Article I
Name — The name of this organization shall be THE POLISH AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
Article II
Purpose — The purpose of this non-profit, non-political, academic organization shall be: To promote research in Polish American History and its roots.
Article III
Membership — All persons, institutions, and organizations interested in the purpose of this Association may be duly admitted to membership.
Article IV
Authority — The supreme authority in this Association resides in the active members duly assembled in the annual meeting.
Article V
Administration — Between the annual meetings, this Association shall be governed by a Board of Directors consisting of the Executive Committee and the Council.
Article VI
Meetings — An annual meeting of this Association shall be held at the same time and in the same city as the American Historical Association unless exceptional circumstances intervene.
Article VII
Rules — In all matters not otherwise provided for in this Constitution, the transaction of business shall be governed by the Standing Rules appended to this Constitution and as amended in accordance with the procedures contained in Article VIII, and by Robert's RULES OF ORDER.
Article VIII
Amendments
Section 1. The Standing Rules may be changed by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. These rule changes will take place thirty (30) days after being publicized to the membership in a way announced in the Standing Rules.
Section 2. All Standing Rules changes shall be dated.
Section 3. For the first change in the Standing Rules or the Constitution, an announcement on the Association’s web page shall constitute adequate notice to the membership.
Section 4: The Constitution may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the membership’s votes cast in a manner decided by the Board of Directors provided that copies have been made available according to the Standing Rules.
Section 1. The headquarters of this Association shall be located in the State of Incorporation.
Section 2. The archives of this Association shall be deposited at the Association's headquarters.
Section 3. At the conclusion of their term of office, retiring officers are to deposit within three months in the PAHA Archives all their correspondence, documents and papers relating to the Association.
Section 1. This Association shall publish as its official organ a biannual scholarly journal containing articles, reviews and materials devoted to the origins and development of Polish American history and culture. The title of this journal shall be the Polish American Studies.
Section 2. This Association shall publish a newsletter designed to serve the membership as an official and informational bulletin.
Section 1. No numerical majority of the total membership of this Association shall be necessary for the transaction of business at the annual meeting.
Section 2. The Board of Directors shall meet before the opening of the annual meeting and at mid-year.
Section 3. A quorum for the transaction of business by the Board of Directors consists of a number equal to two-thirds of its officers.
Section 4. Reports of all meetings together with copies of all papers presented and official correspondence received shall be filed in the Archives of the Association.
Section 1. Membership shall be comprised of Individual, Student or Senior Citizen, Institutional, Patrons, and Household (two individuals with two votes and one issue of the PAHA Newsletter and Polish American Studies) memberships. All members who were individual Lifetime members (individuals only) before December 1, 2023 shall retain their Lifetime membership.
Section 2. Admission to membership shall be by direct application. The Board of Directors has the authority to decide who is a member of good standing.
Section 3. All members shall receive the Polish American Studies and PAHA Newsletter.
Section 4. Honorary membership shall be conferred by the Board of Directors with majority approval of the active members present at the annual meeting, upon a written proposal justifying the honor.
Section 5. Any student registered in a high school, college, or university may be admitted as a member at a student rate.
Section 6. Members who are Senior Citizens (age 65 and above) and who have been members in good standing for the past ten (10) years may apply for a reduced annual membership rate.
Section 7. All Individual, Associate, Sustaining, Patron, and Senior Citizen members shall have one vote.
Section 1. Annual dues, established by the Board of Directors, shall be payable according to the fiscal year extending from December 1 through November 30.
Section 2. Members whose dues are one year in arrears shall not be entitled to vote or to receive the publications of the Association until reinstatement by paying the current dues.
Section 3. If an academic convention is scheduled to coincide with the annual meeting, persons attending said convention shall pay a registration fee set by the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Non-members subscribing to the Polish American Studies and/or the PAHA Newsletter shall pay a fee fixed by the Board of Directors.
Section 5. The Board of Directors reserves the right to grant complimentary annual memberships upon application.
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of the Association’s elected and appointed officers – President, First Vice-President (or Vice-President for Administration), Second Vice-President (or Vice-President for PAHA Awards), Director of Development, Secretary, Treasurer, Executive Director, Editor of Polish American Studies, Director of Online Communications, Editor of the PAHA Newsletter – and a twelve member Council, with six to be appointed by the President.
