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 REVISION:  Approved April 23, 2022

DELAWARE VALLEY MEDIEVAL ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

1983; re-issued 1993; revised 2015; amended 2021, 2022

 

Article I.          NAME

            This organization shall be called the Delaware Valley Medieval Association.

Article II.        PURPOSE

The Association shall promote all aspects of medieval studies and provide the opportunity for frequent scholarly communication among medievalists, particularly those from the Delaware Valley region.

 

Article III.       MEMBERSHIP

 

Membership shall be open, upon payment of annual dues, to all those who support the purposes of the organization.  Membership dues shall be set by the Executive Council and shall be payable at the beginning of the academic year.

 

Article IV.       ORGANIZATION

 

A.   Officers 

1.     President.  The President represents the Association in its external affairs, chairs all business meetings of the Association, coordinates the activities of the Association, appoints the Nominations Committee from among the members of the Executive Council, appoints any ad hoc committees necessary to the functioning of the organization, and appoints replacements for any officer or member of the Executive Council who is unable to complete his or her term of office.  The President handles the Association’s official correspondence. The president’s term is two years and is non-renewable.

2    Vice President.  The Vice President serves a two-year term and succeeds to the office of President the following year.  The Vice President assists the President as needed and chairs the Planning Committee and Communications Committee. The Vice President  assists the president in maintaining electronic systems, communicating with members and conveying vital documents and information. Other members may be appointed to perform communication duties. 

3.   Secretary.  The Secretary serves a three-year term The Secretary oversees  the organization’s media platforms (website, social media, etc.), updates membership lists, and keeps minutes at all Executive Council business meetings.  The Secretary also prepares an annual report concerning the organization’s membership, serves on the Executive Council and takes part in the planning processes of DVMA.  

4.   Treasurer. The Treasurer serves a three-year term.  The Treasurer collects and disburses money received by the Association, maintains its bank accounts and reports regularly to both the Executive Council and the membership about the state of DVMA’s finances.  The Treasurer serves on the Executive Council and takes part in the planning processes of DVMA.

 

B.   Executive Council 

The Association shall be governed by an elected Executive Council consisting of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and six members-at-large serving staggered, three-year terms.  In addition to these ten Executive membership roles, the Executive Council will include at least one doctoral student who manages graduate student outreach and participation in DVMA events and programming for a two-year term. The Executive Council shall meet at least twice a year, in the Fall and in the Spring.  Actions of the officers and committees of the Association shall be subject to the review of the Executive Council. Terms for Officers may be extended for one year in extenuating circumstances. [Amended by EC Spring 21, pending approval by the membership]

 

Article V.        PROCEDURES

 

A.   Elections 

In the Spring of each year, a Nominations Committee is formed including outgoing members of the Executive Council.  The Committee solicits and proposes nominations for Officers and Executive Council.  The slate of candidates is presented at the final meeting of the year, where members approve the candidates by acclamation or a majority vote. In the event that an elected member of the Executive Council or an Officer cannot serve out the term for which he or she was elected, the President shall appoint a replacement.  

B.    Meetings 

The Association shall meet for scholarly interchange as often as practicable, usually four times per academic year.  At least one of those meetings – usually the last meeting in the Spring – shall include a business meeting, announced to the membership in advance. These meetings shall be called by the President or by a majority of the Executive Council, and shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order where they do not contradict this Constitution and set of By-Laws.   

C.    Amendments 

The Constitution and By-Laws of the Delaware Valley Medieval Association may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those present at a business meeting of the Association.  Amendments may be proposed by majority vote of the Executive Council or by ten voting members of the Association.  They shall be circulated by the Secretary to the membership at least one month prior to the business meeting at which they shall be considered.  When press of circumstances requires it, three-fourths of the Executive Council may amend the Constitution and By-Laws subject to approval by the membership at the next business meeting.

 

 

 

Coming Soon!

Register here for the February 21, 2015 meeting at Haverford College.

The DVMA offers three funding opportunities to qualified members. To read more about these awards and grants and to see the winners of previous competitions, follow the links to the Travel Grant, Graduate Student Paper Prize, and Digital Project Prize.

The DVMA reserves the right to give awards in one category only, depending on the number and quality of submissions.

Submit applications to prizes@dvmamedieval.com

The deadline for all applications is January 15.

The Digital Project Prize is awarded to a member or members of the DVMA for a digital project that advances medieval studies. The project can be a publicly available digital tool or site, or it can be a research tool developed to advance a project that is not available to the public. This competition is open to students and scholars at any level. 

