Join TAM Council
Learn more about what TAM looks for in a Councilor, a Councilor's roles and responsibilites, and the self-nomination form for TAM Council
TAM's Board of Directors meets annually to determine the council's needs based on TAM’s strategic plan. TAM’s Nominating Committee works to actively seek out potential board members who may possess the skills, time, and leadership qualities that TAM needs in order to fulfill their mission. Preference will be given to those who are involved or engaged with our Affinity Groups or standing Committees, such as Program Committee, Local Host Committee, etc.
Currently, TAM seeks prospective councilors with skills in:
- Marketing & Communications
- Finance
- Guiding Organizational Transition/Change
- Technology/Website/Organization of Data
- Event Planning
Information about our Council, Committees, and their responsibilities can be found in TAM's Consitution and Bylaws. This states:
ARTICLE IV
Council
Section 1. The Council shall be composed of eight officers and eight members-at-large. These sixteen members shall be the only voting members of the Council. They must be residents of or work in the State of Texas.
Section 2. At-Large members shall each serve two years, and shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee as prescribed in Article VIII. They shall be known as Councilors-at-Large.
Section 3. Councilors-at-Large positions 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall be elected, as outlined in Article VII, on even- numbered years. Officers and Councilors-at-Large positions 5, 6, 7, and 8 shall be elected, as outlined in Article VII, on odd-numbered years. Councilors-at-Large will hold their elected position number for the entirety of their term(s) served.
Section 4. A Councilor-at-Large having served one full term may be re-elected for no more than one additional consecutive term. If a Councilor-at-Large has been appointed by the President to fill a vacant position, that person may be elected, as outlined in Article VII, to that position for one full term at the expiration of the appointed term in accordance with Section 3 and Section 4 of this Article.
Section 5. A Councilor-at-Large may be elected to an office and continue their membership on the Council for the term of that office. Outgoing officers may stand for election as Councilors-at-Large.
Section 6. All voting members of the Council must be individual members in good standing of the Association, as defined in the TAM Constitution, Article III, Section 1.
Section 7. Voting members of the Council shall be required to attend all regularly scheduled Council meetings. Failure to attend two consecutive regularly scheduled Council meetings may result in the removal of that member from the Council and that position may be declared vacant by action of the Council.
Section 8. A quorum of the Council shall consist of any eight elected voting members of the Council, at least one of whom must be an officer.
Section 9. Vacancies in Councilor-at-Large positions and elected offices, other than the Presidency, shall be filled by appointment by the President, subject to the Council’s approval.
Section 10. Due to the involvement in the establishment of the Association, the following members of the Council shall serve ex-officio and without vote: The Executive Directors, or their designated representative as communicated to the President, of the Texas Commission on the Arts, Humanities Texas, and the Texas Historical Commission.
ARTICLE IV
Management and Governance
Section 1. Governance of the affairs of the Association shall be vested in a Council comprised of duly elected volunteers which shall be the Board of Trustees of the Association.
Section 2. The Council shall be composed of the following members of the Association. Officers of the Association, as defined in the By-Laws. Councilors-At-Large, as defined in the By-Laws. Certain ex-officio non-voting members as defined in the By-Laws.
Section 3. At each Annual and/or Business meeting, the Council shall report to the Association’s membership concerning past actions and future plans. This report is to be filed with the Secretary, as well as on the Association website and available on request.
Section 4. The day-to-day management of the Association shall be vested in the Executive Director and any Association staff or contractor(s) the Executive Director sees fit to support the Association, pending Council and/or budget oversite. Its duties shall be as defined in the By-Laws.
ARTICLE VI
Executive Committee
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, who shall serve as chair, Vice-President, Vice-President for Development, Vice-President for Special Projects, Vice-President of IDEA, Secretary, Treasurer, and immediate Past President.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Association between Council meetings. It shall make recommendations to the Council. All actions taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Council at the Council’s next scheduled meeting. By action of the Council in a duly constituted meeting with a quorum of Councilmembers present as defined in the TAM By-laws, Article IV, Section 8, any action of the Executive Committee may be nullified or reversed.
Section 3. The Executive Committee may be called into session at any time by the President.
Section 4. Five members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE VII
Nominations and Elections to Council
Section 1. The Nominating Committee, not to exceed five members, shall consist of the immediate Past-President as chair, at least one outgoing Councilmember not eligible for re-election, and representatives from the general membership of the Association. The general membership representatives shall be recommended by the Council at the first Council meeting following the Annual meeting. The Nominating Committee shall present the slate of candidates for Officers and Councilors-at-Large to the Council at the 3rd Quarter Council meeting, or no later than three months prior to the start date of the terms to be filled by nominees (e.g., if the nominees are standing for election for terms that begin on March 1, then the Nominating Committee shall report the slate no later than December 1 of the previous year).
Section 2. The Nominating Committee’s slate shall develop a slate of nominees for Officers and Councilors-at-Large which represents the diversity of its member institutions, disciplines, identities, and regions.
Section 3. The Nominating Committee shall provide four candidates for the four vacant Councilor-at-large positions to be voted on as a slate by TAM membership. Members in good standing will have the opportunity to vote in favor or against the slate as a whole.
Section 4. The Nominating Committee’s slate shall provide one candidate for each vacant Officer’s position.
Section 5. Election of Officers and Councilors-at-Large shall be by by digital ballot. Announcements of the Slate to be voted upon will be made no later than two months prior to the start date of the terms to be filled by nominees (e.g., if the nominees are standing for election for terms to begin on March 1, then the announcement of the Slate shall be made available no later than January 1 of the same year). Ballots and the portal for digital voting for the Slate will be sent to members and open for receiving votes no later than 30 days prior to March 1. The requirement to distribute ballots or make ballots available to membership may be met by (1) mailing printed ballots of (2) posting the ballots on the Association website and sending electronic notices to all known e-mail addresses in the Association membership records. Each individual member will have one vote; each institutional member will have one vote. The president shall appoint a Teller Commitee of no less than three individual members in good standing of the Association, none of whom is a candidate for election. The Teller Committee shall compute the results. The results shall be reported to the membership digitally through the TAM webiste, newsletters, and social media posts. New Officers and Councilors-at-Large shall take office on March 1.
ARTICLE VIII
Standing Committees
Section 1. There shall be the following standing committees of the Association: Nominating, Long Range Initiatives, Membership, Development, Annual Meeting Program, and IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility).
Section 2. The chair of each standing committee shall be voting members of the Council and shall be appointed to the chair by the President, except for the Officers of affinity, regional organizations, and those committees as defined in the TAM By-laws, Article III, Section 3, and Article VII, Sections 2, 3, and 4. The President shall charge each committee with its specific duties.
Section 3. The chair of each standing committee, excluding the Nominating Committee, may appoint as many members of the committee as desired, but in no event fewer than three. Committee members need not be members of the Council, but must be members in good standing of the Association, as defined in the TAM Constitution, Article III, Section 1.
Interested in joining TAM Council? Fill out the Nomination form linked below to nominate a prospective candidate or self-nominate. Thank you!