H-France By-laws

BY-LAWS OF H-FRANCE

(Approved 8 August 2016; revised 4 December 2020)

I. NATURE AND PURPOSE

H-France is a permanent organization whose purpose is to promote scholarly work and discussion on the history and culture of the Francophone world and to disseminate information of interest to scholars of the Francophone world through electronic communication. H-France is a bilingual organization operating in French and English. It fulfills its purpose through the management of an electronic discussion list, a program of publication, a web site, and other activities deemed appropriate by the H-France Editorial Board.

II. MEMBERSHIP

The H-France web site, which includes copies of all H-France publications, is accessible publicly without limitation. The H-France discussion list is open to those prepared to participate in scholarly discussions, such as teachers, professors, scholars, librarians, graduate students, and others knowledgeable in French history and culture. Undergraduate students may join the list but must be sponsored by an instructor who is a list member.

III. ORGANIZATION OF H-FRANCE

  1. Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is the governing body of H-France. It establishes goals and editorial policies for H-France and must approve all funding and budgetary decisions. It may adopt any rules or procedures for the conduct of its business that are not contrary to the by-laws. The Editorial Board operates through electronic correspondence and is presumed to be always in session. The full names of the members of the Editorial Board are listed on the H-France web site and published annually to the H-France list. The Editorial Board is composed of three groups:

Officers

Editor-in-Chief

Chief Editors

Chairperson of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee

Financial Officer

Past Editor-in-Chief (for two years following retirement from office)

At-large members

Institutional sponsors

The Officers may discuss issues and draft proposals prior to consideration by the full

Editorial Board.

  1. Officers

    1. Editor-in-Chief

        1. Appointment

The Editor-in-Chief serves a renewable three-year term beginning

on the date of appointment. Appointment to the position of Editor-

in-Chief is made by the Editorial Board. The Editor-in-Chief

remains a member of the Editorial Board for two years following the expiration of the term of office.

        1. Duties

The Editor-in-Chief is the chief executive officer of H-France and is responsible for implementing the policies and decisions set by the Editorial Board and for coordinating activities among the branches of H-France operations. The Editor-in-Chief serves as chair of the Editorial Board, with the responsibility to prepare its agenda, establish committees and sub-committees for special projects, call for votes, or establish other organizational procedures as may seem fit. Working with the Financial Officer, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible to obtain funding for H-France as needed. The Editor-in-Chief conducts correspondence on behalf of H-France with interested parties and scholarly organizations and is the only individual authorized to speak for H-France. The Editor-in-Chief prepares an annual report on H-France operations and membership. This report, which includes a general financial statement, is presented to the Editorial Board.

    1. Chief Editors

1. Appointment

The Chief Editors of the various branches of H-France’s operations are nominated and approved by the Editorial Board, with the exception of the Chief Editor of H-France Review, who is nominated by the Editorial Board and approved by the Executive Committee of the Society for French Historical Studies. The renewable appointments last for three years from date of appointment.

2. Duties

Chief Editors are responsible for the day-to-day operations in their respective areas, overseeing the assignment and fulfillment of duties among the various editors in each area and ensuring that policies established by the Editorial Board are implemented. The Chief Editors bring to the Editorial Board issues that arise in their respective areas that require new or clarified policies and are responsible to coordinate the editorial activities in their respective areas of responsibility. Each January, the Chief Editors provide to the Editor-in-Chief synopses of the activities accomplished in their areas of responsibility the previous calendar year to aid in the preparation of the annual report.

    1. Chairperson of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee

1. Appointment

The Chairperson of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee is nominated and approved by the Editorial Board, serving a renewable three-year term.

2. Duties

The Chairperson of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

  • directs the work of the Committee, which includes training editors regarding strategies to communicate and sustain the values of EDI among H-France editors and membership
  • offers counsel to editors regarding EDI issues in discussion list messages or H-France publications
  • offers advice and recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief in terms of recruitment of new editors and Editorial Board

members

  • authors a section of the Annual Report, in collaboration with the Editor-in-Chief, that identifies H-France’s efforts and goals at EDI.

d. Financial Officer

1. Appointment

The Financial Officer serves a renewable three-year term beginning on the date of appointment. Appointment to the position of Financial Officer is made by the Editorial Board. At the time of appointment to the position of Financial Officer and during the term of office, the individual may not also serve as Editor-in-Chief for H-France.

