Chapter 2: The Board of Governors of MAA
The governance of MAA originally was the responsibility of The Executive Council, a precursor of the Board of Trustees. Four members of the Council were elected annually for a term of three years. The Council consisted of twelve members, together with the officers of the MAA. (These were apparently elected by the general membership.) When the MAA was incorporated in 1920 under the statutes of the State of Illinois, the affairs of the Association were placed in the hands of a Board of Trustees, originally consisting of H. E. Slaught, E. R. Hedrick, and W. D. Cairns. The Board was soon expanded to 19 members, including the officers of MAA. In December of 1939, the Board of Trustees was replaced by the Board of Governors. Regions of MAA were established and Regional Governors were elected by their constituencies. In 1945, action was taken by the Board of Governors to do away with the Regions and to provide for the election of a Governor from each Section of the Association. It was also suggested that since there were no Sections in New England or in eastern Canada, special arrangements might be made to have Governors elected from these areas. This may explain why and how the Upper New York State Section came to include Canadian MAA members who reside in Quebec and Eastern Ontario.
See the separate list of people who have represented the Seaway Section on the Board of Governors of the MAA during its history. (There was no Governor from 1940 to 1949.)