Revision as of 13:33, 7 September 2014

Many organizations grant honors, and The Augustan Society, Inc., is no exception. Since 1966 most of these have been Fellowships. This article reviews the system of Fellowships and how the Society grants them.

Fellowship in the Society is not a membership organization, yet Fellows have much in common, and a Dean organizes social and educational activities involving Fellows.

Classes of Fellowship

While originally there was only one rank of Fellow, time and need have caused that number to grow to nine. These are, in order of descending rank:

   Fellowship, summa cum laude
   Fellowship, insigne cum laude
   Fellowship, magna cum laude
   Fellowship, cum laude (no longer granted, to be abolished when no more holders exist)
   Fellowship, first class

   Fellowship, second class
   Fellowship, third class
   Fellowship, fourth class
   Fellowship, fifth class

These ranks are divided into the senior and junior ranks. Armigerous Fellows holding first class and higher are eligible for appointment to membership in the Order of the Augustan Eagle (OAE). Fellows may use the postnominals FAS unless they are also a member of the OAE.

Members are elected to Fellowship and promoted as their contributions warrant. There is no schedule for such awards, and may happen at any time. A formal presentation of Fellowship will be made at the following annual convention if the Fellow attends.

Insignia

The insignia of Fellowship is today an oval lapel pin bearing the Augustan eagle. The tincture of the field indicates rank. The old Fellows pin, an outline of an eagle, will continue to be available while supplies last, and may be preferred by those who do not wish to display their rank.

Informally, the pin of the most senior rank held may be worn on the lapel. Formally, the pin of the most senior rank held may be worn on the ribbon of the membership medal.

The Fellows' pins are:

• 

  Fellowship, summa cum laude

• 

  Fellowship, insigne cum laude

• 

  Fellowship, magna cum laude

• 

  Fellowship, first class

• 

  Fellowship, second class

• 

  Fellowship, third class

• 

  Fellowship, fourth class

• 

  Fellowship, fifth class

• 

  Fellows pin

• 

  Fellowship, honoris causa

Qualifications for Fellowships

Fellowship is available to all Society members in good standing, and to select non-members who have made substantial contributions in four equally important areas:

• Volunteer time, which generally means service on a Board, Council, or Committee;
• Articles, reviews, and letters published in the Society's journal;
• Financial contributions, including the direct donations and donations in kind, such as books or expenses; and
• Recruitment of new members.

The Society considers these cumulative contributions, tracked back to 2007 (as far as reliable records are available) to established standards and determines to whom shall be granted Fellowship or promotions in rank. No petition is required to qualify. Fellowships are a gift from a grateful Society rather than a contest or a prize to be pursued

The minimum qualification for Fellowship is set at such a level that not more than half the members are expected to hold Fellowships at any time. This is not unreasonable, as one would naturally expect a Fellow to be "above average".

Calculations for Fellowship and Promotions

Consuls will track each member’s contributions as measured by the point values established, and will recommend election or promotion to the Board at each regular meeting for those members. Only members in good standing may be elected or promoted.

Point values

Points are established and adjusted by the Board as seems necessary. Care should be taken that the points awarded in each category are not too many or too few. Consuls suggest small incremental adjustments whenever one category represents more than half the total points, but consideration should be given to the potential for fraud. Present values are:

Points required for each rank

The Board will establish the number of points for Fellowship 5th class and a multiplier for successive ranks. The number of points for FAS/5 should be set high enough that not more than half the members qualify for Fellowship. The present values are:

• 1100 points for FAS/5
• 2.0 is the factor between ranks.

These two values create the following minimum point values for nomination for election or promotion:

• FAS fifth class — 1100 points
• FAS fourth class — 2200 points
• FAS third class — 4400 points
• FAS second class — 8800 points
• FAS first class — 17,600 points
• FAS magna cum laude — 35,200 points
• FAS insigne cum laude — 70,400 points
• FAS summa cum laude — 140,800 points

Note: To date, no member has earned more than approximately 60,000 points, thus FAS/icl is unlikely to be awarded soon and FAS/scl is unlikely to ever be awarded. Only six members presently qualify for FAS/1, which suggests that the pool of senior Fellows (and thus candidates for the Order of the Augustan Eagle will be stagnant for some time.

Election and Promotion of Fellows

Consuls will review the point scorse each month as part of their preparation of the Board Agenda. Those members in good standing who have received sufficient points for election or promotion will be added to the Agenda, along with a brief description of the nature of their contributions.

Normally, these nominations will be placed in the Consent Calendar, as they are unlikely to be controversial.

After election, Consuls will send a letter of congratulations and a Certificate of Fellowship signed (electronicaly) by the President and Secretary, and bearing the Seal of the Corporation. Both will indicate the rank held and an invitation to receive the insignia at the following Annual Convention. Otherwise they will be eligible to purchase the insignia.

Should the honoree be unable to attend the Annual Convention in the calendar year of the award, the presentation may be delayed until the following year.

Honorary Fellowships

An honorary Fellowship, Fellowship honoris causa, may be granted to those who are not members of the Society. Such an awardee may use the postnomial FAS, and to wear Honorary Fellow's lapel pin shown below.

Activities

Fellows and their guests are invited to attend the Fellows Dinner during the Society's Annual Convention, as well as other occasional activities.

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