Michigan Alpha Chapter of National Engineering Mentors Organization Constitution Version 1.0 Created on 2017.02.17 Revised on N/A Article I Name A. The name of this organization shall be Michigan Alpha Chapter of National Engineering Mentors Organization, hereafter referred to as NEMO. Article II Purpose, vision, mission, aims, functions of the organization. Mission Statement A. The purpose of this organization shall be: i. Provide opportunities for students to meet and connect with new mentors of all kinds, both current students, alumni and professionals. ii. Create a community that fosters teamwork and encourages students to help one another through peer-to-peer mentoring. iii. Create peer-to-peer mentoring relationships between first and second year mentees, and third and fourth year mentors. iv. Create events and programs that: i. create stronger bonds between mentor-mentee pairs, ii. benefit mentors and mentees, bring together students from all majors and class years within Engineering and Computer Science, and iii. introduce new career opportunities. B. NEMO is committed to providing and developing strong mentor relationships for Engineering and Computer Science students at the University of Michigan. While its social and professional agenda allows its members to network with peers from diverse Engineering and Computer Science disciplines, NEMO also serves as a platform for students to help and support one another through common challenges and experiences. This endeavor helps members develop leadership, strong communication skills, selfless service, and countless other invaluable personal skills to use in their future careers. C. NEMO understands and is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities of abiding by the University of Michigan policies and procedures Article III - Membership A. Membership shall be limited to persons officially connected with the University of Michigan as faculty, staff, or registered students. NEMO openly admits students to its membership and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age,
marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status. B. Associate members may be University of Michigan faculty, staff, or alumni, their spouses or domestic partners, and spouses or domestic partners of student members. Associate members may not vote or hold office. C. There will be no maximum number of members. D. Membership will take effect when an interested party becomes eligible for pairing by attending Mentee Orientation or Mentor Orientation, completing a National Engineering Mentors Organization Mentee/Mentor Pairing Form, and pays all dues set for the semester. E. The active membership of this organization shall consist of all members who are in regular attendance of the NEMO business meetings and who meet the requirements outlined in NEMO Mentee and Mentor Orientation. Those requirements include: i. attendance at ONE business meeting each semester, ii. regular communication with your mentee(s) or mentor (only applies if paired), and iii. completion of one feedback survey each month. Feedback surveys must be completed within one week (7 days) of receipt. F. The inactive membership of this organization shall consist of all students eligible for pairing who are in regular attendance at University of Michigan and who have been suspended from the organization. Any inactive member may request to have his or her membership reactivated by submitting such a request in writing to the President not less than 24 hours prior to a scheduled business meeting. The requesting member shall be present at the meeting. If the request is granted, it is effective once the member fulfills all incomplete requirements (i.e. missing forms). G. Members of NEMO may be suspended if any of the following occur: if a member fails to meet and maintain the requirements stated in section E above and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher (for mentors only). The member will be notified via email if they have been suspended and have one week (7 days) to appeal the termination. Any member also has the right to suspend his or her own membership at any time, they must give one week s (7 days) notice to the President. Article IV - Meetings A. At least one business meeting and one general meeting of a social character shall be held each semester. B. Special business meetings may be called, as necessary, by the President or the majority vote of the Executive Board. C. All active members shall be informed in writing of the time and place of business meetings not less than seven days in advance. The proposed agenda of the meeting
shall be included. D. A quorum for the consideration of routine business shall consist of one-half of the active membership. For changing the chapter dues and for the passing of an assessment on the members of the chapter, three-fourths of the active chapter membership eligible to vote thereon; and for the approval or disapproval of a proposed amendment to the Constitution or chapter, three-fourths of the active members of the chapter. E. No member shall be permitted to vote by proxy. F. Attendance by active members at business meetings is required. Unexcused failure to attend shall result in suspension of membership (exemptions are at the discretion of the Executive Board). Any active member may request to be excused from a particular meeting by submitting such a request in writing (or via email) to the chairman of the Membership Committee not less than 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. The request shall state the reason for nonattendance. G. The first item of business at all business meetings shall be consideration of requests to be excused from the meeting. The second item of business shall be consideration of requests to have membership reactivated. Requests shall be granted by majority vote of those present. The active membership may or may not grant a request depending on the reason for the request and upon the member's past level of participation in the organization. After consideration of requests the Chairman of the Membership committee shall determine and announce the quorum status of the meeting. H. No inactive members shall be permitted to vote. Article V Officers A. An Executive Board comprised of Officers will govern the activities of the organization, and the specific duties of the Officers will be as follows: i. President: The President will be the executive officer of the Executive Board and will have general supervision of the affairs of NEMO and will preside at meetings. The President will represent the organization at conferences, conventions and faculty or alumni meetings. The President is in charge of calling meetings, setting the agenda for said meetings, sending out notifications of special events, supervising the creation of major and minor events, supervising recruitment of new members, and acting to enhance mentee-mentor relationships. Other duties may be taken on as the program grows. ii. Vice-President: The Vice-President will be the junior executive officer and will act on the behalf of the President in the event of their absence. The Vice-President has the duty to assist the President in event planning and fundraising as well as ensuring that the organization is running efficiently and is compliant with all student organization rules. Other duties may be taken on as the program grows. The Vice President will record the proceedings of each meeting, distribute the minutes to the members, and maintain the membership roster.