2. Duties

The Financial Officer serves as treasurer of H-France and has custody of all of its funds. The Financial Officer receives monies due H-France, disburses sums owed by H-France, and administers surplus operating funds, if any exist. The Financial Officer maintains and administers a bank account into which H-France funds are deposited and from which H-France expenditures are disbursed. The Financial Officer advises the Editorial Board concerning the financial status of H-France and provides the financial information on H-France’s assets and liabilities included in the H-France annual report.

e. Past Editor-in-Chief

1. Term

A H-France Editor-in-Chief remains an officer on the H-France

Editorial Board for two years following retirement from office.

2. Duties

The Past Editor-in-Chief provides advice to the Editor-in-Chief as

requested and participates in discussions within the Editorial

Board.

  1. At-Large Members

a. Appointment

Sixteen at-large members serve staggered four-year terms beginning January 1st. Appointment to the position of at-large member is made by the Editorial Board. In choosing nominees to at-large member positions, the Editorial Board seeks to have itself reflect the diversity of the H-France membership.

b. Duties
At-large members of the Editorial Board participate in discussions by

the Editorial Board and may be appointed to serve on committees at the

discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. At large members vote on all

relevant issues.

  1. Institutional Sponsors

a. Appointment

The Editorial Board may grant specific institutions or organizations

who form collaborations with H-France or host H-France operations

representation on the H-France Editorial Board. The specific

institution or organization selects the individual to serve as its

representative; however, the Editorial Board has the right to withdraw

such representation or to reject a specific individual’s appointment as

representative for an institution or organization.

b. Duties

The duties of institutional sponsors will be identical to those of at-

large members.

B. Editors

1. Appointment

Appointment to the position of H-France editor is made by the

Editorial Board. The Editorial Board determines the number and duties of H-France editors.

  1. Duties

H-France editors work within the policies established by the Editorial Board

and under the leadership of the Editor-in-Chief and the Chief Editor for a specific area. Editors are responsible to implement H-France policies and to bring to the attention of the appropriate Chief Editor difficulties raised by those policies or other issues of concern with regard to H-France operations. For every four-year period working as an H-France editor, editors are entitled to a six-month sabbatical from their editorial duties.

C. Removal of Officers and Editors

In the event that an officer, editor, or board member of H-France becomes unable or

unwilling to exercise the duties of the position or performs those duties in a manner

deemed inadequate, the individual may be removed from that position upon a two-thirds

vote of the Editorial Board.

IV. STIPULATIONS

  1. H-France shall engage in exclusively “educational” activities as these terms are used in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America. In the event of H-France’s disbanding, any remaining funds or assets will revert to the Society for French Historical Studies or its heirs as long as such organization(s) remains a tax-exempt organization under section 501(C)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future tax code. In the event that the Society for French Historical Studies or its heirs no longer exists or no longer holds tax-exempt status, the Editorial Board will distribute any remaining funds or assets to a tax-exempt organization with a tradition of supporting the scholarly study of the history and culture of the Francophone world as selected by the Editorial Board.

  2. The H-France Editorial Board may establish associations and affiliations with other scholarly organizations as deemed fit and as approved by the Editorial Board.

  3. Works commissioned by H-France (such as reviews and essays) and the H-France web site are copyrighted by H-France, with the exception of H-France Review, which is copyrighted by the Society for French Historical Studies, and French History and Civilisation: Papers from the George Rudé Seminar, which is copyrighted by the George Rudé Society.

  4. Authors who post messages to the H-France list assign copyright for those messages to H-France only for the right to re-distribute for non-profit educational purposes.

V. REVISION OF BY-LAWS

Revisions to the H-France by-laws must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Editorial Board.