III for details).
  2. For officers and other Exec members whose privileges of membership are withdrawn, their appointed or elected role’s term is simultaneously immediately ended.
  3. It is the responsibility of members, including officers and other Exec members, to remember to renew. ACH will send one automated reminder 2 weeks before a membership is due to expire.
  4. No refund of dues will be made when a membership is withdrawn by the member, nor when a membership is withdrawn by decision of the ACH.

E. Removal or resignation of Exec members

  1. Exec members may be unable to participate as planned for a number of reasons; when this occurs, a no-fault early term end is available; as well as an option for Officers to enact a no-fault early term end for Exec members not participating to an expected level, so that the position may be filled with an active participant.
    1. ACH strives to accommodate life needs, and appreciates that the Exec provides unpaid volunteer labor. The intent of these rules is to encourage Exec members to proactively contact the Officers group around anticipated or surprise challenges meeting participation expectations; and to also provide no-fault options freeing a role for someone with more time to meet ACH's needs, when the Officers determine that is in the ACH's best interests.
  2. Incumbents may be removed from roles if not meeting basic participation requirements, i.e.
    1. for Officers, not attending at least every other Officer meeting over the course of 4 months, without prior writing to officers@ach.org to identify a known and unavoidable schedule conflict; and/or
    2. for all Exec members, not attending 3 Exec meetings in a calendar year (including AGM and Annual Planning Meeting) without prior communication to officers@ach.org to identify a known and unavoidable schedule conflict; and/or
    3. not signing up for, and/or not performing, a reasonable minimum of ACH tasks as identified to the Exec by the Officers (such as through a shared task spreadsheet), without prior writing to officers@ach.org to request help in identifying tasks fitting ones skills and time
  3. For reps, all Officers should agree on the removal; for Officers, all other Officers should agree.
    1. The person in question should receive a friendly warning by email, cc'ing officers@ach.org, with a requirement to reply within 2 weeks identifying if they wish to continue in the role and confirm they can rectify participation within the next month following reply; or that they wish to take a no-fault exit.
    2. If the person does not reply within 2 weeks, or replies but does not rectify participation within the next month following the 2-week reply period, their term is ended (including removal from meetings, listservs, and from the current Exec people webpage)

II. Elections

  1. At each annual meeting of the Exec it shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of an Officer and 4 other members, who shall be current members of ACH but need not be members of the Exec. Each year nominations will be made for Exec vacancies; every other year nominations will be made for President(s) and Vice President(s)/President(s)-Elect (unless otherwise needed by a vacancy).
  2. At some time before March 1st the Nominating Committee shall transmit to the Secretariat nominations for positions that shall become vacant on the Exec and/or for the Officers at the next election, based on an email or Web nomination process managed by the Nominating Committee. Along with a concerted effort to reach a broad audience and encourage a diverse set of nominations, this process shall also allow for both self-nomination as well as nomination by another member of ACH. The Nominating Committee shall gather pertinent information about the candidate’s interests and background for inclusion on the ballot. The Nominating Committee shall ensure diversity in the candidate pool, and that all nominated candidates meeting ACH requirements and willing to serve are included on the ballot. The Nominating Committee shall further ensure that all candidates on the ballot are ACH members in good standing, or are willing to become such prior to the distribution of the election ballot.
  3. After receiving the list of nominations from the Nominating Committee, the Secretariat shall distribute to each voting member a ballot listing all persons nominated to run in the election. Ballots may be distributed and collected electronically (by email, Web, or other digital means) with some mechanism in place preserving the secrecy of the ballot while still ensuring that each member casts only one vote. The ballot must indicate the number of seats that are to be filled (and therefore the maximum number of persons for whom members may vote). The ballot must also include the date by which it must be submitted in order to be counted. All ballots received by the specified deadline shall be tallied by the voting mechanism, and transmitted by the Secretariat to the President(s) and Vice President(s)/President(s)-Elect who then shall certify those results. The results will be transmitted to the Exec, Officers, and all candidates for office; any of those people may request a formal recount before the next Exec+ meeting. Results of the election will be announced to the Members between the end of the election and at least one month before the Annual Planning Meeting. The Secretariat will not delete the digital records of voting until the completion of the first meeting of the Exec after the election (though they may elect to not delete these records at all).

III. Vacancies

  1. In the event of the resignation of any elected member of the Exec, save in the last year of their term, the resulting vacancy shall be filled by contacting the nominee with the next highest number of votes after those who were elected from the most recent Exec election (should the voting system allow Officers to access this vote count information). If they are unavailable or unwilling, Officers would next contact the next highest non-elected nominee downward, until a volunteer is found. The length of their term will be equal to the remaining unfilled term of the departed Exec member. In the event the voting system does not allow officers to access information about the next-highest non-elected nominees from the most recent election, and/or there are no non-elected nominees from the most recent election willing to take over the vacant role, the Officers shall assemble a list of current ACH members that all current Officers agree are suitable for filling the role, and reach out to these one at a time to attempt to fill the vacancy.
  2. If the position of Immediate Past President(s) becomes vacant for any reason, it shall not be filled until the President(s) can assume this position.
  3. If the position of President(s) becomes vacant, the Vice President(s) shall assume the office and responsibilities of the President(s). Following the expiration of the original term, the new President(s) shall stay on for another full term as originally intended.
  4. If the position of Vice President(s) becomes vacant, an interim Vice President(s) shall be elected by the Exec from among its ranks. At the next election cycle, one or more new Vice President(s) shall be elected.
  5. The President(s) and Vice President(s) are charged with organizing the process to appoint or re-appoint other officers of the organization (with final approval by the Exec).
  6. Any officer in the organization who does not remain a member in good standing may be removed by vote of the Exec.

IV. Standing Committees

The Exec shall establish formal committees for as few a number of committees as is required for the Exec to function. These formal committees can have their chair and member roles filled by Exec volunteers, ACH Affiliates or Liaisons, or current ACH members at the discretion of the current (co-)President(s). Standing committees will be expected to submit regular reports at intervals established by the Exec. These committees shall include:

  1. A Nominating Committee, as described in section II.1 of the Bylaws, above.

V. Special Interest Groups

Members shall be encouraged to form ACH Special Interest Groups (“SIGs”). With the approval of the Exec, they may hold sessions during the annual conference or AGM (as determined by the President in partnership with the Conference Committee Chair), suggest content for ACH emails or newsletters and other ACH social media, apply for funding support through established mechanisms, and in other ways further their particular concerns within the general framework of ACH.

VI. Council Representatives from Professional Associations Related to ACH

ACH may approve having an official liaison to any related learned society or professional association. ACH and the related association would agree upon a person named to be the liaison who would be a member of both organizations to serve as long as both organizations deem it appropriate. The role of the liaison is to encourage a broad exchange of information and to promote exchange sessions and panels at regular meetings of the related association.

VII. Affiliated Chapters

ACH encourages the formation of regional chapters, and is willing to negotiate cooperative agreements and mutually beneficial dues structures. A potential ACH chapter may apply to the Exec for start-up costs, and may also apply for more formal ties, to be specified in mutually-agreeable terms. In either case, the ACH chapter will determine its own governance structure and budget. ACH may dissolve its sponsorship for such an organization at any time, so long as it gives 6 months’ notice in writing to the leadership of that organization.

VIII. Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of ACH shall be the calendar year.

IX. Rules of Order

In all matters not determined by the Constitution or the Bylaws, the proceedings for ACH shall be governed by the latest edition of Roberts’ Rules of Order.