2017-2018 Constitution of the Biomedical Engineering Society of the Illinois Institute of Technology Last Revised: 5/15/2017 Contents Preamble Article I - Name Article II - Purpose Article III - Membership Article IV Executive Board Article V Officer Responsibilities Article VI - Executive Authority Article VII Meetings Article VIII - Elections Article IX - Executive Transition Article X - Advisor(s) Article XI - Amendments Article XII - Dissolution Article XIII - Statement of Non-Hazing Article XIV - Statement of Compliance with Campus Regulations
Preamble We, the members of this organization, do ordain this constitution of the Biomedical Engineering Society of the Illinois Institute of Technology as the constitution for the members of the Biomedical Engineering Society. Article I - Name The name of this organization shall be the Biomedical Engineering Society, hereafter referred to as BMES. Article II - Purpose The purpose of this organization is to educate, expose, and provide its members with learning experiences that will improve their biomedical engineering careers and/or student life at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Article III - Membership Section 1: Eligibility Membership of this organization shall consist of both full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students at Illinois Institute of Technology, Vandercook School of Music, Shimer College, and/or any other affiliated schools or colleges. Members shall not be discriminated upon based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and/or mental ability, veteran status and/or economic status. Section 2: Membership Qualification All current Illinois Tech students studying Biomedical Engineering are automatically qualified as BMES members. Students pursuing non-biomedical Engineering degrees must attend at least 2 general body meeting during the current (2016-2017) academic school year in order to be qualified members. To be an active member, members must attend general body meetings and attend events hosted by BMES.
Article IV Executive Board Section 1: Definition An executive board officer is a selected representative of the organization and member of the Biomedical Engineering Society. Section 2: Executive Positions The following positions are available for eligible members: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Publicity Chair Alumni Relations Chair Section 3: Qualifications Selection for all positions is based upon the majority vote of all BMES members choosing to participate at the annual elections. All executive board members must be full-time, undergraduate students majoring in Biomedical Engineering who are in good academic and behavioral standing with the Illinois Institute of Technology. Only current and previous members of the BMES executive board are eligible to run as President. Section 4: Term The term for all officers is comprised of one year; the term begins at when the officer is transitioned into the board beginning at the start of the summer following the election, throughout the upcoming academic school year, 2016-2017, until the transition of the new board for the next academic year in the Spring of 2017. Section 5: Resignation of an Officer Any officer may resign from his/her position with a verbal statement to the entire executive board. In the event that the President resigns, the Vice President will assume the role of President.
Section 6: Removal of an Officer Any member of the Executive Board may be removed from their position if it is determined that he/she is not fulfilling their defined duties as defined by this constitution, or if another reason is suitable. Removal from the office requires a unanimous vote of all members of the Executive Board, aside from the officer in question. In the event that the President is removed from office, the Vice President will assume the role of President. Section 7: Empty Executive Position In the event that an executive position is left vacant, it will be up to the current executive board to determine whether or not to hold an election to fill the vacant space. Otherwise, members of the current executive board will decide amongst themselves to distribute and assume the responsibilities of the vacant officer position. Article V: Officer Responsibilities On top of each officer s own responsibilities, each officer is responsible for promoting the reputation of BMES, actively attending executive board and general body meetings and other events hosted by BMES. Officers are also responsible for encouraging event attendance and public relations. Officers are expected to have knowledge of the BMES constitution and by-laws. Officers are also expected to have understanding of OCL procedures and policies. The Executive Board is responsible for ensuring that BMES events are successfully executed. All officers are expected to respond to any form of communication in a timely manner (24-hour etiquette), and to notify the President of forthcoming absences at least 24 hours prior to meetings. Keys will be distributed to the officers as the President deems fit. Section 1: President Responsibilities The President supervises the organization s affairs and activities. The President shall be report to BMES Faculty Advisor and any other affiliated advisors. The President oversees all interactions within the Executive Board and facilitates internal communications between all members of the Executive Board. The President oversees program planning and is responsible to be knowledgeable of and to abide by all relevant policies of the Office of Campus Life. The President should handle all interactions between university administration and the general body of this organization. Section 2: Vice President The Vice-President performs the duties of the President in his/her absence. The Vice-President shall also supervise membership promotion. The Vice President s primary responsibility shall be program planning and execution. The Vice President is responsible to be knowledgeable of and to abide by all relevant
policies of the Office of Campus Life. The Vice President is responsible for tracking attendance at general body meetings. Section 3: Secretary The Secretary manages the communication between the Executive Board and its members through regular e-mail updates. The Secretary is expected to track both executive board and general body meeting minutes. General body meeting minutes must be made available to the general body within 24 hours. Executive board meetings must be notified to the Executive board within 24 hours. The Secretary should maintain the organization s e-mail, BMES@IIT.EDU account and ensure that e-mails are promptly addressed. The Secretary is responsible for sending e-mails through Hawklink. The Secretary is responsible for event reservations. Section 4: Treasurer: The Treasurer oversees all financial operations of the organization. This entails record-keeping with university budgets, obtaining funds from the Student Activities Fund, and tracking external fundraising funds. The Treasurer is responsible to be knowledgeable of and to abide by all relevant policies of the Office of Campus Life. The Treasurer must inform the Executive members of important, upcoming Finance Board dates and the statues/progress of operations. The Treasurer must work to prepare budget proposals at least 2 weeks prior to Finance Board hearings and review them with the President. Section 5: Publicity Chair The Publicity chair is responsible for all marketing material related to branding, and event advertisement for BMES. The Publicity chair is responsible for posting on social media accounts such as Facebook, and any other platforms he/she chooses to utilize. The Publicity Chair must advertise all events at least 2 weeks prior to the event date. Section 6: Alumni Relations Chair The Alumni Relations Chair is responsible for maintaining an alumni database and e-mailing list. The Alumni Relations Chair must also send out invitations to encourage alumni attendance. The Alumni Chair will be responsible for monthly BMES newsletters to both current BMES members and Alumni. This officer is the main point of contact for the Student-Alumni BMES panel and other alumni-related affairs. Article VI - Executive Authority Section 1: Organizational Authority For all matters related to BMES, executive authority shall be invested in the BMES Executive Board. The executive authority of the org is actually invested in OCL, since we are recognized as an IIT student org. Appeals made against the BMES executive board can be made to SGA in hearing called by OCL/Judicial Board.
