CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS 
For 
Metropolitan Business School Affinity Group 
Adopted April 7, 2002

CONSTITUTION

I. Name

The name of the organization shall be the Metropolitan Business School Affinity Group. 

II. Mission

The Metropolitan Business Schools Affinity Group brings together business schools that share the mission of striving for national excellence while contributing to the economic development of the metropolitan centers they serve.

Group members work together to enhance their effectiveness as deans by 

 1.  Facilitating the efficient and relevant exchange of information and ideas concerning management education among deans of business schools with a metropolitan mission; 

2.      Identifying key industry trends and practices as they emerge;

3.      Expediting the sharing of related information with AACSB International leadership, and the broader membership, as appropriate; 

 4.  Assisting in the creation of a professional and personal support network for deans of metro mission business schools; and 

 5.  Establishing more effective channels of communication between AACSB International and deans of metropolitan mission business schools.

III. Membership 

The membership shall be comprised of AACSB International member institutions located in or near the urban center of a metropolitan area with a population of at least 250,000. Institutions may be public or private. Each member’s mission must include teaching, research, and professional service. Each member must offer graduate and/or undergraduate programs. The programs must be strongly practice-oriented and make extensive use of business sites in a metropolitan area. The majority of students must come from the immediate metropolitan region, and a significant percentage of students must be place-based employees and commuters. The member institution’s program must respond to regional needs while striving for national excellence.

IV. Voting 

Each member shall have one vote to be cast by a designated representative of the institution/organization on each matter coming before the Group.

V. Dues 

The annual membership dues will be recommended to the Membership by the Executive Committee and adopted by the Membership.

VI. Meetings 

The Group shall hold an Annual Meeting at a date and place determined by the Executive Committee; the Executive Committee may call additional special meetings.     

VII. Executive Committee 

The governing body of the Group shall be the Executive Committee.  This Committee shall be composed of the Convening Dean, Dean for Programs, Dean for Member Services, and Immediate Past Convening Dean.

VIII. Officers 

The Officers of the Group shall be a Convening Dean, Dean for Programs, and a Dean for Member Services.

IX. Steering Committee 

Steering Committee members consisting of the Executive Committee and Deans from five member institutions shall be elected to staggered, three year terms of office with at least one term expiring each year.

X.  Elections 

Officers and Directors shall be elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting and shall take office at the conclusion of the annual business meeting.  Whenever an Officer or Director position becomes vacant, the Executive Committee shall fill the same by temporary appointment pending the election of a permanent successor at the next Annual Meeting.

XI. Amendments

This Constitution may be changed at any regular or special meeting.  No change shall be effective unless approved by two-thirds of the members in attendance and voting.  No motion for an Amendment shall be considered unless a copy of such proposed Amendment has been filed with the Convening Dean at least forty days before the meeting and a copy thereof sent forthwith by the Convening Dean to each Member.

BYLAWS 
Metropolitan Business Schools Affinity Group 

I.  Officers

A.  As provided in the Constitution, the Officers of the Group are:  Convening Dean, Dean for Programs, and Dean for Member Services.  These Officers shall be elected by the Membership at the Annual Meeting of the Group.

B.  The duties of the Convening Dean shall be as follows:

      1.  Preside at the Annual Meeting of the Group and Chair the Executive Committee;

      2.  Act as Chief Executive Officer of the Group and carry out the policies of the Executive Committee;

      3.  Represent or appoint others to represent the Group at all functions to which the Group may be invited and in which it may desire to participate; and,

      4. Perform such other duties as customarily pertain to the Office of the Convening Dean.

C.  The duties of the Dean for Programs shall be as follows:

      1.  Serve as an aid to the Convening Dean.

      2.  In the temporary or permanent absence of the Convening Dean, for any cause, assume and perform the duties of the Convening Dean.

      3.  Arrange the program for the Annual Meeting of the Group; and,

      4.  Fulfill such other duties as shall be specified by the Executive Committee.

D.  The duties of the Dean for Member Services shall be as follows:

      1.  Maintain the membership roster;

      2.  Maintain the web site for the Group;

      3.  Publish an annual Membership Directory on the web site;

      4.  Provide email addresses as needed for conducting Group business and to other parties as approved by the Executive Committee; and,

      5.  Fulfill such other duties as shall be specified by the Executive Committee.

II. Nominations

Nominations of candidates for the Officer and Director positions shall be made by a Nominating

Committee comprised of the Convening Dean and the latest two Immediate Past Convening Deans.   The Immediate Past Convening Dean shall chair the Committee.  The Chair will make a report of the Nominating Committee to the Membership at the Annual Meeting.  Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the Annual Meeting. If an immediate past convening deans is no longer a dean, the Executive Committee shall fill the vacancy by temporary appointment. 

III. Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall conduct the business of the Group in the interim between Annual Meetings and shall execute the policies of the Group as set forth in the Constitution and Bylaws and the decisions made by the Membership at the Annual Meeting.

The Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the Convening Dean; and four members shall constitute a quorum.

IV. Membership

Applications for Membership from qualified academic institutions shall be accepted by the Dean for Member Services.

V.  Voting

The vote of each Member shall be cast by the administrative head of the college, school, or department of business administration, or the Member's designated representative.

VI. Attendance at Meetings

It shall be the policy of the Group to encourage the widest possible attendance at the meetings of the Group by both member and non-member institutions and others concerned with the objectives of the Group.

VII. Amendments

These Bylaws may be amended at any regular or special meeting.  No change shall be effective unless approved by two-thirds of the Members in attendance and voting.  No motion for an Amendment shall be considered unless a copy of such proposed Amendment has been filed with the Convening Dean at least forty days before the meeting and a copy thereof sent forthwith by the Convening Dean to each Member.