Section 2. The Board of Directors shall have charge of and responsibility for the general affairs of the Association with supervision and jurisdiction over all activities conducted in the name of the Association. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to determine plans of action, to approve or reject measures to be taken by individuals or subordinate groups, to make decisions in conformity with the established policies of the Association, and to establish committees.
Section 3. The President shall appoint the General Counsel with the consent of the Board.
Section 1. The Executive Committee is comprised of the Association's officers.
Section 2. The duties of the Executive Committee are to carry on the general business of the Association between the Board meetings subject to approval at the next Board meeting.
Section 1. The Editorial Board of this Association shall consist of an Editor and six or more associate editors for the Polish American Studies, the Editor of the PAHA Newsletter, the Executive Director, and Director of Online Communications.
Section 2. The Editorial Board shall edit the publications of this Association.
Section 3. Once the incorporation charter is secured all materials published by this Association shall be copyrighted.
Section 1. The Standing Committees of this Association shall include: Program, Publicity, Special Projects, Rules, Resolutions, Membership, Nominations, Awards, Publications, and others to be named by President and the Board.
Section 2. Standing Committees may be established by the Board of Directors or by a majority vote of the members present and voting at any annual meeting.
Section 3. Special Committees may be established by the President subject to approval by the Board.
Section 4. Every Committee shall consist of no fewer than three appointed members one of whom shall be designated as chair.
Section 5. Each committee shall perform such functions as are implied by its respective title or as shall be specified by the President of this Association.
Section 6. Each Committee shall submit a written report of its activities to the President of the Association, unless otherwise stipulated in the Standing Rules or in its instructions.
Section 1. Qualifications for office in the Polish American Historical Association: a) to qualify for an executive office the candidate must have been a member of this Association for two years; b) to qualify for membership on the Council the candidate must have been a member of this Association for one year.
Section 2. The First and Second Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and six members of the Council shall be elected by members in good standing through ballots two months before the annual meeting in even numbered years.
Section 3. The candidates for elective office shall be selected by a Nominating Committee, which will consist of the two immediate past presidents and the current president of the organization.
Section 4. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a ballot with the names of the candidates for each office at least two months prior to the annual meeting.
Section 5. The Executive Director assisted by the Executive Committee will prepare and certify a ballot for each member of the Association in good standing. The ballot will be distributed to the member with instructions. The instructions will also contain the date by which it must be returned. The Executive Director, assisted by President, Vice-President, and 2nd Vice-President, will verify the standing of the members who submitted ballots. After the votes are tallied, the President and the Executive Director record, sign and certify the results. The ballots, preserved for at least a month after the conclusion of the annual meeting unless instructed by the President to hold them longer or turn them over to the Board of Directors. In the event of challenges to the results, the ballots will be preserved until the challenge is resolved by the three-person panel nominated by the President and approved by the Board of Directors. Neither members who tallied a challenged election nor any candidate involved in a challenged election may serve on the panel. The majority decision of the panel will be final.
Section 6. A simple majority of valid votes shall decide an election. In cases in which an office fails to be filled because a candidate or candidates failed to receive a simple majority of mail votes cast, a run-off election will be conducted between the top two contenders for each unfilled position, following the procedures outlined in Article 10, Section 5 of the Standing Rules.
Section 7. Each member (person, organization, or institution) in good standing at election is entitled to vote.
Section 8. The newly elected officers shall take office at the conclusion of the annual meeting, which follows their election.
Section 9. The First Vice-President shall automatically succeed to the Presidency. If the presidency falls vacant the First Vice-President shall succeed to the office and serve the balance of the term and an additional two-year term. If the First Vice-President is unable to do so, the Second Vice-President shall succeed to the office and serve the balance of the term, upon which the First Vice-President will succeed to the Presidency as originally scheduled. If the Second Vice-President is unable to do so, the Board shall elect by majority vote an Interim President to fill out the balance of an unexpired term at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting. The Executive Director shall convene and chair this meeting for this purpose. When the First Vice-Presidency thusly or otherwise falls vacant before the end of its term of office, a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy, following the procedures outlined in Article 10, Section 5 of the Standing Rules, and the new First Vice-President will assume office immediately upon election.