iii. Treasurer: The Treasurer will maintain records of all revenue and expenditures and ensure that generally accepted accounting practices and monetary controls are in place. The Treasurer will collect dues. Additionally, the Treasurer will work with College officials to help plan events and to obtain funds. Other duties may be taken on as the program grows. The Treasurer will also work with local companies to obtain funds/donations for NEMO events. Article VI Officer Elections A. The elections for officers for the forthcoming year will take place in the Spring semester no later than five weeks before finals. An office shall be held until the following election. B. Election timeline and nomination processes must be announced to members at least three weeks prior to the elections meeting. The election process shall occur during the Spring semester. Candidates interested in running will be required to participate in debates and or discussions. This will be the opportunity for the candidates to explain why they are the best person for the position and how they can help advance NEMO. Each person will be given time to present a speech with exact details set forward by the Elections Committee. C. Applicants must be enrolled in a minimum of twelve (12) credits at University of Michigan or on Co-Op. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher. All applications must be completed and submitted by the announced deadline. Candidates must be allowed to participate in any official and impartial candidate debates, moderated discussions, and/or elections materials and events administered by the Elections Committee. The Elections Committee will set a specific number of debates/discussions/ or events dependent on the amount of members running for the position. All set events will be notified to all candidates and members a minimum of one week (7 days) in advance. A candidate must be on good standing with the University of Michigan. All candidates must be active members of NEMO. President and Vice President candidates must have been active as members for at least one semester (exceptions may be allowed and are at the discretion of the elections committee). The candidate names will be distributed to Executive Board members at least 24 hours prior to the election meeting. D. The candidate for each office receiving the most votes of the Executive Board members at the elections meeting will be considered the victor. If there is a tie, the highest ranking outgoing officer will make the final decision. No member can be elected to more than one position on the Executive Board at one time. The candidate with the highest amount of votes has one week (7 days) from the time of announcement to accept the position, else the position will be offered to the next highest vote receiver. An election can only be held with a quorum of 75% or more of voting members present. The Vice President or Treasurer will do an initial vote count and then the President will recount and announce the winners to ensure accuracy. E. New officers take office after the last day of the semester in which the election took
place. F. If a position remains unfilled after the elections process the President will appoint a member to the position or reassign duties to another officer. G. Terms of office for the following elected positions include an additional transition period in which the outgoing officer will mentor their successor: President, Vice President. The period of mentorship will differ for the President and Vice President. During the period of mentorship, the newly elected officer will assume their role, while their predecessor will become an Executive Mentor. The Executive Mentor to the President will meet with the new President to guide them on their role. These meetings will occur at minimum, once every four weeks, and will last for at least three occurrences and at most the duration of one semester. The Executive Mentor to the Vice President will have a similar relationship with the Vice President; their meetings will occur at minimum, once every four weeks, and will last for at least two occurrences and at most the duration of one semester. The duration, frequency and number of occurrences for executive mentorship meetings shall be decided by the standing President and Vice President, and shall align with the above guidelines. H. The roles of Executive Mentor to the President and Executive Mentor to the Vice President do not have voting rights on the Executive Board. I. Violations of any NEMO election rules enforced by the Elections Committee will result in an immediate disqualification of candidacy. Article VII - Officer Removal A. If an officer fails to maintain requirements as stated in University of Michigan student rules, he or she shall resign immediately. B. The Executive Board, by a two-thirds vote, shall have the power at any meeting to remove any member from The Executive Board for good and sufficient cause. A copy of the motion for removal must have been provided to all Executive Board members, including the individual whose removal is proposed, at least two weeks before the meeting. The individual shall have the right of defense. C. If the President is removed or resigns, the Vice-President will take his/her place in the interim until the next election cycle. D. If the Vice-President or any other officer shall become unable to serve or the position otherwise becomes vacant, the Executive Board shall appoint an individual, satisfying the eligibility of Article VII above, to serve until the next election. E. An officer has the right to resign at any time and must give the Executive Board one week s (7 days) notice beforehand. If an officer resigns, their position will be filled within one week (7 days).
