LASA News

Proposed Changes to the LASA Constitution and Bylaws

The Executive Council (EC) of LASA, at its most recent meeting, approved the following proposed changes in the Constitution and Bylaws of the Association to accomplish the following:

  • To consolidate representation of the LASA sections in the EC and establish a process for electing their representative.

“There is a representative of the sections at the Executive Council of the Association, with voice and vote in the EC, elected by universal vote of the LASA members. The representative must have fulfilled a leadership role in at least one section for at least one year in the last 3-5 years (and be a member of at least one section at the time of nomination). The nomination process will be the same as for other members of the EC. The Nominations Committee will consult with the Sections Chairs to identify candidates. The service period is 3 years, similar to other EC members”.

Objections can be directed to LASA Executive Director, LASA, 4338 Bigelow, Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, or lasa@lasaweb.org. The cutoff date for receipt of objections to the below proposed change is July 8th, 2025.

Constitution
Article V. Executive Council

Proposed Change to the Constitution
Article V. Executive Council
  1. The Executive Council shall administer the affairs of the Association, and for corporate purposes be considered as its Board of Directors.
    1. The Executive Council shall consist of: eleven voting members (the Immediate Past President, President, Vice President, Treasurer, a Graduate Student, and six elected members), and the following ex officio members with voice but no vote: the LASA Executive Director, the Editor of the Latin American Research Review, the current Congress Program Chair(s), the Editor(s) of the Latin American Research Commons (LARC) and the Strategic Plan Oversight Committee, and two section advisory representatives.
    2. The terms of the six elected members shall be for three years. Two shall be elected every year by electronic ballot as prescribed in the Bylaws.

Add clause “c” stating the following:
  1. The Executive Council shall administer the affairs of the Association, and for corporate purposes be considered as its Board of Directors.
    1. The Executive Council shall consist of: twelve voting members (the Immediate Past President, President, Vice President, Treasurer, a Graduate Student, one section representative and six elected members), and the following ex officio members with voice but no vote: the LASA Executive Director, the Editor of the Latin American Research Review, the current Congress Program Chair(s), the Editor(s) of the Latin American Research Commons (LARC), and the Strategic Plan Oversight Committee.
    2. The terms of the six elected members shall be for three years. Two shall be elected every year by electronic ballot as prescribed in the Bylaws.
    3. The term of the section representative shall be for three years. One section representative shall be elected by electronic ballot as prescribed in the Bylaws.

Bylaws
Article I. Nominations

Proposed Change to the Bylaws
Article I. Nominations

Add a “9” clause stating the following:
  1. The section representative shall be nominated according to the following procedure:
    1. The Nominations Committee will consult with the Sections Chairs to identify section representative candidates.
    2. The section representative must have fulfilled a leadership role in at least one LASA section for at least one year in the last 3-5 years and, be a member of at least one section at the time of nomination.
    3. The Nominating Committee shall nominate two candidates for one vacancy on the Executive Council for three-year terms.
    4. The Executive Director shall enter on an official ballot the names of the candidates proposed by the Nominations Committee together with the names of the candidates by petition.