The amount of the award is $300. In the case of collaborative projects the award will be divided. Winners will be invited to present their work at a future meeting of the DVMA.

How to Apply

Applications should include the following:

• a statement of your current institutional and departmental affiliation; 

• a statement of your current membership status in the DVMA (applicants must be members in good standing as of January 15; you can check your membership status here);

• a description of the project (500-1000 words);

• a link to the resource or some other means of reviewing it;

• a brief CV.

Please submit the full application to prizes@dvmamedieval.com by January 15.

 

The DVMA Paper Prize is awarded annually to a graduate student for a written project on the basis of its quality, originality, and clarity of scholarship. The amount of the award is $300, and the winner will be invited to present the work at a future DVMA meeting.

Eligibility

The competition is limited to graduate students who are current members of the DVMA as of January 15. Graduate students at any level are welcome to submit.

Criteria

Submissions should be polished, scholarly works composed as stand-alone essays. The text should be no more than 25 pages (approximately 8,000 words, double-spaced, exclusive of foot/endnotes or supporting materials, such as illustrations) and must have been written within a calendar year of the deadline. Submissions may draw from previously completed projects (such as a seminar paper, a conference presentation, an MA thesis, or a dissertation chapter), but should be submitted in essay form.

Please note: The presentation time allotted for the paper will be approximately 30 minutes, but this is subject to change depending on the needs of the meeting organizers.

How to Apply

Include in your application:

• a statement of (1) your current institutional and departmental affiliation; (2) the name of your primary graduate advisor and, if relevant, the name(s) of your secondary MA or PhD advisor(s); (3) if the essay originated in a course, the name of the course instructor;
• a statement of your current membership status in the DVMA (applicants must be members in good standing as of January 15; you can check your membership status here);
• your current CV;
• an abstract of the essay (no more than 200 words);
• the text of the essay and any supporting materials (such as images) in a single PDF. Please use 12pt font and standard margins. Please double space the body of the essay.

Please submit the full application to prizes@dvmamedieval.com by January 15.

In the event that the file size of the PDF document is too large to email, please deposit the paper in an accessible cloud folder and send that link by email to the above address.

Questions regarding the Paper Prize should be sent to: prizes@dvmamedieval.com.

 

 

Members of the DVMA are invited to apply for a Travel Grant of up to $1,000 to help defray the cost of travel for research or the presentation of research. 

Priority is given to applications from graduate students, independent scholars, non-tenure-track faculty, and others without access to institutional research and travel accounts.

How to Apply

Applications should include:

• a statement of current institutional affiliation and graduate advisor (if relevant)
• a brief but detailed description of the research to be conducted or presented (250-500 words)
• a list of the site(s) where it will be conducted or presented (including the name of the conference, if applicable) and status of any arrangements that require permission (e.g. visit special collections)
• an estimate of the travel costs involved
• a short CV
• a list of alternative sources of funding for which you are eligible

The DVMA will award $1,000 each year. In the case that the winning application requests less than $1,000, or if there are two equally strong applications, the sum will be divided between two winners.

Submit applications to prizes@dvmamedieval.com by January 15.

 

Please join us in 2018-2019 for another exciting series of programs!

Save the dates:

September 29, 2018

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

 

[Winter meeting date TBD]

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

 

 

Spring meetings TBD!

Please join us in 2016-17 for another exciting series of programs!

Save the dates:

September 24, 2016

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

 

[Winter meeting date TBD]

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

 

February 25, 2017

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

 

April 22, 2017

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Thank you for your interest in joining the DVMA! Your membership dues are vital to the functioning of our organization, and allow us to continue putting together four quality scholarly programs each academic year. These meetings offer a variety of presentations and other activities and provide extraordinary opportunities to meet with others (from all fields) working in the local medieval studies community. Your membership also supports our Grants and Prizes and the DVMA website and email list, important venues for information about regional events. If you would like to add more support of these programs, please consider becoming a Contributing Member.

To join the DVMA, select from the membership options at the right.

 

Check Your Membership Status

Ready to renew? Check your membership status in your Member Profile (My Subscriptions) and renew your membership there.

 

Benefits of Membership

Members receive reduced rates on registration for our four yearly meetings. Student members register for free! Read more about our Upcoming Meetings.

Eligible members may compete for our three Grants and Prizes: the Travel Grant (open to graduate students and scholars without institutional support), the Paper Prize (open to graduate students), and the Digital Project Prize (open to all). The deadline is Jan. 20, 2022

Regular and Contributing Members may also obtain borrowing privileges at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries at a reduced rate ($200). Please contact the Secretary at dvma@dvmamedieval.com by December 1 in order to enroll.