F. The President and Vice President roles may not be held by a student in their last semester as an undergraduate student. This is so that time is allowed after their term to act as Executive Mentor to the President and Executive Mentor to the Vice President, respectively (see Article VII: Officer Elections). If a President or Vice President is in office during their final semester as an undergraduate, they must resign immediately. Article VIII Committees A. Committees may be created as necessary by the President for specific events and projects not to last longer than the current officer term. B. Each committee will have a chair, as appointed by the President. C. Any member or officer may be selected as a committee chair. D. Any number of members may be on a committee. E. There shall be a standing committees on Elections and Membership. i. Elections Committee: The Elections Committee is made up of all Executive Board Members. The goals and responsibilities of the Elections Committee are to coordinate election discussion and voting events and to announce these events in order to allow equal and adequate time for each candidate. The Elections Committee will also set forth the rules in which the election events will be run to ensure a fair election. Other duties may be taken on as the program grows. ii. Membership Committee: The Membership Committee is chaired by the Vice President. The goals and responsibilities of the Membership Committee is to maintain Chapter Membership information and coordinate the discussion and voting events regarding membership. Article IX - Dues A. Dues will be determined at the beginning of the year by a majority vote of the Executive Board. Dues are to be paid by the third week of the semester or by the second week of membership, whichever is later. Article X Parliamentary Procedure A. Robert s Rules of Order will be used in instances not covered in this constitution. Article XI Constitutional Amendments A. Amendments to the constitution shall be submitted by members of this organization to the Executive Board in writing for consideration. B. Minor Changes i. Any change that would not alter the existing intent of the sentence, phrase, paragraph or contextual section in which the change is made constitutes a minor change. The level of change is measured and determined by the President. The measuring of the change will be done using the following criteria: Does the
ii. change affect the current running of the organization (i.e. voting rules, election protocols)? If yes, it is a major change. If no, it is a minor change. Minor changes shall be treated as a regular debate topic and are to be brought before NEMO to be debated according to the rules of debate. C. Major Changes i. Any change that would alter the existing intent of the sentence, phrase, paragraph or contextual section in which the change is made, and/or the addition of new or removal of existing clauses constitutes a major change. The level of change is measured and determined by the President. The measuring of the change will be done using the following criteria: Does the change affect the current running of the organization (i.e. voting rules, election protocols)? If yes, it is a major change. If no, it is a minor change. Major changes are discussed between the President and Vice President. D. Written notification of the proposed amendment to all voting members must be made by mail or email, at least two weeks in advance of any vote on changes in the constitution. E. A two-thirds vote of members present will be required for adoption. Article XII - Ratification A. This constitution must be ratified by two-thirds of all active members to take effect and shall be reviewed every 3 years. Article XIII - Statement of Compliance A. Michigan Alpha Chapter of National Engineering Mentors Organization has read and agrees to fully comply with the University's policies. We understand that the organization's registration is contingent on acceptance of these policies.