Section 2: Decision Making The Executive Board is expected to decide the general direction of the organization. Decisions are made by a majority vote among the Executive Board. In the event of a tie, the board may seek advisement from an advisor, and the President may make the final decision. Article VII - Meetings Section 1: Executive Board Meetings Executive board meetings are open to current members of the BMES executive board only. Previous executive board members and general body members may attend if invited by the member of the current executive board. At minimum, there must be at least one executive board meeting held each month. Other meeting dates will be determined by the board. Section 2: General Body Meetings General body meetings (GBM) are open for anyone to attend. General body meetings must be advertised at least 2 weeks in advance. Attendance will be taken, and updates will be given. Food may or may not be provided. Article VIII - Elections Section 1: Election Frequency Elections of officers shall be held every school year during the second to last month of the Spring semester with results determined at least 1 week prior to finals week. Section 2: Voting Eligibility According to Article III, Section 2, all qualified members of the organization are eligible to vote. Candidates and current officers are allowed to vote. The organization advisor is not allowed to vote. The voting proctor(s) is/are not eligible to vote. No proxy votes will be accepted. No votes submitted after the voting period- as determined by the executive board- will be accepted. A candidate who has ever been impeached from the BMES executive board will not be qualified to run for a position in the BMES executive board again unless given permission by the current BMES board. Section 3: Voting Platform The voting platform will be determined by the current executive board- either Hawklink, Google Forms, or any other platform that assures all voters are eligible. Section 4: Voting Logistics
Candidates are eligible to run for either President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Social Chair, or Alumni Relations chair. For each position, abstain is a voting option. In a position where there are 2 or more candidates running, the winning candidate is the one with the higher number/percentage of votes. In a position where there is only one candidate is running, the candidate must obtain a majority of the total votes in order to assume the position. If the candidate does not obtain the majority vote, a reelection will be held in the same procedural manner as the full elections. In the event that a candidate cheats, he/she will be immediately disqualified. Section 5: Voting Proctor The voting proctor will be the only person with access to the results of the BMES elections. The voting proctor will be determined by the executive board. It may be a current member of the BMES executive board who is not running as a candidate for the upcoming BMES executive board. It may also be one of the organization s advisors or an external OCL staff member. The voting proctor will not be eligible to vote. He/she cannot reveal the results of the elections prior to the determined date established by the executive board. There may be more than one proctor as the current executive board deems fit. Section 5: Voting Results The elected candidates and general body will be notified of the election results once the executive board has met following the end of the voting period and the votes have been tallied. Article IX Executive Transition Section 1: Position Transition After the elected candidate is notified, the current officer of that position is responsible for briefing the elected candidate with the necessary information for the organization to function in the next term. Once that is done, the elected candidate will be the official new officer. Article X - Advisor(s) Section 1: Primary Advisor There shall be, at least, one Advisor who shall be an ex-officio member without voting privileges. Section 2: Primary Advisor Eligibility
The Advisor shall be selected from amongst the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering by said faculty. The Executive Board must provide final approval of this choice for Advisor. Section 3: Advisor Responsibilities The Advisor has the option to attend Executive Board and General Body meetings. The Advisor shall provide guidance to the Executive Board and aid in supervising events sponsored by the BMES. The Advisor shall strive to ensure that the actions of the BMES are consistent with the charter of the national organization, the policies of the Office of Campus Life, and the rules and regulations laid out in the Illinois Institute of Technology Student Handbook. Article XI - Amendments Section 1: Amending Eligibility This constitution may be amended only by a majority vote of the Executive Board. Amendment proposals are made by verbal expression to the BMES executive board. Amendments can be proposed by any qualified member of BMES. Voting on an amendment change will occur one week following the date of the proposed amendment, or immediately if all the full Executive Board chooses. Section 2: Amendment Notifications All members shall be notified within one day of any amendments made to the constitution. Article XII - Dissolution Section 1: Funds Upon the dissolution of this organization, all funds shall be handed over to the Office of Campus Life. Section 2: Inventory All items purchased with university funds shall be returned to the possession of the university. Section 3: Coordination The President shall be responsible for carrying out these directives. Article XII - Statement of Non-Hazing This organization will not conspire to engage in hazing or to commit any act that causes, or is likely to cause, bodily danger, physical harm, personal degradation, or disgrace resulting in physical or mental harm to any fellow student or person attending the institution. Article XIV - Statement of Compliance with Campus Regulations This organization shall comply with all university and campus policies and regulations. This organization shall also comply with all local, state, and federal laws.