Section 10. The Executive Director, Editor of Polish American Studies and Director of Online Communications shall be appointed by the President with the assent of the Board for a period of five years and may serve additional terms at the discretion of the president and the board.
Section 11. Ballots for amending the Constitution and /or Standing Rules will be counted by the same procedure as specified in Article 10, Section 5.
Section 1. Six members of the Council shall be appointed within thirty (30) days after the adjournment of annual meeting in even numbered years to hold office until their successors are appointed.
Section 2. The Vice-President for Development, the Vice-President for Re- search and Special Projects, the General Counsel, and the members of the Editorial Board shall be appointed by the President with the approval of the Board of Directors within thirty (30) days after the adjournment of the annual meeting in even numbered years, to hold office until their successors are appointed.
Section 3. The members of all duly established Committees shall be appointed by the President to hold office for a year with eligibility for reappointment, unless otherwise stipulated in the Committee's instructions.
Section 1. The duties of the officers shall be such as are implied by their respective titles and such as are specified in these Standing Rules.
Section 2. The President shall act as chief executive officer of this Association, representing and standing for it; preside at all meetings of the Association and the Board, serve as ex officio member of all Committees and the Editorial Board; sign all official documents; within thirty (30) days of assuming the office of the Presidency and then, as applicable, on an annual basis, appoint the General Counsel, the Vice-President for Development, the Vice-President for Research and Special Projects, the Managing-Editor of Polish American Studies, the Editor of the PAHA Newsletter, the members of the Editorial Board, Committee members and chairs and representatives of this Association to other organizations; establish Special Committees subject to approval by the Board; and submit a written report of his/her activities at the annual meeting. The President's expenses shall be limited to $500.00 unless authorized by the Executive Committee to spend more for specific purposes.
Section 3. The First and Second Vice-Presidents shall assist the President in the general management of the Association's affairs; the First Vice-President shall serve as chair of the Rules Committee and act as Parliamentarian at the meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors, preside during the sessions in the absence of the President, and shall act as chair of the Program Committee for the annual meeting in the year in which his or her vice-presidency terminates. The Second Vice-President shall act as chair of the PAHA Awards Committee, responsible for the coordination of the awards process and publicity of the PAHA Awards. Both Vice Presidents shall submit written reports of their activities at the annual meeting.
Section 4. The Secretary shall record the proceedings of the annual meeting and the minutes of the Board meetings; and submit a written report of the proceedings and minutes at the annual meeting.
Section 5
(a) The Treasurer shall receive the monies of the Association and make disbursements when necessary; deposit the funds of the Association in a recognized depository in two accounts; checking and interest-bearing; mail notices and collect membership dues; keep a record of all monies received, disbursed as well as owed by delinquent members; maintain a financial statement for the year at the annual meeting; prepare and submit all financial and other documents relating to the Association's tax-exempt status; and keep a current file of the members with their address- es and biographical data.
(b) Officers authorized to sign checks are the President, the Treasurer, the Executive Director or other representatives duly authorized by the PAHA board; two signatures are required for the validity of checks.
(c) The President shall appoint an auditing committee of three for a report to be given at the annual meeting.
Section 6. The Editor shall serve as chair of the Association’s Editorial Board; prepare for publication and distribute the official organ of the Association, the Polish American Studies; accept and edit manuscripts for publication, with the assistance of the Associate Editors; and submit a written report of the year’s work to the Board of Directors. The Editor of the PAHA Newsletter will write, edit, and publish the newsletter of the Association, to be distributed by the PAHA headquarters.
Section 7. The Executive Director will have as his/her duty to provide continuity of the Association’s business between the annual meetings and to carry out the responsibility for the organization’s public relations work. He/She will co-ordinate the work of the various committees as the President directs; he/she will serve as the liaison between the various committees and the President; he/she will also be the liaison between the Association and other organizations and institutions at times. He/she will oversee the maintenance of the membership database, organize membership drives and maintain contacts with members and prospective members. He/she will assist the President and/or Vice-President in the organization of the annual conference. He/she shall render an account of his/her activities and the monies spent each year at the annual meeting.
Section 8. The Director of Online Communications shall edit, develop, manage, and maintain the Association’s website.
Section 9. The Director of Development will be responsible for fund raising and administration of grants.
