a. The following annual awards have been approved by the Association:

1) Dissertation Award: For the best doctoral dissertation completed at a university within the regional groupings of the WPSA between July 1 and June 30 of the previous academic year.

2) Pi Sigma Alpha Award: For the best paper presented at the previous WPSA annual meeting.

3) Betty Nesvold Women and Politics Award: for the best paper on women and politics presented at the previous WPSA annual meeting.

4) WPSA Best Paper Award on Latina/Latino Politics: For an outstanding paper on Latina/Latino politics and its relative aspects.

5) Award by Committee on the Status of Blacks: For an outstanding paper discussing issues and problems that concern most Black Americans.

6) Political Research Quarterly Best Article Award: for the best article published in the Political Research Quarterly during the calendar year preceding the annual meeting at which the award is to be presented.

7) Charles Redd Center Award: for the best paper on the politics of the American West presented at the previous WPSA annual meeting.

b. The following guidelines are applicable to the awards given by the Association:

1) The committees to determine recipients of the Dissertation Award, the Charles Redd Center Award, and the Pi Sigma Alpha Award shall be comprised of three members each. The President of the Association shall appoint all three members of each committee by January 15. These committees will review papers delivered two months later at the March WPSA meetings, and the papers selected will be announced as the award winners at the WPSA meetings the following year in March. The award committees shall adopt procedures to assure a fair evaluation of submissions from all fields.

2) The award committees for the Betty Nesvold Women and Politics Award, the Latina/Latino Politics Award, and the Blacks and Politics Award shall be comprised of three members each. The President of the Association shall appoint the chair of each award committee and each relevant status committee shall select the other two members by January 15. These committees will review papers delivered two months later at the March WPSA meetings, and the papers selected will be announced as the award winners at the WPSA meetings the following year in March. Only one of the three members of each of these three award committees can also be a member of the relevant status committee. The chair of the status committee may not serve as a member of the award committee.

a) The Chair of each award committee shall be responsible for securing all papers eligible for the award.

3) The award committee for the Political Research Quarterly Best Paper Award shall be comprised of three members. The President of the Association shall appoint the chair of the committee, and the editors of the Political Research Quarterly shall select the other two members by January 15.

4) All WPSA awards carry a monetary prize, the exact sum of which shall be determined by the Executive Council. Currently the amounts for the Dissertation Award, the Pi Sigma Alpha Award, the Betty Nesvold Women and Politics Award, the Latina/Latino Politics Award, the Blacks and Politics Award, and the Charles Redd Center Award are $250 each. The amount for the Political Research Quarterly Best Article Award is $1000.

5) If desired by the author, all papers receiving WPSA awards shall be published in the Political Research Quarterly (PRQ). To be published in the PRQ the essay must:

a) Contain no material which has been previously published elsewhere;

b) Be submitted to the editor(s) of the PRQ within three months of the receipt of the award;

c) Meet normal publication standards of content and style as determined by the editor(s) of the PRQ. The editor(s) may send the manuscript for further external review.

6) The award committees may make only one award each year. However, this does not preclude statements of honorable mention.

7) In any year, an award committee may decline to make an award.

8) Winners of all awards shall be announced at the annual meeting of the WPSA.

9) Announcements concerning the availability of the awards and deadlines for submission are to be published in the September issue of the PRQ and included within the Fall mailing to all members and departments within the WPSA.

10) The Executive Council shall from time to time review the awards given by the Association and assess the need for deletions or additions.

a. The Council shall attempt to agree on sites two years in advance of each annual meeting.

b. Registration fees for those attending the annual meeting shall be separate from annual dues and the fee amount shall be determined by the Executive Director, President and the Program Chairperson.

c. The Local Arrangements Chairperson is responsible for serving as liaison to the annual meeting hotel, securing information regarding area resources, and assisting the Program Chair, the Executive Director and the Associate Director with a variety of administrative tasks to insure that the annual meeting runs smoothly for the members. He/she shall be responsible for scheduling all special events including the pre-meeting workshops and act as liaison with the hotel staff and workshop coordinators.

d. The Executive and Associate Directors are responsible for the budget, financial arrangements and accountings for the annual meeting; updating, maintaining and distributing procedural manual for building the program; training section chairs on the software for the program; compiling and maintaining the database for the building of the preliminary and final program both on the Web and in print; maintaining registration database and procedures; soliciting and contracting with various publishers to exhibit and advertise at the meeting; notifying members of their participation in the program, of meeting agendas and of hotel and other local arrangements (through mailings and web postings); providing program data to All Academic, Inc., to facilitate Web posting of meeting participants’ papers.

e. Decisions concerning whether to schedule formal luncheons and dinners, and selection of distinguished speakers for such events, shall be made jointly by the President, the Program Chairperson, and the Local Arrangements Chairperson.

a. The Vice President shall be Program Chairperson and shall be responsible for implementing the following guidelines:

1) The Call for Papers and other information regarding the next annual meeting shall be included in the Final Program for the current meeting. The Call for Papers is to be submitted by the Program Chair by February 1st. Also, formal notice shall be mailed to all WPSA members, APSA members of the West and political science departments by May 30. This mailing shall include names of section chairpersons.

2) Section chairpersons shall be members of the WPSA.

3) Proposals for panels should be submitted to section chairpersons for review via an online participation form by the second Friday in September. Section chairs may begin building their panels after the September deadline and shall keep to the schedule as listed in the Procedural Manual provided to them annually. The President, Program Chair and the Associate Director will establish these dates annually. Such dates shall take into consideration the following:

• posting of the preliminary program in mid-November;
• making all AV requests by mid-November;
• scheduling panels in early December;
• posting days and times of panels by mid-December; and
• providing All Academic with the WPSA program by January 5.

4) By mid-January the Executive Director shall notify WPSA members of the Website availability of the preliminary program. Participants will be informed via e-mail when the program is posted.

5) In no case shall a panel be closed before the deadline for submission.

6) Proposals to present papers must be submitted on the WEB and e-mails are required of all participants. They should be brief, yet contain enough information so that the section and panel chairpersons can make an adequate review.

7) The Program Chairperson and section chairpersons shall attempt to secure substantial representation in the annual program of members of the WPSA, and residents and institutions of the WPSA region.

b. Program participants shall be required to register in order to participate in the program and to pre-register in order to have their names appear in the final printed program.

c. The program of the WPSA shall involve no continuing commitment to any organization, group, or committee other than the membership of the WPSA. However, organizations, groups, and committees may be invited by the Program Chairperson in consultation with the President to have concurrent meetings that are not part of the regular panel program.

d. No person shall present papers to more than one panel nor, under normal circumstances, participate as a paper presenter and/or panel chair or discussant in more than two panels; however, this shall not prevent anyone from also participating in the official business of the meeting.

e. Each individual giving a paper at an annual meeting will be expected to submit timely electronic copy for web posting as per instructions to program participants.

a. At each annual meeting the outgoing President shall submit a full year summary of the actions of the Executive Council.

b. The Treasurer shall, in consultation with the Executive Director, submit a full financial statement to the membership, through the Executive Council, at each annual meeting.

a. No committee or other agency of the WPSA may solicit funds from outside persons or organizations without the express consent of the Executive Council.

b. Upon request of committee chairpersons, the President is authorized to allocate funds for their use up to a limit for all committees established in the approved budget.

c. Within the limits of funds available, it is the policy of WPSA to reimburse the President, the Vice President, and the Executive Director, and the Associate Director for travel and expenses incurred in attending site visits and the annual meeting. When funds are limited, the Executive Director should have highest priority.

d. In addition, it is WPSA policy, when necessary, to provide the President, Vice President, and the Local Arrangements Chairperson for the next annual meeting reimbursement for travel, but not other expenses, to assist them in attending the meeting of the Executive Council at the annual meeting of the APSA. The Executive Director and Associate Director shall be reimbursed for both travel and expenses to attend APSA.

e. Investment Policy. The objective of the WPSA Investment Policy is to provide guidelines for the management of the Western Political Science Association's financial assets. There shall be three funds: Operating, Reserve, and Endowment. The Operating Fund is to be a fund for recurring administrative and program expenditures. Fund allocation should equal WPSA annual budget plus 5%. Fund should be liquid i.e. cash, money market accounts, or short term certificates of deposit. The Reserve Fund is to be a fund to insure continued Association operations in the event of financial contingencies such as a significant loss of convention and/or membership revenue, and to enable the Association membership/ subscription dues to be kept relatively low (as compared to other
academic associations) to promote the broadest possible membership. The fund consists of the financial assets less the Operating Fund and the Endowment. The investment strategy should be designed to preserve the principal and net an annual return consistent with principal preservation. The choice of investment instruments is left to the Executive Director to be made in consultation with the President, Treasurer, and Investment Policy Committee in accordance with the financial objective set by the Executive Council. If expert advice is deemed necessary, the aforementioned officials may retain an investment manager. The Endowment Fund is to be a fund composed of the monies that are given to the Association for designated purposes such as awards or special activities. The investment strategy
will be the same as for the Reserve Fund.

6. Record Retention

7. Political Research Quarterly:

a. The Association supports the participation of women, Blacks, Latinos/as, and other minorities in all phases of Association activities. These include:

1) Membership on the Editorial Policy Board of the Political Research Quarterly;

2) Participation on panels at the annual meeting;

3) Participation as officers and on committees of the Association.

b. In addition, the WPSA recommends that political science departments take affirmative action to increase the number of women, Blacks, Latinas/Latinos, and other minorities in each academic rank in which women, Blacks, Chicanos, and other minorities are under-represented relative to the proportion of scholars in those labor pools.

c. The WPSA recommends that to assure an adequate representation of women, Blacks, Latinas/Latinas, and other minorities in academic positions, political science departments take affirmation action to increase the number of women, Blacks, Latinas/Latinos, and other minority graduate students by admitting qualified persons in proportions at least equal to the proportion of those groups among those who applied; e.g., if half of the applicants are women, then half of those admitted should be women.

d. The WPSA is prepared to sponsor surveys of the participation of women, Blacks, Latinas/Latinos, and other minority groups among political scientists and graduate students in the West. On the basis of the data from the census conducted by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession, the Executive Council shall distribute to the membership and other interested parties information about departmental responses to the affirmative action resolutions on women as adopted by the Association.

a. The Committee on Nominations normally will include at least one member of the WPSA Executive Council, serving ex-officio on the committee, as a liaison. Any other committees desiring such a liaison may request one. The WPSA President will appoint any such liaisons.

b. The terms of committee members will be renewable with the mutual consent of the members and the appointing authority.