Bylaws of the Multicultural Studies Division of the BEA
Amended and adopted 3/28/2024
ARTICLE I – Name: The name of this division shall be the Multicultural Studies Division.
ARTICLE II
– Purpose: The purpose of the division shall be the improvement of teaching, the fostering of
research in multicultural (specifically BIPOC – Black, Indigenous and people of color) issues in
broadcasting and electronic media, and the networking of faculty and professionals interested in
diversity, inclusivity and equity in broadcasting and electronic media. To this end, the
Multicultural Studies Division shall provide the following:
1) A forum for
a) the exchange of teaching techniques and materials,
b) the presentation of juried and non-juried scholarly research,
c) the networking and support of like-minded scholars.
2) A means of evaluation through juried competition of scholarly research.
ARTICLE III – Officers: The governing body of the Division shall be called the Executive Committee
and shall consist of: a chair, a vice chair, a paper competition chair, and a communication chair.
The chair shall be the senior coordinating officer on the Executive Committee with the vice chair
and all other chairs having an equal but subordinate rank. Other officers may be elected, and
duties assigned, as determined necessary by the division membership at the annual meeting.
Section 1 – Chair. The vice chair shall succeed the chair to a two-year term. The duties of the
chair shall include:
1) Representing the Multicultural Research Division in all BEA convention meetings,
2) Chairing the Business Meeting at the annual BEA convention,
3) Handling Multicultural Research Division business in the interim between BEA conventions,
4) Serving as panel coordinator, overseeing the Executive Committee’s evaluation and ranking of
panel proposals, and
5) Authorizing expenditure of Multicultural Studies Division funds.
Section 2 – Vice Chair. The vice chair shall be elected to a two-year term. Duties of the vice
chair shall include:
1) Representing the Multicultural Research Division in all BEA convention meetings in absence of
the chair, or as designated by the chair,
2) Assisting the chair during the business meeting at the annual BEA convention,
3) Assisting the chair in handling Division business in the interim between BEA conventions,
4) Assisting the chair in serving as panel coordinator, overseeing the Executive Committee’s
evaluation and ranking of panel proposals,
5) Handling Multicultural Studies relations, and
6) Assuming the chair’s position at the end of the two-year term.
Section 3 – Paper Competition Chair (paper chair). The chair for the paper competition shall be
elected to a two-year term. The duties of the office shall include:
1) Prior to the convention:
a) Disseminating information about the paper competition,
b) Selecting judges for the competition,
c) Coordinating the judging procedures including preparing judging forms, distributing tapes or
papers to the judges, and tallying judging forms,
d) Notifying winners and losers of the competition and providing feedback, and
e) Review and evaluation of panel proposals for the Multicultural Research Division.
2) During the convention, chairing of the session in which the winners are presented.
Section 4 – Communication Chair. The communication chair shall be elected to a one-year term. The
duties of the office shall include:
1) Taking the minutes at the annual and any subsequent meetings of the division
2) Soliciting, reporting, and writing or editing all copy to go into a yearly newsletter
3) Using social media to advertise convention panels, workshops and papers
4) Maintaining and updating any division social media
Section 4 – Procedures for Election of Officers. Nominations will be taken from the floor for each
vacant position at the business meeting at the annual BEA convention. Normally, the vice chair
moves into the chair’s position at the end of the two-year term. Therefore, the chair’s position is
generally not open for election. Nominations for each vacant position may be made in advance of the
convention, and may also be made from the floor at the annual business meeting. After nominations
are closed at the meeting, the candidate getting the most votes of division members who are present
and voting is elected to the office for each vacant position.
If an officer cannot complete his or her elected term or assume the designated progression
assignment, the following rules will apply:
Chair: If the chair cannot complete the two-year term, the vice chair will become chair and serve
the remainder of the departing chair’s one-year term. At the next annual business meeting,
nominations will be accepted for a new vice chair and the elected nominee will become vice chair.
After completion of the interim term, the chair will serve a normal term.
Vice Chair: If the vice chair cannot assume the duties as chair, the current chair may be nominated
or self-nominated to serve one additional year as interim chair and oversee an election for a
replacement vice chair. If the current chair declines the opportunity to serve as interim chair,
new elections will be held for both vice chair and chair, according to terms for officers described
previously.
All other officers: If any of these officers cannot complete their terms, nominations will be
accepted at the next BEA convention business meeting for interim replacements.
Terms: All other members of the Executive Committee are limited to two consecutive terms in the
same office.
ARTICLE IV – Paper Competitions: The purpose of the paper competition shall be to provide a juried
evaluation of faculty work. The competition shall be open to both members and nonmembers of the
BEA. However, all competition winners shall be required to attend the convention or forfeit their
award. The paper competition shall follow the BEA guidelines, and shall consist of both open and
debut categories. The debut competition shall have a monetary award for first place. The open
competition shall be available to anyone who would like to submit a paper, and the winners, if any,
will be determined by the paper chair in consultation with the chair and vice chair. The
responsibility for operating the competition shall fall to the paper chair, but funding for the
awards shall come from BEA. There shall be at least three judges for the competition with the paper
chair making every effort to balance the judges by geographic area. The deadline for entry shall be
January 15 or the BEA deadline. Winners shall be notified by February 15.
ARTICLE V – Division Panels: Panel proposals shall be submitted to the chair by July 15 or the BEA
deadline. Both members and nonmembers of the BEA are eligible to submit panel proposals with the
understanding that all panel members are planning to attend the BEA annual convention. The chair
shall then forward copies of the proposals to the other members of the Executive Committee and
shall coordinate the rank ordering of the proposals. The chair shall then submit the final panels
in rank order to the convention coordinator by September 1. Upon receipt of the final
recommendation of the convention coordinator, the chair shall notify the panel conveners of the
decision regarding their proposals.
Note: Bylaws of the Multicultural Studies Division comply with the BEA Interest Division Policies and Guidelines
