Constitution of the University of Nebraska Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Created August 19, 2009

Transcription

1 Constitution of the University of Nebraska Student Chapter of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Created August 19, 2009 Article I. Name The name of this organization shall be the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute University of Nebraska-Lincoln Student Chapter here after referred to as the EERI UNL Student Chapter. Article II. Purpose The purpose of the EERI UNL Student Chapter shall be the dissemination of the theory and practice of all phases of earthquake engineering and other related fields as well as the enhancement of the professional development of the students involved. Article III. Membership Eligibility A. All currently enrolled students of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska-Lincoln students who pay University Program and Facilities fees at UNO are eligible for membership. B. University of Nebraska staff, faculty, and alumni are eligible for Associate Membership. C. Regular Membership is automatically extended to include UNL student members of the EERI national organization. Method of Selecting Members. Membership is official when an eligible student or faculty has completed and submitted a membership application to an EERI UNL Student Chapter officer. All Regular Member applications must be submitted with membership fee paid in full. Types of Membership A. The membership of this Chapter shall consist of three classes: Regular Members, Associate Members, and Advisors B. Regular Members are students who have filled out a membership application and paid all membership fees. They may vote and run for office. C. Associate Members are faculty, staff, or alumni that actively participate in organizational functions but may not vote or run for office. D. The Advisors are non-student members of the organization, with all rights and privileges therein, except for the right to vote or hold office. This statement ensures that the advisor is covered under the University of Nebraska-Lincoln s general liability policy when the advisor is participating in student organization events. Page 1 of 6

2 Section 4. Methods of Membership Revocation. Upon request of four or more Regular Members, any member may be expelled by a 2/3 affirmative vote of Regular Members present at a meeting. The member to be expelled must be notified two weeks in advance of this vote and may have the opportunity to defend him or herself during the meeting of revocation. Section 5. Anti-discrimination Clause The University of Nebraska at Omaha declares and affirms a policy of equal education and employment opportunities, affirmative action in employment, and nondiscrimination in providing services to the public. Therefore, the University of Nebraska at Omaha shall not discriminate against anyone based upon race, color, sex, sexual orientation (includes other characteristics, see Board of Regents policy for employees and Board of Regents policy for students), age, religion, disability, national or ethnic origin, marital status, or Vietnam-era veteran status. Article IV. Officers The officers of the EERI UNL Student Chapter shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. These four officers constitute the Board of Directors of the Chapter. A faculty member will serve as the Faculty Advisor to the student chapter. Elections A. Nomination Procedures i. Nominations for officer positions will be accepted at the meeting prior to the last meeting of the school year. The election of the officers will thus take place in the month of April of each year. ii. The first elected Board of Directors shall begin working on finalizing the Constitution, complying with the requirements of the EERI, and will form and appoint publicity, membership, funding, technical, and social committees immediately after the election in September B. Qualifications of Officers In order to be eligible for election to office, a candidate must be a Regular Member of the EERI UNL Student Chapter. C. Election Procedures i. For election to office, the candidate must receive a majority of the votes. If no candidate receives the required number on the first ballot, the candidate with the lowest number of votes shall be dropped from the list and a new ballot taken; this procedure being repeated until one candidate receives a majority. ii. iii. Each candidate can run for only one officer position. A regular member can vote on only one candidate for each officer position, or may choose not to vote on any of the candidates at all for an officer position. Only Regular Members are authorized to vote. Page 2 of 6

3 D. Term of Office i. The term of office shall be one academic year starting and ending on the first day of each fall semester. The same member cannot be elected more than two terms of office for the President position. Duties of Officers A. President - shall preside at all meetings of the EERI UNL Student Chapter. He/She shall appoint all committees. The President shall designate the time and place for all meetings of the EERI UNL Student Chapter. He/She shall represent the EERI UNL Student Chapter at any EERI Student Leadership Council meeting. He/She shall be the chairperson of the technical committee and the funding committee. The president is also in charge of creating additional officer positions, committees and allocation of responsibilities to maintain the organization. B. Vice-President - shall perform all functions/duties and exercise the powers of the President in his/her absence or disability, or at his/her request. He/She shall perform other duties approved by the Board of Directors. He/She shall be the chairperson of the social activities committee. C. Treasurer - keeps accounts, deposits the Student Chapter s funds, and makes expenditures in a manner approved by the Business Office for Student Organizations. He/She shall prepare and send the required reports of chapter finances to the EERI National Office. He/She shall be the chairperson of the membership committee. D. Secretary - shall prepare minutes for all meetings, keep an accurate record of the membership of the chapter, and be responsible for the preparation of the annual report to the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. The secretary shall keep a record of all activities of the student branch. He/She shall prepare and send the required reports of all the chapter activities to EERI Office and shall be responsible for all chapter correspondence. He/She shall be the chairperson of the publicity committee. E. Secretary - shall submit a list of the student chapter officers and faculty advisor to the following: EERI National Office, Dean of the School of Engineering, Head of the Department of the current faculty Advisor, and Office of the Dean of Students. F. Board of Directors - shall prepare a complete annual report in duplicate. This report shall describe all the official activities of the chapter and officers. It will be written in part by each officer pertaining to their specific duties and accomplishments. The president is in charge of formatting and editing the final draft. This report shall be read to the student chapter before the time of elections. The secretary shall forward one copy of the report to the EERI National Office, and the second shall be placed in the EERI UNL Student Chapter file. Procedure to Fill Vacancies A. The President shall appoint willing Regular Members to fill any vacant positions in the Board of Directors. Section 4. Impeachment Procedures A. Upon request of four or more Regular Members, any officer may be impeached by a 2/3 affirmative vote of Regular Members present at a meeting. The member to be impeached must be notified two weeks in advance of this vote. The vacancy will be filled according to Article IV Section 3 A. Page 3 of 6

