Class Governance

While the governance of each class is determined by that class and by any by-laws established by the class officers & class council, the AYA's has some general guidelines on the duties of the officers as suggested "best practices."

Secretary & Treasurer share responsibility for the following:

• primary responsibility for all class activities & communications;
• engaging classmate volunteers in service to the class and the University including
• recruitment of classmates to plan various class activities between reunions;
• participating in strategic planning for the class with the Association of Yale Alumni serving as liaisons between the class and the University;
• organization of a Class Council and/or executive committee;
• attending Fall AYA Assembly in New Haven on the weekend of the last home football game (Harvard or Princeton)

Secretary primary responsibility:

• appointing reunion chairs and assisting chairs in planning reunion;
• writing Class notes six times a year for the Yale Alumni Magazine or appointing a corresponding secretary;

Treasurer primary responsibility:

• management of the class treasury;
• soliciting annual dues from classmates (usually two solicitation letters per year) and thanking classmates for dues contributions by way of monthly postcards;
• approving class financial transactions, including volunteer reimbursements, or in some cases both officers for larger amounts (such as subsidies for 5-year reunions)

What is the role of the class council?

We strongly encourage each class to form a class council or executive committee to share the work of the class and to provide decision-making input to the class officers. The organization of such a body is up to the individual class; some are set up with distinct terms of office and members are elected. Others are more informal and any classmate who is interested may serve. And there are other options in between! Councils may meet "in person", by conference call, by email, or some combination. Your AYA staff liaison can work with you on finding an approach that works for your class.

Does my class have a constitution?

As recognized 501(c)3 organizations under the University tax exempt umbrella, every class has a class constitution; the basic template was set up to meet the IRS criteria for tax-deductibility (see Class Finances, below). Because the basic constitution is fairly general, classes may find it useful to have by-laws to govern the details of how the class will operate. Contact your AYA staff liaison to get a copy of your class's constitution and by-laws (if applicable) and to discuss this in more detail.