General Description:

An international association of philosophers, classicists, cultural historians and other scholars interested in investigating the historical significance and contemporary relevance of Neoplatonic thought.

Aim:

To promote interest in the study of Neoplatonism.

Activities:

•  The conducting of annual meetings of members in various parts of the world. The convening of international conferences on Neoplatonism.
• The maintenance of an international study center.
• The circulation of annual or semi-annual newsletters. The raising of funds.
• The publication of a journal.
• The publication of books, monographs, and periodicals.

Organizational Structure:

GENERAL OFFICERS. The officers of the society shall consist of (1) an Honorary President, (2) a President, (3) a Vice-President, (4) a General Secretary, and (5) a Treasurer.

HONORARY PRESIDENT. The duties of the Honorary President shall be to serve as an advisor to and consultant for any of the other officers of the society on all matters concerning the aims and work of the society.

PRESIDENT. The duties of the President shall be to provide leadership in planning and overseeing all the activities of the society, and especially in the planning of the international meetings of the society, and to preside at all official functions of the society. VICE-PRESIDENT. The duties of the Vice-President shall be to assist the President in directing the activities of the society, as requested and to preside at official functions of the society when the President may not be able to be present. The Vice-President will succeed to the office of President in case the President should not be able to complete his or her elected term.

GENERAL-SECRETARY. The duties of the General-Secretary shall be to serve as the chief executive officer of the society, to maintain the general office of the society, to promote its various activities, and to handle all matters relating to membership in the society. TREASURER. The duties of the Treasurer shall be to receive and handle all money the society may receive from any source, to keep an adequate record open for auditing, and to dispense the funds of the society as directed by the General-Secretary.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The society shall also have a Board of Directors consisting of the Presidents of the various national, multi-national or linguistic sections and one member for each additional twenty-five members of a section, elected by members of that section. The President, Vice-President, and General-Secretary will be members of the Board of Directors. The President shall serve as its Chairman and the General-Secretary shall serve as its secretary. The duties of the Board of Directors shall be to nominate all candidates for the general offices of the society as they may be needed, to approve the time and location of the international congresses of the society, and to act on all matters involving the legal commitments of the society. The official language for the activities of the Board will be English.

ADVISORS. The society shall also have Advisors consisting of notable Neoplatonic scholars, nominated by the President and selected by the Board of Directors. Once appointed, an Advisor shall serve for life. The duties of the Advisors shall be to offer suggestions at their own initiative to the general officers of the society concerning the activities of the society and to serve as consultants on special issues and areas of Neoplatonism when their knowledge is requested.

NATIONAL, MULTI-NATIONAL, or LINGUISTIC SECTIONS. The society shall also have organizational units call "Sections," organized on a national, multi-national or linguistic basis, whenever a sufficient number of members in a region desire to form their own section. Each section, however, must have and maintain a minimum of twenty five members in order to be a section. Each section shall have its own President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer, elected by the members of that section. The application for the affiliation of a new section with the society must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the member of the Board of Directors. The duties of the President of each section will be to plan and direct the meetings and other scholarly activities of the section and to coordinate the work of the section with the international activities of the society. The duties of the Vice-President of a section will be to assist the President of the section in the work of the section and to assume the office of President should the President not be able to complete his or her elected term.

The duties of the Secretary-Treasurer of each section shall be to maintain the general office of that section to handle all matters pertaining to membership and finance for that section, and to keep in communication with the General-Secretary of the society on all activities of the society, and especially on matters pertaining to membership and finance.

Election of Officers:

GENERAL OFFICERS: The election of all general officers of the society shall be by the vote of members in good standing in all sections from two nominees for each office presented by the Board of Directors. A member shall be listed as not in good standing if he or she is two years in arrears in payment of the dues of that section. Elections for general officers will be conducted by the General-Secretary.

OFFICERS OF SECTIONS: The election of officers within the various sections will be by vote of the members in good standing in that section and shall be conducted by the Secretary Treasurer of the section.

Terms of Office:

All officers of the society, including all officers of all sections, shall be elected to five years terms and may be re-elected to serve one more five year term.

Membership:

In all countries, membership in the society is open to college and university professors, graduate students, and other scholars engaged in the study of Neoplatonism. Membership in the society shall be by membership in one of its sections. The qualifications for membership may vary from section to section, but generally a candidate should show some evidence of scholarly standing, either through position or degree, or evidence of having completed some meritorious research involving studies in Neoplatonism. Only members of the society (any section) will be permitted to present a paper at any of the meetings of the society, but an exception to this rule may be granted by the President of any section.

Dues for membership in a section shall be determined by the officers of the section and shall be paid on an annual basis. No less than one-fifth of the dues for each section shall be sent annually by the Treasurer of each section to the Treasurer of the Society for the use of the General-Secretary in the promotion of the work of the society. Sections more than three years in arrears in payment of one-fifth of their dues to the society will lose their affiliation with the society.

Charter:

The society shall be chartered as a United States public tax free non-profit institution under sections 501(c)3; 509(a)(1); and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

Distribution of Assets upon Dissolution of the Association:

In the event that this association is dissolved, its assets will revert to the first institution which served as its sponsor for at least three years, namely, the Department of Philosophy of Old Dominion University, such institution being a 501(c)3 organization. However, if the named recipient is no longer in existence or is no longer a qualified distributor or is unwilling or unable to accept this function, the assets shall then be distributed to a fund, foundation, or corporation organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes, who will use these assets in some manner to promote the study of Late Hellenistic and Roman philosophy.

No part of the net earnings of the society shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, its members, directors, officers, or other private persons, except that the society shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth under "Aim" above. No substantial part of the activities of the activities of the society shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the society shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the society shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on (a) by a corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law) or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Law.

Sponsorship:

The Society shall be sponsored by one or more colleges or universities who provide financial assistance to it in some form. The approval of sponsorship by a department or division of a college or university will be by a two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors, and may be changed by the two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors.