Constitution & By-Laws

The purpose of the College Communicators Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia (CCA) is to advance the cause of higher education in the Commonwealth and in the nation’s capital through an exchange of ideas among its members and through its programs and to provide professional development opportunities for its members.

ARTICLE I NAME AND OBJECTIVES

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be “The College Communicators Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia” (CCA).

Section 2. The objectives of this organization shall be:

TO advance the cause of higher education in Virginia and the District of Columbia;

TO promote the objectives of the colleges and universities its members represent by helping them to develop strong news, information, publications, communications, and media relations programs;

TO provide members with a forum for the exchange of ideas, methods, information and up-to-date developments in college and university communications;

TO provide a corps of professionally competent specialists in such areas as public relations, news and information, communications, publications, and media relations as resource people and speakers on the local, state and national levels.

ARTICLE II MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Membership in the Association shall be open to persons employed by any college or university in the Commonwealth of Virginia or the District of Columbia who work in the areas of news and information, publications, communications and media relations. The board may approve associate, non-voting members at its discretion.

Section 2. Only members in the Association are eligible to vote and hold office.

ARTICLE III THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. The governing body of the Association shall be the board of directors.

Section 2. The board of directors shall consist of the officers—a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer-membership secretary—seven directors-at-large and the immediate past president.

Section 3. All candidates must meet the requirements for membership as specified in Article II.

Section 4. The duties of the officers and directors shall be prescribed in the by-laws.

Section 5. Members of the board of directors shall be elected in the manner prescribed in the by-laws and shall serve one-year terms.

Section 6. The president, vice president and secretary may not serve more than two consecutive full terms in those offices. The treasurer-membership secretary may serve an unlimited number of terms. All other members of the board may not serve more than four consecutive full terms.

ARTICLE IV VACANCIES

Section 1. When a vacancy occurs in the office of president, the vice president shall become president for the remainder of the term.

Section 2. A vacancy in any other office or board position shall be filled by appointment of the president subject to approval of the board of directors. The appointment shall be for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE V AMENDMENTS

Section 1. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those members in attendance at the next meeting after written notice has been given of the proposed amendment(s).

This constitution was adopted by a vote of the membership on January 11, 1990.
Revised January 14, 1994
Revised October 18, 1999

CCA By-laws

ARTICLE I DUTIES OF OFFICERS AND OTHER DIRECTORS

Section 1. The President. The president shall preside at all meetings and shall be chief executive officer of the Association. The president shall have general supervision over the development of the Association’s entire program, shall make all committee appointments not already set forth in the by-laws, and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 2. The Vice President. The vice president shall perform the duties of the president in his/her absence. The vice president shall have chief responsibilities for preparation of a newsletter for the membership.

Section 3. The Secretary. The secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings, conduct correspondence at the direction of the president and keep an up-to-date record of any business of the Association.

Section 4. The Treasurer-Membership Secretary. The treasurer-membership secretary shall maintain a membership roster for the organization and be in charge of the publication of a membership directory. The treasurer-membership secretary shall also be custodian of all Association funds and shall keep a record of the receipts and expenditures of the Association. Funds received by the treasurer-membership secretary shall be deposited in a bank to the account(s) of the Association.

Section 5. Directors-At-Large. The directors shall serve as designated by the president on various standing committees. Other duties shall be assigned to them by the president.

ARTICLE II MEETINGS

Section 1. General Membership Meetings. The Association shall meet at least two times a year.

Section 2. Board of Directors Meetings. Board meetings will be held in conjunction with all General Membership meetings and at other times as called by the president. The board shall meet at least two times a year.

ARTICLE III ELECTIONS

Section 1. A nominating committee of no fewer than three members shall be appointed by the president. The nominating committee shall present a slate of candidates to the membership prior to the Association’s summer/fall meeting. Additional nominations shall be accepted from the floor during that meeting.

Section 2. In a contested election, a majority vote by secret ballot of the membership present at that meeting shall be necessary for election of officers.

Section 3. Officers will assume their responsibilities at the conclusion of the summer/fall meeting in which the election is held.

Section 4. The board may request, at a vote of the membership, the extension of a board member's term of service when matters outside of the control of the board (ie, a global pandemic) cause two or more consecutive conferences to be cancelled.

ARTICLE IV DUES

Section 1. Membership. Individual membership dues may be set by the board.

ARTICLE V AMENDMENTS

Section 1. These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those members in attendance at the next meeting after written notice of the proposed amendment(s).

These by-laws were adopted by a vote of the membership on January 11, 1990.
Revised January 14, 1994
Revised October 18, 1999
Revised October 22, 2004
Revised November 10, 2006
Revised January 21, 2022