4 Article V. Organizational Structure The Board of Directors shall have the power to transact all business it deems necessary for the benefit of the organization. (See Article IV Section 2 of this constitution for specific officer duties) Committees A. There shall be the following committees: Publicity Committee, Social Activities Committee, Membership Committee, Funding Committee, and Technical Committee. B. Each committee shall consist of a Committee Chairperson and the members appointed by the Chairperson. All Committee Chairpersons and Members shall serve one term. C. The Publicity Committee shall be responsible for giving each activity the proper advertisement. D. The Social Activities Committee shall be responsible for organizing social events. E. The Membership Committee shall bring the advantages of membership to EERI to the attention of all interested candidates. F. The Funding Committee shall be responsible for acquiring additional funding for activities and projects. G. The Technical Committee will be responsible for acquiring information and advances in Earthquake Engineering at University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and give them to the members. H. In the case that not enough members exist to maintain a committee separately, the responsibilities of that committee shall be distributed amongst the officers. Article VI. Section 4. Article VII. Advisors The Advisors must be members of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and full-time faculty members at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There must be at least one Advisor, multiple Advisors is optional. The Advisors shall oversee all activities of the Chapter, hold meetings with the officers as necessary to discuss the progress of the Chapter, approve all financial transactions of the Chapter, and serve as university representatives in official activities of the Chapter. Faculty Advisors must be designated for the EERI UNL Student Chapter by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Faculty Advisors shall be designated for a two-year term commencing on the first day of the academic year. A vacancy shall be filled by interim appointment for the unexpired term by the Board of Directors. Meetings and Procedures Meetings A. At least two regular meetings shall be held during Fall Semester of the school year and are mandatory by all Regular Members. During Spring Semester of the school year, there should be at least two regular meetings and there will be another meeting for the election in March of each year. B. The President may call special meetings, as he/she deems necessary. Page 4 of 6

5 C. Meeting announcements will be posted in designated areas where posting is permitted and announced via . D. Meetings may be held with visitors present, except in the case of expulsion. Policy for Absences All members of the EERI UNL Student Chapter must be present at all official meetings unless prior arrangements have been made. Failure of an officer to notify another Board of Directors member of absence prior to an official meeting may result in disciplinary action. Quorum A quorum at all regularly scheduled and special events meetings shall be at least one- third of the active members unless otherwise provided in these by laws. Section 4. Procedures The meetings of the EERI UNL Student Chapter will follow standard parliamentary procedure. Article VIII. Finance Dues and Membership Fees. A. Dues shall be paid annually and shall be in addition to the current national membership dues specified by EERI. Changes in dues prices will require a 2/3 majority vote of active members. B. Dues are to be remitted at the beginning of the academic year, payable to the EERI UNL Student Chapter. Associate members will not be required to pay dues. C. Members are encouraged to offer non-monetary donations to support the organization (e.g. drinks and snacks at meetings). Fundraising Fundraising activities are encouraged by the organization s members to support the financial needs of running a successful organization A. All on-campus moneymaking projects must first be registered with the Milo Bail Student Center Central Scheduling Office/Reservations and Event Planning ( two weeks prior to any event. B. Failure to register an on-campus fundraising project may result in the project and any future fundraising projects by the organization to be prohibited. C. Repeated violations may cause revocation of the organization s constitution. D. Off-campus fundraising activities are also encouraged, as well as creative new means of raising funds as appropriate. E. The organization s financial account shall be maintained at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and optionally an additionally account may be opened elsewhere as required for the functioning of the organization. F. The Treasurer is assigned to the duties relating to Fundraising in absence of a Funding Committee. Page 5 of 6

6 Procedures for Spending and Accounting for All Funds. A. The disbursement of funds must be authorized by the President, the Treasurer, and the Advisor. B. Treasurer is primarily responsible for depositing and accounting for all of the organization s funds. C. In the Treasurer s absence, the President and Advisor(s) may intervene in the deposit and expenditure of funds. D. The Treasurer shall keep accurate records of balance and receipts throughout the semester to be verified and approved by the Board of Directors at the end of each Semester E. If the organization is funded by Student Government fees during the year, it must follow University policies when expending funds. Article IX. Article X. Article XI. Non-Campus Affiliation The EERI UNL Student Chapter is affiliated with the National Earthquake Engineering Research Institute EERI. When in conflict, University of Nebraska-Lincoln s policies will supersede the policies of the EERI UNL Student Chapter. There is no financial affiliation for this organization. Amendments - Method of Adoption This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at two consecutive meetings. All amendments to the constitution and bylaws are subject to the approval of the Office of Dean of Students and may not take effect until they are approved. A copy of this constitution and all subsequent amendments shall be kept on file by the secretary. Alcohol Policy This organization does not support the serving of alcohol to minors or use of drugs at any organization sponsored event or meeting. At any event or meeting where alcohol is present, this organization will make available non-alcoholic beverages in addition to snacks for those present. Article XII. Changes to the Constitution Student Government must approve all changes to this constitution in the same manner as a completely new constitution. Page 6 of 6