Section 1. Affiliations with organizations and institutions having kindred interests may be proposed by a majority resolution passed at the annual meeting of this Association, provided that this Association does not jeopardize its independence and activities, and provided that the extent of the obligations of such joint action is controlled by the Board of the Association.
Offered annually to a scholar for sustained contribution to the study of the Polish American ethnic group in the United States. The award was established in 1969 in honor of the late Mieczyslaw Haiman [1888-1949], co-founder and charter member of the Polish American Historical Association, curator of the Polish Museum of America in Chicago, and pioneer in the compilation of Polish American history. The award consists of the Haiman Medal.
An annual prize of $1,000 and a plaque to recognize an important book or monograph on the Polish experience in the United States. Eligibility is limited to works of historical and/or cultural interest, including those from related fields in the social sciences or humanities, published within two years prior to June 1 of the year in which the prize is awarded. The prize honors Oskar Halecki [1891- 1973], eminent Polish-born historian who was also a co-founder and charter member of the Polish American Historical Association. Criteria for the award include:
This prize recognizes contributions in the field of creative arts by individuals or groups who have promoted an awareness of the Polish experience in the Americas. The award consists of a plaque.
This prize supports the publication of the Polish and Polish American Studies Series by Ohio University Press. It is awarded to each book published in that series up to a maximum of one book per year.
A prize of $250 and a plaque awarded annually for the best article published in a given volume of Polish American Studies, the journal of the Polish American Historical Association. Named in honor of Rev. Joseph V. Swastek [1913-1977], editor of Polish American Studies for many years and past president of the Polish American Historical Association. Criteria for the award include:
The Civic Achievement Award is designed to honor individuals or groups who have advanced PAHA’s goals of promoting research on and awareness of the Polish experience in the Americas. The award consists of a plaque. Any number of such awards may be given each year.
The Distinguished Service Award is given occasionally to a member of PAHA who has rendered valuable and sustained service to the organization. The award consists of a plaque.
The Amicus Poloniae Award recognizes significant contributions to enhancing knowledge of Polish and/or Polish American heritage by individuals not belonging to the Polish American community. The award consists of a plaque.
The Grant recognizes outstanding research into Polish American history and culture by a graduate student or a junior scholar (up to three years after graduation) in the humanities or social sciences. The awardee receives a travel grant of $500 to present the paper at the PAHA Annual Meeting.
Consisting of a $500 award and a plaque, the prize will be awarded for the best article or book published on the topic of Polish American screen images in films or television presented to audiences in the United States and released by American companies. To be eligible, works must have been published within the past three years. The prize will be presented at the awards ceremony during the annual PAHA conference in January subject to the continued availability of funding from Mr. Zurawski.
Any of the PAHA awards may be awarded posthumously if a suitable method of conferring the award can be arranged.
A. General Policy
B. Sole Sponsorship of Publication
(a) Only books which cannot be published in another way will be considered for publication by PAHA. To determine this situation, the author assumes responsibility for consulting a sufficient number of publishers before requesting PAHA sponsorship.
(b) The manuscript shall be of superior quality which is attested to by a set of critics chosen by the Editor of Polish American Studies.
(c) PAHA sponsorship of publication shall be noted in the book through a full page acknowledgement, using these or similar words: “Publication of this book has been made possible by a grant from the Polish American Historical Association.”
(d) The Board of Directors may offer publications as a bonus to members who request it or may offer a discount on such works to members.
(a) Publications financing will come from the general funds of PAHA, according to the state of the Treasury.
(b) Approval for PAHA funding of publications will reside with the Board of Directors.
(a) Books will be presented, advertised, and sold at the annual meeting.
(b) Notices of PAHA-sponsored books will be sent to members and to appropriate media.
(c) Review copies of PAHA publications will be sent to selected professional journals.
C. Co-Sponsorship
(a) The author has the responsibility of interesting a reputable press in publishing the work.
(b) The book shall be examined by a panel of readers designated by the Editor of Polish American Studies to ensure that its topic and merit warrant sponsorship by the Polish American Historical Association.
(c) The Polish American Historical Association must be acknowledged on the title page as co-sponsor of the book.
(d) Publicity will be handled by the press which publishes the book.
Revised January 4th, 2024